Eau de Cologne Fraîche, from Dior was released in 1952. The perfumer behind this creation is Edmond Roudnitska. It has the top notes of Lemon and Lemon Verbena, middle notes of Jasmine, Palisander Rosewood, and Rose, and base notes of Oakmoss and Patchouli.
Among Edmond Roudnitska’s fantastic creations for Dior, Eau de Cologne Fraîche often flies under the radar compared to the great presence of his other masterpieces. However, I do not think it deserves the neglect it recieves, for it is truly a beautiful scent. As eau de colognes go, this is one of my absolute favourites. It’s dominated by one of the most beautifully realistic lemon notes I’ve ever smelled, heightened further by verbena - it doesn’t smell synthetic or like a cleaning product as some lemons do. To counter this is a divinely serene creamy base of oakmoss and rosewood. For the most part, that is the entire scent, but it thrives in its simplicity for the balance between everything is perfect. Due to the fact this scent is so overlooked, you can often find it incredibly cheap online. I bought a full 60ml bottle for about £20. You will run into the risk of the top notes being lost, but I was very lucky that my bottle smells beautifully intact. Definitely seek this one out if you’re fan of lemon!