Have you ever walked past super sophisticated French and Italians on holiday and caught a whaft of their glorious skin-fresh scent? If I close my eyes I’m there… linen shirts, tanned skin, sunshine - and that citrus fresh fragrance. It’s not overly complex; it just smells good and makes me feel good. That’s exactly how I’d sum up Le Couvent des Minimes’ Botanical Cologne of The Morning - or Eau des Matines cologne, to give its official name. I already love the body products from this range, so was optimistic about this new release. Designed to invigorate in the morning and set us up for the day, I’d say that’s exactly what it does (and frankly, I need all the help I can get).
Opening with apple, orange and lemon, it has a heart of pear and fig flowers with basil with a soft base of woods, cedar and musk. It’s one of the few scents I own that I’d describe as truly unisex. This isn’t the type of fragrance to delicately spritz behind each ear and leave it at that… it’s a spray or splash on lavishly (I love that it comes with an optional atomiser so that you can choose) whenever the mood takes you - and smells particularly good on a warm day. Even when I’m not wearing this, I sometimes spritz it around my desk when I’m working, just to get that little energy boost it seems to release. A range of body products are also available in this scent if you want to layer up… as is the nature of cologne, it’s not the longest lasting on its own, so I imagine this would help.
Le Couvent des Minimes Eau Des Matines Cologne, £19 and full collection are available here.
