Ensoleille Moi – gardenia and coconut and a tropical beach

Photo - perfumeniche

It's coming up to Christmas where I live and I'm making a list and checking it twice, Jack Frost is nipping at my nose and I'm looking forward to playing reindeer games. I love Christmas, but not everybody does, no matter how much rum you put in the eggnog. That’s why one of my good friends booked a Caribbean vacay for the holidays. As she was telling me all the details, I began to see the charms of a Christmas away from snow, turkey and the Little Drummer Boy. But then we got to the nub of it: she wanted to know what fragrance she should wear on the beach and just-like-that I had the answer: Ensoleille Moi.

Ensoleille Moi was launched in 2006 by French jeweler Andre Gas (yes, it really is his name) as the in-house scent for his Gas Bijoux stores. A graduate of the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, Gas began selling his artisanal hippie-inspired costume jewellery on the beach at St. Tropez in the sixties. He opened his first store, Gas Bijoux, there in 1971. Today, he has stores in Paris, St. Tropez, Marseille, Milan and New York. By the mid-2000s he was ready to launch his own perfume and hired Matilde Laurent, of Guerlain and Cartier fame, to create it. And what a beach beauty it is!

It opens with bergamot and tiaré (a.k.a. Tahitian gardenia) clear and transparent, and while the bergamot fades, tiaré remains at the center of the scent. In the middle, a note of coconut appears and combines with the tiaré to create that familiar note of sunscreen used on French beaches. Ylang-ylang adds another floral dimension. As it blooms on the skin, it gets deeper, creamier and lush. At the drydown, vanilla gives it a bit of sweetness, salicylates add a sea-saltiness and white musk rounds it out.

The florals stay dominant and are only lightly sweetened, the scent is cool, not hot and just a bit salty-sensuous. This is the smell of a tropical beach that beckons to anyone who comes near.

I am staying put this Christmas. I mean, it only comes once a year. Besides, I can always join my friend on the beach -  it’s only a spritz away.

 Check out Ensoleille Moi in our Shop.