When I received my personal summer scent 2013, Juste un Reve, from Parfums Nicolai, I also received a sample of her newest creation, the official Nicolai summer scent 2013: Eau Soleil. A day of wearing this propelled me right into reviewing mood. So here we go again, let’s see if I still know how to do it…
“Homage to the essence of orange flower, called « Néroli ». Anne-Marie de la Tremoille, married to the Prince of Nérola in 1680, produced in her estate some essence of orange flower. Spreading this oil in many occasions, she was called the Princess of Néroli…”
Eau Soleil was created by Patricia de Nicolai in 2013 and includes notes of bergamot, lemon, neroli, ylang-ylang, jasmine and sagebrush.
Eau Soleil (Sun Water) is a breath of fresh air followed by a ray of sunshine on naked skin.
Oh please, you might say now, dial back the purple prose, Olfactoria!
Okay, let’s try to be a bit more level-headed and unemotional.
Eau Soleil smells mostly of pure neroli essence. Clean, simple and lovely. The opening, which you will be tempted to experience again and again – be warned – adds sprightly and fresh bergamot and lemon, but they disperse quickly leaving the stage to neroli. This is deepened, softened and enriched in the perfume’s heart with the soft fullness of ylang-ylang and a sprig of fresh jasmine. The whole perfume is softly underscored by a deep green note providing an unobtrusive but sturdy bed to the tender florals, eventually ending on a soft musky note.
Sillage and lasting power are excellent on me, especially for an Eau de Toilette.
Eau Soleil smells less like the fresh citrus you might expect from the name (only the opening is effervescent for a short time), and more like soft skin, wooden planks warmed and bleached by the sun and green meadows in the distance baking in the strong sun, scenting the languid, still air.
Photo by http://www.waginger-see.de
Eau Soleil is a breath of fresh air followed by a ray of sunshine on naked skin… um, I believe I said that already.
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Rocking the prose in more than one colour Olfactoria.
🙂
Thanks, Jordan!
While Eau de Soleil may be your sunshine, you are mine. And the boys. And steak. And bacon.
Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Or to a perfume bottle? Or to a summer’s day in a perfume bottle? Very sweet Mr The Husband. Your prose is golden.
This will definitely get you some steak. And bacon. No more boys though. 😉
Wise choice. Two children (and no more) is perfection for me as well. 😀
Purple is my favorite color!! This perfume sounds perfect for a warm California Summer! I have to get my nose next to this one.
I hope you enjoy it, Lanier!
Wonderful! Must try it, espeially in this heat.
It’s simple, but lovely. The best things tend to be like that…
Do we really want to be level-headed and unemotional ? Noooooooooooo!
I got my sample of this one from Tara yesterday – in person 🙂 And some more.
Nooo! 😀
So glad you met Tara and this perfume too! I want to hear all about it!!!
I am so so glad that this perfume inspired you to write another review, it sounds wonderful, I am going to seek this one out for sampling purposes.
The Husband is so sweet, such lovely comments, you have a good one there.
If my other half were to comment it would not be anything like those words, (he knocks buildings down so what did I expect?)
Thank you, Andrea!
I hope you like Eau Soleil, it is not unusual or anything, but it is simply pretty and sometimes that is just right (especially in summer!).
The husband has his good moments, I have to say… 😉
I would love that perfume knowing my love for neroli! Too bad Parfums de Nicolai are not available in Poland and samples are not offered at PdN website.
I know, it’s too bad the website does not offer samples! 😦
BTW, did you receive my package yet?
No, it hasn’t arrived yet
Hopefully soon!
I’m sure of it! Actually I just got a PO-calling card in my mailbox so this might be your package. Mailman leaves it in the box if the package doesn’t fit into the box.
Excellent! Maybe that is it!
I will go pick it up later in the afternoon. If it’s the one from you I will report back to let you know that I have it.
When a man says he loves you as much as bacon that’s pretty impressive. 😉 Your husband is just too sweet!
This does sound like a nice summer scent or maybe a nice winter scent to make you feel like summer.
Yes, I’m proud to be right up there with bacon! 😉
Good thinking, Poodle, in winter this will make a lovely liquid reserve of a little sunshine.
