Sisley Soir de Lune (2006): A Review

I thought I read that Dominique Ropion created Soir de Lune for Sisley. I was a little surprised, but within 45 seconds I had found it on parfum1.com and bought it using their 25% off code. Soir de Lune arrived; I sniffed, I swooned, I love it, but now I can’t find the reference to Dominique Ropion being the perfumer. Perhaps he wasn’t. UPDATE: Turns out Soir de Lune *is* a Ropion creation

Nevertheless, Soir de Lune smells like a Ropion masterpiece. It’s a full bodied spicy, floral chypre, which somehow manages to be fresh, clean and classy. Soir de Lune literally translates to Moonlit Evening in English. Perhaps the name infers Soir de Lune is meant to be a decadent evening fragrance, but I would happily wear it anytime/anywhere. This is also why I’m writing about it on a 92 degree day in New Jersey. While Soir de Lune is a luxuriously full bodied and present perfume, it is also fresh and gauzy enough to wear in warm weather. I wore it last week on a dreary, chilly, spring day and just loved its spicy floral notes. Today was the hottest day so far in 2009 and somehow Soir de Lune managed to show me it’s fresh, clean, almost soapy-green-dry side. It really is a marvelous little wonder. Soir de Lune certainly envelopes the wearer and has potent sillage but miraculously it doesn’t overwhelm. I think of fishnet stockings, which cover the skin, but not completely, allowing all sorts of skin to poke through. Soir de Lune, like a pair of fishnets, provides a dramatic entrance, but allows the wearer to emerge, never overtaking.

Soir de Lune is one of those perfumes where a list of notes doesn’t give you a clear picture. I would describe it as a modern chypre, with a clearly defined citrus top, floral & spicy heart and woody base. Soir de Lune has the “dancing” quality of well done modern chypres, which causes the scent to be multi-faceted instead of uniform. The notes swirl around you allowing you to smell different aspects of the composition throughout the day. At times, Soir de Lune has a blazing rose heart, reminding me of Ungaro Diva, except subtract the heaviness of Diva and add a dose of modern freshness.

Notes: citrus, bergamot, mandarin, lemon, coriander, nutmeg, chili pepper, rose absolute, mimosa flower absolute, jasmine, lily of the valley, iris, peach, tree moss, musk, honey, sandalwood, and Indonesian patchouli

Rating: 5 stars
Sillage: perfectly potent
Longevity: excellent, all day or all night

The cap of the bottle is a bit tacky (sigh) but overall the fragrance is so good I'm starting to find it charming...