As gimmicks to sell soap go I am a sucker for soap on a rope. One of my earliest fragrance related gifts was a bar of Aramis scented soap with a loop of braided rope sticking out of the side. I am sure this is a product which has almost all of its sales to men. As I got older I still liked having one hanging from my shower faucet. If there was something that I would use to describe the scent of the soap was that it was a lighter more transparent version of the parent. As we would cross over in to the 2000’s transparent design of the perfume itself became more common. There were also more perfumes which actively embraced being soapy. The new Sisley Izia reminded me of a transparent soapy rose that could have been on a rope.
Sisley is not one of those brands which seems to ride the wave of trends. They have released a total of 12 fragrances since the debut of Eau de Campagne in 1976. At that pace, you have to work on more traditional structures. Which was why Izia surprised me a little bit because this was a contemporary rose fragrance from a brand where that is not one of the adjectives which springs to mind. Perfumer Amandine Clerc-Marie did a nice job at making Izia a spring rose with something different to say.
Amandine Clerc-Marie
The soapiness for Izia comes from a selection of aldehydes which combine to form a fine French-milled soap accord. When I get a really fine soap and open it for the first time there is this wonderful moment as the pent-up scent rises off the cake and fills the room as if on an invisible soap bubble. The aldehydes in Izia do the same for the rose. The aldehydes serve to give a diffuse quality to the rose making it softer. To that Mme Clerc-Marie adds a pinch of pink pepper, some pear, and bergamot. These provide detail without distracting from the soapy rose. That effect gets stronger in the heart as freesia, angelica, and peony make Izia fresher but no less soapy. The base is a very clean cedary musk.
Izia has 8-10 hour longevity and moderate sillage.
If you do not like your perfume soapy Izia should be avoided it is one of the more prominent soapy perfumes I have tried in some time. Prior to wearing Izia I would have numbered myself in that group. What Izia made me see was if the soap is given something on which to actively make transparent it can be a refreshing change from the other dewy spring roses on the shelf this time of year. If you have overlooked Sisley, Izia is enough of a change that you might want to give it a chance to make a new impression.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Nordstrom.
–Mark Behnke
