Description
“The sun has set, but night has not yet fallen. It’s the suspended hour… The hour when one finally finds oneself in renewed harmony with the world and the light,” Jacques Guerlain. This was his favorite moment, when “the night has not yet found its star”. It inspired him in 1912 to create L’Heure Bleue.
The top notes of the fragrance intoxicate you with aniseed and bergamot. The heart’s carnation and neroli accord express delicate sensuality. The powdery, oriental dry-down features powdery notes of iris and violet and gourmand notes of vanilla, benzoin and tonka bean.
The Eau de Parfum is a contemporary version of the Extract and Eau de Toilette. Today, the EDT version is available in 50 ml bottles.
weedyzz – :
Wow, what an incredible fragrance! You know Guerlain did something right for this to still be in production after 100+ years. It is beautiful and not the least bit dated. Soft, spicy, and powdery “blue” flowers with a little citrus, benzoin, and the incomparable Guerlain vanilla. Love!
Nogorodik – :
I have tried this several times. I so wanted to be one of those who sings its praises, to ‘get’ this perfume and wax poetic about it. However, I am DONE beating myself up for not being one of those who loves it. I have to remember that there are thousands of perfumes for thousands of tastes and not everyone loves the same thing. And thank God for that!
It smells very dated on me and offers me no comfort. I do not like the smell in the least. I was validated in my opinion of this when I tried it on for the umpteenth time tonight and my dog gave me a dirty look and moved to the complete opposite end of the couch.
Hmmph!
iudjin – :
Well … to first address the elephant in the room: “an old lady smell”, “a very mature scent”… I think that if you have known someone born in the 1920’s, for example, you might have experienced something similar to this scent. My grandmother belonged to this age group and she wore Tosca (by Maurer & Wirtz, created in 1921) and yes, there is a connection, although the two scents are far from identical. So obviously, if you have known an elderly person that wore a similar scent/this particular scent, you associate the scent with this person/age group.
But then again, as we all know, scents can be categorized into orientals, florals, woody/aldehydic/musky etc…. groups, and at the moment we are living in an age when fruity florals, fruitchoulis and gourmands have dominated for a long time. So a scent like L’Heure Bleue is “different”, in the sense that this particular group of scents has not been “in fashion” for a long time. In fact it is so different that it might even scare some noses used to very sweet scents.
Personally I find this scent very comforting. First I tnought it is because of the association with the perfum my grandmother used to wear (I had a good relationship with her, so good memories), but then I read some comments for L’Heure Bleue (both EDT and EDP) and I’m not the only one who experiences this scent as comforting.
The inital spray is actually quite invigorating (aldehydic, although not mentioned as a note for the EDT), then comes a strong burst of anise (wich I find the dominant note in this scent) and then I smell cloves, although they too, are not mentioned for the EDT version. There is Iris to give powderiness and there is benzoin to add the oriental touch. For some reason I don’t get much violets on my skin.
I use this scent in the evenings before going to bed. I find it calms my mind. I’m quite surprised by the accuracy of the original explanation of the name of the scent (L’Heure Bleue) “when one finally finds oneself in renewed harmony with the world and the light.”
paxygaica – :
Okay. This review took me a while. l’Heure Bleue EDT (vintage 8/2016) is complicated. And from another world. A world past — despite the reformulation. As Robert Graves wrote, “Goodbye to All That” after WWI. 1912 is a gone world.
Perfection though. The perfect blue twilight. I’m in love.
EDIT: The boyfriend, much younger than I, was entranced by this scent. Maybe he’s an old soul.
easpro – :
It can be intimidating to write a less-than-blissful review of a perfume about which so many have waxed rhapsodic… I imagine this shall render my review balloon-less, and that’s okay with me. I appreciate the people who wear and love this. And I wish I could smell it on them. It does not smell good on me.
Perhaps my skin hates Guerlainade.
Anyway I own this, but it’s not my perfume.
Musty, fusty, powdery, dusty.
Vinyl-plasticky, mossy. It smells like old things.
I’m on a mission to appreciate the classic Guerlains. But they just feel wrong on me. Call me a barbarian I guess… a fragrance philistine. I find this scent evocative but I don’t want to smell like this personally.
Here’s what it conjures for me:
I’m opening a trunk in a distant relative’s attic. I pull out old love letters – not mine – in a puff of powdery dust. Underneath, old dried bouquet. Sepia photographs.
And yes, as someone below mentioned – baby shoes. Unknown baby.
Someone else’s memories.
pash – :
I received this today…EDT version.
How I have waited all this time to own and wear this scent..??? It is a Guerlain masterpiece IMO. I never thought it could be soooooo wonderful….amazing.
I now have to look into buying the EDP version too !!!
Classic,mesmerizing,signature worthy scent.
The true “Guerlainade” scent. Captures my mind,body and soul. So happy to finally experience this scent !!!
