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LakGit – :
This is such a beautiful fragrance Very delicious….. Great sillage and longevity. Shares qualities with the original, but indeed has its own uniqueness. A very welcome addition to my Guerlain collection.
Rednofs – :
Obviously this came before Chanel’s La Pausa. This is orris. Dusty, musty, dank orris. This is La Pausa with the volume turned right up and some added vanilla (which thankfully does not cloy too much like in some of the older Guerlains) and florals (maybe woods) to boost the body of it. I like it a lot. I tested it a few times and came to this same conclusion. First spray was wow-orris-la-pausa all rolled into one thought. If this is a floral woody musk, then yeah this one gets a thumbs up. But since I have La Pausa and a hefty bottle of it, I can achieve a similar effect. Quiet, serene contemplation. Although this perfume is quite loud in comparison and I found the sillage and longevity to be more than moderate.
Victoria_fromAF – :
WOW! This is such a delicious fragrance. Its instantly recognisable as a member of the L’instant group. The iris and honey are quite dominant on me but the ylang ylang is not far behind and provides the perfect accent to the iris and honey. The overall effect is creamy, a bit powdery but never cloying. I could quite happily bathe in the juice! lol
This is what you want to wear when you want remind the oh that you are all woman. There is sort of has an innocent feel to it as well so you dont smell like a man eater! lol Its a man magnet! You just smell so delicious that they cant wait to hold you close.
The sillage is good and the longevity very impressive.
misha85 – :
I absolutely struggle with iris. It’s always so cold that it ends up smelling like plastic on my skin. This one is so breathtakingly beautiful.
If you made snowflakes out of the iris in Iris Ganache, and let those float over the thick vanilla, honey & ylang-ylang in the original L’Instant, you’d get this fragrance. It’s the perfect blend of cold & warm, light & heavy. It opens cold with the iris, then dries down into everything I love about the original – that gorgeous warm cozy honeyed vanilla – except in this one, it’s wears lighter, but still deep – kind of like a vanilla soufflé. Wow.
-CIIAPTAK- – :
I don’t have the original L’Instant, just this one and L’Instant Magic, so I can’t say how this one compares at all.
The first blast of this is very floral—a strong sweet powdery magnolia and iris. My initial impression was “oh man, this is VERY strong, not sure I should wear this to the office” but within 15 minutes it has softened out, you get sweet amber and powdery clean honey tempering the heavy opening and it wears soft and sweet and close to the skin.
I don’t get much jasmine, which is a bummer, but on the whole it’s a very nice powdery floral. I am disappointed with the longevity and sillage—I get 4 hours tops from 5 sprays on my body, and after the first bomb, the sillage is close to the skin. The drydown is gorgeous enough though, so I’m ok with that. This *is* an EDT, so it performs like one. Sadly, it is not the beast that most Guerlains are, but as far as collectible limited edition flankers go, it’s quite nice. The bottle is gorgeous.
I’m quite puzzled why they call this a ‘Christmas scent’—this is not how Christmas smells to me. But overall, quite lovely.
VishenKa – :
Talk about good timing…I just stumbled across this on eBay and grabbed it, based on these reviews. This was quite a daring move for me, as I have heard of L’Instant but have never tried any of its versions and the potion in this bottle has an amber color, as opposed to the clear juice in the bottle shown in the picture above. I was nervous about my purchase and had no idea what to expect. Would it be rancid? A big powder bomb? I am wearing it now and I have to tell you that this is magnificent!!! I didn’t have a magnolia fragrance until now. This limited edition beauty needs to be brought back, surely there shouldn’t be any trouble to do that? What I smell foremost is a big, proud magnolia (like the beautiful magnolia trees in people’s front yards in the more affluent Nashville neighborhoods) that is not sharp but sings with a buttery soft voice. It is tempered with a very smooth, mild honey and now and then it shape-shifts a bit, where the lemon will present itself, then the iris. Occasionally my nose fools me and I detect something that makes me think “white chocolate”…NOT vanilla, but white chocolate! Just a wee bit! I almost want to eat this! It neither whispers nor screams, but it floats like wings. What an amazing creation this is! I wasn’t intentionally looking for this and it just happened to be available. I am so glad that I didn’t let it get away or I would have lost out on a masterpiece. I agree with everyone’s advice: if you see this one, grab it and try to stock up on it. Thank you for your splendid reviews! (happy dance)
Данил163 – :
First of all I must say: I am not familiar with the original L’Instant, so I review this rare beauty only on the basis of its own merits. I found it yesterday in a charity shop for 15 GBP…about 24 USD. I could hardly stop myself from jumping up and down right there, and I dared not to breathe, cause I was terrified they might realise what a mistake they made with the ridiculous price! But there it was, 15 pounds, and in a few minutes I was the rightful and proud owner of a rare, vintage scent, that might only turn up once in a blue moon on eBay!
