Escale aux Marquises is the third fragrance to join the Escale collection at Christian Dior (see also: Escale à Portofino and Escale à Pondichéry). Like the others, it’s done in a fresh cologne style (in the citrus aromatic family); this one pays tribute in particular to the tiare flower. And like the others, I rather enjoyed it when I tried it quickly in the store while testing umpteen other new fragrances, but much of the luster wore off after I took it home and spent some time with it.
Marquises opens with peppery, heavy-on-the-lemon citrus (the notes: blood orange, pink pepper, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg, coriander, elemi, lemon peel, tiare, freesia, benzoin and vanilla). It is mildly spicy in the early stages, but it is not as vibrant or exotic as you might expect from the list of notes. If you were hoping for lots of tiare, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed on that front too — the tiare is awfully pale and light. The dry down is likewise pale: a rather plain clean musk, a tiny bit of dry vanilla, a very slight nutty undertone.
Sprayed heavily on paper in the store, I thought Marquises might be a citrus & spice variation on Estee Lauder’s (wonderful) Azuree Soleil / Bronze Goddess, but it is no such thing: worn side by side, the Marquises comes off as wan and flat, and even heavily applied, it fades away rather rapidly.
Escale aux Marquises is pleasant enough, but if you want a light tiare — or any sort of citrus cologne, for that matter — for summer, I should think you could do far better. It is my least favorite of the three Escales.
Christian Dior Escale aux Marquises is available in 75 ($66), 125 ($87) and 200 (125€; I have not seen this size in the US) ml Eau de Toilette.
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Phew, what a relief! Now I don’t feel compelled to rush off and purchase a bottle. Thanks for the review Robin.
I shouldn’t think you need to rush, but do try it!
I like the other Escales well enough—not life changing perfume but nice to wear, not terribly long lasting so a couple spritzes is more of an interlude than a commitment. I got excited when I saw lemon, and well, everything except pink pepper (which has become a “meh”afying ingredient) ….but VIBRANT is exactly what I was hoping for. drat. I have citrus, cologne-y covered already….
I’d agree with that — nice enough, although haven’t been moved to buy either. This one is IMHO easily the dullest of the 3.
I’ve had the same experience with the others… promising to start, but quickly fade to flat. Unlike most, I had better luck with Pondichery than Portofino, but neither quite worked. I’d wear these if I didn’t have other options, but of course I DO have other options. I’ll still give this one a sniff, though. You never know.
You never do know…I really did like it when I was standing in the store. Reason no. 82 why you should never buy a fragrance the same day that you smell it…very glad I did not purchase.
I’m beginning to see there is a corollary, and that is never buy until you’ve sprayed! There have been a few lately that I liked well enough dabbed out of a sample vial, but once sprayed from a decant were entirely different scents. Yikes.
Yes, that’s true too!
I’ve loved the other Escales, and I’m looking forward to trying this one. I’m almost relieved that it’s not as spicy as it sounds. Oddly, on me, Portofino is very long-lasting, and an absolutely delicious summer scent. I liked Pondichery as well, though I think it makes a better masculine. Of course, if we all responded the same way to scents, what fun would that be?
I liked Portofino best…if you loved both of those, maybe you will love this one! Worth a shot.
You nailed it, Robin when you said, “I rather enjoyed it when I tried it quickly in the store while testing umpteen other new fragrances, but much of the luster wore off after I took it home and spent some time with it.”
That was my reaction to the first two of these fragrances. The list of notes for this one sounds great, and I’m thinking the problem may unfortunately lie with the quality of the ingredients.
You are really due to find a scent that you LOVE!
Wait…….what?! EST status seriously at risk, here…
just breathe…..it’ll be okay……
Hehehehehee….
Nah… we both just had a meh reaction. I think EST comes into play more with things we either distinctly love or hate.
It seems like a long string of “no”, doesn’t it? But there are so many things I did like this year: Voyage d’Hermes, AG Ninfeo Mio, Sonoma Scent Studio Incense Pure, Balanciaga Paris, Guerlain Tonka Imperiale. Also liked ELdO Like This & Costume National Homme. So it hasn’t been an all-bad year
When you put it like that – it does sound better.
So you did finally get to try Like This. Not groundbreaking amazing beauty, but very nice, no? I especially like the ginger up top.
Yes, very nice! Would be a great fall scent — don’t think I’d wear it regularly in summer.
Great review Robin!
