Description
L’Heure Bleue or ‘the bluish hour’ was created by Jacques Guerlain in 1912. The fragrance is velvety soft and romantic, it is a fragrance of bluish dusk and anticipation of night, before the first stars appear in the sky. The top notes are opening with spicy-sweet aniseed and fresh bergamot that gently lead to the heart of rose, carnation, tuberose, violet, and neroli. The soft and powdery floral notes are resting on a base of vanilla, Tonka bean, iris and benzoin. The perfume is mysterious, elegant and timeless. It was created by Raymond Guerlain. The bottle is shaped like the one of Mitsouko and the stopper is shaped like a hollow heart that alludes to romantic pre-war years.
og9333 – :
I see that some reviewers call this fragrance dated or old lady. I disagree. Would you call a work by DaVinci dated? I think the principle is the same, These things are beyond fades and fashions. Wonderful things will always be appreciated by those with educated tastes.
d2procenta – :
This is such a classic: Ethereal and timeless.
Mysterious, powdery and soft. Strong but at the same time subtle and dreamy. Unforgettable, yet so airy and light.
Like your softest velvet pillow with all the feathers coming out in a soft breeze of wind, while you are surrounded by violets, irises and some other mysterious powdery florals.
My dreams are always sweet and mysterious, when I wear this as my bedtime scent.
Such a captivating fragrance by Guerlain.
pgb050elipseskism – :
I live in the tropics with an obsession for classics and period films this is such a cocooning perfume for an added otherworldy embrace.
Many loathe the opening but I do not find it suffocatingly medicinal nor too dated or unwearable.
On my skin the sillage is medium and not too strong to wear in a warm weather as I love powdery perfumes that lavish upon a clean and pampered feeling instead of straight citrus perfumes or just my hatred/phobia for the undying Clinique Happy from where I live.
Suddenly reminds me of dozens and dozens of perfumed letter stationery sets that I collected when I was a child in the 90’s piled up in my cabinet unused, my aunts perfumed talc that I secretly sniff when no one is looking and making Espasol with my aunt a sweet rice cake here in the Philippines that is rolled generously in toasted rice flour.
As a lover of Belle Epoque aesthetic this is an exquisite heliotrope and violet antiquated pastel clouds!
If you adore Oriza Legrand’s aristocratic powdery perfumes like I do you will fall in love with L’Heure Bleue a dash of Cuir de l’Aigle Russe in the opening and mainly Heliotrope Blanc through and through but with a sweeter neroli.
Ethereal, full of romanticism with gothic feel.
den22.09 – :
When you find yourself wondering “hmmm this smells familiar” just know it’s because so many things aspire to be this. I recently opened a vial of very vintage juice. I had it for about 2 years from a fellow fragrantica user and decided to finally open it. It’s so wonderful and definitely shows its age. This is a good thing for me but maybe not others. It’s not something others will compliment but the wearer will obsess over if you are even contiplating wearing it anyway. People today may not understand this beautiful thing. Not everyone appreciates art universally
luhen – :
Not a review so much as an odd footnote – I got a bottle of this in the summer, thinking such a light, romantic scent would be nice for the long sunny days, and within a few days started to worry I’d bought a fake or something, because it definitely wasn’t the fragrance I remembered it being and had set out to buy – I’d get a sharp blast of anise and citrus in the opening, and then nothing but very very quiet incense and irises as a skin scent almost immediately after. To get anything more than that I had to spritz a quantity that made me uncomfortable for how much I’d paid and left me wondering if saving a few pounds by going for EDT would’ve been an all-round better choice.
