Alana Estelle

Diptyque launched Eau Duelle in 2010 and is available in both eau de toilette and eau de parfum formulations. I own the eau de parfum because I feel it pays better homage to the richness and booziness of this fragrance. 

Notes (Diptyque doesn’t detail the tier that these notes fall in, so I just have a list of the notes):

• Cardamom, Asian Cyprus, Elemi, Juniper, Saffron, Calamus, Black Tea, Black African Olibanum, First Vanilla, Bourbon Vanilla, White Musk

I’m not even going to attempt to break down all of these notes, but I will describe what I smell when I wear Eau Duelle. This is one of my favorite fragrances of all time, so there may be some fangirling.

At its heart, Eau Duelle is a spicy, amber-vanilla fragrance. This is a vanilla scent for adults, not for teenagers seeking to smell like a cupcake. This fragrance is intoxicating, smooth, intense, exotic and resinous. There is a touch of sweetness, that again, doesn’t make the wearer smell like a dessert, but harkens a bit to something more natural, perhaps even a touch animalic, as if the wearer’s body chemistry is producing this sweetness. Couple this with the earthiness of the Cyprus, saffron, and black tea and the scent will remind you of a dried vanilla bean pod that that’s laying in a bed of dried spices and incense. There is something slightly sticky about this fragrance - when I smell it I get this image of sap on a tree trunk that is slowly oozing from the tree at a glacial pace, so slowly in back that the sap is hardening and forming sweet globs of crystalized sap on the trunk. If you touch it, your fingers will have a slightly sticky residue that lingers on you finger tips. 

This is a sophisticated, mature vanilla that is slightly familiar, but different enough to turn heads and make people inquire about what you’re wearing. Eau Duelle is warm and inviting, a little spicy, a little earthy, a little animalic, and just interesting. It’s so difficult to describe this vanilla because it’s got so much going on beneath the surface, but it’s subtle.

Wear Time & Sillage: This has great wear time (for the eau de parfum - I can’t speak for the eau de toilette). A couple of sprays and I can smell it on myself all day. As do most of Diptyque’s fragrances, Eau Duelle sits close to the body, which is what makes is lean more on the sexy side. Walking past someone, they will catch a whiff of your fragrance, but just enough of a hint to make them want to get a little closer. Eau Duelle is the type of scent you spray just at the base of the neck, where the skin is warm and inviting and may be come intense in the wearer becomes flushed. It can be appropriate for any setting, just adjust the amount of times you spray to make it appropriate for the office or a date night out. 

Season: This is a scent that really shines in the winter - the slight spiciness and the rich booziness reminds me of the holiday season. This could easily get cloying in the heat and humidity, but on a crisp winter night? *chef’s kiss*

Recommended For: This is definitely a unisex fragrance, so people who prefer inviting, interesting vanilla scents with depth will really enjoy Eau Duelle. If you are looking for a vanilla that is an upgrade from the cliche vanillas that smell like baked goods (no harm in those…) then look no further. This is a cozy scent, the leans a little mysterious, so if you like fragrances that make you smell a bit coy or cryptic, then this is for you. When I smell of Eau Duelle, I think of a restaurant in Manhattan, on a cold winter night. The wearer is sitting at the bar wearing a minimalist, yet tastefully curated long black outfit, while sipping on something the color of amber, in a slightly smoke filled room. It’s just exquisite. I will always have a bottle of this in my collection. 

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Diptyque Fleur de Peau was released in 2018 and the scent was inspired by the mythological Greek love story between Psyche and Eros. One can guess that this scent will be a bit on the sensual side. 