Your Husband made me smile, too 🙂 I’m happy for you. Both of you. And your lovely boys. ❤ And thank you for the wonderful review again. I'm wearing Kiki today, and it makes me dream – the lovely holidays in France…
I wore Kiki last night, it’s so good. You smell fantastic, Mervi! ❤
Lemming warning! I’ve been craving neroli for weeks, pacifying it with Pacifica’s Nerola Orange Blossom, which lasts about 45 minutes. Heading over to order a sample now…. 😉
Since I already used up my sample, I have a big orange blossom lemming too, so I unearthed my Oesel mini. Ah, heaven!
I hope you like Eau Soleil.
Oh dear. It seems I couldn’t locate a reasonable sample, so I bought a small bottle unsniffed… I never buy blind. I must be neroli crazy!
Ohh! I really hope you like it! *starts sweating* 🙂
It arrived today! Yes, I love it. Your description is right on – esp the sun-warmed planks. I hope to review it too, but perhaps not as eloquently as you, dear Birgit! My current neroli fetish is satisfied by this indeed!
Oh I’m truly happy about that, Annina!
Congratulations on your new bottle! 🙂
You haven’t lost your touch, Birgit, because I want a sample of this now to add to the Just un Reve sample you tempted me with last week….. I love your purple prose 🙂 As for the husband, true love is a wonderful thing. As I write this, I’m smelling the steak and eggs my husband is cooking for his breakfast – I’ll have to ask him where I rate on the steak and bacon scale 😉
Thank you, dear ringthing!
I’m sure you are at least ex aequo with the meat products. 😉
Somehow I missed that you had a post today until I signed into WordPress just now.
You know what? I love what you consider your “purple prose” statement about it smelling “like a breath of fresh air followed by a ray of sunshine on naked skin” … because that, in a nutshell, tells me of how it really makes you feel … what kind of sensibility the perfume has. For me, that’s not purple prose but an essential part of any review. Love it! And now I want some Eau Soleil. See how easily you did that, B? 😉
Purple or not, it seems to have done its job. 😉
Thanks, Suz! ❤
Yes, it’s the character of the perfume that interests me, even more than the notes. That’s what I look for in a great review and this is sure one of them!
I adore Neroli. According to Valerie Worwood in the Fragrant Mind, Neroli’s character is spiritual, pure, loving and peaceful. It lifts sorrows, assists understanding and stability, helps us stay connected, calm and peaceful. It counteracts anxiety, stress tension, shock, sadness, longing, panic and grief. The neroli personality finds happiness in things while acknowledging imperfections, and bypassing them to find good. I use it in my aromatherapy blends for almost all emotional issues, and in all of my blends for scars and wound healing and stretch marks. I have tried to make skin scents with neroli for purely fragrant purposes, but like all citrus it disappears quickly. I am excited to hear that this lasts and projects. Yay you, for finding and reporting on this perfume!!!!!
Neroli has really calming powers, it works wonders on my children too.
Hope you get to try it Tora!
I am lemming this one now as well. White flowers with green is so lovely.
It is! Hope you find a sample!
Oh Birgit, I’m so tempted! A FB could be just a few clicks away. But I also promised myself to try L’Eau a la Folie, so it would be folly not to sample both, wouldn’t it?
Annick Goutal’s Neroli was my neroli last summer and I sill have half a small decant of that. But AG has re-released it as a cologne and I’m concerned it may be weaker than the original, and even the original didn’t have great staying power on me. AG’s Neroli is all about the top notes, it seems to me, whereas Nicolai’s Eau Soleil sounds like it has a proper base. I’m longing for those sun-warmed wood planks! I so am!
It would!!! 🙂
I really hope you enjoy this. I was so pleasantly surprised.
I rather like the sound of this, especially the spike of ylang-ylang. And I am a big fan of neroli. And I would venture to say that ‘sagebrush’ would be a good name for a paint colour.
Ha, you wouldn’t believe it, but that is just what I was thinking when I wrote down the notes: “This would be a great colour for V’s signature wall.” 😀
Great minds…
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