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ibn355intitytek – :
I have 90 ml of that perfume and there is no love 🙁
I am in Poland if you are interested, I bought it in TKMAXX.
OlegGavr – :
I had this gem hidden away for years , When I first acquired it;I was wearing it in the summer and was wondering why I am not liking it?
I decided to try it today in this mild Canadian winter; Lord it is lovely,
I smell the Rum, The incense,The resins and the Tobacco during the dry down,
Scent 10/10
Long lasting 12 hours
Silage 10/10
Thanks,
emerGator – :
It’s a shame both this and MPG Eau Des Iles are discontinued. I was able to find a small decant of this online and it brought back great memories of the smokey spiciness in both. I just wish there was something similar currently in production. With all the dupes being produced nowadays, it would fantastic if Alexandria or another house would be inspired to re-create them. A winner.
TropleDor – :
I lurked for years, coveting, and finally blind-bought a used bottle of L’Eau du Navigateur. It looks fine, the seller has good reviews, and there’s no evidence of damage or oxidization (it’s a spray, pale in color, and still fairly full, so at worst, the top notes might have gone a little wobbly), but omg this stuff smells terrible on me! The only coffee I’m detecting is the flavored General Foods International stuff in the tins, then there’s a hint of cumin, a green (fern?) note, LOTS of floral, some dusty powder, some castile soap, and a layer of shellac or varnish. Oh, and maybe a little beeswax. I don’t notice any leather, incense, tobacco, or masculinity wafting from my skin, but I do smell a cloying hint of very-old-man-at-the-barbershop. It seems I’ve made an expensive mistake, in terms of my own chemistry, but if anybody on here would like to barter for the remainder, my loss can be your gain. I might also try to decant and sell testers on eBay, since it’s really hard to find, and no one else seems to be offering samples.
v-17744_unlim.ru – :
I would really like to try this fragrance. If anyone has a bottle they would like to sell or a decant they can part with, please message me.
popersy – :
My first ‘niche’ fragrance and one of the few scents in my collection that blew me away instantly. After reading all I could find about it and decided for another blind buy, I couldn’t believe at first wearing it is a fragrance created in 1979 !…it has so many notes I usualy appreciate in a man’s fragrance: bitter roasted coffee, spices, leather, dry florals, incense, tobacco – everything packed harmoniously and delivering a stunning and intriguing oriental-spicy scent.
When I wear this, I imagine myself on a chill morning in a torn leather jacket on the upper deck of an old sail, drinking coffee from a tin can and enjoying the smell of Eastern spices coming from under the deck. In this regard, for me, L’Eau du Navigateur is more than a fragrance…it’s a marvelous adventure of senses.
My humble ranking 9.5/10 ☣☣☣☣☣. Highly recommended.
alen.boriso2012 – :
A smooth, somewhat otherworldly, green smoky wood. The first time I tried it, it seemed very weak, so I was about to review it as a lark, but now I find it to be of average strength. It reminds me of things like Preferred Stock, Pasha, Tsar, Kyoto, or Curzon, with that slightly waxy smoke component. While others add to this either dark and dirty greens, or musty fetid leather, Navigateur stays straighter, cleaner and clearer, with something that seems a bit violetty at first, changing over to a very honest, fairy-tale wood. I almost don’t know what to say about it because it doesn’t conflict with any of my do’s and dont’s of wood scents. This could easily find its place among the vaunted Comme des Garcons incense series, but don’t tell anyone that it smells like Preferred Stock. (Or vice versa!)
svbedulev – :
the first 30 ~ 60 mins are perfect — boozy, spicy and lively. then, the cumin/caraway takes over and it becomes unnavigatable. very disappointing…it goes from a A+ to a C in a matter of minutes. the cumin is overpowering, too…sorta like the cumin in ‘al oudh’, but with less to counter-balance it. disappointing…
master. – :
This review is based on a tiny decant. I get mostly tobacco with some spices and woody note. Well-blended overall I feel. Moderate projection and longevity on my skin.
