Poudre Impériale Sous le Manteau for women and men

This entire line is quite fascinating, truly evoking a rococo style. I will own them all one day, just for how scenic they are.

Opens with sweet, fresh and spicy notes: lots of cooling peppers undertones mixed with a touch of citric zestiness and looooots of dry and dark balsamic vanilla notes. It’s also quite powdery (as you can guess from the name), but powder facet is not dominant here, it rather works as a binder. In general, it’s super sweet and spicy, but after a while you can feel more of a woody base.

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I'm on the fence with this one. The first minute is an overwhelming experience, but not an unpleasant one. It gives me a mental image of powdered wigs and old, dry wood. Then it becomes even more dry and more peppery. Slightly animalic. I'm enjoying the incense note here! It's not very elegant but neither am I

This cedary, peppery, poofy powder-heliotrope woods is something that I usually would swoon over. Don't get me wrong, this is delightful enough, it has all those affable elements that I would satisfy me, but I can't past what I feel is a lack of nuance and provocative development in Poudre Impériale.

It seems that it has so much it wants to stay, but is stumbling over its own words, finding it difficult to articulate and bridge a thought. It's just a bit too forthright and scattered to feel romantic or melancholy or moody. It's sort of like an old friend who's energy was just too much because they consumed too much oxygen in the room.

Also yes, there are distinct resemblances to Feminite du Bois, but that one is a Zen master while this one is a bit of a mess. What hurts it even more is how shockingly it quiets down to a catatonic state so quicky. Poor thing.

I have to agree with frankcrummit here, it literally dries down to an old furniture smell with that top coat that`s almost coming off , it has a specirfic smell that kind of furniture especially if you spill a liquid on it

Despite its grandiose title, on first impression this is like something cheap from Woolworth's Christmas display circa 1973.

Much too floral, much too sweet, much like many a ladies' fragrance that shouldn't really be worn by a sour old male like me!

It dries down to something like a grandmother's dressing table drawer, all very powdery, faded and heading towards decay.

Eau de Miss Havisham.

PI is a wonderfully spicy, powdery, woody, resinous and classy little cool weather number.

It's peppery opening makes me sneeze, but then the cardamom and citrus kick in and from there it just gets smoother, a bit sweeter and deeper. Heliotrope does its powdery thing, here. The other florals are extremely well blended and add a subtle green/floral/freshness. But, this baby is all about the spices, woods and resins.

The drydown is clean white musk bordering on soapy. But, the vanilla saves it from this, and keeps the delicious spices wafting. Sillage is at least arm's length for the first 3-4 hours on my skin. More than a skin scent for another solid 4 hours. Lasts even longer on clothing. Absolutely unisex.

It reminds me of, Boucheron's, Iris d' Syracuse. But PI offers more spiciness.

I have a very specific memory associated with this scent: making gingerbread at my grandparents house in the winter as a kid. Something about the scent of the dough, the powdery flour and my grandpa's spicy cologne is mixed together in my memory in a very similar fashion. Even though it is not necessarily a scent I would wear every day, it is still special to me and captured a memory I didn't even know I had until I smelled it.

indeed the "Reminds me of" are totally misleading, as BostonScentGuy noticed it's mostly a dry powder ... some very light aromas of toasted gingerbread, a large dose of cinnamon with bergamot in head and a base of benzoin and vanilla with a very powdery woody note.
Nothing like Féminité du Bois or Musc Ravageur...maybe more like a more chalky and dry Five O'Clock au Gingembre by Lutens or Tea For Two by l'Artisan Parfumeur. Anyway it's really too light without any sillage, barely a skin scent.

All of the "smells like" recommendations are a bit perplexing to me...I can see why some folks might connect some of the notes in this to the notes in these other fragrances, but I feel like I'm perceiving something totally different. If anything, the opening evokes to me the citrus/cumin combo of Cartier's Declaration, but even that is a stretch. Nonetheless, this is a lovely, incensey, floral, animalic, woody musk. The bite of pepper in the opening complements the citrus well. The floral core feels like a jasmine-sweetened frankincense. The coumarin and resins in the drydown aren't overpoweringly sweet, but cut some of the citric lemony scent of the top and mid. I'm reminded of the beautiful jasmine/incense combo in Secrets de Sophie as well, but where that scent skews sweeter and more overtly a floral bouquet, this remains dry, aromatic, and it has an animalic edge to it. Don't let the poudre in the name scare you (if powder scares you).

Beautiful scent, if you love spicebomb and rehab you should love this one too , but if you have one of them maybe you don't need poudre imperiale it might be redundant in your perfume collection. The lasting power is not so great on me so i prefer spicebomb for that reason . I don't get any similarities with feminité du bois by the way


3 months later i 've changed my mind, i'm obsessed with this scent , i 've just ordered a full bottle ! don't ask me why , i'm still thinking everything i said before.. love is love

For "pepper and spices" lovers with the base of cedar, musk and vanilla. 100% unisex, this perfume is a cruelty-free woody-oriental-ambery scent. "Sous Le Manteau" is the winner of The Fragrance Foundation Awards 2020 for Best Newcomer. It is not so powdery too my opinion (I love powdery perfume...), compare to its name: "imperial powder".
5/10 more for my husband during fall, spring and winter

"The love potions of "sous le manteau" is a series of 5 perfumes based on aphrodisiac recipes found in pharmaceutical books from the 19th century."