Perfume Pen Pals: Guerlain L'Heure Bleue



Katie,

What's your take on Guerlain L'Heure Bleue? Wikipedia says it's akin to Après l'Ondée, though less bright and more melancholic. (Can you believe I'm going to Wikipedia before I go to you? I can't either.) I like Après l'Ondée very much, and even its modern cousin, L'Eau d'Hiver, which I've been wearing steadily since buying a bottle at the Frédéric Malle event. But I find Après l'Ondée melancholic enough. Do I need to smell more melancholic? Is L'Heure Bleue eleven on the melancholy amplifier? Just typing that last question made me excited; what does that say about me?


Some prefer their amplifers calibrated for maximum melancholy.


Also, and this is always the debate with Guerlain, what of the eau de parfum versus the eau de toilette? I realize most people prefer the heavier concentrations, but when it comes to a man (me) wearing a very feminine fragrance, the eau de toilette seems like an appropriate compromise. And the eau de parfum seems like the perfume equivalent of a cross dresser wearing a garish gown. I want to be melancholic but not garishly melancholic. A tasteful black dress is fine.


Garishly melancholic.


I'm beginning to think this is more of a subject matter for my therapist than for you. If only I could get the two of you together for an appointment, the ground I could cover!

Dan



Dan,

I actually have a bottle of L'Heure Bleue parfum I received as a gift. I'll go put some on now. Okay, I'm back. Wow! What a thing. I was tempted to answer you without trying it on again, and my answer would have been: I've never understood this perfume, it's sort of plasticky/chemically, I don't get it. I seem to recall my mom used to have a bottle on her dresser, though I don't remember ever smelling it on her.




But now! Boy, it really helps to have a reference point for smelling the classics, or at least greater familiarity with the odor of individual materials, because right now I'm loving this perfume, and what I thought of as "plasticky", I now realize is the dissonance between that dry, dry, woody violet and the bite of the carnation. It's one of the least sweet Guerlains I've smelled, though Après l'Ondée is drier still. And certainly more melancholic. L'Heure Bleue is maybe about three on the melancholy amp.

I'm still not quite there with it yet, though.

Katie



Katie,

So you disagree with Wikipedia? It doesn't assign melancholic numbers, but it clearly states that L'Heure Bleue is more melancholic than Après L'Ondée. Though I'm dubious about that, having found Après l'Ondée so very melancholic. Dubious but hopeful.

The Guerlain parfums are too expensive for me to justify right now but I've heard too many people slam the edt's, so I splurged on three edp's: L'Heure Bleue, Mitsouko and Shalimar. I'm too tired to research the status of the reformulations, I'll just try wearing them and hope they smell nice.

Dan



Dan,

Yes, I disagree with Wikipedia on the relative melancholy of those Guerlains. I'm very interested to hear what you think of L'Heure Bleue, because although I suddenly like it more than I ever have, I do think it's weird. I also have an intense desire to layer an incense perfume with it. (Don't tell Frédéric Malle. Or Jacques Guerlain.)

Katie



Katie,

If I came across Jacques Guerlain, I think I'd feel obligated to tell him. First I'd ask his thoughts on what Wikipedia said about his perfumes, then I'd ask his opinion on the IFRA regulations, and then I'd tell him about you layering stuff. I wonder which would mystify him more?

Lots of people grouse about L'Heure Bleue online, that it's weird or old-fashioned or overly sweet. I never know what to believe but I generally find people who write about perfume to be unreliable. Present company excluded, of course. Except for me. I'm definitely unreliable.

Dan



Dan,

L'Heure Bleue is too full and rich to be melancholy. Après l'Ondée is thinner, wanner. Ergo, more melancholy.

Katie



Katie,

I'll be the judge of how melancholy L'Heure Bleue is! An unreliable judge, mind you, but unreliable votes count just the same in this country.

I'm wearing L'Heure Bleue and it's obviously not "less bright and more melancholic" than Après l'Ondée. (That'll teach me for getting perfume information from Wikipedia.)

In fact, it's a more bright, less melancholic Après l'Ondée. It's Apres L'Ondee with the sunroof open a crack. It's Après l'Ondée with curves. Which makes L'Heure Bleue a little less wearable for a man. Or at least for me. But it's interesting, especially that dissonance of which you spoke, though the initial carnation blast almost tore open my nostrils. (I know they at least flared a few times.) This is strong stuff. As time passes, the flowers do fade some and I get much more almond-y softness.


Almond-y softness.


Here I am alone on a Tuesday night, wearing a ladies' perfume and smelling myself. If I were more diligent about studying my own behavior, I'd probably give myself a good talking to.