Olya Serdyuk – :
I think L’eau du Navigateur is a fragrance Marco Polo would have loved. It’s not the scent of a modern sailor, it’s the scent of the ancient explorers sailing to find new worlds, new smells and new feelings. L’eau du Navigateur speaks of warm spices, like Marco Polo arriving in India, of tobacco like Columbus discovering America. If you want to take a journey just pu it on. I’m a woman and I find it completely unisex. It’s a classic, so sad it’s been discontinued.
Entrudo – :
This is just a divine fragrance. I cannot for the life of me work out how a scent with these notes smells so good to me; this is not at all the kind of fragrance I would normally wear or like.
I have been intrigued by the notes and the positive reviews for this perfume and wanting to try it for some time, so I bought a sample from the Surrender To Chance website.
On the first spray, I can smell, quite distinctly, cumin, coffee, incense, tobacco and rum, all perfectly blended and so in harmony with each other. Then the florals start to emerge, a sweet, deep yet fresh floral note soaring over the continuing refrain of spice and smoke. Later still, the woods, resins and leather come in, the florals soften, and the whole composition becomes warm and creamy.
This is a glorious symphony of a fragrance. I cannot imagine not having this in my collection.
kkf635bedyWelty – :
To me, this is one of the best from L’Artisan.
A lot of cofee with a lot of woody and spices.Much liqueur too.
Strong notes but not too dense (is a EDT) and better in Spring or autumn.
I agree with Carestinus, maybe it’s few deep for the winter.
Longevity is medium-high (about 6-8 hours) and sillage is moderate.
Scent 8/10
Longevity 7.5/10
Sillage 7/10
assettynals – :
Lately I’ve been searching for softer scents since my wardrobe is full of powerhouses and some days I feel like having something good without being loud. L’Eau du Navigateur fits the bill perfectly since it is very smooth and understated without being bland or forgettable. I see here some other reviewers saying this is a powerhouse and I’m intrigued, Is it that there’s been a significant reformulation? My bottle is in the new shape and it is definitely not a strong scent. I wonder: if l’Artisan stopped selling this… what did they make the new bottles for? Is the old juice transferred? It sounds strange…
On the first 3 minutes there’s a defined edge with some leather, spices and bitter coffee which still is not something I’d call strong. I love the smell!
It goes on for a long time but softens considerably, even becoming hard to perceive unless you put your nose close to the skin. The general effect is that of very bitter and tart coffee beans. Dusty and deeply erotic, I agree with those previous reviewers.
It is not dated at all to my nose even if the smell recalls some 80s scents. The good thing is the softness makes this wearable whereas its cousin Eau des iles, which shares many many facets with this, feels more suitable for the older crowd and might appear a bit dated and harsh (even if it is gorgeous too). Here the smell is unique and modern… or better: timeless. Jean Laporte was a genius to have conceived both.
It is wonderful for men but women should give it a try, I think it might surprise you positively. Still, do I recommend to blind buy as I did? not really. I think a sampling is wise in this case in order to see if you like the low sillage and the scent itself. As for me, I’m in love with it (but to be honest, I would surely have dismissed it in my first months of sampling scents…).
Last but not least: warmer weather (like spring or early autumn, not summer) is the perfect season for this since in winter it gets too lost unless you’re inside a small room.
yhk189speagoessenda – :
I bought this without trying because it was on sale on the L’Artisan site. I’m a woman but quite like masculine woody perfumes so thought this worth a try. I love the idea behind this frag, it certainly does have that dry woodsy dusty smelled you find when traveling in hot country’s. however I am having to start admitting that as much as I like woody fumes, they don’t like my skin. This starts out spicy, woody and rich like a treasured wood spice kept near a box of coffee and a bottle of cognac. There is worn cracked leather and smoky tobacco in there too. It smells amazing but unfortunately after the first half hour the wood and leather start screeching on my skin. It’s a shame as this really is a masterpiece and has clearly stood the test of time. However it would appear that this old scented box of foreign treasures has been discontinued. I thought of keeping my bottle simply because it was no longer available but I decided it should go to someone who can wear it and really appreciate its complexities. So my bottle is now on ebay waiting for its new owner so if your interested look up my user name delilahcat2013 on ebay to buy my full bottle, only one spray used, for a good price. I hope it finds a new home with someone who appreciates it better then I.
