Ciel Woman
Amouage (2003)

Ciel Woman

Ethereal, breezy, bright. A well-blended aquatic floral starring water lily and cyclamen, which are notoriously ephemeral and difficult to pinpoint. You sense an aura rather than smelling a specific fragrance. If you know the feminine Acqua di Gio from the 90's, this is a sister fragrance with a similar focus on airy/watery notes, violet leaf, peach, dewy florals, jasmine, and sandalwood. Here it's water lily and cyclamen; in Acqua di Gio (femme), it's lily of the valley and hyacinth. Ciel has a bit more substance due to the addition of rose, plus some incense in the base, but the Armani had a peachier, fruitier tang. For the money, stick with the Armani if you enjoy this kind of bright, soft floral skin scent in summertime.

A bright cyclamen as the star, with violet leaf, gardenia surrounding it, with slightly aquaeous moments here and there. Pleasant

Whilst the top notes are on the bright floral side, the drydown continues the floral theme by being a white floral bulwark, staunchly defended by jasmine, a rose and a faint water lily against non-floral intruders. These florals are mixing well, but none of them strikes me as outstanding in their expression. This includes the rose, which is a rose, a rose, and a rose all right, but neither particularly intense, rich or complex.

The base includes a sweet and ambery incense that is underlined by a woodsy background - a touch of cedar and a rather perfunctory sandalwood - and at times the frankincense-amber dyad results in a nice glowing warmth, albeit quite close to my skin.

I get moderate sillage, adequate projection and seven hours of longevity on my skin.

This is an agreeable spring scent, but most of the ingredients are neither very vivid nor very complex. The initial impression as well as the phase towards the end work the best. Overall 2.75/5.

You're a butterfly, the white pieris rapae, fluttering on a soft breeze. It's a cool morning, but the sun is peeking out to warm your delicate wings as you fly between dew-soaked water lilies, violets, and gardenias. Some gentle winds pass through the swaying trees of the woods nearby and over the other waking insects towards you, and as you look up at the blue sky, you haven't a care in the world. Ciel Woman by Amouage.

A well appointed green-floral bouquet with a starring waterlily/cyclamen aqueous chord, a tart fruity influence from the peaches blossoms in the central stage and a final "ambiental" woody muskiness becoming in the time almost talky and with violet nuances in the powder. Very light, initially faintly crisp and finally vaguely powdery/incensey and indeed far less fruity and pungent than in the initial phase. The smell is easy, ethereal and enjoyable at least in its smoother and more confortable drydown (although not utterly natural) but i suppose would not be the best choice for all those looking for a loud, extremely elegant and original kind of scent. The longevity is in the average.

Green floral, nothing special, not much longevity...definitely a female fragrance

The sheer pointlessness of this staggers me. A light green jasmine with a watery aura and some plasticky synthetics. The kindest thing I can say about this is it isn't loud. Like one of Yves Rocher's duller offerings.