L’Occitane ~ Eau d’Iparie
L’Occitane’s spiel for Eau d’Iparie on the box qualifies as marginally dippy. “Imagine a place where myrrh and incense reign: Iparie (Upon looking up this word, all I can come up with is that it’s the name for a type of non-locking gas spring for vehicle parts). Its generous walls (that wall gave and gave - ’til it hurt!) contain a blend of precious resins. The air is filled with myrrh and incense, a blended scent which is like a limitless gift (like herpes?). Transported (moved along in a vehicle with iparie parts, naturally) along the ancient incense road to the eastern Mediterranean countries (which is weird, because the incense trade along that route moved to the west rather than to the east, but whatever, geography isn’t my strong point either), these rare ingredients are now combined to create the intense, sensual and mysterious wake of Eau d’ Iparie.” Okay, so this is not the worst “story” I’ve ever read (looking at you, La Prarie Silver Rain) but I did giggle a little.
The juice itself is quite nice, though the description might lead you to believe it’s thicker and richer than it really is. Eau d’Iparie seems like it will make an ideal spring/summer incense fragrance, as it wears with a airiness that never weighs down.
The opening blast is surprisingly citrus filled, with what seems like bergamot and a light touch of lemon. As the scent warms on my skin, a fruity but non-cloying myrrh takes over. The fruitiness comes across like the smell of a warmed up jar of apple and pear baby food. However, the dryness of a woody and lightly musky-amber base prop up a predominating and transparent resin. Any sweetness is carefully kept in check.
This isn’t a particularly original composition - however, I feel that the better standard to judge a scent by is if it’s well done for what it is. And Eau d’Iparie is well done. Like many L’Occitane scents, this is ridiculously easy to wear, and smells simple but lovely to others who may catch a whiff of your sillage. It should suit either gender, although I’d suggest men especially check it out.
ON A WHOLE ‘NOTHER SUBJECT: I was skimming through the Boing Boing headlines, and read that the New Orleans Public Library is asking for donations in a effort to restock their shelves since Hurricane Katrina did its worst to their collection. When I first saw the item I thought they were requesting books only, but Boing Boing has updated the details of that item to reveal a need for cash. (Thanks Robin, for pointing that out to me!)
February 20th, 2006 at 11:45 am
Agree with everything. The description is out there. Maybe not as out there as some of Lutens’s for his export line (Gris Clair or Cedre *rolls eyes*), but still…
I also thought it would much richer, but I really enjoy its, as you say, airiness. It is indeed extremely easy to wear. Such an enjoyable scent.
February 20th, 2006 at 12:18 pm
Oh I forgot all about those ones - but I *still* think SR takes the cake for funniest official copy.
February 20th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
Thanks for a laugh! Can we see SR review next, please? :)
As for Iparie, I like it, but it reminds me of many other fragrances. Someone mentioned Parfum Sacre, but I did not think so. Strangely enough, Addict was the first thing that came to mind. Perhaps, it was its ambered base.
February 20th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
Gave Iparie a very brief try on a card but not on skin yet, and would agree it is well done. Wish L’Occitane would give out samples though!
February 20th, 2006 at 12:56 pm
V - perhaps, I just can’t work up the wherewithal to do anything besides make jokes about SR, though :) This one does remind me of other frags as well, but like you I don’t find it reminds of any one frag in particular. I don’t get any hints of Addict personally, though. Addict is so redolent of vanilla cookies and musk on me, so I suppose that’s not surprising.
Robin - seriously, I never get samples at my L’Occitane shop either. But hoo-boy, the last trip my husband made there he came out with the motherload of samples. Like I get none, ever, and he comes home with a bag full of them: no fragrance samples, but a baker’s dozen of foil packets and handmade pots of lotions, masks, gels, etc. It’s the same with my Benefit counter, too. I never get anything, but if I already know what I want I send him, because the ladies there get so excited to see a man at their counter they load him up.
February 20th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
BTW, was interested in sending books to NO, since I have a ton, but they don’t want books…if you read the site, they specifically say no books please, just send money. Understandable!
And my dh also has WAY better luck with samples than I do. Not fair, LOL!
February 21st, 2006 at 8:29 am
I was howling reading your description; I need to read the copy more often on those things. l’Occitane gets my Best/Worst stories: Worst was the one in Paris, where they were unspeakably condescending to me. And I’m thinking, ladies, give me a break — it’s freaking l’Occitane, I can get this at home at the MALL. But the Best Story: at my local mall, I was in there grabbing a last-minute birthday present on the way to the party, and when I mentioned this she not only wrapped the perfume, she wrapped my OTHER present (a boxed sweater and shirt from Nordstrom) beautifully in matching paper! She gave me a ton of samples, too.
February 21st, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Oh, please do a funny review of SR then! Please, please, please. :)
February 21st, 2006 at 12:17 pm
March: Oh, by “story” I just meant the sell, the spiel given to the product to make you think it’s got magical properties that imbue with whatever advertised meaning they wish to assign to a product.
