“Shadow In The Water” is what I am currently obsessed with. Saw a Diptyque setup at the Honk Kong airport recently, walked up to it and started spraying from the testers. Jaw fell to the floor when I sprayed L’Ombre dans l’Eau. To make sure I wasn’t imagining how wonderful this really is, ran to the loo to wash off my arm with soap, walked around a bit, to dry them, then ran back to the Diptyque setup ( it was a wall in the Beauty section at the airport ) and asked to sniff and spray it again.
It is one of the most beautiful fragrances I have ever come across. It’s dark and leafy and green and fresh. I can imagine that it will not be for everyone – it is strong – and like I’ve said a hundred times, fragrances are personal. I try to talk about the ones I love on my #FragranceOfTheMonth series. This one from Diptyque is my latest discovery. It was cheaper than what it would have cost had I tried to order it in India – the Honk Kong airport is a great place for shopping if you’re price sensitive. One of the best airports for shopping in my experience.
Back to the fragrance. It’s supposed to be Black Currant leaf ( I have eaten the fruit but have never smelled the leaves, so I can’t confirm ) and Bulgarian Rose ( I haven’t encountered one of these either but the other “green” smells meld beautifully with the “rose” smell. I am not a fan of the typical smell of roses in fragrances. ) This fragrance was created in 1983 by Serge Kalouguine, who is a famous French Parfumier. The fragrance is definitely more feminine than masculine. The boy made a puke-face when I made him smell it off of the bottle. He had a different opinion when he smelled it on me. Thankfully.
The perfume can be a bit chemically / synthetic to some. I reckon this is one of those love it or hate it perfumes. It will be hard to find someone who is just “neutral” with it. Dry down is very different from the opening / base and mid-notes. Give it a whirl over a 15-20 minute period when trying it.
It’s a “Dark green” fragrance. Almost black but not quite. Not sure I’m conveying clearly what I mean though. It’s not quite cold but it’s cool – can be warm in the correct circumstances. Might work better when worn in colder climates. Might be a bit too cloying if worn in the Indian summer. Definitely one of those fragrance that I will miss when I run out, which I am going to, quickly, at the rate I’m using it now. It’s winter season in India and this fragrance works really well for evening cocktails – especially when outdoors on green grass lawns.
Think lake ringed with a thick layer of leafy green plants – leaves that are waxy to the touch – cold dark water, calling you in, you’re fully clothed – it’s a mysterious fantasy land you’ve never been to earlier – there’s dark red rose petals floating on the surface of the water – you’re the only one causing the ripples. But it’s warm in that there’s no breeze to cool the water off of your skin. There’s green plants growing at the bottom of the lake too – beautiful ones glinting in the sunlight – and you walk amongst those – you’re shoulder deep in the water, head above the surface – a heady mix of scents from the forest around. Etc.
Which is contrary to these photographs of course – I only got a chance to photograph the bottle and me with it, when I was in Vietnam recently. The bottle traveled with me from Honk Kong to India, to Singapore and back to India, to Honk Kong again and to Vietnam and then back to India. But hey, instead of dark and cold water and black currant leaves, there’s sunshine and a gold bikini and the fragrance outdoes itself when sprayed on before a beach day! I am completely smitten with this one.
Here’s to happy beach days and beautiful fragrances! Cheers! More fragrances on my blog on the #FragranceOfTheMonth series.
Bikini top in gold by American Apparel, pink underwear is Kalenji from Decathlon, Sunglasses are Ray Ban. All photographs shot and edited on the Google Pixel 2 XL. Location, My Khe beach in Da Nang, Vietnam.
