Loewe Esencia Eau De Parfum 100ml

Product Information

Update: worn it some more, lasted about 3h and became a skin scent way too early. This was in Spain, at 20+ degrees. Unacceptable at its price. Such a shame.

Really love this fragrance. I found out about it by successively selecting my favourite notes on the 'Perfumes' tab here, until only one fragrance remained. I do not understand the comparison to Polo other than the color scheme of the original bottle. Both fragrances transport me to lush-damp forest, but they do it in very different ways. Polo is the scent of forest floor in late Autumn whereas this is the scent of winter air amongst high altitude evergreens. Polo is dense whereas this is much lighter in structure and feel. What Loewe did here was to take the concept of Loewe pour homme, strengthen and improve the aromatics and change the base to more chypre (oakmoss and tremoss) and less fougere. I kept smelling and smelling and this perfume was literally under my nose and i was trying to understand where it came from... i was sure it was from 2 people sitting on another terrace around 10m far from me.

International delivery

I see it far below, both in quality and in distinction, or creativity, of releases such as "Loewe 7" or its "Anonymous" flanker. With much less elaboration and nuances than these, apart from that we are talking about a copy of other perfumes that have been in the market for some time. I do believe however, that ELPH is a very special kind of green fragrance and I'm very happy that it is still with us. I have both a vintage sample and a newer version in the Dark green frosted glass bottle. I can't say what this smelled like in 1988, but both of mine smell very similar to my nose. This scent is very unique and yet familiar and I like it very much. It smells sweeter and a bit cleaner than other piney-mossy fougeres in my opinion.

The result is Loewe-style spanish aromas (wide, juicy, medium strong but lots of flavors), with a refreshening top and a GREAT drydown. The next phase is lively with many different notes rising and falling. But, for me, the main players are bergamot, petitgrain, neroli and jasmine underpinned by iris and rose. I know very little about this fashion house. Quite a rare thing to have a chance to smell and test Spanish perfumery on the market. I haven't had any chances, at least. Well, there are some perfumes from Loewe lines that I simply don't like, but I appreciate the craftsmanship and the quality as well. The perfumery here smells very natural, very much Hedione based in my opinion. Lightness, airiness are quite typical for this brand. Very skilled perfumery, regarding citruses. I think, perfumers' work in Loewe brand needs appreciation. Loewe have for a long time impressed me with solid quality and reasonable prices. They are really good on aromatic flavors, and this is their best. This is not an aventus clone and it also does not imitate mont-blanc's take on Aventus as some here claim. This thing is quite natural smelling in comparison to MB explorer, and it also goes on it's separate way in the dry down, maybe more then a bit.The first spray vaults us to great heights (think leafy green tree tops) with a smooth lavender and a beautiful pine note, some tarragon and petitgrain and the smallest bit of basil. The extra fresh and herbal opening gives way to a spicy mid that gets slightly soapy.(that nutmeg note is so good!) The florals float in with a nice rose and jasmine that get a minty fresh push from the geranium. The base runs sweet and slightly earthy with some tonka, vetiver and patchouli. As for the dry down, imagine an artisanal shaving soap that was kissed with the slightest bit of incense. This is standard Loewe: rich, bold and beautiful. Aventus has a lot more depth. Esencia EDP does an excellent job in capturing the aura and feel of Aventus, but it’s very linear, no where near Aventus’ sophistication. When we finished eating, i put my mask to hide some embarrasing, went to the table and asked... “buenas noches! some of you guys have a beautiful perfume and i would like to know if it’s cool water?” One looked to the other saying “i don’t wear perfume today” (crazy guy lol), and the other said it’s esencia de loewe. My bottle of Esencia Loewe is nearly full simply because it's not my vibe. This is no comment on the quality of the fragrance; it's an interesting scent which evolves in an equally interesting manner. I'm not that kind of person who throws around statements such as "best ever", "best of" ," top three", "best of its kind" because i firmly believe that each and every perfumer puts his or her best effort and knowledge into every single one of their creations. So it would be unfair to other green creations if go over board with praise for this Loewe's creation.

The final phase keeps the citrus and white flower top notes but switches out the iris and rose for the more resinous notes: amber, styrax, galbanaum and a touch of musk and vetiver. This is very masculine in a similar vein to Azzaro PH but it's more refined, less rugged. It's masculinity comes from the fresh green notes, herbs, berries and woods, rather than musky animalic notes, so you can actually wear a fair amount of it and take advantage of its 'powerhouse' nature without feeling that you're cloying the air around you with crotch notes or schmooze vapour. But as it started to dry down I was amazed at what I was experiencing - it went from "meh" to "WOW" within ten minutes. The herbal weight of the middle notes really started to register just as some of the sweeter notes begin to negate the opening acidity. by the time it fully dries down it becomes a rich, patchouli-heavy resinous evergreen slab of deep green delights.

My Account

So when we finished our meeting, I had to ask what he was wearing, and he pulled this fragrance out of his bag! I always have decants of my favorite fragrances in my own bag, so immediately pulled out Aventus and made him try it out (he’s not a fragrance enthusiast, so he never actually smelled Aventus before!). He was very pleasantly surprised at how similar they were, but I was also able to really feel the difference between them. Very pleasant smell though nothing ground breaking even for someone not so experienced like me. Unfortunately, performance is poor on my skin and at €75 for 50ml or €150/ 100ml I'd rather look at other options until I find it (heavily) discounted. I was going for a meeting with my manager, and when I entered his office, my nose immediately went “is that...Aventus...?!!”. It was very pleasant, and definitely fills a room!

Autumn shows up after a while where dry woods and a herbal touch support the pine and fir to signal this fragrant year is nearly over. I have also heard about severe reformulations..., but this is quite a common problem in the industry nowadays. A little spoiler: I hope the longevity of Esencia would be appropriate, because this was constructed masterfully. This fragrance does not strike me as being as fresh and green as other reviewers seem to find it. I get more of an orange, peachy, pink colour from it. Subsequent wearings have been far more successful and have drawn compliments. The bottle can be seen fairly frequently on my “wearing today” indicator on Fragrantica.The closest thing I can compare it to is the fizzy green opening 20 minutes of Bogart Signature that I always wished lasted longer. This fragrance does exactly that - cranks the juniper and galbanum up to 11 and keeps it pumpin' for the whole show. Really feels like it's all bright green top notes that turn into a fizzy, juniper soap. But that's the thing - it's a sour juniper and not the resinous sappy kind. Just a heads up. It’s not discontinued. I’ve just literally got home from Tenerife. It’s 351am (UK), and we flew just after 9pm (Canary islands are on the same time line as U.K.), having sprayed this at the airport store! Long lasting and lovely,green minty sophisticated vibe.