I have no relationship with Sisley, as a (luxury) brand. I've never used the skincare. I used to adore Eau de Campagne, the first fragrance from my BFF perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, but I always thought it was too expensive for what it was, and while I was worrying over the price, and stopping by a Sisley counter every so often to avail myself of another spray from the tester, they went and reformulated it and I stopped adoring it: problem solved.1 I never cared for Eau du Soir. I liked the Eau de Sisley 1, 2 and 3 they brought out way back in 2009, but I didn't adore them and they were likewise spendy. I know I sprayed Eau Tropicale on a blotter once but I've forgotten what it smelled like.
The latest launch, Izia, attracted my attention right away. The graphics are distinctive and so is the bottle, and if I love the one and hate the other, well, that still works, right? It looks from the advertising (here and here) like they're reaching for a younger audience, or at least, younger than Eau du Soir, and I was curious just how far they would go in that direction.
Izia starts off bright and fun, with an overdose of peppery citrus and jammy fruits, and just enough of a tart / sour undertone to keep it interesting. The aldehydes lend plenty of diffusiveness, and the rose, when it arrives, is already soapy and full. It's not a deep, rich rose, though, in the sense of something like Frédéric Malle Une Rose, and if you look at the list of notes (bergamot, pink pepper, aldehydes, d’Ornano rose accord, transparent floral accord, angelica, cedar, amber accord and musk), you might take special note of the "transparent floral accord". Still, it's quite noticeably a rose fragrance, as in, it smells like roses, and not just a dewy sort of shampoo rose, like Grace Coddington's Grace, or a fruity musk rose, like Annick Goutal Rose Pompon.
The base is a mid-weight, clean-but-not-too-clean ambery woods, with just a little thread of something darker and drier — it smells like maybe there's a touch of cleaned-up patchouli. The lasting power is quite good.
Verdict: With a few exceptions — notably, Hermès Calèche, which I currently own in two vintages — I am not a fan of aldehydic florals, and Izia was no exception.2 I didn't dislike it, but it didn't feel like me, and I wondered, too late, if I should have passed my sample on to Angela or Jessica. It does smell modern, but it isn't what I'd call a casual fragrance, and like most aldehydic florals, it has a kind of gravitas that made me feel under-dressed every time I wore it — that doesn't say "young" to me, although perhaps that makes it a perfect fit with the Sisley brand? The now nearly ancient (2003) Stella by Stella McCartney struck me as more likely to appeal to an actual young person, and I would say the same of the more recent cosmetic-lipstick-powder entry, Valentino Donna.
Whether Izia would appeal to perfumistas is another matter, and I suspect it might appeal to at least some of you. Do comment if you've tried it! And now taking votes: do you love or hate that bottle?
Sisley Izia was developed by perfumer Amandine Clerc-Marie. It is is available in 30 ($100), 50 ($150) or 100 ($220) ml Eau de Parfum.
1. I should note that I've been assured more than once by representatives at Sisley counters that "it's never changed", but of course that is ludicrous: it launched in 1974, of course it's changed. Everything that old has changed, usually several times over. Anyway, it's still nice enough but to my nose it is far too fresh and "modern sporty" now, and has lost its original gloriously bitter green edge.
I love how you call JCE your BFF!
But what do you do when your BFF perfumer retires???
That’s a difficult question. Still he may go one making perfume.
Lovely Jean-Claude! I’ve only smelled the modern version of EdC and MAN, TOMATO LEAF…. Not sure Izia would be my thing and yeah, the bottle is much too blobby.
It used to be even more tomato leaf! Or at least, less of whatever fresh note they’re using, so you noticed the tomato leaf more. Plus, it was mossier.
Very blobbly bottle!
Nice to see the review for this one as I was wondering about it since the ads looked a little bit different (but the bourgeois style of the two ladies was off-putting to me, and, after the initial curiosity, I ended up not liking that bottle).
Wearing L’Artisan Voleur de Roses, and it is just perfect.
I find the videos oddly contradictory, like not everybody got the same memo.
This is not Voleur de Roses
So true about the videos!
Hadn’t heard of this one (or maybe I just missed it in the flurry of All The New Stuff), and I like aldehydic florals, so maybe if I run across it I will test.
I was underimpressed by Eau de Campagne, what’s all the praise for, this is dull and cologney — but I’m quite sure I didn’t try it until about 2012 or so and that “gloriously bitter green edge” that so appeals to me wasn’t there. I get that deliciously bitter green thing from Silences, anyway.
It was more cologne-y (and unisex) than Silences in any case, but I think it was somewhere in / around 2011-2013 that they redid it a second time and it got really loudly fresh.
Happen to love a lot of aldehydic florals, but this one doesn’t sound tempting & doubt I’ll seek it out. Never tried Campagne and didn’t like Eau du Soir either. Sisley’s fragrance packaging baffles me–it’s a luxury brand, but those bottles look like something that should be debuting at Target.
The bottle is indeed a puzzle. I was wondering if maybe some group of people loved it. I agree it just looks cheap.
This sounds like it could be my sort of thing although it would have to be pretty darned good for me to swallow Sisley prices and buy a bottle. Still, Sisley new releases seem fairly rare so I’ll try it out of curiosity if for no other reason.
