Description
On the Isolino, a tiny island in the heart of Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy, lies an
elegant nineteenth-century villa surrounded by a luscious garden amid placid lake
waters.
It was in the golden years of the early 20th century that this garden was the setting for
one of the most intriguing love stories, that of the ravishing princess Vittoria Colonna
and Umberto Boccioni, the vibrant young painter who was among the founders of the
artistic movement of Futurism.
Theirs was a short, intense love affair that embodied the cultural upheaval of the times
and the encounter of two aesthetic concepts: the tradition of romanticism expressed by
Vittoria, whose romantic spirit led her to create the beautiful garden on the shores of
Lake Maggiore, and the iconoclast and avant-garde artist Boccioni, whose paintings and
sculptures express the dynamic innovation at the heart of Futurism.
Nearly a century later, when the time arrived for Eau d’Italie to create its first feminine
floral fragrance, there was no doubt: it had to be a real Italian floral with the qualities
of a classic, but with an innovative contemporary twist: an avant-garde romantic
floral…
This was our inspiration for “Au Lac” (“By the lake”): a fragrance that tells of a
passionate love affair in a gorgeous Italian garden in the middle of summer, the air
filled with the scent of flowers and surrounded by the peaceful waters of a lake.
To create these exquisitely beautiful notes Eau d’Italie has worked with legendary nose
Alberto Morillas, to deliver a magnificent fragrance capable of blending the deep beauty
of a truly feminine floral into the vibrant, dynamic frame of a Futurist painting.
Au Lac was launched in 2010.
crani – :
Au Lac should be called Au Piscine (By the Pool). The aquatic notes smell like pool water, ozone and chlorine on my skin. I can’t pick out any of the listed notes – to me the floral just smells clean and watery (water lily?) and there’s a green note that reminds me of violet leaf. This type of aquatic seems to hate my skin chemistry, though the more salty-herbal ones smell wonderful. Dislike.
nicolette540 – :
Au Lac (By the Lake). The name seems to be on-point with this release of Eau D’Italie as well. Smells very much like a water lily pond or lake in the spring/summer. This one opens up with a dominant water lily note, accompanied with osmanthus, jasmine, and just a touch of papyrus. It stays linear, which is fine, since there is no need for it to be a very complex creation. Great for a day out in the nature. As with most white floral fragrances, this one reminds me of a luxury feminine soap, which I do enjoy. On my skin, this one lasts about 6 hours, with moderate to soft projection. Au Lac is a great release for women and I do suggest trying it out.
kub109speagoessenda – :
Au Lac was my first niche fragrance. It had to be. I felt I had no choice but to own it. I HAD to capture its essence somehow.
It’s so expressive, poetic really. A bottle filled not just with the most beautiful water lilies in perfumery, but with white swans, a small garden of osmanthus and a precious few jasmine. It’s a bottle filled with with Victorian sensibilities and romance, endless, endless romance. It’s a fragrance of nature, but also with an air of refinement.
Some days it’s fleeting on my skin, some days it’s with me for hours.
Some days it’s more aquatic, some delicately but decidedly floral.
I use to wonder if I had simply fallen victim to the name, By the Lake, or the press, a fragrance inspired by a passionate love story between a princess and a painter.
Is it real?
I’ve chosen to think so.
I don’t just love Au Lac, I need it.
It speaks to me. Makes promises. Offers peace and serenity. Tells me love stories I want to hear.
Evicka – :
Very beautiful daywear fume sweet but not caramel sweet,its unique lovely.
AlexOV56 – :
I’m a big fan of aquatics, especially floral aquatics, and sometimes I find myself defending them because they often invoke strong negative reactions. I’ve been told I’m “not a real perfume fan” because I enjoy Cool Water and L’Eau D’Issey – and that’s just one of the nicer things. I’ve never been able to figure out why this one type of fragrance makes people so angry, but have sometimes wondered if it comes down to snobbery/elitism. I feel this perfume proves that it often does.
