Sisley Eau de Sisley 1, 2, 3 (2009): 1, 2, 3 Dresses {New Fragrances}
Sisley, in a departure from their slow-life-applied-to-fragrance philosophy with so far a portfolio of three fragrances that were created over several decades will now launch three perfumes at the same time in the spring of 2009.
Following Eau de Campagne (1974), Eau du Soir (1990) and Soir de Lune (2006), Sisley are going back to the "eau" theme by proposing three new eaux de toilette inspired by three different "twirling summer dresses" as well as the radiance of a smile of happiness.
This time there is a twist, one that wants to bridge the gap between the two main fragrance genres found in the Sisley library of scents: the eau fraîche (Eau de Campagne was created by perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena who loves those tonalities; Eau de Campagne is sometimes classified as a chypre, but I would need to re-smell it to gauge that) and the chypre.
The perfumes are said to "...combine the freshness of water and the mysterious seductiveness of chypre, a true challenge for a perfumer." (cf. Dior Eau Fraîche; Diorella) To us, this approach is therefore in keeping with the gradualist method of the Sisley brand who despite the apparent acceleration of perfume launches this spring only 2-3 years after Soir de Lune are reiterating their personal commitment to deepening their olfactory signature rather than, say, offering a gourmand fruity-floral du jour.
The scents in the Eaux-de-Sisley trio are simply called Eau de Sisley 1, Eau de Sisley 2 and Eau de Sisley 3 as the brand wanted to leave room for perfume-wearers to imagine the perfumes. "Each fragrance is simply numbered, so as to offer everyone the pleasure of naming it."...
Eau de Sisley 1 is described as being floral and joyful and evokes a "sunkissed summer dress brimming with the msytery of a summer garden." It weaves notes of green tangerine, grapefruit, pink berries, a pinch of spice together with jasmine water, green tea and slightly bitter juniper berries. The base of the composition rests upon a chypre from the Hesperides and musk.
Eau de Sisley 2 is both a sparkling and transparent composition. In keeping with the dress thematic, it is evocative of "a white-flower dress dotted with green notes." It opens on subtly spicy notes of cardamom and bergamot with a touch of basil before unfolding on notes of water lily, jasmine from Egypt, cyclamen and rose. It lingers on the skin thanks to patchouli, vetiver, cedar and sandalwood. The perfume is said to reinvent a modern green note.
Eau de Sisley 3 promises to be "surprisingly addictive" and "unexpected" (don't you love so-called "addictive perfumes"? Perfumers usually try their best to hook us in such cases). It is the perfume illustration of "a seductive dress adorned with sparkling rubies." The scent features notes of citrus, bergamot, tangerine, grapefruit, and lemon in the top. It then segues into a heart of purple ginger, Chinese osmanthus, hints of peach and apricot before developing a drydown of patchouli, vetiver, benjamin resin, vanilla and musk.
The caps for the bottles were designed by Polish sculptor Bronislaw Krzysztof who also created the caps for Eau du Soir and Soir de Lune. "Hubert et Isabelle d'Ornano wanted the flacon to reflect great purity and modern simplicity."
