L'Occitane Eau de 4 Voleurs

Eau de 4 Voleurs amazes me by how well it captures a spring or summer day in a lush yard in a bucolic town. I smell moss, trees, sap, pollen, grass, and wildflowers. It calls to mind a day I spent as a kid at a family friend's A-frame house in the woods. If I wore this everyday, I'd probably think of nothing but camping and naps on the hammock.

Unfortunately, the mention of cedar concerns me because I've had allergies to cedar pollen. The sales person and I weren't able to determine whether cedar is an actual ingredient. The sample didn't bother me, but these things can sneak up on you. Unfortunately, I need to pass. If you want a very woodsy fragrance, don't buy anything until you try 4 Voleurs.

Wow. Where to begin on this one. I'm amazed this one hasn't been reviewed yet. It's truly one the best colognes I've smelled.

L'Occitane describes the scent as the following:

Fragrance of the 4 Thieves. A deep, seductive and utterly masculine aroma complex that lures with woodsy notes of cedar and clove, and intimates spicy conviviality with bergamot, lemon, clary sage, basil and juniper. Named after a Provençal legend.

The box describes it a bit differently. It says:

A legend of Occitania, treasured since the 15th century. In Occitania, they tell of how four thieves became real heroes, because they held the secret of medicinal plants. Traditional recipe of orange leaves, oregano, and oakmoss.

Well now. The recipe keeps getting longer.

At first spray, you are instantly hit with the smell of lemon and a dry, astringent lavender smell (which later develops and becomes truly amazing). The first thought that popped into my mind was, "Oh no, not another Blenheim Bouquet." However, within 5 seconds, after the alcohol becomes volatile and evaporates, it becomes apparent that this is NOT like Penhaligon's Blenheim Bouquet at all. BB's approach to citrus is very bitter, almost as if they used the whole lemon (seeds, pulp, zest, juice, and had a few unripe ones in there to boot). This lemon is more zesty and juicy, more akin to lemon sorbet, and seems like only the zest and juice were used. As it dries, the lemon stays around ever so lightly as other scents begin to emerge. This is where it gets so hard to describe. It becomes so "green" that you'd almost want to call it a fougère. Yet, there's a spicy, ever-so-slight warmth and woodiness that pierces through that greenery in places that makes you want to call it a chypre.

After 30 minutes or so, other scents that emerge are lots of fresh greens. I can smell the oregano, something that smells almost like wild mint, sweetgrass, Four o'Clocks (Mirabilis), honeysuckle, a truly amazing and very dry and smoky lavender, and clover. The scent is sweeter and less camphorous than Penhaligon's "English Fern." Now, I know I stretched it a bit there with some of the last ingredients, but the smell as it dries reminds me of my childhood growing up in the Northlands of Wisconsin. Yes, there were still cow pastures here and there, but it was mostly dense forest and prime timber country. In the springtime, I would go out walking in the woods all day and see/smell all the plants and flowers. On a rainy spring morning, it would have a very green smell similar to this. On summer evenings, when flowers would be in full bloom, it would smell like the floral aspect of this cologne.

So it sounds like a citrusy, green, and floral fragrance. However, where it gets more complicated is this warm woodiness that emerges. It has a spiciness like clove, and I think even the dry, smoky lavender contributes a "woodsy" quality. But it also smells just like freshly cut juniper. The evergreen in this is a mixture of the sap, the needles, the berries, and the wood itself. Also, I sense an earthy quality, not unlike vetiver, and it is very faint. It creates just a bit of warm, honeyed woodiness that manages to peek through the lush green and floral qualities of the scent.

I don't know if I could wear this during the winter as the scent is just so reminiscent of spring and summer. It is such a refreshing scent, and during winter I prefer warmer and deeper scents to counteract the harsh winter chill. But for spring and summer, this is fantastic. Also, I think this works well as a day OR night fragrance, because it has a refreshing, perky quality that is great at the office (I wore it work and in the same day, I had a female co-worker say that I smelled "very charming" and, hilariously enough, a male co-worker asked me what I was wearing because he said "I can smell you when you walk by and you smell amazing"), while also having a seductive, outdoorsy smell that is great for summer dinners out at a patio restaurant or a walk through the downtown on a summer evening.

This one goes in my steady rotation, along with Penhaligon's Opus 1870 for daytime wear, and along with Penhaligon's Endymion for night-time wear and L'Occitane's Vetyver for fall/winter wear. Also, at $44 USD for a 100ml bottle, it is half the cost of a Penhaligon's fragrance. Be warned, though, if you're like me, after it begins the dry-down, you won't be able to stop sniffing yourself. Maybe even unbuttoning the top button of your dress shirt and loosening your tie, just so you can smell it even more.

If you want to discuss this review, please refer to the following discussion thread. Thanks!