Now that the days have darkened, however, I decided to give it another shot – and it’s like I bought a different perfume, the one I wanted this whole time. Violets, roses, powder, vanilla and irises all clear and dreamy and with staying power for hours, pronounced but understated – the same intensity of fragrance as walking past blossoms in the breeze. At first I thought it was maybe that the summer had been so sweaty and humid that it simply washed away the scent, but I wore this before going to the gym and could smell it on my way home before showering, so clearly sweat alone can’t kill this scent. It’s a shame because it’s truly such a timeless scent that it could have its own charm in all seasons, but something about the heat seems to just make it nonexistent.
saha – :
Oh my God I just can’t believe what I am smelling! I’ve known this all my life! So this is “THAT” smell! Super vintagey heavy elegant stuff, smells like the surroundings of an antique wooden vanity table in a dark room, in an old house. Exactly the smell of a wooden chest with old fashioned cosmetics and pomades and powders. Or some pearls that have been worn for a long time and have absorbed the various cosmetics smells of the owner. It has a weird sad vibe about it but in an unusual way, it’s actually quite sexy. Like someone lower said, retired mistress/courtesan comes to mind, too. I absolutely love it! I’m not sure my 26 year old knee ripped jeans wearing self can pull it off though, but I’m sure going to try.
Edit: I was thinking of how I own the Guerlain powdery trifecta: Instant Magic, which is the barely out of adolescence young woman, Insolence which is the classy, sexy woman in her late 20s to late 30s and L’Heure Bleue which is the super elegant, poised, coquette, mature woman. I love all three so much and could not just pick one… ok maybe if I HAD to, I’d pick Insolence, since it’s most fitted to my age. But I love them all the same.
Later edit: Wanted to add that I’m lucky to love this, this is far from a safe blind buy, I can see how it could provoke even intense dislike reactions. You have to like the smell of old fashioned cosmetics/pomades to like this, it’s very, very far removed from modern powdery fragrances.
ciberdez – :
I have read many excellent reviews on this 106-year-old masterpiece and I will definitely not repeat others’ critiques.
When I first sprayed it on me, my thoughts were: “That’s why it exists for over a century”.
To those of you not yet familiar with the scent, “L’heure bleue” manages to be as dreamy and fairy-like as “Lolita Lempicka” and as classy as Chanel “No 5” at the same time.
Its smell definitely not dated, but absolutely immaculate. It didn’t remind me of my mother or my grandmother – as Chanel “No.5” often does. This fragrance manages to be timeless in an uncertainly charming way.
In my opinion John Galliano’s “John Galliano” is the closest contemporary resemblance to “L’heure bleue”. Let’s not forget that he did have in mind to create a fragrance that would revive classical scents only brought to modern market and I believe that both Chanel “No.5” and “L’ Heure Bleue” are surely what he had in mind when he started working on his fragrance.
However, “J. G.” is to my nose the more pessimistic and soapy – I dare say – version of “L’ Heure Bleue”.
“L’ Heure Bleue” is optimistic, the bright side of ladyness and classyness. It’s the fragrance of an aristocrat who cares for her maid’s Ill child while getting prepared for an outing with the Queen.
This fragrance is of so many aspects that you cannot have finished including in a word or a simple phrase.
And this exactly is why I love it; because it says so much when I don’t have to speak at all.
attatueronnal – :
The smell reminds me so much of Johnson’s Baby Oil, only more unpleasant. I do like many iconic fragrances, but unfortunately this is not one of them. I don’t know if it was my skin or the perfume itself, but it did not smell well on me -clothes included. Very unpleasant, like a pesticide or a cheap skin product, with a slight hint of peanut. Sorry, I don’t intend to offend its fans; Shalimar is one of my top 5 favorite perfumes, but this one is not designed for everyone.
ak73 – :
This is going to sound very dramatic but I can’t help it! LOL
When I first smelled this, a few years ago now, it actually brought tears to my eyes; it made me very emotional. I remember the moment well. At the time, I was at home sniffing a sample and didn’t really know much about the notes or the history of the stuff. But as I sniffed, in my vivid imagination all these tiny little velvety blue/purple flower petals started raining/floating down around me, like a flowery snowfall.
It isn’t very often that I have such a strong reaction to a perfume. I felt happy and sad at the same time. L’Heure Bleue is a very special fragrance to me, and one of the most romantic, melancholic fragrances I have ever experienced. When I wear it, I feel like it belongs on my skin; so, I will try to always have a bottle.
I don’t expect everyone to love this scent like I do, but for those of us who adore it, it’s because it touches a part of our souls <3 I hope everyone can find a fragrance like that.