red98983 – :
I read that Luca Turin called l’Eau du Navigateur (1982) dated. He’d know better than I. I never smelled before 2013. Still, there is a distinction between dated, meaning era-specific, and tired, even if ‘dated’ has a negative connotation. Navigateur might be dated today, 32 years after its release, but it’s held up well. To be innovative in 1982 and still smell good in 2013? Sounds successful. As a point of comparison Pink Sugar is both era-specific and tired, and was hardly innovative at the time of its release. There are worse things than dated. Does this make Navigateur the male equivalent of old lady perfume? I can live with that. I understand the classifications of the era: loud, spicy, woody as in Antaeus/Quorum/Krizia Uomo; basso fougere like Drakkar Noir and Azzaro pour Homme. I don’t see Navigateur as just a crude precursor of more refined hybrids from the more discriminating 1990s. Rather, the ship landed on the shores of a new “oriental” with coffee in lieu of vanilla. One that predated the Serge Lutens new woody “oriental” from later in the decade.
Coffee bridges culinary spice to resin via woodiness, just as vanilla does. And while Navigateur might also have heralded the gourmand era, its focus is the roasted coffee bean. No cotton candy, no frappuccino. We twist ourselves into knots to imagine that without oakmoss and coumarin the chypre and the fougere are still alive; witness the original Miss Dior Cherie, already redacted by Dior, and Penhaligon’s Sartorial. If we want to view perfumery historically, I vote for acknowledging and embracing the extant, significant perfumes such as Navigateur. Learn from it and enjoy it while it’s here. Who knows when the IFRA will limit coffee use?
from scenthurdle
Apollon71 – :
Having damned L’Artisan Parfumer’s Dzongkha as an absolute Stzingkha, I am pleased to be able to endorse L’Eau du Navigateur as an absolute pleasure.
From the first to the end, pure delight. I love this!
I don’t get a lot of transition, the opening stays until the end. But it is not a ‘linear scent’. Every note is on stage and can be smelt (or heard as Japanese say about incense) as an ensemble but each one remains as distinct as in a solo.
It reminds me of the end of Mozart’s La Nozze di Figaro when everyone sings ‘Ah Tutti Contenti Saremo Cosi’. The great voices of the Divi have to blend as a choir – very difficult for voices trained for solo singing. When it works it is breath taking. This fragrance achieves the same amazing balance which brings solo notes together not to form a shapeless mush but to form a glorious ensemble.
I get rum, leather, coffee, spices, incense, soap, rose. I get, from Bass to Soprano, Bartolo, Figaro, the Count, Cherubino, Marcellina, Susanna, the Countess – singing their hearts out! Beautiful! Bravissimo!
This fragrance is so life-affirming I want to stand up and cheer!
Not much projection, a private indulgence. I like this even more than Timbuktu which is drier and less sweet. Will wear this often, day or evening. I think you could recommend this to men or women, in fact anyone who could sing along with Mozart.
strateg2010 – :
I just got a little sample and a bit of it had spilled in the envelope, so when I opened my mail this morning and sniffed it I wondered :”what’s this beauty!” (there were various samples in the envelope). So, I put it on my skin, knowing I would like it. At the beginning it’s delicately sweet. It doesn’t really seem to be a fragrance for men, as I always expect men fragrances to be a bit stronger, harsher. L’eau du navigateur on my skin starts sweet, with a mild mix of vanilla and rum, which makes it round and mouthwatering. As it develops I can also detect a mild smokiness, very pleasant, and some incense which balances the sweetness giving it a sort of dryness.
It is a very pleasant fragrance and it doesn’t scream loud. I think you could apply wildly this beauty on your skin and it would never be too much, it would never be annoying to the others.
About an hour after applying, I can now detect a hint of leather. Nice leather. The sweetness has toned down. It is now drier. I can now smell a clear note of incense.
I really like it.
Zagrebelny – :
Smoke from a camp fire, leather and flower and a cup of coffe, oh you smell so good. A very interesting perfume.
Doften av en tänd brasa, läder och blommer och aromen från en kopp kaffe, luktar så gott. En mycket intressant parfym.