Robin, where do you turn now for that gloriously bitter green edge? Noting Mals’ comment, I somehow don’t get on with Silences.
Gosh, I mostly turn to older things I already own. CB I Hate Perfume Memory of Kindness has a ton of the tomato leaf, which is what you need to get a *really* bitter green, but I haven’t tried a new version of that in a long time either — luckily, have not run out of what I have. Sous Le Buis by Gobin Daude, long discontinued, was a really good strong green, and I’m hoarding what I have left. Very old vintage Vent Vert was bitter just from the overdose of galbanum, but newer versions are much milder. Miller et Bertaux made a lovely grassier green, but again, have not smelled it recently.
Eventually though I’ll have to either do more exploring, or live with milder things — Bel Respiro, Providence Perfume Co Branch & Vine, L’Eau de L’Artisan.
And was going to say — I bet anything some little niche brand makes a fantastic green I don’t know about, so hope others will chime in!
A more recent and “fantastic green” (to my nose!) is Hermes Muguet Porcelaine.
I like MP
Thanks, that’s a great list! I should admit that I was asking out of mere curiosity because I find extreme greens hard to wear. I imagine I’d find vintage Vent Vert much too green and bitter. But I like to know where the extremes are, if that makes sense, so I can plot out my own tastes, which are more in the Chanel No 19 / Heure Exquise / Private Collection sort of zone.
The first time I tried vintage VV I wrinkled my nose, definitely.
Ninfeo Mio is vividly green alongside the lemon. I will dig it out come spring…
And I will dig mine out as well, in fact may not even wait that long.
It’s been a long time since I smelled Eau de Campagne, but I think Diptyque L’Ombre dans L’Eau reminds me of it in terms of some of the green notes.
Yes — love the opening (well, and all of it).
I did just try this at Barney’s fairly recently, against my will, which is probably why I don’t remember how it smells! The bottle didn’t look so great to me in person and seemed out of place with the other uniform bottles. I do like the other bottles, though.
Green seems to have gone out of fashion?-I guess Arbole Arbole is the last new green I’ve smelled. Euphorium Brooklyn’s Petales was pretty intensely green IIRC, speaking of indie, though I didn’t like it after the 1st 10 minutes.
Against your will? Someone made you smell it??
Not sure that green has gone out of fashion, just that the prevailing style has changed towards fresher / cleaner.
The SA asked if I wanted to smell it. I said “No thank you” and she spritzed a card anyway and held it near my head and said “You should try it. It’s not like anything else”.
LOL!! I guess at least she did not spray it on your person.
I will probably never smell this but did want to point out that Caleche is almost more chypre than aldehydic floral to my nose. Not to discount the sentiment but that’s why I love it so. Found a 200ml bottle for $8 bucks in an antique store. Giddy-up!
Yes, exactly.
The other Sisley bottles are either minimal and elegant or quite glamorous (Soir de Lune), so I find this one (at least in pictures – haven’t seen IRL) totally out of place. It looks kind of lower main-stream or celebrity fare.
The only Sisley I have liked is Soir de Lune! Not sure that opulent, if careless, luxury really suits me, but I have enjoyed my occasional sprays
I think the bottle must have been part of the reach to a younger market — but agree, they went too far!
Yes, most Sisley beauty products are expensive but their perfumes/EDT’s are reasonably priced (to European standard). I bought Eau de Sisley #2 last summer thinking I would get used to it. After a few sprays, I gave the bottle away. I am very much an Hermes user- Un Jardin sur le toit and Voyage d’Hermes all the way. Today, I visited my favourite perfume shop -ICI Paris where they are promoting Izia. The face is Sonja, the niece of Isabelle D’ornano who brought the perfume into conception. The mixed media artist Quentin Jones who have worked with Chanel, Louis Vuitton to name a few created the presentation for their ad campaign, and the bottle was once again designed by celebrated Polish Sculptor Bronislaw Krzysztof who designed the earlier caps for Sisley’s Soir de lune, Eau du soir & Soir d’Orient perfumes. The Izia bottle as described by their Paris website: An abstract glass sculpture, like two pebbles on a beach, placed one on top of the other, smoothed by the sea. Pink and yellow recalling the sunny core of the Izia rose. The smell, I quite like it. It is so much more sophisticated than Miu Miu’s L’eau Bleue. But I love Hermes and will remain there
I just got it as a card sample, so I might have missed some notes. No aldehydes for me, it is more of a pretty simple, well done soliflore, and it reminds me of… do not know yet, but I have the impression to know it, so it means I smelled something very similar that is not in my stash. As my favorite Perfume is Rose Ikebana and all the Ellenas around it, I know some roses well, also the Rosines and also the Malles. Well, I would not spend too many Euro on a FB. Also because the bottle is pretty ugly. I might try to get a cheaper bottle of Soir d’Orient, that is a bit more outstanding.
An interesting take on rose came from Etro with ManRose – interesting more as it is sold as a men perfume (eyesroll) and it is very nicely done. Turkish rose FTW. I hope you will have a review of this, too!
This year the perfume season is all rosy
I have been looking for years to find a perfune that reminded me of shiseido’s INOUI. This Izia is the closest I hvae found. Does anyone else have a similar response?