Gobin Daudé Sève Exquise is one of the five perfumes released by Victoire Gobin-Daudé in 2002. It has notes of orris, poplar bud, liatrix, and vetiver.
Sève Exquise is another green fragrance, but it is a completely different take on green from yesterday's Sous Le Buis. If Sous Le Buis is the dark, almost bitter, late-summer green of leaves, shrubs, and twigs, Sève Exquise is the bright, pale green smell of tender shoots in spring. It has a milky-sweet quality, almost like syrup, and a subtle spicy-earthy undertone.
It is extraordinarily evocative — it is the kind of perfume that makes you forget that it is a perfume. I do not even think of the individual notes when I am wearing it; it just smells like its name: exquisite sap. It is the smell of well being, and the abundance of life.
I reach for Sous Le Buis more often, but truth be told, if I did not have Sous Le Buis, I could find another green fragrance to fill the same niche in my collection. I know of nothing else that smells like Sève Exquise.
It is an Eau de Toilette, and the lasting power is reasonable. For availability, see yesterday's review of Sous Le Buis. Bonus reading: a 2003 interview with Victoire Gobin-Daudé, in French, in Le Journal des Femmes.
Ok – after reading the review I rushed off and tried my sample. This is milky sap with a strong dose of sweet on my skin. Quite unusual and indeed evocative however there is a stage that is bitter for me – perhaps the intent? I am waiting for the final drydown. I am praying this never turns into a pure love because it is unavailable here. The one thing I am enjoying is the complete uniqueness of the GD – they are unlike anything else on the market here in the US. Perhaps even more unusual than the SLs (yes I dared to say that). Perhaps it is GD's very originality that has been its downfall – at least here. Definitely worth a try if you adore green and thanks to you again R.
F,
I do not know what happened to GD, but $140 is just an awful lot for a 50 ml bottle of EdT — it is even more expensive than SL. It may be that her production costs were high, but the number of people who will spend that on an EdT cannot be large, and then, as you say, they are unusual. And the lasting power is about what you would expect for an EdT, but for that price I want something that lasts much, much longer.
Will be curious to hear what you think after it dries down!
I have never tried it, dammit, and now I want to.
This is one of the most gorgeous perfumes I've come across, but the vetiver seems to amplify on my skin as the day wears on. I wish I could preserve that initial, delicious icy green impression.
Sorry T! Still holding out hope that these will re-appear in the States.
I don't think this lasts long enough on me for anything to amplify as the day wears on…as the day wears on, it just fades away!
For some reason, I could not log onto the site yesterday, but a voice in the back of my head told me to spritz on SleB this morning. When I got on today to catch up, I was delighted to see that you reviewed it yesterday.
I love SleB! It's perfect for mid-to late summer months. I love its sweet crispness and its fresh green scent.
Seve Exquise has a sap-like quality that smells lovely on others, but does not agree with me. Just as well, because this stuff if way overpriced!
I am so disgusted with myself, R: I should have called Tak the minute I found out SleB was selling at a rock-bottom close-out price. Apparently the distributor is very difficult to deal with, so US retailers are dropping the line. I need to call Palmetto to see if they still carry it. (Actually, I am hoping that they are discontinuing it too, and maybe selling the remaining bottles at heavily discounted prices! Hee, hee!)
Hugs!
R, that is so strange, you are third person to tell me they had problems getting onto the blog yesterday. I was off & on all day with no problems, so have no idea what happened.
I have heard the “difficult distributor” story too. Hopefully then she will find a new one!
If Palmetto still has it, do come back & post…after you get your own bottles, of course!
I love this review. Especially the part about a perfume that transcends itself. Lovely. I'll find my sample today in your honor, NST. xoxoxo
Thank you M!
No go! Palmetto has only one or two bottles left of Nuit au Desert (sp.) that they are selling at full price. The SA told me that they stopped carrying it because it was expensive to import and the distributor was difficult to contact. :(:(
Drat! But thanks for reporting back. Like Nuit au Desert, but it is far from my favorite in the line and can't possibly pay that much for it.
I've never tried any Gobin Daude and hope that they are available again out here because your reviews are fantastic! I want to test them all!
These scents are only 69 euros in France, so I would never buy it in the US – the markup is just ridiculous! If you love these scents, get someone in France to buy them for you. Much cheaper and you can buy it easily at Printemps department store!
T
Thank you S!
T, I had no idea these were marked up so high. Thanks for letting me know…will keep Printemps in mind when my current bottles run out.
Hi, this is my first time posting but I had to jump into a topic of such 'greenness'.
Having been described as having some milkiness, how does Seve Exquise compare to CdG Calamus? I love Calamus and it's the only milky-green I've smelled so far.
~Ana
Hi Ana! Calamus also smells like sap to me after it dries down, but in general it is more leaf-ish, and Seve is more sap-ish. Seve is also sweeter, and longer lasting. And obviously it is a personal value judgement, but I think Seve is just a better, more beautiful, more unique perfume, although I do like Calamus too & own a bottle.
I was so late to this fragrance. I tried my sample after passing up a $20 bottle at TAK. I am a fool. It is lovely and worthy of all the rave reviews. Thanks for featuring it R!
A, there is nothing worse than the one that got away. Am always kicking myself over the things I passed up in TJ Maxx.
Your review is exquisite indeed! I can almost envision its smell as I read your description. I love the green sap aspect of it, although on my skin it tends to fade too quickly. I also adore Nuit au Desert, with its distinct agarwood note. I forget do you like M7 or not? I seem to recall it having agarwood note as well.
Hi V,
I like Nuit au Desert too. Wish Tak had had a bottle at $19, in fact, am surprised that Sous Le Buis was the last to go.
And like M7 very much, but it is one of the few fragrances that I find too masculine to wear in public, although actually I wear very little fragrance in public anyway. I am a closet fragrance addict.
I have a friend that met and spoke with Victoire Gobin-Daude and her husband in January of this year. Sounds like they had a production problem….the demand was too high for what they could produce. My friend was also told that they are looking for investors as they would love to get back into the perfume business. So maybe they will reappear, as i love their fragrances
Claudia, I've seen the same thing on MUA, Perfume of Life & Basenotes — they've apparently been looking for investors since 2005 to no avail. I've pretty much given up