Issey Miyake L'Eau d'Issey Review

This arrived in the post as a win from a magazine in February. The packaging was lovely and the bottle shape is unusual. I've being wearing it on and off for a few weeks. Its got an older quite sophisticatedscent. To me (and John) its reminiscent of watermelon on a hot day. I wear it to work but not on my days off for some reason. I suppose I'm just not sold on it.

I got this perfume in a sample set from Farmers, variations of which they do every year around Christmas. The set comes with 10 sample sized perfumes and a voucher to redeem for one of the perfumes in a full size (usually 30ml). I bought this to get out of my comfort zone somewhat with perfume as I rotate between two favourites, one of which was included in the set. I have in the past been pleasantly surprised by perfumes when I have put looks aside (I always judge a perfume by the bottle, bad I know), so I set about testing each sample.

Each sample is from 0.8 -1.0 ml, which I found enough for about a week of wear. I’m quite picky about what I do and don’t like, and first impressions are important for a perfume!

Unfortunately I am not a fan of this scent. While not unpleasant, it reminds me of a body spray like Impulse, which is not what I look for when purchasing a luxury fragrance. It was not sickly sweet, just quite fresh smelling and I prefer a more statement scent. It was subtle, clean and astringent but somehow still a little cloying. I don't get floral from this but I do get aqautic - it smells clean and fresh but not sophisticated or sexy enough for me to buy a full size. I'd liken it to the smell of clean sheets - which I am not a fan of.

I liked this on a friend, so got some from duty free.. I wore it a lot but it always seemed really strong on me so I gave it away. The scent is hard to describe, very fresh and clean, but too strong (I think the bergamot came out stronger than any of the other notes). I was disappointed, as I had wanted some for so long, and it was a big bottle so would have lasted forever. I gave it a rest and went back to it, hoping It would suit me better, but it found a new home with someone who loves it.

I find this perfume to be fresh with a strong floral undertone. A good clean fragrance but not a sultry one. Didn't seem to last on me even though it was an EDP.

I hate the smell! It’s definitely strong, in fact over powering. It’s super expensive and a quality brand, however, I personally am not a smell of the scent. It smells like some sort of flower… maybe dandilions, which I’ve never liked anyways. Quality is amazing however

This is a very sophisticated spring perfume. I don't always like the floral perfumes but this one has a feel of sophistication to it, very classy. Could be worn everyday on the right person but I like it for now and again, special occasions during the afternoon/evening.

I blind bought this online because of the rave reviews and it was a good price. I regretted it! In fact I sold it on because I couldn't wear it. My advice is don't blind buy this. It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Alot of people love this and when I smelt it I recognized it as a scent I had smelled before. For me, it just wasn't my thing, I was after something fresh but this just wasn't sweet or feminine enough for me . We all have different tastes though so when it comes to perfume, although reviews are helpful , you should always try it for yourself.

One day I took a chance of purchasing this fragrance as I loved the initial smell of it as it reminded me of that "just stepping out a shower" smell. Normally I do not buy EDT but this one had a clean, floral undertone to the smell. Not long after using for the first few times I kicked myself for breaking my golden rule of only buying EDP, if this was a EDP it would have been more suitable. I could not tell or smell the fragrance after it had "calmed" due to the fact it was gone. Normally with fragrances you can still smell either hints or subtle tones but with this I could not. Initially it was a lovely fragrance but I would not buy again, unfortunate though as it is a lovely smell - just doesn't last long.

I bought a bottle of this years ago, both one for myself and for a friend.

I would describe the scent of this as clean and fresh. Lasting power for myself was not the best, I'm not a great fan of the packaging at all either.

All in all the scent is very pleasant for day to day use, would recommend to anybody out there that enjoys fresh, and crisp smelling perfumes.