Deroxjnduv – :
The scent of this wasn’t at all as I expected. I’d been trying to test it for some time and at last got the chance to test both the EDT and EDP today. I can say, from the start, that this one isn’t for me; however, I can really appreciate this scent. You can see where it fits in the social history of perfume, and there is something lovely about the way that both Apres L’Ondee and Insolence made more sense to me after I’d tried this one – I now fully appreciate the lineage of all three perfumes, each generation punching a greater weight of violet.
How does it smell? Powdery, iris-tinged violets. It reminds me powerfully of chalky Palma Violet sweeties. It’s soft, floating, dusty; but it has a powerful sillage and doesn’t die easy, so be careful to test it on card first. By the way, the EDP is far superior – smoother blend, softer, cleaner violet. I’m glad I tried this and it clearly is a scent of great quality, but just a little too much violet for me. Apologies for the blasphemy, but I mixed a little of Calvin Klein’s Downtown on top and it was insanely good!
JuliaAg84 – :
It smells similar with Esprit d’Oscar but not the same, I have them and love them too. LHB has some medicinal kind of smell at the first spray and blast of powder, it took me a while to get used to it (it was a blind buy), when it settles I can smell something classic (in this point it’s different from Esprit d’Oscar), a little sweet but not gourmand, very fluffy and creamy, soft, powdery and last forever. The more I wear it the more I love this perfume.
пак – :
It’s the stuff fairies would wear. Whimsy, magical…. it’s such a soft alluring beauty. Pure classic at its best. If you don’t have a bottle, please try it. It’s so special!
Mantry – :
I accidentally mixed this with Pomelo Paradis by Atelier and my nose thanked me!
DoockyMox – :
L’heure bleue, the big mystery of my life.
How to explain how much I dislike it without hurting the ones who love it.
I’m French from Paris.
L’heure bleue, I knew this smell so well since so long, the smell of an old women with a suspicious hygiene routine. Not a dirty women, but someone that tried to hide something with perfumes, a dusty house with weird antiques.. I would say it smells like a rancid women.
For so long I didn’t even know that the rancid women were actually just wearing L’heure bleue…
bogatir – :
When I first joined fragrantica several years ago this scent was the one that came up over and over again in the forums as a must try. A legend scent. I honestly never connected with it emotionally. I wanted to have that elusive nostalgic moment with it but it never came. Probably because there was never anything in my childhood I could connect it to.
To me its a fragrance for the person who loves the smell of vintage cosmetics. Its a dusty, powdery, violet perfume with a Tonka drydown. It has a dated smell, which is never a bad thing if you love your vintage. It also has a medicinal smell going on, the anise and clove can read that way sometimes. I feel that the house of Geurlain had LHB in mind when they created Insolence, its younger, more modern sister. The two are similar in that they are both powdery violet centric scents with a slight gourmand drydown. But they differ of course in their mood. Insolence is the party girl while LHB is sitting home on a Saturday night reading spiritual literature, and crying while listening to classical music.
Okay so maybe its more evocative than I thought.
Mienkoff – :
Funny thing about this fragrance… it’s not something I reach for or seem to want to smell over and over again. I like it, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t love it. However, my daughter compliments me every time I wear it. Maybe I should wear it more often…I may come to enjoy it more. Although, I do think the name fits.
laraengels – :
CHOPIN – Nocturne Op.9 No2
A real royal wedding’s scent
Fresh air and birds singing by a lake
true and eternal mother’s love
beautiful shyness
a feather falls gently on a silk tissue
fade out in shadows
nvp074speagoessenda – :
Oh my my my long awaited little bottle of deliciousness finally arrived after 4 false starts on a reputable site, so now I can savour the gorgeous floating scent . The opening is a little strident but hey if you give it time the warmth that develops is cozy and safe .The neroli followed by the clove is magical , it feels like being enveloped in a big warm blankie sitting hunched over a flickering fire in a candle lit room , just mesmerising .. beam me back to the 1900’s… How much more simple was 1912 in the world of Mr Geurlain hope all the fragrantians continue to love love
aduserermlora – :
Well to me this one smells a lot like Esprit d’Oscar Oscar de la Renta. There is a bit of a difference and I think I like L’Heure Bleue best, but the scent is so close to Esprit that it annoys me sort of. I am not sure which one was developed first. According to this site L’Heure Bleue was created first in 1912, but then reformulated and Esprit was developed in 1977, but redone for 2011. Ho hum….