• Top Notes: Aldehydes, Pink Pepper, Angelica, Bergamot
• Middle Notes: Iris, Turkish Rose
• Base Notes: Ambrette, Carrot, Ambergis, Leather, Sandalwood, Amberwood 

I would describe Fleur de Peau as a powder bomb, in the best way! This fragrance is soft, musky and a touch animalic (meaning skin-like, warm). This is not your grandmother’s powder perfume - this is a modern powdery scent that is more eclectic. As soon as I spray Fleur de Peau, I get “cosmetics from the 1980s” (yes, I know I just said this fragrance is modern, but bare with me…). This nostalgic opening quickly dissipates and turns into a more elegant powder - soft and clean as if you’ve just washed with a luxury soap that has a powdery scent hat lingers on the skin even after it’s been rinsed off - it sticks to the skin. The aldehydes then quickly come into play. Aldehydes are artificially formulated fragrance notes that can lean sweet and even a bit pungent. One of the most well known aldehydic fragrances is Chanel No. 5. Aldehydes can also provide a bit of “effervescence” to a fragrance. In Fleur de Peau, the aldehydes, combined with the bergamot and pink pepper, lends a “sparkling” quality to this fragrance that’s prevalent throughout - think of the fine carbonation in champagne and how it plays on the tongue. The middle florals are soft and delicate without smelling “old.” I am not a fan of fragrances that are heavily floral - I think they can be cloying and headache inducing. Here, they are balanced and the iris especially lends a slight soapy-quality to the fragrance. The base notes are trickier for me to isolate in this perfume, as they melt together to form a woody, musky, animalic, sensual base. It’s a touch heady and warm without being overpowering. I find that sandalwood can easily go wrong in a fragrance because it’s a strong, sweet woody scent, but here it is nicely balanced. The leather isn’t too much and doesn’t make this lean so masculine that most women would shy away from it. 

Fleur de Peau can be worn all year, depending on how much is applied. This is a warm, musky scent, so in the warmer weather use a lighter hand. In cooler weather, this will really shine because this is a scent that other people will smell on you, even from a slight distance. I can see this pairing perfectly with an ivory colored cashmere turtleneck sweater. 

And this allows me to nicely transition into discussing this fragrance’s sillage. Fleur de Peau definitely radiates from the body and leaves a trail behind you, so I would say sillage is medium-high, depending on application. One to two sprays is all you need because it lasts for hours - even after taking a shower, it lingers. I also think this scent is versatile, even though it is on the sensual side. Lightly spray it on clothing and the scent remains softer, lighter, cleaner more powdery and subdued making it perfect for the office. On my clothing, I get really the impression of really expensive, luxury fabric softener. Spray this directly on the skin, especially on the neck and this transforms into a scent that will turn heads. The warmth of your skin and your unique body chemistry really play up the musks, leather, and wood notes, perfect for an evening out,  casual or formal. 

As are most of Diptyque’s fragrances, Fleur de Peau is unisex. The base notes would appeal to a lot of men and the mild florals and soft powder would appear to a lot of women. This is a fragrance for people who aren’t afraid to draw attention to themselves with perfume. If you are attracted to scents that are alluring, sensual, a bit exotic, and “odd” then Fleur de Peau may pique your interest. Fleur de Peau, in my opinion does what niche fragrance houses do best - they take common fragrance notes and turn them into something unique. This perfume is mature without being old. I could not picture this on a young 20-something who is just starting out after they’ve just graduated from college, but rather more mature individual who exudes confidence, maturity and experience. This person is simply but exquisitely dressed, classic not trendy, and knows their own mind. They don’t have to speak much because their presence speaks for them.  If you have the body chemistry that can rock Chanel No., I think you can definitely wear this. They are not similar, but it’s the presence of the strong aldehydes in both - not everyone gets on with aldehydes, but those who do know how they play on the skin - Intoxicating. This is not a safe blind buy (I did blind buy this because I like to live dangerously…). I would recommend getting a sample if you are interested in how this may work with your body chemistry and play around with it. If you can pull Fleur de Peau off, then you’ve got an attention grabbing fragrance that will have people asking you “what are you wearing?” They may also try to get close to you…

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Diptyque Philosykos was released by the French niche fragrance house Diptyque, in 1996 and the scent was formulated to evoke the scent of fig trees in summer, in Greece. 