I wonder if you could review other “travel series”…Guerlain´s voyage collection. I´ve wanted to try those since forever! They recently showed up again in saks but i couldn´t get samples and also haven´t heard many comments about them…
Sorry to say I’ve never tried them, and I have a hard time getting my hands on the non-mainstream Guerlains — and then those rare times I do, I’m usually disappointed. So I’m sorry but it isn’t likely…
Dalila —I can send you samples if you’d like. I have heard that they are to be discontinued soon, or may already be. Tokyo is a tea scent, kind of sweet, a little floral….New York has a little too much patch for me and Moscou is my favorite….musky fruity-floral….I hosted a split of these not too long ago and have a few samples left.
Daisy! Thanks, that would be lovely!
Too bad this was a disappointment — the notes make it sound so fresh and summery!
Well, I suppose it is fresh & summery, but as fresh & summery goes, it’s just not all that wonderful (to me).
Was afraid this would turn out to be a disappointment. I loved Portofino and would have gone for a FB except it didn’t last. Two hours max and usually it was gone faster than that. I blew through my decant in no time.
When I make a FB commitment, I expect the fragrance to do the same thing. Still a bit sad Portofino didn’t work out and I’d love to find something similar that will last.
My expectations are low for this one.
“When I make a FB commitment, I expect the fragrance to do the same thing”– took the words right out of my mouth.
You know, I hate to complain about the lasting power of citrus-based colognes. A wonderful citrus-based cologne, based primarily on natural citrus oils (which make them sparkle), is just not going to last — citrus scents that *do* last tend to be “squat” or to feature synthetic fresh notes, which I rarely like. So I forgive poor lasting power if the fragrance is wonderful (original Cristalle, Eau de Guerlain, etc etc) and happily reapply, I don’t forgive if it’s dull *and* short-lived.
I wonder how you’d like something like Guerlain Eau de Fleurs de Cedrat? It is very crisp and sparkly citrus.
That’s a great scent. Don’t think it lasts though.
nope, not for terribly long….but it’s a fiesty lemon while it’s there
I think Cedrat lastes on me about as long as it took me to put the cap back on the decant! It was very very wonderful stuff for about 15 seconds, then total disappearing act.
hahaha leave the cap off next time—easier for reapplication!
I’d say it lasts about 1/2 hour maybe a bit longer…but it’s fab while it is there—then **poof** gone.
Yes, I got about two hours out of Portofino. Even accepting Robin’s comment on the lasting power of citrus colognes, I was and am still disappointed. I felt that Portofino was trying to say something interesting but fizzled out before it quite got there. I gave my bottle away to a couple of male friends, and they like it. (Feels great to give perfume away … )
Well exactly…if it never manages to say anything worth hearing, less than 2 hours is not forgivable.
“I felt that Portofino was trying to say something interesting but fizzled out before it quite got there.” PERFECT way to put it. It just felt unfinished.
My mom purchased a bottle of the one with jasmine in it, Pondichery I think? She loves it, but I was really underwhelmed by the first two of these. Of course, I will try this one, but I don’t expect to be wowed. Such a disappointment too, since on paper, these look really nice and I love the look of the bottles.
the bottles are really pretty but the caps get all tarnished.
Oh, that’s a shame. I admit that once again, the bottle was a part of the draw for me. Well, that much easier to dismiss them.
Oh, too bad! Was that from decanting, or do you think they tarnish in any case?
I did make a few decants so maybe got some on the cap— the Pondichery caps looks a lot better and I didn’t make decants from that one…but still I’m not a messy splitter so I can’t really say why one turned black (and one still looks pretty good) I bet I could take a tarnish cloth to it (?)
Thanks for the review! I was motivated to try this one mostly because of the cardamom note — I love it in coffee and wanted to see if I could recognize it in the perfume (failed.)
I loved this perfume when I sniffed it on paper, and the bottles for this trio really are beautiful, so in my newbie over-excitement I almost bought it… I’ll have to try it on skin now and compare it to the other two, and see how long it lasts before I decide.
I adore cardamom too!
My rule, which I don’t always follow by any means, is never buy until you’ve worn something at least 3 times.
This is a great rule, one that I have definitely learned the Hard Way!
Dominika: For cardamom, try Acqua di Parma Colonia Intensa. A bit masculine, but good.
Thanks, Joe. I haven’t yet found a way to get free samples of that, but I’ll go try my luck soon at their boutique.
Voyage d’Hermès was an instant hit with me because of its citrus/cardamon combo
. Was in taxfree shop in Heathrow so had no time to test it further, but I am happy to say the love has lasted 
.
