Eau d’Été was released by Parfums de Nicolaï in 1997. It has notes of lime, grapefruit, blood orange, jasmine, cinnamon, balsam, and musk.
Eau d’Été has long been one of my favorite summer fragrances. The top notes are sharp citrus, with a sparkling grapefruit that never turns sour on the skin and lots of zesty lime. It eases gently into into a soft blend of jasmine and citrus. There are hints of green and a dash of cinnamon to lend some warmth. The citrus notes are not long lasting, but a light, musky skin-scent lingers for a few hours.
It is a deceptively simple scent, and like many of Patricia de Nicolaï’s fragrances, seamlessly blended. I should mention, however, that it appears to be a love-it-or-hate-it fragrance. I find it eminently wearable, but some find it too soapy, others too musky. The jasmine is very clean, but it does not turn soapy on my skin, and I find the musky dry down sexy in a quiet, subtle kind of way. Try before you buy!
For buying information, see the listing for Parfums de Nicolaï under Perfume Houses.
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Sounds perfectly clean for horribly hot days. Hope you finally found someplace cool to hibernate in until your weather improves!! xoxo
M, We are expecting a high of 80 today! I am so happy
Oh this does sound perfectly clean for such horribly hot days. Alas d'Ete did not work because of the dreaded grapefruit note – this is the most difficult one for me with my chemistry. I am not as fond of the PdN as others but do agree that they are incredibly well blended. Another great review – thankfully for a much cooler day.
Ooo, I am intrigued! This sounds lovely. I'm a fan of both soapy and musky, and I adore jasmine and grapefruit, but lime is not my friend.
F, It is amazing how happy a reasonably cool day can make me after all this oppressive heat. Packing for vacation also helps
I do not think you would find the lime overdone since there is grapefruit & orange as well, but of course try before you buy!
Hello dear R! Have a wonderful holiday and hope the weather is gorgeous. Will miss your reviews very much!
No comment on this PdN – it is nice but did not make me want to buy it.
Have a great day!
Thank you N!
One of my favorite summer fragrances, too, R! It will be perfect for your vacation.
Have fun!
Hugs!
R, always happy to find another scent we have in common! A little decant is already in my makeup bag…
R, Eau d´Eté sounds really great, especially on a hot day like today (It´s the hottest day of the year here in Germany). I´m wearing MPGs “Eau de Camelia Chinois” which is also a good choice. I hope Eau d´Eté isn´t similar to these green tea fragrances that I detest? Well, since you didn´t mention tea to be in the notes it shouldn´t smell like tea, right
? Another one I have to test really soon!
No tea in the PdN, S! But I could have sworn that the MPG had tea…camelia sinensis being the tea plant, right?
Oh well, you´re right, R! But I like Eau de Camelia Chinois, though. Perhaps I make an exception because it´s a fragrance from my beloved MPG…I really can´t explain
I have plenty of exceptions myself so no need to explain!
Wonderful review, R! It is indeed a nice summer fragrance, but the musk is too much for me. Yet, I find it well-composed–another example of great work done by Ms. Nicolaï.
Thanks V! It is very musky, in fact, I had forgotten just how much so. And as with Delrae Debut, the musk lasts long after everything else has faded away.
I love Eau d'Ete and call it a holy grail, but I can't tolerate it in the heat; the jasmine is entirely too much. But as a perfume, it's amazing, a trip into extremes, of cold and hot, fresh and warm, polite and oozing with feminine sensuality. I feel it's roots are so pure, natural and classical, yet it's very modern to me how unfussy the notes are, and unique in combining unexpected notes like lemon-lime with cinnamon giving it that cold and hot, good girl-bad girl dichotomy.
Oh, and don't get me wrong–I am not a “naturals” fanatic; I actually welcome the use of synthetics in perfume and music–but thank God for real citrus essential oils…ahhh…they're like brass instruments (sax, trumpet in particular) in music–the real thing is the way to go…for the most part, anyway. I never want to sound like a purist, but PdN uses the good stuff.
Perfect description, S! And agree with your note below, she uses quality ingredients and it shows.
Just tried this for the first time a few days ago, and I love it more and more with each test. It was a free sample, and had I read the notes alone, I would never have even tried it (cinamon sounds strange with citrus and jasmine, and musk is often not my friend…), but my GOSH it’s fabulous! Clean, unisex, sparkling, light… very well done. Normally I prefer scents that include distinct notes, where you can pick out each element separately, but this particular perfume is well blended in a way that I really adore.
Now I must try ALL of the PdNs. This is fantastic!
So glad it’s found another fan — I think the whole line is underrated.
Thanks for this review, I’ve added this to my list of perfumes to try on my next visit to Paris.
Worth a trip to PdN, I should think!