Sisley Eau de 2 by Sisley

It is the greenest of the Sisley trio, the one that best fits the brand and my favourite alongside the third. It’s a luxurious-smelling cologne, very similar to Eau de Campagne but with a fresher, darker, and chicer green note. I love the opening: aromatic, herbal, damp, and lively, though as it dries down it becomes darker, rougher, and more masculine, dominated by vetiver. I find it great for summer, although the price is outrageous. It lasts about seven hours on skin and I notice its halo, but no one else does. Although it has better longevity than many colognes and a more luxurious character, the performance doesn’t justify the cost. Furthermore, the base notes dominate too soon, stripping away nuances and freshness.

A fresh fragrance with the elegance Sisley knows how to create. When I think about what it evokes, I imagine a super-green, wet forest after the rain. I detect lots of fresh cardamom, a pinch of basil and bergamot, but there’s something sweet I can’t place. It reminds me of Hermès gardens and my beloved Un Jour from the same house: a wet, cold green, almost metallic. It’s my go-to fragrance when Málaga hits thirty-plus degrees; it cools me down immensely.

It continues the Sisley saga. This is the most unisex, with a masculine touch: fresh, bubbly, and great for mature men, ideal for work or a walk with friends. It smells of woods and aromatics with a powdery base; it starts fresh and transitions to a dry cedar and vetiver. It has a good memory effect and is easy to distinguish. A dry, evolving, and natural perfume for those seeking soft, natural, and luminous scents.

I have tried it several times with the No. 2 from the Eau de Cologne trio from ten years ago, and it doesn’t work. It makes my stomach turn. It attempts to reinterpret the green and woody waters of the 70s and early 80s; the intention is good, as few join this family. It is curious: anyone feels like wearing a light cologne or EDT, citrus or woody, that brings peace and cleanliness. That value is always secure in a crisis, unlike oriental or sweet perfumes which, in difficult times, are associated with excess and forget their place until prosperity returns. The worse the world goes, the more we seek the natural, hygienic, and clean: citrus, herbs, and woods. No. 2 has an interesting green sweetness at the start, but the finish revolts me. That oily, gummy vetiver that perfumers sometimes use; I don’t know if it’s a molecule or a bad blend (perhaps basil?). It smells like gum chewed a thousand times, not soap, but wet plastic. I flee that note like the devil takes me. It seems like oily bamboo with lemon grass or lettuce, with hints of gummy mint and latex. It swallows the entire composition; I only smell that green, chlorophyllous, damp vetiver with a plastic finish, typical of 90s masculine aromatics. I like it not at all. The intention is appreciated, but that’s where it stops. I prefer No. 3, although when osmanthus comes to the fore, it tastes less to me. PS: Poor sillage, regular longevity. PS II: It reminds me a lot of L’Eau Boisée de Guerlain Homme.

This lovely perfume is running out and I’m sad because it’s very expensive and I don’t know when I’ll be able to buy another bottle. It’s a green chypre with lots of personality, fresh and energising; you can smell its quality from a mile away, it’s not just another summer scent. However, it has one drawback: it lasts a breath. I would make it my signature, summer after summer, if it weren’t for the price and longevity, as it’s more cologne than perfume. Of the four in the collection, including the Eau Tropical, this is by far the best. The basil stands out, but it’s such a harmonious composition that it’s hard to isolate the notes. I hope we meet again; it’s difficult to find a chypre this contemporary.

Sisley Eau de 2 is what I repeat every summer without fail. Its opening of bergamot and cardamom is unique, so refreshing and singular. Its sublime scent is the only thing that drives me mad, but I’ve got used to reapplying. The cedar, which I already love, is very pretty and real. If I had to define it in one word for her and her sisters, it would be: summer purity. It’s the most effervescent chypre I own, like a corner of a garden in the shade near the pool.

Sparkling and transparent, Sisley Eau de 2 is a dress of white flowers with green touches. The opening is fresh and green, with a taste of sap, combined with tender spices of cardamom and bergamot, with a delicate sensuality and a cheeky touch of basil. The heart is floral, transparent and liquid: water lily, Egyptian jasmine, cyclamen and rose. The base combines the water with the mystery of the chypre, associating solar notes with the sensuality of patchouli and vetiver, the elegance of precious woods and cedar, sandalwood. Luminous, volatile and cheerful, it reinvents the modern green note by adding delicate, serene and natural sensuality.