Eau Sauvage is a perfume classic by French house Dior that appeared on the market in 1966 and with its unique composition and interpretation of colognes, it marked the perfume history and influenced many refreshing perfumes till this day. It was created by famous Edmond Roudnitska whose minimalism and simplicity inspired others like Jo Malone and Issey Miyake. Eau Sauvage is a citrusy ideal – if you want to smell the perfect male citrus perfume, look no further. Refreshing, strong, full of character and projective, Eau Sauvage despite its years is not old but eternally young and suits perfectly not only to the generations that wore it when it came out but to the young ones that are shyly stepping in the world of perfumes.

Contrary to the majority of male perfumes of that age that portrayed hard working and devoted fathers and husbands, Eau Sauvage used the image of a modern playboy. This is largely credited to Rene Gruau, a fantastic fashion illustrator whose designs enriched the fashion marketing and lifted it to an artistic level. He worked with brands such as Givenchy, Balenciaga, Lanvin and Dior. The illustrations he did for Eau Sauvage show a young man who lives in a metropolis, refuses to settle down and who is using the “best years of his life” perpetually seeking pleasure in and out of bed. Hefner’s idea of “eternal bachelor” is at play here and everyone who is familiar with the characters of Don Draper from Mad Men, Alfie from the movie of the same title played by Jude Law and Nick Marshall’s “men’s man” from the romantic comedy What Women Want, know the type I’m talking about. Individuality, free spirit and narcissism that is both appealing and appalling, irritating and seductive. The image of a man in his prime, enjoying his bachelor den in the best part of town, in a house robe and leather slippers, sitting on a couch, sipping dirty Martini, listening to jazz and enjoying the sax solo and the wall decorated with abstract art.

Rene Gruau Eau Sauvage

Eau Sauvage perfume composition is, despite its complexity, simple to perceive. The sense of freshness and elegance with a dose of animalistic attraction inherent to hedione (jasmine). Unlike massive usage of hedione in women’s perfumes like Lancome’s Tresor, the small dosage in male perfumes only emphasizes the sexiness of the masculine perfume composition. A perfect parallel to the human organism where every man has female hormones and women men’s. That is why the majority of genial male perfumes has a touch of femininity and vice versa. Lemon and bergamot bring freshness to Eau Sauvage along with aromatic basil and rosemary, giving it the Mediterranean freshness of Pino Silvestre but downplayed to suit the sophisticated French taste. The richness of perfume formula comes from the mossy notes and vetiver as well as coriander and warm amber and musk. Extremely complex but focused like a laser beam on one spot the ultimate masculinity, spring freshness and timeless elegance. Masterpiece!

[Fragrance notes] top notes: lemon, bergamot, basil, rosemary; middle notes: jasmine rose, carnation, cumin, coriander, iris root; base notes: amber, musk, vetiver, oakmoss, patchouli.

[Fragrance group] citrus aromatic.

Perfume creator is Edmond Roudnitska.

[Perfume profiling] introverted 20% extroverted 80% rational 40% emotional 60%

If you like my writings, you can support my blog by donating via PayPal (scentertainer@gmail.com) or by sharing this article on Facebook/Email with your perfume-loving friends. Thank you, Igor.

6 Comments
7190