Dan


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29 comments:

  1. I happen to be a huge fan of L'HB parfum above the EDT and EDP (not true for Mitsouko). L'HB parfum walks that perfect line between a very full and heady composition, which nonetheless remains oh-so dry and leathery. The EDP weighs much more toward the sweet end of the spectrum, and the EDT is too watered-down for this sumptuous creation. The perfume blooms and develops flawlessly from start to drydown, without skipping *steps* (something I find can happen way too often with modern reformulations), and creates a beautiful "scent bubble" which adds to much more than the usual sillage. The other thing is this: I own and wear literally hundreds of the classics/niche/you name it/fragrances. The only time I have been stopped on the street by random people telling me how gorgeous I smell has happened while wearing L'HB pure perfume. I think the leather aspect would make the perfume wearable for a man, but that the powder overdose of the EDP is going to make you run for the washcloth...

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  2. I have tried it several times -because of its beautiful name, possibly my favorite perfume name- but don't really get it either. I smell sweet vanillic powder-dust, more a general Guerlain aroma than a distinct character as for example in Shalimar or Mitsouko.
    Vol de Nuit, also a stunning name and bottle leaves me equally helpless. I smell a perfume but cannot capture its personality.
    Maybe this discussion will generate some hints..
    Cybele

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  3. Anonymous, thank you for your hugely helpful comparative analysis of L'HB concentrations! I'm glad I have the "right" one. Which Mitsouko do you prefer, because that's a question I'm grappling with. (Re: Shalimar, I always say the edp has the best ratio of leather to sweet, but there's something to be said for the more gourmand parfum's depth.)


    Cybele - yes, it's a divine perfume name, isn't it? Vol de Nuit is a good example of what I consider an "advanced course perfume" that requires much study.

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  4. Thank you Katie, I will try it again. In contrast though, I understood No5 instantly at the age of 11.
    Cybele

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  5. I have only tried LHB in EDP, but I too got the plasticky thing -- plasticky and a little medicinal. I thought of it as a combo of the iris and anise, though. I recently swapped my bottle away because I never, ever, ever wore it, despite liking to smell it now and then.

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  6. I adore LHB. Sadly, I have only two small decants from swaps. One is labeled Vintage EDP and other the swapper didn't know what it was. That's the one I like! I'm afraid I'll never be able to source the LHB that I adore. Another aside: although the notes are well documented, this one I don't even bother trying to break down into, "I smell carnation; there's the heliotrope," I just spray and enjoy. But I only wear it once in a "bleu" moon. It's too special for everyday.

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  7. I recently had the opportunity to smell some LBH in vintage extrait form. It was the most glorious thing ever, rich and soaringly beautiful, unlike the fusty contemporary versions, which seem to me mere intimations in the direction of the original scent. And the only melancholic thing about it was me, sadly eyeing the expensive bottles out of reach on *bay.

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  8. Nina, your melancholic pickle makes me think of how the Beastie Boys used to have in their employ a "sneaker pimp", a fellow whose job it was to source the coolest, rarest sneakers for them. If I had silly money, the first member of my staff would be a "perfume pimp" to track down vintage perfumes in various formulations and concentrations, lining them up neatly for me to try.


    Kym, you're smart about not trying to parse L'HB. It kind of defies that, anyway.


    Elisa, I'm wearing my parfum today and now it's sort of "wooden pencil-ish" between the layers of other unparsable stuff.

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  9. A perfume pimp! "I want one!" she wails. Along with the budget to employ this wonderful person. Actually, I have a friend who excels in the art of tracking down marvelous vintage finds, sending me the auction links, and consoling me when the prices go completely stratospheric.

    As for L'HB, I have one lovely bottle of vintage parfum, having finished a split of another about a year ago. This bottle is chillier than the last one, heavier on the anise in the topnotes. It's positively mentholated for the first 20 minutes and very complex. I also have decants of vintage edc and pdt. I'm wearing all three of them. The edc is excellent-brighter (if you can call L'HB bright) with lots of sillage. The pdt falls a bit flat-powdery heliotrope and carnation, without the lift of the edc or the complexity of the parfum. Nina is right though. The prices have gone positively mad.

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  10. m61, you sound like you've got your perfume pimpin' techniques down pat. All you need is the cash to compete with the high rollers. Very interesting to hear about your L'HB findings.

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  11. Katie,

    I have hoarded vintage 80ml, 60ml,40ml, a half-full 30ml and half-full 15ml rosebud bottles of LHB parfum because of my enchantment with the first sniff of this incomparable beauty!

    Agree with all who claim that the parfum trumps all the other concentrations.

    (Strangely, I have none of the PdT or the EDP,but have some drops of the EDT left,which smells very different & more aloof)

    The EDC(not produced anymore) is less heady interpretation of the idea of the evanescent time between dusk & dark, and is extremely long-lasting to boot!

    They don't make 'em like they used to!

    And yay to you discovering further the beauty of vintage!

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  12. Dom, I can only dream....

    You're right about the edc. I woke up and did a quick sniff test. No traces of the pdt. Tiny traces of the parfum are left, but the edc is stronger. It's actually pretty fabulous and I wish that I had more. Maybe I'll find that particular concentration on e*bay for an affordable price?

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  13. melisand61,

    Yes,you can! With persistance...

