Perfume Review & Musings: Soir de Lune by Sisley
The latest fragrance by Sisley, Soir de Lune (Moonlit Night), was seven to eight years in the making. As Philippe d'Ornano, the son of the founder of Sisley stressed, "You can do a fragrance for a season, or a lifetime," (...) "We are choosing to build a fragrance that will last a lifetime." The perfume comes 16 years after Eau du Soir (1990) and 32 years after Eau de Campagne (1974), the two previous perfumes introduced by the Sisley brand established in 1973 by Count Hubert d'Ornano.
Soir de Lune is described as a floral chypre but it is as much a fruity and animalic chypre. The new jus exemplifies elegance and refinement bringing those qualities to a new level.
The commitment to quality on the part of the d'Ornanos is felt immediately upon inhaling the scent the first few seconds. One's nose finds here a sense of accomplishment and refinement that imposes readily the idea that Sisley have not wasted their time, on the contrary winning time over, making it their friend, in brief producing a scent that has unmistakenly benefited from the passing of time and the accumulation of experience. Soir de Lune is an excellent example of how a perfumer can progress from one creation to another instead of seeing the sacred flame extinguish itself.
Sisley have taken the same concept, the idea of a luxurious chypre, but have added years and layers of maturity and discernment to it. It has now gained a polish and refinement that truly cannot be improvised or simply willed. I can well imagine the number of trials and the attentive pondering such a scent has required over the years, the number of suppression of unnecessary details and effects. The result is outstanding...
The kinship with Eau du Soir is immediately apparent but as if Eau du Soir were the rudimentary draft of Soir de Lune traced with chalk bits on a sidewalk.This comes as an instructive experience because Eau du Soir up to now smelled to me like a very elegant chypre. But like in fairy tales where a beautiful young woman is made to suddenly appear ugly in the eyes of the hero by the apparition of yet another beauty, even more beautiful than the first fair lady, Eau du Soir is made to smell somewhat crude and unrefined in comparison with Soir de Lune. I will confess that now I think of a mix of artificial candies and aromatic herbs from my kitchen cupboard when I smell Eau du Soir and compare it side by side with Soir de Lune.
The ambition for Soir de Lune was apparently to create a classic chypre and to make it a masterpiece as in the masterpiece crafted by a compagnon from the tour de France. And I think that Sisley have succeeded in attaining that goal. The jus is not so much original as classic as it integrates very well the sum of historical experience about chypre perfumes including Guerlain Mitsouko. There is for example a Mitsouko quote in Soir de Lune seen in the use of a fruity peach note; but it is so much more subtle here. If the perfume does not necessarily seek originality, it however does seek out character and distinction. Soir de Lune is both a fruity and animalic chypre with floral undertones supporting these two main atmospheres and the latter part adds quite a bit of character to the fragrance. The peach and the honey add a touch of the unusual as does the nutmeg. In the end, it conjures up the image of a woman in full command of herself with certain rough edges to her character that are adroitely hidden, une femme du monde, a woman who is at ease in a privileged environment.
The perfume officially includes top notes of bergamot, mandarin, lemon, coriander, nutmeg and capsicum pepper oils. Middle notes are May rose centifolia and mimosa flower absolute, jasmine, lily of the valley, iris and peach. Base notes are woody moss, musk, honey, sandalwood and Indonesian patchouli. The perfume is very well blended with a few notes being showcased.
The first time I tried the perfume I was immediately sensitive to the peach note supported by a well-blended bed of flowers and then to an animalic accord that I thought might be civet but it is not listed in the notes. This animalic accord prevents Soir de Lune from being an overly polite chypre. On second try I was more sensitive to a dry accord smelling in fact of dry moss mixed with the sharpness of nutmeg and coriander, the latter two not at all sweet, on the contrary presenting all the sharpness contained in those spices. It might be identified by some as a "feet smell"because there is a cetain "dirty" smell that emanates from certain spices and herbs; it is just a very dry plant smell which borders on the animalic. The honey sweetens the composition but not too much and I would say that it rather softens the composition than sweetens it.
