Reviews of L'Eau Bleue d'Issey Eau Fraîche by Issey Miyake
Not too bad a flanker of the L'Eau Bleue d'Issey pour Homme. As I had expected, this Eau Fraîche version would have a more aromatic, spicier finish than the original (parallel to L'Eau d'Issey Eau Fraîche vs. its predecessort).
It's toned down, herbal, clean and fresh, not as stocked with fancy notes as the original, yet it does share the rosemary, patchouli and musk notes and doesn't stray too too far in dna.
Longevity is okay; a light second layer applied atop the first can increase this. Overall, I give it props for giving deference to Issey Miyake's beautiful L'Eau Bleue, though I don't know how relevant and memorable this one may really end up being.
It's toned down, herbal, clean and fresh, not as stocked with fancy notes as the original, yet it does share the rosemary, patchouli and musk notes and doesn't stray too too far in dna.
Longevity is okay; a light second layer applied atop the first can increase this. Overall, I give it props for giving deference to Issey Miyake's beautiful L'Eau Bleue, though I don't know how relevant and memorable this one may really end up being.
With a very important caveat this is a very good fresh cheepo , and indeed days of overwhelming humidity and heat this may be the fragrance of choice especially if you are looking for a masculine scent. It may be that the cologne dissolves in the perspiration which is what makes it last longer. Otherwise it is gone in 20 minutes leaving you with a shadow of that awful burning rubber/amber of the bleue itself.
I can see the problem Odyseum and his acolyte have. However on hot humid days the opening is wonderfully fresh bergamot mint and rosemary, but then it looses some of that substance and you are left with a freshness which is an entity in itself. Almost powdery, minty, a touch of musk. It will be an unshakeable companion on overly humid hot days but a flop on others unless you keep on spraying yourself with it every half hour.
The expensive option would be Xerjoff shooting stars but that is a little too feminine.
However a better fresh cheapo which works on dry and humid days is IM's very own Summer 2009. Harder and harder to get. Otherwise there is IM Homme Fraiche which is nice enough although uninspiring but it lasts a long time as a skin scent with not a whiff of pepper.
Fragrance: 7.75/10
Projection: 7/10
Longevity: 2/10
I can see the problem Odyseum and his acolyte have. However on hot humid days the opening is wonderfully fresh bergamot mint and rosemary, but then it looses some of that substance and you are left with a freshness which is an entity in itself. Almost powdery, minty, a touch of musk. It will be an unshakeable companion on overly humid hot days but a flop on others unless you keep on spraying yourself with it every half hour.
The expensive option would be Xerjoff shooting stars but that is a little too feminine.
However a better fresh cheapo which works on dry and humid days is IM's very own Summer 2009. Harder and harder to get. Otherwise there is IM Homme Fraiche which is nice enough although uninspiring but it lasts a long time as a skin scent with not a whiff of pepper.
Fragrance: 7.75/10
Projection: 7/10
Longevity: 2/10
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I'm in agreement with odysseusm on this. The top notes promise something better than the original (which I don't care for at all), but it's all downhill from there.
The original is a groundbreaking designer fragrance imo, and this flanker is pretty solid too. My biggest gripe is longevity though, I get 2-3 hours max. The spearmint note is really nice, haven't found a mint note this good since Live Jazz. The opening is similar to the original but only for a few seconds, before it becomes mint and citrus dominated. The rosemary is much more toned down than the original, and overall it's more fresh as the bottle says.
I loved the original so much that I was considering blind buying this at retail when I heard it was coming out. Though I knew if I waited I would find it on sale. Unfortunately for a couple years, it was nowhere to be found, until recently. As I picked up a big bottle for about $25, I don't think I would pay more than $30 for the 4.2 oz.
I loved the original so much that I was considering blind buying this at retail when I heard it was coming out. Though I knew if I waited I would find it on sale. Unfortunately for a couple years, it was nowhere to be found, until recently. As I picked up a big bottle for about $25, I don't think I would pay more than $30 for the 4.2 oz.
So far I have yet to find an Issey scent that I do not like. Very clean mint and slightly sharp herbal blast to start and becomes smoother as it drys. I find it a lighter version of the original Issey Bleue flanker. For the quality and price it is a great scent for the spring and summer. Enjoy.
