designer – Notable Scents

* Starts with a loud burst of fruity floral. You’ll also get some juicy citrus and peach with a hint of white floral. 

*  It starts off a bit screechy and loud but calms down after about 30 minutes. 
 
* The white florals get stronger, with a bit of apricot replacing the peach as the “supporting fruit” 
 
* As the scent gets sweeter, it gets quieter. 
 
* Softens to a nice skin scent of vanilla and clean musk.  

Summary: Jardins du Midi is the first fragrance from direct sales company Chloe + Isabel (like a modern take on Avon, focusing on accessories and jewelry). It is a well-constructed and easily wearable fruity floral that clearly leans feminine and is office-friendly (after the first hour). Longevity is good, at more than 10 hours, so it will get you through a workday. The scent matches the quality of any designer scent that you would find at a department store, and while it doesn’t break any new ground it would be a safe and enjoyable gift for friends in your life who want a nice, modern perfume.

Chloe + Isabel Jardins du Midi Fragrance is available from RLBelles Boutique.

Disclaimer: Sample provided by publicist. Image courtesy of Chloe and Isabel website.

* Starts with a spicy citrus burst of orange and grapefruit, covered with cinnamon, and sharpened with a touch of cedar.

* With those top notes it feels surprisingly dense – this isn’t a cologne-style citrus, but a cloud that surrounds you.

* The citrus gets sweeter as an earthy patchouli comes in.

* That incredibly dense feel of the top continues and actually starts to make the scent feel a bit muddled.

* Luckily, when the base comes in it gets a lot better. The amber woods with a touch of sweetness and booze are really nice and almost makes the scent worth wearing.

Summary: When I first got this scent, I absolutely loved it. I am guessing over the past few years my tastes have changed. I tried to figure out the right word to describe it and I came across Victoria’s description on EauMG when she called it milky. That’s exactly it. It’s not that I don’t like like milky scents (I love Join the Club Shun Koin) – but just like orange juice is great with cereal and milk – the idea of mixing milk and orange juice together in one drink is disgusting. That’s how it reads on my skin. I haven’t worn this in a while and will probably sell my bottle. I guess I need to go back and revisit CN Scent Intense as well. A lot of people really like CN Homme and it’s worth testing – especially as a designer scent that is unique. It is really long lasting (more than 12 hours) with strong projection – not office friendly and more for nighttime.

Other Opinions

EauMG
Sorcery of Scent
Pere de Pierre
United Style

Fragrant Moments

Costume National Homme is available from Lucky Scent.

Disclaimer: No disclaimer needed, I own a full bottle. Image courtesy of Lucky Scent.