Now, I’m not for a second saying anyone who doesn’t enjoy certain perfumes is a snobby elitist. We all have our personal tastes and there’s nothing wrong with that at all. But I’ve seen some glowing reviews for this perfume (I’m NOT taking shots at anyone here, I mean all over the web) from people who absolutely detest mainstream 90s floral aquatics to the point of making fun of anyone who enjoys them.
But here’s the thing: this smells exactly like a mainstream 90s aquatic. It’s light, airy, gently floral and has lashings of calone in it. It’s no different at all in both vibe and quality to a Cool Water or an Issey Miyake.
This type of fragrance is Alberto Morillas’ specialty. He’s excellent at it. The only difference between this and the ones that are so loathed is that it comes from a niche house and costs a lot more.
I feel, although he didn’t make it, that this is closer to Cool Water than it is to a Miyake, simply for the sheer volume of calone in it. This instantly hits you with “aquatic”. It’s shameless about it – not that that’s a bad thing in my book.
The water lily is the most noticeable flower. There’s something a little masculine about this. It’s not quite as feminine as I’d have liked. A guy could easily get away with wearing this.
I find this linear. Calone, water lily, subtle osmanthus and a slighty sweet/fruity backdrop.
It’s very nice, but it has been done – and loathed – before.
Maybe my nose isn’t sophisticated enough to spot all the subtle differences that make this so superior to its much maligned counter parts. It’s possible – I certainly don’t think I’m an expert. Or maybe, just maybe, people are being a little too elitist about other great scents just because of their reputation?
Very, very soft sillage and around 6 hours longevity.
kirill2012 – :
Aquatic floral. Actually it also feels a bit green and herbal. It’s light and delicate, a bit generic summer splash. I am not that exited about this one, I’ve smelled similar cheaper compositions like this before.
tirabyan76 – :
I obtained a sample of this about a year ago and was so disappointed that although I loved the sample, there was no where to purchase this so had to file it away with the other unobtainable fragrances that I had sampled. But I was absolutely delighted to discover that escentual.com stock this and will ship to NZ! So I ordered it and anxiously awaited it’s arrival, hoping it was as beautiful as I remembered. Alberto Morillas is one of my favourite perfumers and he has not disappointed with this. It is an ethereal floral aquatic with such clarity, you can almost pinpoint every note individually yet they combine to create a beautiful harmony. It does remind me of L’eau d’issey but is done 100 times better. If I could go back and remarry my sweetheart I would be sure to wear this. I also have to mention the exquisite design of the bottle, the picture just does not do it justice, the bottle is stunning to see and to hold. I am so happy to have this in my collection and although I wouldn’t normally purchase a 100ml size I feel that it won’t be enough!
realevg – :
Straight from the bottle this smells very very nice, there is definitely the Morillas quality in this creation, airy, just enchanting smell.Not a fan of aquatics myself this is more a clear limpid floral, with cristal clear notes, I would say this is a floral green scent, almost with some chypre undertones, so there is a timeless prettiness to this scent.
it has a romantic aura, a bit vintage in a nice timeless way.Way softer and better done than Eau d’Issey which I cannot stand.More like Eau de Eden by Cacharel, although Eau d’Italie is smoother!
Electronix – :
AU LAC by Eau d’Italie
Exquisitely beautiful aquatic floral. This is Monet’s “Waterlilies” come to life with all dewy diaphanous pastel splendor. An Undine is singing a siren’s song and combing her hair in an enchanted freshwater lake surrounded by richly fragrant night-blooming waterlilies in the summer moonlight.
Refined scents of delicately spicy osmanthus, night blossoming jasmine, and climbing summer rose vines are woven through the perfumed trails of the waterlilies and leafy papyrus plants. A grove of ripe fig and a flowering bitter orange trees surround this magical lake in a delicately scented herbal embrace. A touch of soft amber and quietly subdued cedarwood gently grounds the whole composition.
I derive absolute pristine freshness without acridity or any trace of sour imbalance on my skin. No sweetness beyond that which is present in the natural plant aromas exist to sully the perfect clarity and elegance of this blend.
This is a fairy tale masterpiece of enchanting beauty.
Bravo and thank you Maestro Morillas.