    I bought my 1.6 oz disc bottle(almost full) with box for $36 some time ago. I'm a bottom feeder when it comes to eBay shopping, so I've never paid more than 80 euros for any of my bottles of LHB.

    Nowadays, sellers are more knowledgeable, and ask for over $150-200 for even small bottles of the vintage stuff.

    However, you can still keep an eye out for auctions that start low & hope that a lack of watchers allows you to snag it for a reasonable price. Be prepared to snipe in the last 10 seconds though!

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  14. Katie, I think you hit the nail on the head with this comment, which echoes my own take on these two:

    "L'Heure Bleue is too full and rich to be melancholy. Après l'Ondée is thinner, wanner. Ergo, more melancholy."

    LHB is too much of a powdery sneezefest for me to focus on anything else about it. I reckon I'd be melancholic if required to wear it for any other purpose than occasional scientific inquiry...

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  15. That's it, Vanessa. We're all just a bunch of scientists around here.

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  16. It took me a long time to love LHB, just as it did for Shalimar and Mitsouko, but it was worth the wait. I've never gotten the melancholy aspect of this fragrance; on me it leans towards the gourmand, and is a total comfort scent. Spray some of this on, wrap up in a cashmere throw and curl up in front of the fire on a winter's day - that's what it makes me feel like.
    Fleurdelys

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  17. Fleurdelys, I have much respect for fragrances that don't reveal their secrets under a cursory sniff.

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  18. Sorry for being a bad girl and going off topic, but Katie are you paying attention to what's happening over at Old Spice? I know you're a fan of the juice. Seems Fabio is putting himself out there as the new Isaiah Mustafa. Now he's personally answering tweets on his own you tube channel. Internet poser!!! Mr. Mustafa will make him pay ...

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  19. I was crestfallen at hearing that the leaden Fabio was taking over from the scintillating Mr. Mustafa. Going from wit to pure kitsch.

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  20. Parfum de Nicolai's sacrebleu is probably worth trying in this neck of the woods, for me a preferable, less sweet option, and without the glittery spankiness of iris (though I love Iris). They are always determined to direct me towards the men's fragrances in the shop when I reach for the bottle, but this rocks. Don't know how the cost would work out, but might be a little cheaper too. Both it and l'heure blue are very technicolour fragrances to me (velvety purples, reds and oranges), whereas Apre L'Ondee is very pastel bordering on monochrome.

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  21. Gavin, I love "spankiness of iris". I don't know if I've ever been spanked by iris, though I certainly have by jasmine.

    Interesting that you throw Sacrebleu into the ring - I know Dan's tried that one, because anything in the peach/osmanthus spectrum automatically calls his name.

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  22. Hi! I was hoping you would get around to chatting about L'Eau D'Hiver which I must confess to loving. I have a bottle of the L'HB which bears no relation...do you think there is a resemblance to AL'O in L'ED'H?

    Thanks!

    Fleurine

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  23. Fleurine, I've called L'Eau d'Hiver perfume version of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, because it wipes my memory banks clean every time I smell it. I just can't seem to hold its olfactory memory in my head. And yet Dan seems to be gung ho about it, and calls it the cousin to Apres l'Ondee.

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  24. Have you reviewed the new Oscar? There's a similarity with LHB...I'm interested in hearing your thoughts...

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  25. Haven't encountered Esprit d'Oscar, Kym. Must keep my nostrils flared for it.

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  26. KP, you should really do a review of this enigmatic scent.

    Here's mine :

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dk6nA96eXUk

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  27. Hello Katie,

    First off, I love your blog and your videos, you're so good at reviewing this stuff and I'm glad you do it.

    I just want to add a tiny comment to this discussion, although I'm seeing that it's been abandoned for a while... I love l'heure bleue. It took a long time to understand it, longer to love it, but once you do there's nothing like it. The thing I wanted to say about it is that I actually find it very melancholic, but not for its era. Instead, every time I wear it, this feeling creeps in, a desire to be in Paris in the evening... in the 1950s! Makes me think of pastries, night air, big band jazz music, and a handsome guy with a hat and a bouquet of roses, coming home from a long trip.

    Like you, I used to find it very chemical in the beginning, something like a cross between suncreen and nailpolish. Now I find it herbascious and spicy in the opening, then sweet and a little lonely feeling once the anise comes in. And of course the dry down is fantastic. Not as sickly-sweet as some of the other Guerlains, but smooth and rich like honey. Such a dreamy scent. I have the edp.

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    Replies
    1. I love all of your associations. I'm currently reading The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy, all about dissolute continental youth living it up in 50s Paris. You should read it while wearing L'Heure Bleue.

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  28. I'm on a bit of a Guerlain roll today. Jicky, Mitsouko, and now L'Heure Bleue. And L'Heure Bleue is really, really nice. Guerlains seem to all have this weird thing going for me, but the weirdness of Shalimar turned to love, so I wouldn't doubt if there is love somewhere in these three as well. And L'Heure Bleue is the one that immediately pulled me in. They all need more attention, but I am tempted to try this one in parfum as well as the EDP I wore today.

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