This scent has intrigued me since the first time I smelled it at a perfume store. The saleswoman wanted to show me other fragrances (more interesting ones in her opinion) and sprayed L'Eau Bleau D'Issey Eau Fraiche in the air, looking absolutely bored. Well, I have to agree with her that it really seems to be a generic, repetitive and boring perfume... especially at a first glance.
But, I use to see things more deeply and... what intrigued me most is the fact that my interest was born in the absence, because a blast of fresh and bitter bergamot was everything I could have and it disappeared in less than ten seconds without any apparent trace.
No apparent trace? Well, it was exactly this missing trail that made me want to test the fragrance on my skin, so as to confirm its nonexistence.
But then, on my skin, something else was revealed: a subtle composition, so clean and light that I questioned whether its presence existed only in my mind. The smiling aroma of rosemary mingled with the bitter freshness of bergamot, in a quick and slippery evolution that I had no time to perceive the mint.
Floral notes tried to emerge and suddenly gave up the intention, perhaps due to some shyness in the face of patchouli's expressiveness. A clean, linear, creamy patchouli that owes its consistency and weight to the synthetic musk.
Now, you must know that all this affluence was not observed easily. Do not try to understand this fragrance in winter, because it only fully reveals itself at higher temperatures, above 30°C, also being favored by high humidity. Only then I could be seduced by the captivating harmony between rosemary, patchouli and musk.
It is beautiful, and I want this accord in a more intense and long lasting way!
But, can I have it? Will it spoil the harmony?
Some scents exist only in thin air.
You, by my side, can you feel it?
I know how it feels, but maybe it is all in my mind.
Sound track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW0p7jQnKqg
But, I use to see things more deeply and... what intrigued me most is the fact that my interest was born in the absence, because a blast of fresh and bitter bergamot was everything I could have and it disappeared in less than ten seconds without any apparent trace.
No apparent trace? Well, it was exactly this missing trail that made me want to test the fragrance on my skin, so as to confirm its nonexistence.
But then, on my skin, something else was revealed: a subtle composition, so clean and light that I questioned whether its presence existed only in my mind. The smiling aroma of rosemary mingled with the bitter freshness of bergamot, in a quick and slippery evolution that I had no time to perceive the mint.
Floral notes tried to emerge and suddenly gave up the intention, perhaps due to some shyness in the face of patchouli's expressiveness. A clean, linear, creamy patchouli that owes its consistency and weight to the synthetic musk.
Now, you must know that all this affluence was not observed easily. Do not try to understand this fragrance in winter, because it only fully reveals itself at higher temperatures, above 30°C, also being favored by high humidity. Only then I could be seduced by the captivating harmony between rosemary, patchouli and musk.
It is beautiful, and I want this accord in a more intense and long lasting way!
But, can I have it? Will it spoil the harmony?
Some scents exist only in thin air.
You, by my side, can you feel it?
I know how it feels, but maybe it is all in my mind.
Sound track: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW0p7jQnKqg
Genre: Citrus
As a flanker to a scent I've never cared for to begin with, I didn't entertain high hopes for L'Eau Bleue; especially given the Eau Fraîche label, which to me translates as either extra-crude/chemical or diluted. The top notes do nothing to raise my expectations, unadulterated essence of isopropyl alcohol that they are.
What a pleasant surprise, then, when the scent's core turns out to be a comparatively natural-smelling, soft citrus and herbaceous-woody arrangement, with only a dab of the expected aquatic aromachemicals and a pleasantly understated dried culinary herb (oregano? sage?) note. It's altogether more pleasant and interesting than it might have been, but I have to concur with previous statements regarding longevity and strength: both are limited. The drydown leans on cedar and clean musk, but the aquatic note is also more exposed and conspicuous, to detrimental effect.
Altogether a pleasant surprise, but a few steps short of firing my enthusiasm.
As a flanker to a scent I've never cared for to begin with, I didn't entertain high hopes for L'Eau Bleue; especially given the Eau Fraîche label, which to me translates as either extra-crude/chemical or diluted. The top notes do nothing to raise my expectations, unadulterated essence of isopropyl alcohol that they are.
What a pleasant surprise, then, when the scent's core turns out to be a comparatively natural-smelling, soft citrus and herbaceous-woody arrangement, with only a dab of the expected aquatic aromachemicals and a pleasantly understated dried culinary herb (oregano? sage?) note. It's altogether more pleasant and interesting than it might have been, but I have to concur with previous statements regarding longevity and strength: both are limited. The drydown leans on cedar and clean musk, but the aquatic note is also more exposed and conspicuous, to detrimental effect.