TheSkull – :
for UK shoppers – I have seen this scent today in Bicester shopping village (outlet centre) in Oxfordshire – they are selling L’Artisan in the Penhaligon’s store.
supor1 – :
I bought it without smelling it before…oh god what is it??? I feel only leather and myrrh in this, horrible!
VikaSuhoi – :
I’m quoting from my fallacious review:
‘….Quite inimaginable that it comes from the expert hands of Olivia Giacobetti….’
1) Of course, NOT! I’ve been told that the Nose behind it was not Olivia Giacobetti but J.C. Ellena and J. La Porte.
Sorry! : ( ………and also:
2) It seems that the same frag is on sale on the online boutique but in U.K.
Thank you Andrapi for having told me about my imprecisions in your kind e-mail!!!
maksfahist – :
Perhaps someone could think that this is not the right fragrance for summer, perhaps someone is right. For me a fragrance can be right if it doesn’t spoil itself whenever it’s used, no matter what the thermometer says, it is basic that the chemistry of the essence and that of the ‘holder’ can match. Liking paradoxes, I do like also trying ‘summer’ scents during the winter and ‘warm’ ones during the summer, being a gardenist I like making programs and projects as well, perfume is not only memory, but sometimes it makes you skip the calendar and let you spy a glimpse of future possibilities as well……A frag like a ‘dress’ or a colour must suit you, and l’Eau de Navigateur does it its job very well on my skin. Although I could love and wear totally different kind of frags, I’m not ashamed about something -probably – controversial but really above any genre, style, trend and so on. Quite inimaginable that it comes from the expert hands of Olivia Giacobetti! Rich and a bit excentric but always in the right ‘measure’! Long lasting.
A big mistake by l’Artisan putting this wonderful perfume (perhaps one of their most original creations) outside its ‘menu’, I personally, would have suggested to do the same with something else! : (
anergiree – :
This one is discontinued unfortunately, but still available at the Artisan store online!! For the ones who must have this!!! 🙂
This is also the case for Tea for Two!
arv2010 – :
My seemingly long quest has come to an end. To find a very masculine fragrance that is at the same time classy and subtle. And yes, I know this is technically unisex
When someone says masculine fragrance the mind goes to places like original polo, kouros, quorum etc, but this is just as masculine but far more refined and nicer to be around.
I don’t get a lot of coffee or spices, but I do get a lot of leather wood and tobacco, with hints of rum, becoming a lovely smoked leather fragrance when it has been on the skin awhile. Reminds me of a pair of old soft leather gloves.
I will wear this one a lot, and it feels good to smell like a man with restraint and character, not a man who is constantly demanding attention
abba59 – :
Navegar, Tibuktu, Dzonka, Tea for Two and of course L’Eau du Navigateur are the winners from L’Artisan. However L’Eau du Navigateur is the mystery, different space, masterpiece. It is very masculine but the way of masculinity is different, so different that any woman can easily jump to it. Spices, woods, sugared fruits, and I’m almost sure animal notes -castoreum, amber, musc. This is my next purchase. Perfect for cold sunny spring evenings and nights. Love it. Renaissance in the perfume world.
aveolena – :
Wow, wearing this makes me feel as I’ve spent a ravishing night with a cigar smokin’ and whiskey sippin’ gentleman. Tobacco, dry woods, a lot of vintage-old leather and spices. Strange on a women’s skin, but so alluring!
Vovanz77 – :
To me this scent opens with a sharp blast of incense,dark rum and spicy/woody notes this phase is so potent that it will mask the coffee note thats in there and all the others notes that are supporting the top, however i get the hints of dry ground coffee, which is very easy to miss in the opening of the scent.
After the top notes calm down a bit the very luxurious sweet tobacco is easier to detect although It is one of the main notes of the fragrance Its is very much masked by the top notes which are very heavy to the nose and can confuse your senses. But once it settles down a bit you smell the amazing high quality tobacco, not burnt tobacco but the tobacco you buy loose from those expensive tobacco shops that are found in those trendy and expensive areas.
The ground coffee is also coffee before it’s been added to hot water and milk, so you will not get that sweet caramel quality here, rather something very dry and almost bitter and ashy. The leather in the scent is not heavy it just stays in the background all the way through and never becomes to leathery imo.