A+
Spaum – :
Smells like vintage lipstick, rice powder, navy blue pen ink, cream, and licorice devoid of sweetness. Somehow unspeakably, irrevocably beautiful.
satellit – :
This is one of those powder scents that doesn’t agree with me. It’s cold and dry. On my skin this smells somewhat oddly papery or like play-doh. The benzoin is not enough to give this any warmth or richness on my skin, which I desperately wish it had. This same combo of powdery iris and anise always plays the same on my skin, just too dusty.
It’s so very evocative of it’s era and I can appreciate it in theory, but it’s so prim that I find it unwearable.
CheatON – :
Beautiful for sleeping in; just wearing this stretched out under the full moon. Heavenly.
CONAN – :
I was just reading the other reviews and comments. I like to read them after I submit my own because I do not want to be influenced by them. I noted the review that mentions White Leather Baby Shoes. How observant. That is an amazing comparison. Yes, I do recall the sweet smell of those tiny shoes that my babies used to wear.
DemonA83 – :
I was looking for something unique, feminine and soft. This fit the bill perfectly. It is gentle, yet makes a statement that is romantic and sweet. My husband got it for me as a Chiristmas gift and he also likes it very much. The Iris is soft and powdery, the Vanilla is subtle, and the Violet does come through very gently. I love that it is a vintage scent and has been popular for so many years. Just like me I suppose. Ha,!
wse492intitytek – :
Fountain pen ink and white baby shoes…amazing.
erurlertyz – :
They should teach you L’Heure Bleue in high school, at a certain point near the end of the winter semester, possibly while approaching Midsummer Night’s Dream’s analysis of the fairies in the wood and the class should be called “Wonder and Awe: how to stay Alive”. I can see why some speak of a perfume to enjoy in solitude or near one’s truly loved ones: there’s a pureness in it that can make you feel uncomfortable out there, as walking wearing your heart on your sleeve, visible, fragile, human and naked.
ArtemenkoBH – :
L’Heure Bleue. I bought the EdT of this beautiful fragrance and am wearing it today. Creamy, soft, blue flowers that caress your nose in a soft breeze. The stars are out and the sun is setting on the horizon. This scent is like a loving mother putting her sleepy child to bed. It does smell similar to L’Origan, another one of my favorite perfumes. I have several bottles of L’Origan in EdT, EdP, and Parfum. The dry down is almost identical in a way. The time these two perfumes came out was very different than today and the ingredients were new to the times they were created in. If you enjoy spicy, creamy, floriental masterpieces then L’Heure Bleue and L’Origan are great choices. This scent has survived two World Wars and remains available to generations today. So thankful it survived. Truly a masterpiece!
Evgenij-Plohotnikov – :
❀ L’ Heure Bleue ❤ Such a delicate, sophisticated scent.
It starts off with a blast of powder which is soft leathery & vanillic in character. It reminds me of vintage powder puffs & lavish leather gloves. I am so addicted to this initial feeling.
When it settles the leathery note is gone, it becomes a tad sweeter and spicy & remains powdery all the way. It is a really comforting aroma. Ideal for someone who -like me- is nostalgic of classic eras but grew up surrounded by contemporary scents, movies, music. L’Heure Bleue edt is my link between those two worlds.
(Additional Info: After using a decant of Aprés l’ Ondée, I detected another aspect of HB EdT that I hadn’t noticed before and that’s its sweet soapy twist)
volna62 – :
The thought occurs that I have never reviewed L’Heure Bleue edt. I will freely admit to being a Guerlain junkie, both classical and modern creations. I am wearing LHB edt on a gloriously hot summer day, with high humidity, and it is perfect!
It is powdery crisp and cool, slightly sweet but not overbearingly so, filled with purple -or perhaps blueish?- flowers.
Not one note is out of place. There is nothing too rich nor too spare. It’s gorgeous. And don’t worry about the longevity or projection being an EDT. Most classical Guerlain edits put modern EDPs to shame.
Love it.
klotderick – :
L’heure Bleue EDT is my go-to for a good anise fix. I normally cannot take Guerlain’s powdery sweet vanilla accord, but in here it works surprisingly well with the anise and carnation. The end result is a unique blend of powder and spices unmistakably feminine yet feministic, achieving a perfect balance that can only be done by the legendary master perfumer.
The EDT can be worn year-round, however I especially love wearing it on a good warm sunny day. In warm weather the scent has more citrus sparkles that add on nicely to the happy powder cloud. Like older vintage scents the perfume’s projection and longevity is unrivalled by today’s standards. My 50ml bottle will last me a good few years.
There is nothing else on the market that smells like this. If you have not tried the EDT I strongly recommend you take a sniff even just for the experience. It’s truly exceptional.