Dhrhguty – :
OMG – I love it! I received it today (as a blind purchase but thanks to Fragrantica it was not a failure) and I am totally in love with this scent – now only the spring must come ;)! One of my top 3 favorites…
mzr043intitytek – :
Floral aquatics are not really my “thing”. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that most of them induce a feeling akin to seasickness in me. Eau d’Italie AU LAC is an exception to the rule, no doubt due to the higher quality ingredients used than are found in most mainstream designer aquatic fragrances. Many of those, too, have been designed by Alberto Morillas, apparently under severe budget constraints.
Unfortunately, because of the large number of unwearable aquatics signed by Morillas, I have come to read his name as a red flag danger sign. In fact, I have on occasion vetoed blind buys after learning that Morillas was the designer. The Bvlgari OMNIA series flankers are good examples of fragrances which I would not wear even if someone sent me bottles for free.
Fortunately, AU LAC is a nice counterexample and a demonstration to my nose (and central nervous system) that Morillas and I are not really the perfume couple made in hell. This is a pleasant and wearable water lily fragrance. Granted, that is fairly faint praise, but it means a lot given my typical physiological reaction of revulsion to low-cost aquatic compositions.
If I were going to add an aquatic fragrance to my collection, it would have to be something like this. There is a gentle woodiness–which seems like vetiver–and a bit of greenness here as well, but mostly I consider AU LAC to be a waterlily soliflore. This composition is bound to please aquatic fragrance lovers and is definitely worth testing by them.
mityxa – :
Lovely scent but, unfortunately, due to soft sillage and poor longevity on my skin, leaves me like wearing no scent at all. It is (too) subtle, sweet without being sickly, has an interesting watery/grassy opening, and I wish it stayed with me a bit longer!
Larkvlad – :
This is so delicate…but with good sillage. Like if the word “perfection” had a smell. A fairy tale wedding day scent…fresh, clean, enchanted flower garden. The feel of colors of the lightest pastel hues surrounded by glorious white clouds. Breathtakingly Lovely. So beautiful I can only ‘sigh’ in appreciation. Love, Love…Love.
dobid – :
At first, I smelled nothing. And 10 minutes later, I was in paradise. Au Lac within few minutes from literally nothing becomes one of the most wonderful fragrances out there, a journey to the past, a delicate memory of an enchanted garden.
The top notes were not what really grabbed by attention, although water lily has a strong presence here, but the subtle combination of rose and osmanthus surprised me and drew me in. It’s a simple fragrance, but by no means simplistic! The woody base is also a faint accent, all to emphasise on the lovely flowers, fresh, sweet, delicate, very feminine. If fairies smelled of a perfume, they would smell of Au Lac, I am quite sure.
I also find this scent somehow familiar, although I can’t quite remember what does it remind me of. Perhaps a glimpse of a memory from my past life?
Чика – :
Fortunately I had not read any reviews to bias my nose when I hauled out this sample to try, so my first impression was, “This is just another airy-woody masculine cologne”. After reading the entire backstory about the Italian lovers on the lake and the fact that Au Lac is supposed to be an avant-garde feminine floral, I wonder if I would have perceived it differently from the very start. I hope not.
Au Lac starts out with sharp green and woody notes, heavy on the “cedar/masculine woody” base and the “airy/watery/marine/ozone” top notes. Whatever florals are present in the filling get completely lost, sandwiched as they are between these olfactory equivalents of thick and heavy bread slices. Over the next few hours it undergoes a series of pronounced changes. There’s a short time when there’s a citrusy lemongrass-like scent, but then the whole thing morphs into a sharp, non-sweet, slightly medicinal powdery scent that I find pleasant, if not what I was expecting. It smells familiar, maybe like a perfume or powder that my mother once had. After the powdery stage has been reached, Au Lac stays that way for the rest of the day, very un-gardenlike and un-lakelike. The scent is strong and long-lasting, with plenty of sillage.
Overall, it’s an interesting take on the powder note that I will enjoy wearing from time to time.
SavinSM – :
Sexy, subtle, sweet and floral, but not too overbearing. Definitely a late breezy afternoon walk thru the garden…right before sunset. MEEEEOWWW! Bonus…reels in my honey every time!