Eau Capitale, to me, harkens to the chypres of yore (as in the mighty 80’s) but done in a modern way, with its ups and downs. It echoes stuff like Diva, Scherrer, Parfum de Peau, Knowing, Jacomo’s Parfum Rare, even something modern like Superstitious. It’s got the feel of a proper chypre, but alas it lacks what they used to have; oakmoss, stamina, and that entrancing embrace that made you either love them or loathe them. Eau Capitale opens bright and shiny, with just enough bergamot and aldehydes to make it instantly feel like a chypre. But, it feels washed down, kinda diluted, and after a while, it smells closer to a modern rose/patch perfume, moving close to something like Soir de Lune rather than Eau du Soir for example. The heart is mostly about rose, but unlike something like Tobacco Rose which showcases a black/red rose, here we get a lighter version. It smells like dew on pink buds, more geranium than rose. It smells natural but younger, fresher, brighter. As the drydown approaches, the patch gets a push to the front, and the slightly dirty musk cocktail makes the whole smell far more interesting, far more vibrant. It’s like an 80’s powerhouse seen through an Instagram filter. It dances between echoing the past, smelling futuristic (not modern) and getting more interest from me. It has base notes, something sorely lacking in modern fragrances, and what seemed to be missing in the opening, suddenly appears. As it dries down completely, I’m reminded of the green bite of Scherrer mostly, with a touch of Diva’s rose, and it smells as if there’s actually oakmoss. I love it. I love it because unlike current reformulated versions of the above classics, which have been cheapened down to poor copies, this feels as if it was made with care. It has evolution, and after a nice opening, albeit a bit dull, it becomes alive, it dances on skin and starts to show strength. Imagine you’re on a train, the Eau Capitale train, and every stop along the way is one of the above fragrances. Every time you stop, a piece of them gets on the train, and along the ride they mix with each other creating this here, Eau Capitale. At the end of the ride you have something that smells like and at the same time not like them, with a futuristic approach. It smells old and new, vintage and modern, truly French chic and absolutely beautiful. It could have been a super modern Paco Rabanne (the king of futuristic) chypre experiment! And while it doesn’t have all the ingredients that were available 40 years ago, it smells decidedly chypre; it’s got the panache, the style and the class. And fortunately, not a single woody aromachemical to be smelt! Very good sillage and excellent longevity!