Eau Illuminee (2002)
by Delrae

Fresh, cleaning, summer scent, I think. Green and light. Citrus and herbs. Feels like gourmet cooking without the meats but it's smells wonderful! Sometimes you don't need a lot of fullness to a fragrance and just need something to get you through the day. With something with vanilla in it and one who can detect vanilla in almost anything, there isn't much but it's there and not as cloying as most fragrances that use it. Beautiful.

Beautifully and subtly green and herbal on a base of powder and vanilla. This is perfect for a warm spring day. I'd call this a shared scent, though Delrae lists all their scents as feminine. I find it intriguing for its hay-like quality, even though there is only the coumarin note of tonka bean to account for that. The blending of the herbal notes seems to reinforce the dryish hay note remarkably well and very artfully. I especially appreciate the dry quality of the herbals in this. It isn't very lush at all, just slightly sweet and barely lavender-floral, which is really more herbal than flowery anyway.

Eau Illuminee is the perfect warm weather scent for those who love spice and herbal elements, with just a touch of floral elegance. I "taste tested" a number of scents to add to my collection over the summer, and when the Eau Illuminee sample came in, my hair stood on end, it was so right. Lavendar, rose, basil.. no white flowers and yet so sparkling. An honest to goodness W.B. Yeats "Yes!"

A refined fragrance that nonetheless makes you want to run through a field and roll around in the hay. Absolutely stunning! I would call its evolution from first spritz to drydown "protean" not only because of the subtle nuances that surface throughout the development but also because of its "aristocratic" character. It is equally at ease with comedy or high drama: not a static blend.

I first was introduced to this fragrance by a saleslady at Joseph in Memphis. She informed me that Eau Illuminee was a unisex fragrance. Though it isn't officially "unisex", I would agree with the assessment. It is interesting also to note that many of the negative reviews online call this fragrance excessively "masculine".

Though it may seem an aggressive blend, I would call it more extroverted or pronounced. It definitely makes a statement. The first spritz reveals lush bergamot and basil, and the warm center includes french lavender and "wild aromatic herbs". The herbs, not individually named, are what to my mind gives the fragrance its unique punch. They persist almost as a base, even though orris, tonka, oakmoss and vanilla are officially in the drydown. These ingredients, however, never turn creamy or lush but rather remain very vibrant and seem to constantly intermingle with the herbs. Really an exceptional blend. I would recommend it highly to guys (I'm a 24-year old one that wears this myself) because its powerful and makes a statement. I would also recommend it to those women who wear fragrance for themselves first and not necessarily for others. This is one to wear proudly. It's pricey (125 for 50 ml EDP) but worth it. Authentic.