Testing three times is probably a good idea in most cases, and particularly the “it’s nice, but I’m not sure” cases, which are quite frequent. Sometimes, though, I just fall absolutely in love with a perfume at first sniff and have to buy it. You know, the voice in the head that chants “I love this perfume, I must have this perfume, I need this perfume, I will die without this perfume!” I will give it an hour or two, while I go about my other shopping, but if The Voice is still speaking loud and clear after that time, I buy. Two scents that I bought that way (about 15 years ago, before TPC or Luckyscent or online perfume anything) were Feminite du Bois and Vol de Nuit. I have never regretted either purchase for so much as a picosecond.
That’s too bad. The bottle is really pretty and I’ve been searching for a great tiare scent for some time. For some reason, I don’t get the Bronze Goddess love that most others have.
Have you tried the Ormonde Jayne Tiare? Although admit that is not my favorite from OJ, lots of people love it though.
Thanks for the very timely review, Robin.
Yeah, this Escale hasn’t got me too excited at all, but I’m sure I’ll smell it at one point. Then again, I’d never describe Bronze Goddess as wonderful, so there you go!
I really like Portofino and Pondichery a little less (though I wanted to love it); I need to give my decants of those two some use this summer!
With those warm spices, Marquises reminds me on paper of Diptyque L’Eau de l’Eau, which I think is really great and which I also need to revisit (and probably get a decant of). I think overall I like the Diptyque Eaux more than the Dior Escales.
The Diptyque is WAY more vibrant and alive than this. WAY WAY. Would agree — that is a much better collection. And only slightly more expensive. Wish they’d do a 30 ml coffret of all 4…
Joe-so glad you mentioned L’Eau de l’Eau! I have a sample I’ve never tried and totally forgot about. Sounded great from the description so fingers crossed. Thanks!
It seems I am the only one who likes this one the best of the three. However, it remembers me as a mix between Guerlain Flora Nymphea and L’instant EdP.
Oh, I’m sure you’re not the only one!
Correct, I like this one best out of the three, too! Then again, that’s not saying much since I actively dislike the first two. This one is just passable. As you say, Robin, it lacks lustre.
So if this juice is light on the tiare, what would be a good scent to try that DOES feature tiare in a more vibrant manner?
You could try Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Tiaré Mimosa, though I’m not sure how much that’s really about “true” tiaré. It’s very pleasant though.
Thanks : ) I’ll check it out in my next sample order.
Montale Intense Tiare! But bear in mind that tiare is just a variety of gardenia….presumably any strong gardenia would do the trick. Traditional tiare perfumes are made w/ petals macerated in coconut, and are called monoi…I have never tried this but have heard it’s fine:
http://www.monoi.com/
I’ve never tried a monoï perfume, but I love my ancient bottle of Lovea Monoï de Tahiti coconut oil. It says SPF 2. *Snicker*
I was terribly disappointed by Marquises – despite the notes, it wasn’t warm or spicy at all. In fact, I’ve liked the Escales in decreasing order, so the next one I will probably actively loathe. I do love the bottles, though.
LOL at “so the next one I will probably actively loathe”…yeah, good point.
hmmmm , ok i think i might like this one , i really wanted to like bronze goddess but it smelled to much of suntan lotion for me , so maybe i will like this better , i love the bottle i will definitelt try it !
This one is not beachy at all….
I applied this to myself at the end of a pretty scent-drenched day but it really didn’t do anything for me at all. All three of these have been a bit of a disappointment. Money saved!
Yep!
I stand by what I wrote last week – it is the nicest Escale and if a bottle were to rain from the heavens, I’d wear it happily. That being said, with Bronze Goddess a much better choice and at half the price, chances I’d invest in a bottle myself are nil. Cristalle Eau Verte in the same price range is a classier option.
There, see I knew parfumliefhebber above was not alone in thinking it the best of the 3.
Has anyone tried Cristalle Eau Verte over s coconut ET, one of the Harayukus for example?
I was sorely disappointed in this fragrance as well when I tried it a month ago. I could hardly smell it! Just spray water on yourself and you’ll get the same effect!
Oh, wonder if you are anosmic to the musk or something? I did not find it strong or long lasting, but definitely more than water.
Oh, I completely agree with Robins review, which is pretty polite (mine is polite, too). I think it is thin, pale and mass-market targeted. I liked the Pondichéry quite a bit.
Here I like only the packaging.
Not worth a try, nothing special about it.
Oh, but everything is worth a try!
I liked this one better than the rest.. I am a sucker for cologne-y openings and the Tiare was nice too.
But the pricetag does not help
They are simple little cologne things — they should be priced to match!