Annick Goutal Eau du Ciel EDT is a delicate floral. It’s a crisp, floral, and powdery. It’s a feminine fragrance, but strange. Strange in that way that only Annick Goutal could create.
At first is is very green and crisp. It reminds me of “cut” flowers you buy from market. I don’t mean this in a rude way, but it seems almost like floral preservative mixed with bug spray. I guess what would be more accurate is that Eau du Ciel is grassy. It’s like fresh cut grass and flowers. Once you sniff over the grass, you smell something very sweet like honey but fresh and green. That’s the linden. This linden is on the verge of being a bit like cat piss on my skin. When I smell it on a blotter, it smells so beautiful, but on me it’s gross. The linden is fresh, sweet, and green. It does turn into something powdery and warm. I get lots of classic iris with warm woodsy notes. This is much less crisp and more delicate, feminine. However, it’s not all warmth. Sometimes when I wear this I pick up on the violet leaves much more. This adds crispness and greenness to the powdery blend.
I find this fragrance interesting because it lacks a base. It doesn’t have woods, musk, vanilla, those notes that keep a fragrance grounded. It appears that the iris/powdery notes are acting as both middle and base. These notes are what keep Eau du Ciel grounded. It’s just interesting to think of a fragrance wearing as a top-middle-base without actually having a base. Those top notes bounce off the “base” and make it seem so different. The grassy top notes are an interesting choice to mix with powdery, sweet florals.
Saying all of this, I hate Eau de Ciel. It wears so disgusting on me. I’m pulling out all of the dreaded low-brow fragrance references: bug spray, flower preservative, cat pee. This is how Eau de Ciel wears on me. Sounds heavenly, huh? It’s not that I hate what Eau de Ciel smells like. In a strange way I like it. It is weird in only that way that Annick Goutal can pull off. It’s green and tart, sweet and fresh. It’s so innocent and coy. It’s so complicated for the few notes listed. I hate Eau de Ciel because it hates me. It smells awful on my skin. When I smell Eau du Ciel, even the EDT on others, I like it. When I smell Eau du Ciel on a blotter, I like it. When I smell Eau de Ciel on my skin, I seriously try not to gag. It makes me sad because it really is a pretty fragrance. I guess we all have a fragrance that hates us. What is yours? Which fragrance do you love to smell but you can’t pull it off? Mine is Eau du Ciel.
Notes listed include: linden, iris, Brazilian rosewood, and violet.
The 3.4 oz. EDT retails for $115. Annick Goutal Eau du Ciel is available at Luckyscent. Also, fragrancenet.com will occasionally have this fragrance available with a discount.
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Fragrantica (member reviews)
Ciel sounds interesting. I am intrigued by it not having a base.
Maybe you could wear it on fabric?
Tauer’s Incense Rose is a frag that “hates” me. I tired it a few times and never made it to the dry down once. It smells terrible on me! I gave my decant to a friend and it smells lovely on her. Happy ending!
I haven’t thought about wearing Ciel on fabric. It seems like it would wear lovely on a light scarf.
I haven’t tried Tauer’s Incense Rose. The name alone sounds like a winner.
I don’t get why some fragrances are so contrary! Why would they dislike us but like others?
I think it might be the linden that smells like pee, it has a honey-like note.
Carillon Pour Une Ange smelled terrible on me, but some people say it smells just like lily of the valley.
KJanicki recently posted..Violet week- CB I Hate Perfume – Violet Empire
I’m suspecting the linden. However, I have many linden scents in my collection (and honey scents too) and they never smell pissy on me. I’ve heard many people complain about linden in perfume, the same complaints that I’ve approached in this review.
I’ve sampled Carillon Pour Une Ange but I can’t remember it very clearly. Some people can’t do “cool” fragrances such as lily of the valley. I’ve heard that sometimes that note goes metallic on some people.
My mother wears this and it so difficult for me to find! It seems to come and go. I guess because it only works for a certain group of people?
Is it just me, but do you think that most department stores only carry Annick Goutal around Christmas or Mother’s Day? I often see them more out and about around holidays. What? We don’t want luxury fragrance staples the rest of the year? 😉
I’m glad this works for your mom!
Wow! I am glad I already wear Eau Du Ciel. It is truly the Water of Heaven on my skin, sorry you had such a horrid reaction! Much like mine with Jo Malone, I love her scents on others but on me they smell like alcohol and bug spray. Eau Du Ciel has men following me in the grocery store and I smell like a beautiful watery cloud of Orange blossoms and Violets. 😛
I believe you! I have a friend that wears this one and it smells gorgeous on her skin (and much like your description green violets and orange blossom). She couldn’t believe what I was wearing was what she was wearing! We’ve even sprayed from the same bottle…same results 🙂 One more reason to not buy something without testing it first.
AND this same friend can’t wear Jo Malone either for the same reason! I can wear Jo Malone but I haven’t found one that I like enough to buy. I would rather buy the line’s home fragrances.
Thanks for sharing your Eau du Ciel story. When it works, it works.
[…] Unter den Linden a try if you like linden. Or if you like perfumes like Tauer Zeta, Annick Goutal Eau de Ciel, L’Artisan Parfumeur La Chasse aux Papillon, Shelley Kyle De Ma Mere, Humiecki & Graef […]