The fifth Atelier Cologne scent I am reviewing today is the one I took the longest to fall for.
I am not a big fan of orange blossom (as of most white flowers), so Grand Neroli was not my first choice, (since I always throw together neroli and orange blossom in my mind, although they are two different extracts of the same flower of the bitter orange tree) when the first five scents by this new brand launched.
Since all the others were such successes, I acquired a sample of this one too, and of course I am glad I did.
Grand Neroli is a cologne Absolue with a concentration of 12% created by Cécile Huá. Notes include Moroccan neroli, lemon, bergamot, petitgrain, galbanum, moss, birch leaves, musk, amber and vanilla.
The initial phase of Grand Neroli is a wonderful fresh and bracing citrus accord that veers into warmer, floral territory after a few minutes. The orange blossom I smell combined with galbanum, is dominant and soon the scent takes an interesting twist. It turns beachy! There is a salty, warm skin note that makes Grand Neroli very interesting and unique. On some days the beachiness is on the forefront, on others I smell more of the mossy green aspects the perfume also has. It is a wonderful little shape shifter, whose every shape I love. It wears for a long time, the late drydown is a soft musky skin scent.
Grand Neroli is at first refreshing, then incredibly calming and soothing, it feels laid-back and easy-going. I can’t help but imagine the sappy scene of me sitting under an orange tree on a beach feeling the warm sun, salt and sand on my skin and generally enjoying life.
Aside from the sappiness, this is quite an enticing feeling, no wonder Grand Neroli quickly climbed in my appreciation and is now one of my top five Atelier Cologne scents. (I can’t resist that joke again! But it shows how much I am convinced that all of their perfumes are great, not one is lagging behind.)
I not only adore the Atelier Cologne perfumes, the whole idea of Cologne Absolues on the one hand and the aesthetic translation and inspiration for the scents on the other hand, are very much to my liking.
For each perfume there is a whole aesthetic concept, crystallized in a photograph and a text accompanying the perfume. I urge you to take a look at the website, if you haven’t already.
Reviews of the other Atelier Cologne perfumes are here:
Orange Sanguine, Trefle Pur, Bois Blonds, Oolang Infini
There is one perfume still missing in my collection – Vanille Insensée, insane Vanilla. It is on its way to me, so I hope I can talk about it soon. I look forward to another potentially interesting fragrance.
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Great stuff! I liked your beach scene, it really helped evoke the scent for me.
I love their whole concept but they don’t have a stockist in the UK. I’m so desparate to try the range that I’ve sent them an email begging for samples. I don’t have high hopes for that though. I must have spent literally hundreds of pounds on buying samples and it really has to stop, but probably won’t!
No Atelier in UK? Unbelievable! Check your email, Tara! 🙂
B, now I’ve discovered that First In Fragrance carries the Atelier line, I can finally have some assurance I’ll be able to try them all – and after all your killer reviews, I can’t wait to try! This is what they call…Life In The Perfume Empty Quarter. However, I have friends..;)
But oh. A beach. A. Beach. What a concept, on a March 1st when it seems that winter has lasted an eternity, a millenium, an aeon…and spring will never come.
Right around when you just had to kill me by mentioning orange blossom. That. Does. It. My otherfavorite floral note! So Atelier goes on my next sample order. And as we all know – samples don’t count, right? 😉
PS: I am so sorry I missed you yesterday. Hellishly busy – you know how it goes! :*
First in Fragrance is my heaven, I have all my Atelier samples from there. I am glad you are going to try them too. I am curious how you will like them, I can’t imagine anyone not loving them! 😉
Love Grand Neroli for its beautiful fresh, yet rich cologne concept!
Technically neroli is not a white flower, but a fruity-citrus note. It is amazing how different methods of processing produce different olfactory profiles.
That is why I prefer the fresher neroli to orange blossom probably! But I believe I smell orange blossom in there too. 🙂
I must try this line!
Hi Tamara,
you should, it is really worth looking into, as I get never tired to point out – I love all of their perfumes! 😉
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This is my third favourite from the range, and you have captured its juicy yet soothing quality exactly!
Thank you, Vanessa! I cannot rank my Ateliers, I like them all so much. 🙂
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