There are some hints floral notes here not fresh florals but rather dry petels of about 2-3 different flower types so never becomes a pot pouri type floral, this blends so well with the scent and adds a different dimension to the sweet quality coming from the tobacco leaf.
The spice in this scent never becomes anything that resembles currry in any shape or form. It is not the spice you get in Decloration from cartier, that one i will agree is an indian spice market done very well.
This however is a very strong crushed spice added to make the fragrance sharp and to give it a kick.
Once the scent does settle on your skin you are wraped in one of the cleanest and most unique smells you could think of, very artistic smell.
To appreciate this scent you have to get past the opening which can last upto an hour. After that it just get better and better. This is the kind of scent thats quite serious and will be more suitable for the men and wommen in there late 20’s and up. Sillage is very good and lasting power is 6-8 hours and close to the skin after that but never leaves.
To me this scent is best for Autumn/Winter and cannot see anyone wanting to wear this scent during the hotter months.
Overall an amazing scent that could possibly be getting discontinued, one of the more creative L’artisan scents in their line what a shame.
Scent 9/10
gibaueba – :
first impressions: curry, coffee, spice incense. Oh these reviews below me…This is not “just for men”, gimme a break. What makes this solely masculine?? Stop deterring women from giving these type of scents a chance on their skin! It’s sexist and ridiculous. A century ago, there were no classifications…men and women wore perfumes based on what they liked, not what they were told was for men or women. There is nothing cloyingly thick heavy or suffocating that would not work on a female’s skin with this perfume. Ok rant over. It’s very nice and middle-eastern-y. It’s different, and this smells lovely on me. On top of everything I already listed that I smelled, also add sort of a rum & coke hint, and just a little little bit of sweet smoky pipe tobacco. These are buried tho, they are not strong components. The stars are still the curry/spice/incense/coffee notes. Since I’m not a world traveler, I will have to compare this perfume to something I do know about…this smells like when you’re walking down Curry Hill in Nyc on Lexington Ave & the 20’s…all the spices coming from the many Indian restaurants, very warm and exotic. This is just beautiful and I would love to add this to my collection someday. lasts a long time as well !
mclion – :
Foremost, I’ll just say this is far more a masculine scent than anything. I would find it strange on a woman since the dry-down and base of this is all tobacco, leather, resin and incense. I do pick up on the rum, the spices and coffee, but the other notes certainly take a minor role in this.
This is a warm, rich, well-executed scent that has incredible projection and a subtle and agreeable dry-down. I’ve just gotten home from sitting in my office with this most of the day, and just every so often the aroma would waft through. I sampled the entire line of Les Artisans, and just as @lvrocker chose this over Absinthe, I too felt the same way about the comparison from the first scent. This is a fragrance that you either understand quickly, or you’ll never get it. By far, next to Dzing! (which I cannot figure out why they classify that as unisex as well), this is a brilliant scent. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
I find it completely intoxicating.
Oh, and as for Luca Turin calling this “dated”, consider the source. Rubbish!
muzychenko – :
I would say this fragrance is very brutal. I have no clue how it is set to be unisex. Definitely it is much more masculin, rather than a feminine perfume.
In terms of my own perception, I get a lot-lot-lot of tobacco, coffee and alcohol. It would seem a little bit decadent to the majority. Overall, it’s a heavy scent, unique, powerful and intoxicating.
Yeah, I’ve finally figured out the correct description: brutal and intoxicating. I was hesitating between Fou d’Absinthe and L’Eau de Navigateur, and made my final decision in favour of the latter one.
Alexander_k – :
Strong civet notes first on, then that fades some and there’s wood, resins, leather and a faint fresh body scent. It’s still body, but it’s not nasty. Dry down goes to warm myrrh and resin. Very very nice on dry down, just lovely.
enchantrees – :
I just bought it. It’s my first time wearing it, and it usually takes me a couple of times to really “get” a scent, but right now, it smells like coffee and spices on a man wearing leather. Maybe a man wh’s been working hard on a ship all day. I find it quite erotic and I can’t wait to smell it on my husband too.