Summer 2007 Azurée Soleil Eau Fraîche/Skinscent by Tom Ford Estée Lauder {Perfume Review & Musings} {New Perfume}

Estée Lauder is preparing to launch their new Azurée Soleil Tom Ford Estée Lauder Collection Summer 2007 line of fragrances and makeup which will be available in April. Following the smashing success of the Tom Ford Estée Lauder Azurée Oil last year, the company is releasing the Body Oil Spray again while adding fragrance newcomers to the line in the forms of a body lotion and an Eau Fraîche/Skinscent. The review here is for the "fresh water" alcohol-based version of their best-seller.....

Azurée Soleil Skinscent starts with lemoney bright sparkling citrus notes of Sicilian bergamot and mandarin softly hemmed with coconut before deepening and becoming more languorous and indolic overtime. The heart is a creamy white floral tropical incantation composed of Tahitian Gardenia steeped in coconut oil, orange flower, jasmine, and magnolia highlighted with the slightly sharper, powdery accents of vetiver and sandalwood. The drydown is as ever sensual, mellow and warm, with soft woods, gently glowing spicy amber, and enveloping myrrh. The delicately salty caramel and coconut cream add to the creamy feel of the fragrance more than are felt as gourmand notes.

Azurée Soleil turns into a seductive skin perfume mimicking the charm of an elegant sun-tan oil on the skin after it has been washed by the waves and the wind at the end of an afternoon spent at the beach, but with an added touch of floralcy. It is reminiscent, to me, of that scene in the film Divorce Italian Style where the protagonists meet in a field of flowers emerging from the sand dunes.

Your hair is wet, your sun-glasses full of sand, your heart content, your mind relaxed and you hear or think you can hear the distant echo of an old-fashioned radio playing "The Girl From Ipanema"from the other side of the world and from a different era in the 1960s. At the same time, it reminds you of the summer of 2006.

Compared to the Azurée oil version in my memory, the Azurée Soleil Eau Fraîche has a more citrusy opening while the white floral heart is slightly less exuberantly lush and takes on a slightly more powdery and dry character with the vetiver. The base notes seem to be the ones that are the most similar to the original oil version. All in all, fans of the Azurée oil will have the satisfaction of finding it to be a faithful rendition of last summer's hit.

The Body Oil Spray will retail for the same price as last year's of $29.50. The Body Lotion will be $29.50. The Eau Fraîche will be available in three sizes:  1.7 oz,  3.4 oz,  and a humongous 7. 9 oz bottle for, respectively, $38, $49.50, and $68. These will be available on the Estée Lauder site and in department stores. On a side note, specialty stores like Saks, Neiman Marcus, and Bergdorf Goodman will carry the following three iems from the line: The Large Sunbronzer ($75), The Face Sheen - Bronzée ($40), and The Mirror ($45).

Source: Press release 

Picture of the beach in Costa Rica by Retina Reflections