Altogether a pleasant surprise, but a few steps short of firing my enthusiasm.
Me-likey Miyake !
A simple but distinguished spring/summer scent that's best for any daytime dress shirt occasion, imo. A cool, astringent, bergamot peel infused in mint-oil hits me in the opening accord; quickly establishing a "mature" herbal character. (By "mature" I simply mean more reserved than energetic in style.)
As the scent develops, a calm and reassuring skin-musk warms up to my body temperature... and blends everything seamlessly to my skin. This is where "Bleu Fraiche" really shines. The musk diffuses rosemary and bergamot, to undermine the severity of it's bitter elements with a delicate citrus/floral tint. An understated and intimate "heart". The character gentlemanly, without being uptight.
I get a smooth, airy, close to body sillage for 5+ hours on my skin. Pretty good performance for a light, translucent scent. To say that "Bleu Fraiche" is simply "L'eau Bleu" without the spiciness and "body" (although true), would be doing it injustice. It has enough character of it's own to stand shoulder to shoulder with popular office-friendly scents like Bvlgari pour homme extreme, for example. There is one caution! This scent may work against those who have strong "scent-memory" of Vicks vapor rub, or a mentholated ointment -at least in the opening. I initially got that vibe myself to be honest. But fortunately... that disappears for me after the scent develops.
A "must try" for those who like Issey Miyake scents. Very Good.
A simple but distinguished spring/summer scent that's best for any daytime dress shirt occasion, imo. A cool, astringent, bergamot peel infused in mint-oil hits me in the opening accord; quickly establishing a "mature" herbal character. (By "mature" I simply mean more reserved than energetic in style.)
As the scent develops, a calm and reassuring skin-musk warms up to my body temperature... and blends everything seamlessly to my skin. This is where "Bleu Fraiche" really shines. The musk diffuses rosemary and bergamot, to undermine the severity of it's bitter elements with a delicate citrus/floral tint. An understated and intimate "heart". The character gentlemanly, without being uptight.
I get a smooth, airy, close to body sillage for 5+ hours on my skin. Pretty good performance for a light, translucent scent. To say that "Bleu Fraiche" is simply "L'eau Bleu" without the spiciness and "body" (although true), would be doing it injustice. It has enough character of it's own to stand shoulder to shoulder with popular office-friendly scents like Bvlgari pour homme extreme, for example. There is one caution! This scent may work against those who have strong "scent-memory" of Vicks vapor rub, or a mentholated ointment -at least in the opening. I initially got that vibe myself to be honest. But fortunately... that disappears for me after the scent develops.
A "must try" for those who like Issey Miyake scents. Very Good.
I prefer the non-light version of this, but this works well in heat, maybe better. Minty fresh with some herbs and spice but overall somewhat lo-key once you are wearing it. I find it works best applied directly to the skin, though it is fine on clothing too.
Light, herbal-minty. An improvement over L'eau bleue pour homme, for a while.
Somewhat lightweight and inoffensive. Clean, fresh, refreshing. Harmless, until it dries down to the same odd, metallic-synthetic vibe as L'eau Bleue ph. Then I say "I'm outta here."
Somewhat lightweight and inoffensive. Clean, fresh, refreshing. Harmless, until it dries down to the same odd, metallic-synthetic vibe as L'eau Bleue ph. Then I say "I'm outta here."
This is a very underrated scent. Its very pleasant with mint and rosemary, and you get a lot of rose in the drydown. The beef I have with this scent is the projection and the longevity. On me, I it stays very close to the skin and I can't smell it after maybe four hours. I would guess it would be a great scent for the warmer weather. I really don't know why this scent doesn't get publicized as much as the other Issey Miyake scents, that could be a strong point. Considering you can get it for relatively cheap, its worth a blind buy. If the original too lemony and headache inducing, then this is the perfect scent for you.
This is very different from the original L'Eau Bleue D'Issey, and in my opinion superior. It's very minty in a way that reminds me of peppermint gum. There are a lot of mint based scents out there, but this one is very unique; it also brings to mind a peppermint mojito. As implied by the name, it's very fresh, but I get a hint of "warm rocks" which was one of the accords of the first L'Eau D'Issey Homme (not the blue one). Not a lot of people know about this one, but it's really a good one to have for warm weather.