It seems like an appropriate time of year to try a fragrance named for "Indian summer," so I was pleased when a sample of Histoires d'Eaux Été Indien recently came my way. Histoires d'Eaux is an Italian niche perfume house with French names and a collection inspired by an imaginary "chansonnier" of the 1950s who tells his life story through his song lyrics. (I think I got that correct.) Été Indien was developed by perfumer Dominique Gindre and includes notes of elemi, bergamot, clary sage, geranium, patchouli, vanilla, tolu balsam, styrax and labdanum.
As you can guess by that list, Été Indien is an oriental composition with an amber theme. It's a gathering of resin and wood notes, with a touch of sweetness. Its resin top notes are aromatic, almost nose-tickling, with an effect of camphor or pine; the fragrance seems to be hovering a few inches above the skin, rather than clinging to it at all. After a while, that effect dies down, and Été Indien fits the wearer more snugly. The resin notes of the heart and base are warmer and woodier, and there's a strong suggestion of spiced honey. That sweetness is most likely due to the styrax and the vanilla; it also reminds me a bit of immortelle, although immortelle isn't listed as a note. The base of Été Indien is still balsamic, with more oak-y and liquor-y woods swirled in. This fragrance has good staying power and moderate sillage; it happens to be nicely gender-neutral.
Été Indien feels "exotic" yet stripped-down, like a contemporary take on the classical amber theme. If you enjoy fragrances like Aroma M Geisha Amber Rouge, or Etat Libre d'Orange The Afternoon of a Faun, or the overall style of Parfumerie Generale's orientals, you may also like Été Indien. It's less lush than Amber Rouge, and less complex than Afternoon of a Faun, but it works well. I've been wearing it to mark the slow transition from a mild summer into early autumn, and I'm finding it as easy and satisfying as a new fall scarf. I'm hoping to review a few more fragrances from Histoires d'Eaux in due time.
Histoires d'Eaux Été Indien is available as 100 ml Eau de Parfum ($180). The company website does not appear to be active right now, but you can find more information at Osswald.
Ahem … the song “L’Ete Indien” (Indian Summer) was the first creation of Italian singer and composer Toto Cutugno, who is still alive today. He was 21 at the time, and since he was born in 1943 that means he composed Indian Summer in 1964. The singer was Joe Dassin, an true American in Paris who also definitely existed, and who did sing it in French. It is a beautiful song, and it refers to American Indian Summer (First Americans or First Nations). NOT to India so no reason for the composition to be oriental.
Here is the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQb4eWCAq8c
The list of notes translates into the fragrance of deep magical forests with gigantic trees and mythical creatures to me, but what do I know, I am European.
Thank you for the link, it’s a lovely song.
Just to clarify the phrase as it is typically used in America, “Indian summer” is a period of warm, dry weather in autumn after there has been a frost hard enough to kill vegetation, before winter sets in. It doesn’t specifically refer to American Indians, except that a number of food items such as pumpkins would be typically harvested at that time, and it is a good time for hunting. The way the phrase has usually been understood here in the US is to refer to that beautiful time of year, and it carries the connotation of a last goodbye, a last blaze of color from the trees and the last beauty before the season turns.
Yes! I almost added a footnote with the “real” definition of “Indian Summer” — a spell of warm weather *after* the first frost — but then didn’t bother. Nowadays we often just use it to mean an unexpectedly long, lingering end of summer, trailing into late September and October. Which is what we’re having in the northeastern US (where I am) right now. 🙂
Here in The Czech Republic this is called “Babi Leto” which literally means “Grandma’s Summer” and it refers to the combination of dry cold starry nights and dry warm sunny days after the autumn solstice – exactly this time of the year.
Thank you! A French-Canadian friend on Instagram just mentioned Dassin to me. I had googled that full title, just in case it *was* a line from some poem or song that I didn’t know, but I somehow didn’t get any results so I assumed it was written just for the perfume.
The brand and the websites that carry it don’t make any mention of the actual song, its composer or its singer… not sure why. Maybe they don’t want to deal with intellectual property issues? In any case, even without knowing the back story, I thought it was a lovely line/title.
Here is a link to the lyrics in both French and English – very beautiful. They don’t make them like this any more.
Perhaps you can agree with me that this song certainly deserves to be expressed in fragrance 🙂
http://lyricstranslate.com/en/l039ete-indien-indian-summer.html
Definitely! I love those classic pop songs of the 60s and 70s. This one is new to me, obviously. Thank you!
With all due respect, I believe the oriental composition is based solely on the fragrance’s notes and no other meaning was inferred, at least not to me.
With all due respect, are you trying to say I have no right to my own opinion if it differs from yours?
I have been listening to this song for decades, I love it, and I have already an image about it. The notes do not contradict it in the least, quite the opposite they fit my image. They do not fit my image of an oriental composition, Why should you care enough to attack me for taking the time to explain the right story behind the fragrance?
Please except my apology, no attack was intended.
Thank you, apology accepted.
Very true, that’s the way I’m using “oriental” here — the combination of resin/wood/spice/vanilla notes — an established fragrance category. Of course, this line is obviously designed to evoke all kinds of emotional responses, so further readings are open to the wearer!
As a child and young lady I used to listen to this at the end of summer, when I was about to kiss the beach goodbye and return to school/uni. I certainly imagined something warm, salty, woody and nostalgic. Not the coldness of Sel de Vetiver, the sun of Eau des Merveilles or the flirty fruitiness of Azuree Soleil. It sounds like this one could be the answer.
If anyone remembers, Priscilla Presley launched a fragrance called Indian Summer in the mid-90’s, possibly with Coty. It has long been discontinued which is a pity because it was quite nice and true to the name. I bought it and related body products for as long as it was on sale.
It does appear that each of Histoires d’eaux fragrances are interpretations of ‘historic’ (the ones I looked at were 60’s/70’s) French songs. I can definitely see why these notes would be used for something called Indian Summer, regardless of whether they are termed to be of oriental genre or not. I’m not familiar with any of the songs used, but looking at the lyrics and then the notes in the perfume, some appear to use far more artistic license than this one 🙂
Sounds great anyway, thanks for the review Jessica 🙂
So interesting! I have samples of two others, so far, and this will give me even more to think about as I test them. Still wondering why the brand makes no mention of actual artists/songs, but again, it’s probably a copyright issue. 😉