Les Colognes Néroli – fresh and summery and refined

Bitter Orange Blossom - Wikimedia Commons - Alexander Hardin

A perfect summer Sunday. Agreeable temperature, clear skies and easy chores that are easily dispatched, leaving hours for reading/napping/sipping in a hammock in a garden that’s in full bloom.

For me and many people I know, such uncomplicated days are a rarity, so when they come along, I lean into them. No rushing, no planning, no pushing – just time to savour, relish and deeply enjoy those precious simple pleasures.  On days like these, I want an uncomplicated scent. One that’s in the same spirit of the day, like Les Colognes Néroli by Annick Goutal.

Les Colognes Néroli is not to be confused with Néroli eau de toilette, also by Annick Goutal. Les Colognes Néroli was created by Isabelle Doyen when the house reworked Néroli eau de toilette into a cologne version that was launched in 2013.

It opens with a note of lemon tree petitgrain. It’s floral and green, with a nose-tingling freshness. Lemon tree petitgrain blends beautifully with aromatic neroli, highlighting its citrusy, sweet floralcy. The neroli is paired with fresh, voluptuous orange blossom to create a gorgeous, lush tumble of white flowers on my skin. This is the smell of a perfect summer’s day! At times, bitterness peeps through the flowers, keeping the fragrance ‘real.’ Heliotrope adds a gentle vanilla sweetness and a powderiness, while white musk, clean and smooth, anchors it all at the base.

The drydown is refined, romantic and just lovely. Truth is, it doesn’t evolve much – it’s a cologne. It’s pretty straightforward and uncomplicated, but it’s not without depth.

One of the things I love about this fragrance is how real it smells. The Goutal website says it evokes “the happy memory of orange blossom illuminating the Mediterranean countryside.” And you know what? It does.

Now that I think of it, maybe a perfect summer’s day is not the only day to wear Les Colognes Neroli. Maybe, when you wear Les Colognes Neroli it makes it the day perfect. I’m going to have to think about that…but not too hard.

Check out Les Colognes Néroli in our Shop.