• Top Notes: Fig Leaf, Fig
• Middle Notes: Green Notes, Fig Tree Sap, Coconut
• Base Notes: Fig Tree, Woody notes, Cedar, black pepper 

I would describe Philosykos as fresh, clean, earthy, natural and realistic. This is a fresh fig scent, mildly fruity but by no means a citrus or a berry fragrance. This is a very “green” scent, evoking the entirety of the fig tree. As soon as I spray this, I get the bark, the leaves and the figs that are still hanging from the tree. This is not a sickeningly sweet, over-ripe, jammy fig, but a fig that has just been pulled from the tree and sliced. The coconut here is not the stereotypical Pina Coloda coconut note, or the coconut that is prevalent in some sunscreens. This coconut is quite natural, not extremely sweet, but rather creamy and milky. I find that this note mellows out the earthiness of the top notes and adds a touch of warmth. I’m not a huge fan of coconut in fragrances because I find it can easily lean artificial, or candy-like, but this coconut is smooth and pleasant - it’s present but it’s not over-powering. Lastly, the woody notes, black pepper and cedar really anchor this fragrance and give it some depth. It’s beings to peak through after the top and middle notes have settled. Cedar is one of my favorite fragrance notes because, when done properly, it’s clean and earthy, without smelling dirty. The cedar in Philosykos is just that, it’s woody but not over powering and a touch spicy, without being overly masculine. The black pepper here is fleeting, almost like an hallucination and it comes across more as a by-product of how the other notes have blended together rather than a black pepper note being added deliberately. 

Philosykos performs best during the hot summer months. It’s not an overpowering fragrance - there is something somewhat soft and light about it, almost airy. This will get lost in fall and winter, under layers of clothing. When I wear this fragrance on exposed skin, mainly my neck and décolletage, in the summer and the sun begins to warm up the surface of my skin, this fragrance transforms into something warm, sunny and comforting. It never gets stinky or cloying in the heat. Even if I perspire a bit in the summer, while wearing this fragrance, it continues to smell fresh. When I wore this to work one day, my coworker said, “You smell like Greece!” She meant this as a huge compliment. 

The village (how much a fragrance projects from your body) is low to moderate. This is not a fragrance that will fill a room and it’s not designed to be. This is like being outside and the when the wind blows, you start to catch hints of scents. People will tell you, “You smell nice” versus “Your perfume smells nice”. There is an important difference between the two. I also find the wear time of this fragrance to be moderate. A few sprays and I’m smelling it for a few hours, and then I want to top it up again. I don’t mind doing this - I find it refreshing and the perfect pick-me-up throughout the day. Philosykos comes in an Eau de Toilette formulation and an Eau de Parfum. I personally prefer the EDP because it has better longevity, sillage, and it’s more balanced. The EDT is even more “green” and “bright.” However, both are lovely and in the end, settle down the same. The EDT is actually the original formulation, the EDP was released later. The EDT is also more wallet-friendly, so if you want to test out a bottle, I’d opt for the EDT, 1.7 oz (50 ml). 

Philosykos is a unisex fragrance, as are most of Diptyque’s scents. I would recommend it for those who like clean, realistic fragrances that evoke the essence of a place, a space in time, or nostalgia. I would also recommend Philosykos for those who like spring and summer fragrances that deviate from the typical aquatics, florals, or citrus scents that are more standard during this time of year. This scent is interesting and even though it’s Diptyque’s top seller and is well known among the fragrance community, it’s not something that you’ll catch a whiff of on every other person. I saw a review from a woman that complained that this fragrance isn’t “feminine” - I have to disagree. We get stuck in the rut that “feminine” fragrances are sweet, fruity and floral - I find this very limiting. Wear what smells nice on you, regardless of who it’s marketed for. I find that Philosykos is neither feminine or masculine, it’s a fragrance that represents a specific place and it’s just aromatic and beautiful, much like how the scent of laundry detergent just smells good on everyone’s clothes. 

This is one of my favorite fragrances, easily in the top three. I just purchased my third bottle and I still can’t get enough of Philosykos. I will always have this fragrance in my collection and it’s the fragrance that also made me fall head-over-heels for Diptyque.

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• Tea: Earl Grey
• Handmade knit hats by yours truly.
• Diptyque Eau Duelle, one of my favorite fragrances. Spicy, vanilla and exotic.
• These epic leather gloves that I forgot I had in my drawer.