It reminds me both of Esprit' d' Oscar in the powdery iris/ violet and Shalimar cologne in the slightly powdery citrus + tonka base. I thought she was into Obsession but I think she must have worn this perfume too because the smell is incredibly familiar and smells like home. Naturally, we did, and when I smelled her again for the first time in decades after my husband surprised me with a bottle, it all came flooding back.

I wear perfume for my own enjoyment but I should note that men (my husband, my 5 yr old sons, strangers) never fail to compliment me when I wear this. It was this fleeting moment that Jacques Guerlain he tried to express in 1912 with L'Heure Bleue perfume, an engaging, moving and spellbinding fragrance with an unusual and vivid key note of Violet and Ainse. I also have the Shalimar edp which is more of a cold weather evening fragrance with a strong spicy and citrus and resinous powder.Unfortunately, on the drydown all I could smell were aldehydyes and ylang-ylang, which I associate with the notorious sour "old lady" smell. A perfume of the most sensual, second skin character, an olfactory moment when the night has not found its star yet and the softness of life meets with romantism. I vow with my life, that even though there are thousands and thousands of reviewers, articles, wearers… this perfume is the deliquesced essence of my soul. That's the beauty and the tragedy of perfumery, I suppose - you can't force a scent to work with your chemistry. The opening is very pleasant almost a vintage vanilla scent but after 10 min it becomes very medicinal and smells like bandaids .

Dear reviewer "nhledger", L'heure bleue can't possibly be a dupe of Chanel 5 simply because LHB comes from 1912 and Chanel No. When I smell it I imagine a more introverted woman, who likes to wear muted pastels and maybe has blond hair. I love Shalimar, my moms main signature (just got an edt, still so so delicious), so I expected this to be a love love love. There is something very special about it, the powderiness of heliotrope counteracted by just enough spice so that it does not get dull and boring, the benzoin tonka base keeping it smooth and sweet enough but not too sweet, the violets and iris being balanced with tuberose and carnation.It also made me re-evaluate the drydown that my perennial favourite, Penhaligon’s Tralala, was going for - less Shalimar and more L’Heure Bleue. For your mental association, we may thank the way McDonald's and other institutional restrooms/toilets have often used a faux-cherry scented room deodorizer since the 1960's. In best possible way, diabetic version of marzipan - herbal, thyme-infused and incense-y deep cherry marzipan powder with cloves, glorious cloves! Guerlain L'Heure Bleue Parfum is an exquisite ode to the enjoyment of life and romanticism with an armful of elegant delicate flowers over an oriental base characterised by Violet, Iris and Aniseed in a rich and sensual essence that moulds the day into its darkest hour. I am on my second bottle of L’heure bleue (bought backups fast of this beauty and it’s the version from a couple of years back, gold box) If I had to choose one fragrance to wear for the rest of my life, this would be it.

It is a floral oriental fragrance with the dusky scent of candies and almond cake (by the strong heliotrope) bought in an old world apothecary (due to its powdery accord). I knew from the start it would be this flacon…) On this first meeting he purchased me a Pearl necklace, that dangles on the décolletage, and a Pearl bracelet. Your grandmother is likely wearing what she loved to wear in her youth and what was all the rave - L'Heure Bleue.Top notes are Anise, Neroli, Coriander, Bergamot and Lemon; middle notes are Heliotrope, Carnation, Violet, Cloves, Neroli, Ylang-Ylang, Bulgarian Rose, Jasmine, Orchid and Tuberose; base notes are Iris, Vanilla, Benzoin, Sandalwood, Tonka Bean, Musk and Vetiver. I adore the clove-anise combo that comes through but it's softened by just the right amount of powdery lemon and purple flowers. Fleeting like the caress of a mother, like the febrile wet kiss of a lover who’s bigger than life, like the gracile instant of death.

I aroused some curiosity and heard comments about wearing an elegant perfume that stood out among the reigning masculine ambroxan. In fact, I'll sometimes dot my modern LHB application with a droplet of McCormick's Anise food flavoring. If Lemony Snicket's obedience-inducing laudanum tincture had a scent, this is what it would smell like. I don't know how the "blue hour" of twilight would smell like this, but I'm guessing that Jacques Guerlain had synesthesia. I get hugged a lot while wearing this fragrance, and I do think it has a decided allure of it's own.Like its heady cousin Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue is a must in any serious fragrance collection along with many others from this wonderful, traditional, creative and innovative house. L'Heure Bleue, at least in its present form, is one of a dozen Guerlains which, if you've smelled one you've smelled them all.