I wrote about citrus-based fragrances in my previous post and how I associated it with fresh out of the shower feeling. The notes that usually appear in citrus fragrances are bergamot, bitter orange, blood orange, citron, clementine, grapefruit, lemon, lime, tangerine, lemon verbena, yuzu, lemongrass and many more. When a fragrance is mostly containing lemon, lime or grapefruit, it usually smells bright, sparkling and sharp. While I noticed that when the predominant notes are orange, whether blood orange, tangerine or mandarin orange, the fragrances tend to smell sweeter, juicier and more subdued.
While finding good lemon or lime fragrances that don’t remind you of cleaning solvent is hard, it’s not true with finding orange fragrances. I’ve reviewed L’occitane Feu d’Orange Intense a while ago, which is still one of my favorite orange-based fragrances. But I’ve also tried other wonderful orange fragrances such as Marc Jacobs Orange Splash, Terre d’Hermes and Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Mandarine Basilic. Another orange fragrance that has been raved by so many perfumistas is Hermes Elixir des Merveilles, which sadly doesn’t work too well on my skin.
The latest orange fragrance I encountered is Eau de Cartier Essence d’Orange. The original Eau de Cartier epitomises freshness with its light, pure and full-bodied scent and while it expresses this freshness in floral notes, the new Eau de Cartier Essence d’Orange brings a citric twist to the scent. I smell light and juicy orange in the opening, accompanied by some orange zest in the background. Not long after that, a hint of cedar appears bringing some warmth into the scent. Violet is also listed in the notes but I could only smell it if I bury my nose in my wrist. On my skin it’s a nice orange-floral-spice blend which smells fresh and summery and stays close to my skin. A few hours after first spraying it, I started to smell patchouli. Patchouli is something I really dislike in perfumes, but thankfully its presence in Cartier Essence d’Orange is not strong at all so it didn’t affect how I feel about this fragrance.
Cartier Essence d’Orange is not the most long lasting perfume I’ve worn, but it is one of those light fragrances that you can keep spritzing on throughout the day to keep you refreshed. If you’re thinking of getting a sweet, juicy and fresh orange perfume to add to your collection, you really should check out this fragrance. I imagine this is also the perfect fragrance to wear during Idul Fitri, where you spend the day in formal outfits going from one place to another, normally in sweltering hot weather. You will need to smell and feel fresh the whole day, right? I also like the simple, orange-tinted bottle, which mimics the original Eau de Cartier.
Eau de Cartier Essence d’Orange is available in leading department stores and retails for Rp. 890.000 (100 ml).