KYY – :
A thing of beauty… is a joy forever.L’Heure Bleue is really a perfume unlike any other. You sometimes have to ask yourself if a perfume is still being made over a century after it was first launched then it really must be quite something, in order to still be able to captivate hearts & minds.
The story is that the master perfumer Jacques Guerlain was one day walking along the banks of the river Seine in Paris during the “blue hour”, the very last hour of daylight before evening sets in. In film & photography, this is known as “magic hour”, when dusk is approaching twilight, and it is arguably the most beautiful time of day. He was overcome by emotion at that point and felt something so strong that he could only express it in a perfume, and so created L’Heure Bleue, or the blue hour.
This perfume is significant for many reasons… and it’s symbolism runs deep. It was created in 1912, the year in which the Titanic sank (at that time the world’s biggest ship). It was also released two years before the First World War, which would claim the lives of millions across Europe and elsewhere, and which would leave an entire generation devastated. To some, this perfume represents the last breath of an old world, a world which would later disappear and vanish forever.
The perfume itself follows a very elegant, masterful blend of gentle, sweet, evocative, refined powdery notes (most of which are so well blended that it’s hard to pick out). It’s very much like an impressionist painting, the painting itself is made up of a host of tiny dots with the paintbrush but which comes together to blend into a masterpiece of art and expression. To me it is a waxy, subdued, sweet, rich, slightly-gourmandish oriental floral perfume. The notes which stand out are iris, heliotrope and carnation, mixed with a deep, almost gourmand oriental vanilla (a typical hallmark of Guerlain). The iris provides the soft, powdery “waxy” note, whilst the strong heliotrope mixed with the vanilla gives a feeling of soft yet ever present sweetness in an almond desert kind of way. The carnation is a dusty floral feel in the background which contributes to this old and otherworldly feel.
For me L’Heure Bleue is a very special kind of perfume. In fact it’s less of a perfume and more like an “experience”. I have the Eau de Toilette, and I find it very easy to wear. There is nothing shocking about it, it just smells very different to anything you will find today. I really cannot explain the smell more than that, but the last thing I would say is that even if you never own this, at some point you should try it. If you have any serious interest in the appreciation of what perfume is, as a creation, then you should try this. If only to “experience” what it is all about. It doesn’t smell modern, for sure, although it’s still totally wearable in my opinion. Like some other complex perfumes, you may also need to have a lot of experience with smelling different types of fragrances, in order to really understand this. Try it, and you’ll see what I mean. Incredible!
yovka – :
Oh Guerlain, how you beguile me so. L’Heure Bleue EDT, as with Shalimar, underwhelms me, yet I find it so beautiful. It’s a GREAT scent, but somehow it’s not “wow.” I’ll definitely wear it, and definitely enjoy it, but I keep expecting a classic Guerlain to knock my socks off and it just isn’t happening. And, as Shalimar is a more complex Emeraude, L’Heure Bleue EDT is a more complex L’Origan… after a bit of wear time, it’s nearly identical.
satir65 – :
I completely agree with member below me, kI99.
I dislike the edp, and adore the edt! Finally a separate page on Fragrantica for the edt, cause they are so different!
But I am afraid that they will reformulate it anyway, eventually… :/ My bottle is from 2012.
Opti_MyST – :
The eau de toilette version of l’Heure Bleue is ten times better than the edp.
I’m not the only one to say so and I confirm. I had the edt and now I have the edp.
Although the temptation to have a more concentrated version seems to increase more charm, charisma and durability of a perfume: it is not always so. It is not always the right choice. (by chance also Shalimar and Mitsouko are better in edt than edp)
The eau de toilette has no problem in sillage and longevity, just more refined than the eau de parfum, which by comparison is unnecessarily heavy and overloaded. On the edge of vulgarity. Pompous amber and oriental side on top
.
The edt instead maintains, while remaining consistent oriental and ambery, the floral/talc side in prominence, it’s like a candid talcum childrens powder but with sensual shades and pungent anise, sugary, vanilline, spices, an intriguing allure.
Although it is born in 1912 this fragrance is a breath of 800 but with “yellow book” textures of the ’20, very Agatha Christie scent.
Killers in talc.
yac303Bessinepome – :
I cannot express enough love for the House of Guerlain! So many of Monsieur Guerlain’s creations are utterly timeless. L’heure bleu edt is one such scent. It’s soft, evening iris-heliotrope-vanilla powder is at once both vintage and modern. It’s magic in a bottle! It is softer and more vanillic to me than the current eau de parfum formulation. I swapped my edt and immediately regretted it so I bought a bottle of the edp thinking it would be the same. It isn’t. The instant magic I felt for the edt is lost on the edp. While I do like the edp I find it deeper, much spicier with more of the classic guerlinade base. The edt is a soft caress on a cold winter day. It was love at first sniff and will remain a part of my fragrance collection forever.