I do like them both, but I wear them seldom now because the are so similar. I know that is odd, right. L’Heure Bleue last a long time on myself and even longer on my clothes. Perhaps as the weather goes back to being cooler, I will enjoy wearing it more.
1998 oleg – :
Blend 1/3rd L’heure Bleue edp with 1/3rd Jicky edp and 1/3rd Mitsouko edp in equal parts. I filled a handbag atomiser and I have named this this fragrance Apres L’aube- After Dawn. Mystical and magical sensual and feminine.
tria111non – :
This is like sadness and beauty blended in a bottle. I imagine a formerly wealthy mistress having led a luxurious life and now, having reached her middle 30’s, not as courted and visited anymore. Anyhow, she is the opposite of a cheap and sour woman. Living a modest and secluded life, she is still beautiful and good at heart, very nostalgic and the only luxury she still affords is wearing one drop of this perfume that she still has on her vanity table.
Coming back to the perfume, really beautiful, soft, powdery, airy floral. I can almost smell the talcum powder and it could be really tricky to wear in everyday life. It’s just so, so specific to the age it was made in. It’s really Parisian and classy and gorgeous, but I would imagine today’s society giving a few funny looks at this essence. But if you’re a bohemian or old-school feminine (by that, I mean hats, feathers, brooches, that kind of stuff), this might “complete your look”.
Overall, a unique, nostalgic and time drifting olfactory experience.
Musical equivalent: Erik Satie – Gymnopédie nr.1
kuw645JeomiWogkig – :
who woulda thunk Walmart.com would carry classic guerlain? i obtained my new bottle of EDP from walmart.com. pay attention to the various shady vendors on that site, you don’t want a fake. i limited /filtered the search to walmart only.
my, what a vintage scent. such indescribable beauty. this will appeal to downton abbey fans. Rose Dewitt Bukater in Titanic. pre world war I, women can’t vote yet, suffragettes, bertie and elizabeth, and the show called “call the midwife.”
parma violets candy, iris, orris, heliotrope, cloves, anise, the guerlain accord, and i swear i detect ambergris oily note, even though it isn’t listed as a note.
young people: this will not be a fruity, febreeze, “clean”, modern type of scent. try an extrait sample first from ebay or Etsy, and let it grow on you.
be different from the “la vie est belle” or fruity herd. i can picture a goth or bohemian rocking this scent. or Chanel suit wearing girl with pearls. A teenager dressed like Audrey Hepburn with capris and a boat neck shirt, ballet flats, multiple ear piercing, pixie cut. Be the cool teen with the retro fume your great great great great great grandma would have worn.
This is smelling of Sweet Tarts, Purple Pez candies, Parma violets candies, the young crowd who likie gourmands should like this one because it is sweet.
Look, I’m a scientist and don’t know how to write flowery like everybody else. What is unique about this masterpiece is how complex it is and how it changes every 5 minutes. My science brain tries to figure it out and can’t.
Edited to add: I got the eau de toilette from Neiman Marcus and I got the eau de parfum from walmart.com. the eau de toilette is lighter, sweeter and less complicated. The eau de parfum is more complex and last longer
тольчик – :
I got very excited the first time I read about this perfume, couldn’t wait to try itt, well what a disappointing experience that turned out to be. I loved the bottle, loved the name, I was definitely going to love the juice inside especially after all those wonderful reviews I had read. From reading the reviews I had pictured myself wondering round the grounds of a large mansion in British India wearing a tea dress waiting to be called for afternoon tea. Unfortunately it was none of those things, it was just an everyday soft, flowery scent very nondescript.
I would purchase it but only for the beautiful bottle and the beautiful name.
Alex_505 – :
Don’t know why it reminds me Ambre Sultan. Oriental market. Just the blue flowers make some difference between 2 fragrances, and make the scent not market detectable. Very smart addition.
But you can see also some fairy tail here..
acidMJK – :
Not much more to add. I just bought a vintage (probably 20 or 30 years old) bottle from an antique store for $25.00.