I am most impressed by the texture of the perfume. I am especially struck by the feeling it gives me of a luxurious weaving comparable to a rich sparkly embroidery or better still, a starry night studded with myriads of stars. I find this shimmering quality quite remarkable, as if the perfume rested on thousands of points fine as pin heads.
At one point (the second time I tried it), my mind seemed to be hell-bent on tracing familiar connections: Mitsouko by Guerlain for the peachy chypre accord, La Rose Jacqueminot by Coty for the animalic rosey accord, 24, Faubourg by Hermès for the way the perfume fills the air around itself, Paloma Picasso by Paloma Picasso for its floral animalic and green accord, Divine by Divine for almost all of these reasons, etc. I needed to stop somewhere in this enumeration of chypres. But it is true that Soir de Lune undeniably belongs to this great tradition of chypres and is inspired by it, yet it also succeeds in offering something unique, epitomizing an agregation of qualities contained in other chypres. If I had to wear just one (classic) chypre, it would be this one.
I now represent to myself the next Sisley chypre to be born in 20 years and making Soir de Lune look pallid and coarse in comparison, I can think of it but I cannot tell how it would smell.
It makes me think of the scene in The Perfume by Suskind where the old perfumer Baldini after having smelled Amor and Psyche by Pelissier which he thought was a masterpiece then discovers the perfume created by Grenouille and realizes how the former was coarse and inadequate. This is how, to me, Eau du Soir feels as it is being dethroned, to my nose, by Soir de Lune.
The perfume is currently exclusively sold at Neiman Marcus but will be more widely distributed in September 2006.
Previous Posts in Perfume Review & Musings:
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Comments
Salut, Helene-
What a thoughtful and detailed review- I truly appreciated it...
I agree, it leaves Eau de Soir in the dust.
It's very well blended, and I was sure that I ,too, had felt a civet-like note.
It has enough heft to be taken seriously, fine quality ingredients,and excellent balance,sillage,longevity.
I don't feel any similarity to Mitsouko here- even with the peach note. They are both fruity, floral chypres, with animalic notes and precious woods.But that said, they feel SO different to me...
What strikes me, is the resemblance to 1000 de Patou.
In the long run, although it is a magnificent work of art, I would rather wear Mitsouko and 1000.
The Patou, in particular, is every bit as complex and well blended, but has a burnished patina of equally privileged elegance that would resemble verdegris...an effortless, animalic grace edged with the iron fist hidden within the velvet glove.
Posted by: chayaruchama | August 28, 2006
Bonsoir Chaya,
I'm glad you enjoyed the review. I think the connection I make with Mitsouko is more abstract than concrete, especially so because I don't own a bottle of it currently at home here. I want to do a review of Mitsouko in the near future so it will be an opportunity to revisit these olfactory memories.
I do not remember 1000 by Patou well enough to draw the connection. I must say that Soir de Lune made me think about nearly all the chypres I know due to its classic workmanship. Chypre Rouge a contrario, for example, is not what I would call classic and Perles de Lalique is in-between, mixing tradition and modernity.
I love the imagery you develop at the end of your post.
Posted by: Mimi | August 28, 2006
Helene-
I'd be happy to send you some EdP or parfum of the Mitsouko, if you like...
It was the first scent I ever bought for myself, by myself- I was 12 at the time.
It's one of those rare perfumes of which I never tire...
You've got my email address!
Posted by: chayaruchama | August 29, 2006
That sounds utterly gorgeous.
Posted by: Jenn | August 29, 2006
Hi Jenn,
It is a refined fragrance and very versatile thanks to its classicism and great quality.I would imagine you can wear it in all seasons too.
Posted by: Mimi | September 3, 2006
Hi Mimi, and thanks for the gorgeously written review.
I'm very excited about this new offering as I'm a big fan of Sisley's fragrances.
I'd be interested to know your thoughts on Eau de Campagne, since it seems to be practically unknown and unreferenced. I wonder why?
In any case, I'll be looking out for Soir de Lune, even if it does push my bottle of Eau de Soir off its pedestal. . .
Posted by: Christabel | October 2, 2006
ionolsen20 Great website! Bookmarked! I am impressed at your work!
Posted by: topicstarter | October 17, 2006