Escale aux Marquises is the third fragrance to join the Escale collection at Christian Dior (see also: Escale à Portofino and Escale à Pondichéry). Like the others, it’s done in a fresh cologne style (in the citrus aromatic family); this one pays tribute in particular to the tiare flower. And like the others, I rather enjoyed it when I tried it quickly in the store while testing umpteen other new fragrances, but much of the luster wore off after I took it home and spent some time with it.
Marquises opens with peppery, heavy-on-the-lemon citrus (the notes: blood orange, pink pepper, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg, coriander, elemi, lemon peel, tiare, freesia, benzoin and vanilla). It is mildly spicy in the early stages, but it is not as vibrant or exotic as you might expect from the list of notes. If you were hoping for lots of tiare, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed on that front too — the tiare is awfully pale and light. The dry down is likewise pale: a rather plain clean musk, a tiny bit of dry vanilla, a very slight nutty undertone.
Sprayed heavily on paper in the store, I thought Marquises might be a citrus & spice variation on Estee Lauder’s (wonderful) Azuree Soleil / Bronze Goddess, but it is no such thing: worn side by side, the Marquises comes off as wan and flat, and even heavily applied, it fades away rather rapidly.
Escale aux Marquises is pleasant enough, but if you want a light tiare — or any sort of citrus cologne, for that matter — for summer, I should think you could do far better. It is my least favorite of the three Escales.
Christian Dior Escale aux Marquises is available in 75 ($66), 125 ($87) and 200 (125€; I have not seen this size in the US) ml Eau de Toilette.