My bottle was produced in 2005, and thanks to the careful owner’s correct storage, it is still in impeccable condition today. It says on the box, that this is a winter fragrance, and although I don’t find anything particularly Christmasy about it, it is like a wonderful warm blanket that envelops one soothingly in the cold season. It is soft, somewhat powdery, sweet, but not in the cloying gourmand way, as the iris lends that characteristic elegant “dryness” to the harmony. L’Instant Iris Millessime is sophisticated but friendly and loving, elegant yet not posh…just perfect!
The honey in it is safe (unlike in for instance Serge Lutens’s Miel de Bois or Dior’s Mitzah), and very pleasant, couples perfectly with the lovely, soft ambre. The floral notes are soft and understated, just the way I like them!
This fume is one of those wonders that have a great sillage without being too much, headache inducing, cloying or overwhelming. It is definitely not up in your face, but it is there and reminds you softly of its gentle presence. Longevity is excellent, I applied it this morning, and at 6 p.m it is still around me.
All in all, I can’t believe my luck to have stumbled on this exceptional juice and will cherish it till the last drop!
10/10 Grab it if it comes your way!
avmanton – :
This perfume is among my top five. I cannot compare it to Guerlain L’Instant or any similar flankers, as I’ve never tried them. I found Noel Iris and stayed right there, where I belonged. And doesn’t this just figure… it was released as a holiday limited edition in 2005. There may have been a modicum of psychological suggestion due to this, but after I discovered it (a decant in a swap), I went on the hunt and over the years have accumulated three bottles of this rare elixir. And while not terribly “Christmas-y” as it’s name implies, it is what I consider to be the PERFECT iris. And believe me, I tried nearly all of them. It’s odd that vanilla is not mentioned in the notes, as L’Instant’s bases begin there, and though not prominent in this mix, vanilla is most certainly there. It is also an astounding (and surprising) blend of iris and honey, the latter tempered by amber thereby eliminating honey’s razor edge tendencies. Everything whispers from the support florals, and musk pulls it all together with a comforting yet sultry smoothness. Noel Iris is a perfume that can go to the office, an elegant dinner, and then to bed… this from my own wearing patterns. I adore it.
ekycsgjk – :
This is very much like the original L’Instant with less amber and a light airy floral note. This smells like they added some orris root or iris. Because there is a very slight powdery quality to this. L’Instant de Guerlain Eau de Noel doesn’t have as much sillage as it’s namesake. Overall, very pleasant and enjoyable. Would be a nice scent for the office or just as a feel good scent. Very longlasting too. Tho, I still prefer it’s namesake L’Instant de Guerlain; not decided if this is bottleworthy or not. Not nearly as long lasting or as good as the original L’Instant on my skin.
replicaw77575 – :
minus the sweetness, a lovely composition.. as it is – cloying.
Doznanie – :
One of my favourite scents. Very similar to the original L’Instant and yet a bit different, more straightforward and easy to remember.
pxp77 – :
Smells like medication (but “expensive” one), in a hospital. I dont get it. May be I am too young to understand this. Lets wait a couple years…..