Eau de Polder L’essence de Mastenbroek for women and men

L'essence ,is weer te koop bij een boerenbedrijf in het plaatsje Mastenbroek. Het is samen met 'en passant' en tilleul' de meest prachtige geur die er bestaat.

"Eau de Polder" is the result of that rare kind of olfactory artistry, that's able to summon long forgotten emotions; in this case, the sense of newness, freshness and wonder, while running through fields of hay and wildflowers on a late, summer's morning, as a child.

"Eau de Polder" opens on a sheer, oily, wheat-germ note, that's tempered from being too sweet, by the addition of a bitter, vegetal grass note with a hint of pine. Here, the botanical aspect is straightforward and very natural-smelling, with the underlying smell of fertile earth giving a richer, deeper density.

As EDP progesses, the country/earthy note fades, to be replaced by a dry hay and chamomile note that's slightly sweet in the way chamomile is apple-blossom like, but also dry and fibery, with a slightly, woodsy undertone. The green fades into gold and the scent is now all about paperwhites, dandilions, buttercups, honeysuckle -- white and golden flowers scattered across a field. The golden quality gives a kind of jojoba oiliness that's smooth and soft, while smelling clean and sheer -- like flowers and grasses baking in sunlight.

About halfway through its wear, a soft, buttercream warmth emerges and mixes with the hay and flowers, giving a lactic density to otherwise sheer field scents, and as it mixes with what smells like a hint of pine and cedar, it almost reminds me of castile, coconut-based soap, like "Kirk's".

"Eau De Polder" is so unusual, so beautiful in its ability to paint a picture of a pasture at daybreak -- quiet, dewy, fresh but organic, raw in its unadultured naturalness -- that I almost feel as if I have an entire world in each little drop, like a memory-recall system that immediately re-connects me with the land whenever "modernity" pulls me too far from my roots. I find it very beautiful and very wearable, but I imagine this will not wear well on everyone. If you're someone who's skin sets white flowers and animalic notes into roaring, full bloom, the hints of dairy and earth in EDP might be too much for you. This is definitely a tester, as it's quite expensive and you'll need to search it out online, in specialty, fragrance shops (unless you're near the actual origin of the polder, where a re-fill center has been erected, specifically for the scent).

But it's worth every penny. "Eau De Polder" is a concentrated oil and it was compiled from the input of an entire community, an attempt to capture the essence of place, an essence that could be shared with others as an experience; around The World and with future generations -- those who may never have the chance to experience these ancient polders, as land and space becomes continuously threatened by development. It's such a touching idea and I believe, everything the art of perfumery is meant to be about...certainly, at its most noble: Something that brings people together over their sensory memories, cultural associations and communal ties to a place.

Such a beautiful idea, in fact, that I will continue buying this lovely scent and supporting this artistic venture, for as long as they'll make it. I can't think of a higher point of accomplishment in fragrance, than this. For anyone who considers themself a genuine lover of perfume, "Eau de Polder" is a truly touching story (and the perfume itself is just as lovely as its concept). It isn't just worth a try, it DESERVES to be tested :).

I am delighted that someone has actually succeeded in bottling the smell of cut wildflowers and grass. I have been looking a long time for a perfume that could capture those whiffs of yum on summertime bike rides. Really this perfume is polderesque and playful. After the initial bliss though, I smelt not a grassy landscape any more - what was left were just yellow flowers like freesia or narcissus. And while this flowery scent is still very Dutch (it reminded me a lot of my grandmothers home) I think it is not how I, woman of the 21st century, want to come across.

I tried for so long to get a sample of this that I was almost tempted to buy the FB unsniffed. So glad I didn't. I don't know why I was so obsessed with trying this, I guess I love hay and wildflower sort of scents, as opposed to big lush overpowering florals, but I should have given pause when I read the dirt/earth note, but no, I was still curious. Anyway this smells like earth, not like a huge pile of dirt but like going outside after it's been raining, and digging up a bit of the dirt/earth near a herb garden and there's like a clean-ish dirt smell. They hay and herbs are there but you really have to strain to identify them, in fact the whole scent is really so subtle that I am straining to actually smell it, so I don't know if it is worth the money for the fact that it has practically no sillage whatsoever. It is an oil, so It may last a while but you have to press nose to wrist to smell it. I could hardly smell any wildflowers, except so softly about half an hour in :(

lol it must smell very dutch if i may believe the name ! what a joke :-p i bet it must smell very earthy and natural

I looked for this when I went to Amsterdam and Rotterdam but was told it had already sold out and now Luckyscent doesn't have it any more. I so wanted to try it.