One spray filled the small room where I had tested it. This is a classic in every way. The new incarnations are INSULTING !
dshenov – :
I have just bought a bottle of EDP in the new white packaging. It’s been reformulated beyond recognition! I was shocked when I compared it at home with the 2002 version of EDP I still have, and the perfume I got about 4 years ago. The current formula has nothing in common with the fragrance I have known as L’Heure Bleue! Guerlain really needs to do something about it, either fix it or discontinue if further reformulation seems pointless! Very sad…
LandishLUCH – :
This is soooo elegant and beautiful. It’s a little bit of everything; creamy, powdery, soft, soapy, warm, clean, romantic. I have tried LHN too which is supposed to be a more modern take on this but I disagree, LHN was pretty but too old fashioned for me but this is timeless and very elegant but sexy too. It’s perfect for anytime, it’s equally nice when I’m dressed up or straight out of the shower in my PJ’s. Oh and it’s very comforting! The only time it doesn’t work for me is in humid weather, but most fragrances don’t. It’s seriously perfect though and will always remain a classic.
filmdvanolodin – :
L’Heure Bleue is really personal, something that I want to smell myself…it’s like listening compilation of classical music called “For when you’re alone”…melody that somehow makes you feel fragile and mellow, and you don’t want anyone to see you in that circumstance. Let me be with L’Heure Bleue…and nothing else.. Beautiful perfume
vavan888 – :
Love it! It does remind me of Oscar del a renta alot but it is a deeper and richer scent. My husband likes this one way better than the Oscar scents. It last forever on myself and the dry down is very warming and not synthetic at all. I have many Guerlain perfumes and this is another I have recently added to my collection.
xbp413speagoessenda – :
I think it’s a gorgeous scent it’s just not for me. The violet in this I just cannot do. If anyone wants to swap please PM me I’d like to get this to a good home. Brand new with box 2013 2.7 ounce bottle if interested I’d love to hear from you.
ponomarev2003 – :
So much has been said, but I will add my thoughts as a relative new comer to perfumery. LHB is not easy to get to know or understand, but keep trying. Once she lets you in, she is sheer beauty and stunning mastery. All the notes blend seamlessly and evolve perfectly, like a piano concerto. The EDP is dense and lush. Prominent notes change with the weather and my mood, but mostly I detect the purple flowers and the powder, with a flawless oriental drydown. Guerlain’s drydowns are the best. While you know you’re wearing perfume, there is never anything harsh or synthetic about LHB. I feel moved to wear her only occasionally, when alone, and in a certain mood that matches her intense intimacy and emotional range. LHB is not a perfume I can put on in the morning and go on about my day. I reserve her for evening, for the blue hour, during a time when I can be present and fully experience her. She is a masterpiece that simultaneously breaks and mends my heart.
asdfgh – :
L’Heure Bleu is not a modern fragrance. It smells like the final years of the Belle Époque. The last moments of the Victorian era waft through this scent.
It opens with a blast of antique floral and moves through Oriental incense. It finally settles down with warm, spicy woods and ghostly flowers.
I don’t love the opening. The flowers are too strident. It isn’t until about the hour mark that what I consider to be the true heart of LHB comes out. I don’t sense sadness in this scent as some people do, I feel…..self-contained. LHB doesn’t jump up and down and require you to pay attention.
It reminds me of paintings by Maxfield Parrish filled with rich, intense blues tinged with gold and pink, stars peeking through clouds, and warm lights in a cottage window.
I don’t think that LHB will ever be daily wear for me but when I am in a particular mood (or want to be) this scent will evoke the twilight of a bygone era.
VortexRap – :
I LOVE the opening of this…wish that stage lasted a lot longer.
mila9808 – :
One day I hope to source a good sized sample of this without giving Guerlain my right arm for it just to understand it. Everything from the name and the notes to the descriptions here say that I should love it, but to my nose, the little spritzes I get (mostly at large airports) say…well, Shalimar. Which is nice, but it already exists.
mastierofquake – :
I always thought I’d never get the orange blossom (neroli) note from LHB, but suddenly I do, and it’s beautiful! I loved LHB before, but this adds yet another facet.