In all honesty, I’ve always gotten nice service from my L’Occitane shop (also in a mall), though I do wish they’d be at least half as generous with the samples as they are with my husband. He finds it amusing that he’s only ever in there once in a blue moon and always comes out with freebies, whereas I never get anything.
V: heh, I know, I know, I suppose I may someday. I just… honestly, I can’t work up the energy. It bores me more than anything else!
February 21st, 2006 at 12:36 pm
No, really, I know what you meant about the silly blurb stories — I was just chiming in with my own stories about the establishment itself since there were other comments re: the stores not giving samples… I wonder if the clerks think that guys would be more likely to spend $$ on an actual purchase, hence more worthy of samples?! PS There’s some other frag I had a carded sample of that had the stupidest blather I’ve ever read, and it’s driving me nuts that I can’t remember which one.
February 21st, 2006 at 12:52 pm
Well, in the specific case of my husband’s last trip to L’Occitane, he thinks it’s because the clerk was also a guy, and was just so happy to see another member of the male species in there on a really slow weekday evening. But really, who knows?
You know, we should collect up all our favorites of the various silly “stories,” and then mix them up to describe the wrong scents and see if anyone even notices. Because I think to a certain extent they are so disconected with reality and practicality that I think we could and no one would be the wiser. Or perhaps we should have a kind of a match the blurb to the fragrance contest, heh.
February 21st, 2006 at 1:05 pm
Yeah — like that write your own Dolph Lundgren Movie (that WAS you, right? Where’d your Seldom Nice link go? I miss it, it’s prob. there; I am a computer dunce), I have been toying with something along this line — e.g., like Perfume X without the “Y,” Y being equal to (thus far) skank, bling, ho… bet you could fill in the houses, couldn’t you? PS thanks for the cumming sample link, I wish like hell they’d all do that!
February 21st, 2006 at 1:41 pm
Oh yeah, that’s me… I do love me some bad, bad movies, and Dolph seems to specialize in them. I’m actually a much bigger fan of Rutger Hauer, who is a marvelous actor making some truly god-awful movies. I watched this one a few months ago that was howlingly funny, about an incestuous mutant family who lived in underground tunnels and ate corpses. Hee! We were just rolling! However, I love Rutger too much to make a “Make Your Own…” set of tables for him.
I changed the layout of my template, so I don’t have a link to my regular blog - and I didn’t even think of adding myself to my own blogroll, so I’ll get on that.
“Perfume X without the “Y,” Y being equal to (thus far) skank, bling, ho… bet you could fill in the houses, couldn’t you? ” Ah, this would be so funny :) Heh!
And yeah, I thought that the offer for folks to be able to try Cumming without having to buy it (since it’s not available everywhere in testers) was such a cool thing for them to do, so you’re very welcome.
February 21st, 2006 at 2:04 pm
When I finally came by today I thought, well shame on me for missing out on your wit for part of a day. I haven’t smelled this but what a bunch of nonsense. I’ll give it a sniff, of course, anyway. Thanks for the scentzilla treatment on this one!
February 21st, 2006 at 2:09 pm
I thought Rutger Hauer in Blade Runner was absolutely cool.I love that flick. Laugh away.
The Cumming thing — I mean, they didn’t even charge for shipping!! They meant FREE! The whole thing took 90 seconds. I know it’s a lil’ thing but it blew me away, I guess I order enough samples I’ve now learned to ask up front about shipping if it’s not clear, y’know? Esp from France. Sometimes it’s 30 euros on a 10 euro order or whatever.
February 21st, 2006 at 7:53 pm
ROTFLMAO! Like Herpes!
February 22nd, 2006 at 7:28 am
Oooh Katie I’m going to have to disagree with you on this one - not the perfume review because I haven’t had a go yet - but I’m not sure of their shops in the US but here in Europe they are very very nice and really Olivier whatever his name is has built the whole thing on his little ’stories’ - I sort of do the same but mine are real stories whereas his are a bit contrived - but I hate to admit it but I am so so one of their fans - and I have unfailingly liked their perfumes and particularly their mens range.
L’occitane get a massive thumbs up from me as a company - even if they do go over board on the story telling
Heather
February 22nd, 2006 at 6:24 pm
Cait, thank you. It is one to test if you have a L’Occitane shop near where you live.
March, he really has made some good movies, Blade Runner amongst them. He’s also made some really embarassingly bad ones. Poor Rutger. And yeah, the Cumming samples are totally free - I tested it out by having one sent to my sister just to make sure :)
Thanks, Marlen. Glad to amuse.
Heather, I am not keen on their stories, but then I’m not keen on a lot of the commerical advertising stories. Yours don’t spin tall tales like that though - there’s a sincerity and honest sentiment behind them that is undeniable, and I feel it’s like comparing apples to oranges. I guess I think the strength of the L’Occitane company rests solely on the quality of their products - as a line they are very high in quality for all their ranges, which I think is quite impressive. I love thier soaps and shower gels especially. And I did mean it abou their perfumes being ridiculously easy to wear - even with the ones I don’t care for personally I can see others pullling them off without a hitch. You might enjoy this one, I think? There’s a lightness to it that isn’t always there in some myrrh-based scents.