Réminiscence — Sol La

citrus composition

citrus

aromatic

fresh

herbal

sweet

Essence

Sol La is a 2008 aromatic-citrus EDP from the French jewelry-and-perfume house Réminiscence, one of four fragrances in the “Les Notes Gourmandes” collection whose names spell out the solfège musical scale (Do Re, Mi Fa, Sol La, Si Do). Despite the “gourmandes” collection banner, Sol La is the outlier: not a dessert scent but a bracing Mediterranean cologne built on a bitter-orange (bigarade) heart wrapped in pine, rosemary, eucalyptus, and citrus, with a soft pear-vanilla-patchouli landing. It is genuinely polarizing — its aromatic-herbal opening reads as either an elegant, unusual fresh cologne or as “bug spray.” It is now discontinued, which lends it a small cult-of-the-hard-to-find status among its admirers.

The composition opens loud and aromatic: eucalyptus, Siberian pine, Tunisian rosemary and French lavender hit first over Italian lemon, Sicilian bergamot and bitter orange — a green, herbal, medicinal-fresh blast that several wearers liken to Japanese bath salts (“BATHCLIN”) or an invigorating herbal potion. This is the make-or-break phase. As it settles (wearers reports put this at roughly ten to fifteen minutes), the bitter orange/neroli and the creamy ylang-ylang of the heart come forward, softened by pink pepper and Tunisian petitgrain into a creamy-fresh floral middle. The base is where the “gourmande” collection identity finally shows: Madagascar vanilla with pear and Indonesian patchouli give a soft, slightly powdery, peppery-patchouli finish — one careful reviewer traced the full arc as citrus-and-pepper-with-vanilla → bitter-orange-and-ylang → “elegant peppery patchouli with a tiny bit of rosemary.” Some perceive an unexpected aquatic facet. The signature accord is bigarade (bitter orange) framed by aromatic herbs — hence retailers labeling it “Sol La Bigarade.” It’s a fresh-aromatic hesperidic more than a true gourmand; despite men’s-cologne associations, it’s often called unisex.

Reliable whitelisted performance data is limited and skin-dependent, but the pattern leans modest, as is typical for a citrus-cologne structure. available coverage wearers ratings sit around qualitative for longevity and qualitative for sillage — mid-tier scores rather than strong ones — with no consensus hour-count surfaced. Individual reports split: some call it “longlasting” and praise the sillage/trail, while others wish it lasted longer and describe it softening into a clean “fresh soap” skin scent over time. Practically, treat it as a spring/summer freshener that may need reapplication; the aromatic opening projects most in the first hour before the vanilla-patchouli base settles close to skin.

A spring and summer daytime scent by near-universal wearers agreement — the eucalyptus/pine/citrus freshness reads as warm-weather, outdoors, and uplifting. Its aromatic-cologne character makes it versatile and unisex despite the feminine marketing; admirers describe reaching for it as a mood-lifting “invigorating herbal potion.” It would feel wrong in cold, formal, or heavy-sillage evening contexts. As a practical reading (wearers coverage is niche and thin): best for casual daytime, hot weather, and anyone who enjoys herbal/medicinal freshness over sweetness.

The clearest DNA reference from the wearers and French coverage is the classic eau de cologne / 4711-style hesperidic structure, updated with a gourmand vanilla-patchouli base — Sol La was described in French press (Auparfum) verbatim as “un hespéridé gourmand autour d’un accord fruité poire, construit comme une cologne à l’ancienne” (a hesperidic gourmand around a fruity pear accord, built like an old-fashioned cologne), composed by Jacques Flori. One available coverage commenter reached for a Burberry Goddess-in-the-opening-and-drydown comparison. Within its own collection, it is the fresh/aromatic counterpoint to the sweet siblings: Do Re (dark almond-heliotrope gourmand, later renamed Héliotrope), Mi Fa (pink marshmallow-neroli, later renamed Guimauve), and Si Do (powdery iris-cedar). Broadly the family is aromatic-citrus cologne with a gourmand tail; because it’s discontinued and idiosyncratic, no designer clone or dupe is documented — its herbal bitter-orange profile is more niche than the mass fruity-sweet market.

wearers sentiment is sharply divided, and this split is the fragrance’s defining reception feature. The detractor camp (concentrated on available coverage) reads the rosemary/eucalyptus/pine opening as harshly medicinal: “smells like bug spray,” “straight up air freshener/toilet cleaner… cloying, non-scrubbable,” “a cheap eau de cologne water from the early ’80s,” with the rosemary repeatedly blamed. The admirer camp praises exactly the same material as unique and elegant: “truly a unique perfume and I am hooked,” “smells sooo wonderful on every level,” “so beautiful and longlasting,” with some noting a surprising aquatic side and crediting the vanilla/benzoin softness for making a wearable hesperidic. available coverage’s aggregate scent score sits around qualitative — respectable but middling — with the bottle scoring far higher (~qualitative), a recurring theme (the pastel, star-dusted, crystalline-capped flacon is widely loved even by those who dislike the juice). Blind-buy verdict: risky and chemistry-dependent — those who love aromatic/herbal colognes may find a cult gem, but the “bug spray” risk is real. No established–2 critic review was found; coverage is wearers and French-blog level.

Single original 2008 composition (100ml EDP), now discontinued. Importantly, Sol La was not renamed — when Réminiscence revamped Les Notes Gourmandes around 2012–2013, Do Re became Héliotrope and Mi Fa became Guimauve (and a new “Dragée” was added), but Sol La and Si Do were dropped from the line entirely rather than continued or rebranded. The “Sol La Bigarade” label seen at some retailers is a descriptive reference to its bitter-orange (bigarade) note applied to remaining old stock, not an official flanker or reformulation; “bigarade” was already part of its 2008 identity.

Semi-niche French pricing when it was in production; now discontinued and found only as leftover stock or secondhand. Retailers such as Golden Scent have listed it as “Sol La Bigarade,” and it appears sporadically on Amazon (often “currently unavailable”) and eBay — one European buyer reported paying around €42 for a new, decellophaned bottle and considered it a bargain. The common size was 100ml EDP. No whitelisted counterfeit or batch-code guidance was found; given its obscurity, counterfeiting is an unlikely concern, but verify seller reputation when buying old stock and note that citrus-forward juices can degrade with age/heat.

- The collection’s central conceit is musical: the four names spell the solfège scale, and available coverage’s coverage framed each fragrance as a “note” in a fragrant score (Sol La positioned as the fresh, green, higher-register one). French coverage additionally tied the Les Notes Gourmandes universe to a baroque/romantic, Marie-Antoinette-flavored aesthetic. Sol La was a Zoe Coste / Jacques Flori (Robertet) composition. Beyond the musical-naming concept and its later discontinuation, no celebrity tie-in or viral moment is documented.