This is for the reformulated version btw (my bottle is from 2016). I agree with many here that it is not as good as the vintage formula, but it still is a wonderful perfume even in its current form. I am glad they made the effort to reformulate it with care.
Kirim55 – :
L´Heure Bleue.
The time between day and night.
The light from the sky is softly glowing, all you can see is dusking sky and growing dark.
The nightfall is the time when anything could happen.
Don´t forget it.
With L´Heure Bleue, everything seems to be so blue.
And I don´t wanna analyze this perfume.
I don´t wanna decompose this scent into its prime numbers.
It´s all about feelings and mood.
The entire impression is enigmatic and sentimental.
Soft and sweet heliotrope /with almond-like undertone/, earthy and powdery iris & candied/sugary violets, that´s what I get for the first hour, then the base of clove-like carnation, rich anise & smooth vanilla begins to be noticeable. The dry down is herbal and earthy, with a sweet musky undertone.
Yes, the entire impression is nostalgic and almost melodramatic, but still peaceful. L´Heure Bleue reminds me of something I´ve already known for a long time – that twilight is a lonely place. Because everything is blue – and so am I. I´ve got something like twilight sadness. And it would make me follow this scent into the dark.
maksim-leon – :
LHB is not my favorite perfume, yet it excites me a lot. It is very compex, sentimental and somehow human.
Namfreedeen – :
I took a quick spray of the current formula/blend at Neiman’s yesterday based on all the hype and reviews here and I have to say, I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it either.
The initial impression was all Violet and Iris, almost too much. Then I got a smell of really bad halitosis for a nano second and then I smelled something which resembled aluminum.
I could faintly smell some vanilla and some other base notes with whom I was not familiar with.
It took an hour and ten minutes during my drive home to actually start to like it.
The dry down was better for me, but the longevity was not so powerful and for an expensive fragrance, I want a lot of pow for my money.
Its definitely a fragrance that evokes “old world” and “a time gone by”, and for that I can appreciate it however, on my skin I didn’t love it. I ordered a sample and hope to find a way to enjoy it since I purchased a 5ml spray and now I wish I had not however, I ordered the old formula so I have high hopes for this timeless fragrance.
WBkSenya – :
I finally ordered some classic Guerlain samples to further my fragrance education and also to see what all the fuss was about. Surprisingly, LHB does not smell dated even though it’s over 100 years old. Reformulations taken into account, it still has a vintage and powdery vibe to it, far from baby powder though- to my nose smells a bit like an incense shop. Who knew hippies and girls in the Belle Époque had something in common… In addition to the incense, I get anise, almond and iris. Perhaps if I had smelled this before my fragrance collecting began I may have had a different reaction, but as I have been moving back in time slowly rather than making giant leaps, I’ve been able to trace the ancestral lines backwards so to speak, and am able to see the resemblances in many fragrances that have grown from these classics; just like looking at old family photos and seeing resemblance in faces. I have a twinge of nostalgia every time I sniff my wrist.
Update: it’s warming up outside, and I’m definitely enjoying this even more. I’m getting the coriander and what I’m pretty sure is heliotrope today. I’m getting a SL Datura Noir feel from it. This scent works in winter, but I think it will be more interesting as it opens up with the warm weather. I definitely see this as a pastoral, quaint fragrance. It’s an olfactory painting of a country thatch cottage, or English village. Very spring in the Cotswolds.
sigCligenip – :
L’Heure Bleue is the only perfume I’ve ever encountered that I would deem a masterpiece. It’s somehow manages to be completely timeless while transporting you to the distant past.
On me it becomes incredibly subtle after the first 30 minutes and sits very close to the skin. So much so, that I can hardly smell it with my nose pressed to my wrist. This only seems to add to it’s beauty. It’s haunting and captivating, like the memory of a perfect moment that sits on the edge of your consciousness, but the more you try to remember it the further away it slips.
