ANY MORE CITRUSES ?
( NOT like this crap )
Would you buy a perfume with this name? ‘Universal water’?
I used to get excited whenever I went into the L’Occitane shop. Sixteen years ago, when the brand had not become the great high street empire it has today, there was an element of mystique. The perfumes, often in delightful extrait miniatures, were of really high quality, some quite unbelievably good, such as their original clove/violet Patchouli (there have been two other completely different versions since, which were no way near as adorable); their wonderful Santal, Bois de Rose, Cannelle Orange, and the indelibly sweet and luscious Vanille Bourbon.
Yesterday, in Tokyo, in the of-the-moment-for-snoots Marounochi building, I came up the escalators to be welcomed by the dreary smell of duty free lounges, posh toilets, and the soul-depleting odour of industrial citrus. This was Eau Universelle, a scent with no personality. A pleasing generic sherbet lemon to begin with, yes…
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The Black Narcissus 
Ok, second go: Fleurs de Citronnier by Serge Lutens. It is a bit bland, a bit soapy, and a bit musky. But it‘s nice for layering and it doesn‘t disappear in a snap.
As the citrus genre is a fleeting Eau de Cologne genre it might be of interest which perfume lasts more than than seven and a half minutes?
I’m a big fan of Agua de Colonia Concentrada by Alvarez Gomez and the 2012 flanker Barberia. It’s so restorative on hot days. People get a kick out of the herbal note (is it basil? rosemary? Did someone make a salad?). I always bring it on trips–instant remedy for jet lag or for freshening up. The Barberia version always gets compliments. In some expensive hipster barber shops, they add a few drops to the hot, steamy cloths that prep the skin for shaving.
Mmmm – love that idea.
And I do like the original too.
Monsieur Balmain is my go-to lemon. Never got my hand on the original Cellier version but I like the modern one. A good, hazy lemon with some verbena and herbs.
I am pretty sure these two are not obscure and well known, but I also love love, love Eau d’Hadrien by Annick Goutal and simple old Hermes Eau D’Orange Verte..