Unfortunately I can’t justify spending so much money on a full bottle something I can hardly smell. That’s not a fault with L’Heure Bleue, it’s just disappointing that my chemistry makes it fade away to almost nothing within an hour. Although I guess that’s apt for ‘the bluish hour’, the perfume aimed at capturing the fleeting beauty of the moment after sunset, truly is a fleeting beauty on my skin.
samiyluchshiusait – :
L’heure Bleue is for times when you want to feel sensual while still maintaining an air of mystery and snobbishness. It is old fashioned, it will remind you of a different era. It is mentholated powdery leather with a little spice and vanilla. The EDP has moderate sillage and good lasting power. My new 2017 bottle may be a far cry from the original 1912 version, but it definitely still has the quality Guerlain is known for.
SheludkoD – :
Powdery floral – creamy sweet – woodsy earthy
Color impression: daffodil yellow
There are dozens of iris-spinning fragrances. Some smell oldy and dated, some smell intriguing and some pungent, but there is a magic casted in L’Heure Bleue to make this perfume eternal and everlastingly young. It’s a heavenly chorus of iris, woodsy earthy violet, soft spices and sweet resinous rendition that donates an edible zest to its dry down.
Imagine a fragrance made by French delicacy that opens with soapy floral and powdery iris, and ends with skin-smelling praliné odor! It’s mother kindness in a bottle.
★★★★★
dimanee – :
Ordered a sample from surrender to chance, because I was just so curious about this fragrance that keeps popping up, and is so iconic…
Initially this smells so particularly reminiscent of something I have smelled in Japan… In homes – is it food? Is it rice, ink, soy, fabric, fuel?
I can smell the iris, it’s very sharp but not offputting.
I keep thinking of Catherine Denuve who wore this as a signature scent during the filming of one of her movies, wish I knew which one.
Unique, different than anything I have smelled that far, I will have to do further testing!
emerGator – :
I’ve wondered about this scent for many years. There are no Guerlains where I live, so I ordered a spray decant from Surrender to Chance. Because I’ve read here and there about a link to Coty L’Origan (my beloved Mee Maw’s lifelong signature fragrance), I wanted to experience it even more. Upon first sniff, I was so put off! It smelled like a powdery medicine. The dry down wasn’t great either. But that was day one. I have to try a fragrance over several days, and…it just got better and better. I found myself remembering it and smelling it, even when I wasn’t wearing it. Such a strange phenomenon. And it is beautiful. I’m cautious about wearing it out among others, but I want to try it. I find it very comforting, and thankfully (for me) not melancholy. Some day, I’ll buy a full bottle.
Edit: Several wearings later and I’m in LOVE. Goodness! This stuff is gorgeous!
StedfiqUY – :
My initial review is lost below somewhere. I can say that this perfume is my favorite of all time. I cannot honestly find the right words to describe how beautiful this scent is to me. It makes me feel human. It reminds me of the fragility of life. How one moment we are here and then gone the next. It makes me feel as though I’ve lost something important to me, but despite the loss my life was made better from it. That through sadness and “blue” hours, there will come happiness and sunny days. It makes me dream of flowers so beautiful and painted blue by a Divine hand, that with one gentle touch they would turn to dust and scatter to the wind, tainted by human interaction. I will wear this perfume as long as I am able. It is a masterpiece.
alex_yurchenko – :
I am ordering a 50 ml refill EDP because I already have the gold canister, but that and my small EDT will see me out. For me it’s the drydown that I love and I couldn’t wear it every day unless I was paid to do so. One day with Mitsouko or LHB cures me for a little while: Insolence is like Boot Camp, Nahema is a day in a Harem, Jardins de Bagatelle is tea with Scarlett O Hara, Apres L’Ondee starts to smell like an old leather football and only Vol de Nuit slips into two or three day stint. They are all gorgeous, but challenging. You realise you are a Guerlain enthusiast when a woman in the supermarket stands on tippy toes with arm outstretched to grab an item almost out of reach and the unmistakable scent of Mitsouko enters your senses. You suspect that her make-up is Guerlain also and you fall down the rabbit hole. It’s impossible to stop at one.
ivanov2934 – :
I have been checking perfume websites regularly for any special deal for LHB. A few weeks ago, I was surprised to see a bottle of EDP sold for £49… I could not believe my eyes as the price in duty-free shops (if you are lucky to find it) is around £78 and retail price around £85… As a LHB lover I bought 3 which, if you take the duty-free price into consideration, is buy 3 get one free!
I went back on the