Annick Goutal

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WTD, Episode 1.3: Le Mimosa by Annick Goutal

Le Mimosa – created in 2011, notes include mimosa absolute from Grasse, peach, anise, Florentine iris, white musk. Even though I strongly disliked this perfume during my search for a perfect mimosa scent (see links to other reviews in that post) I decided to give it the last try before getting rid of the remaining sample. I still can smell mostly a peach. And it is still nauseating. But since this time I knew what to expect I could tolerate it better. I should mention once again: I’m really sorry I do not like this perfume, I wanted to – because of the cute ribbon, because of one of my favorite flowers, because of Annick Goutal and my hope to find another scent in her line to love. Oh well…

Sillage: light (3 out of 5); tenacity: good (4 hours).

Image: my own

(as always, feel free to share a link to your blog if you’ve written on the topic before)

See all episodes:

Weeklong Test Drives, Season 1: Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.1: Eau d’Hadrien by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.2: Grand Amor by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.4: Heure Exquise by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.5: Neroli by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.6: Petite Cherie by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.7: Songes by Annick Goutal

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WTD, Episode 1.2: Grand Amor by Annick Goutal

Grand AmorGrand Amor – created in 1997, notes include white lily, hyacinth, honeysuckle, hint of Turkish rose, jasmine, base notes of amber, vanilla and myrrh, musky notes. If anything is grand about this perfume it is my disappointment. I wanted to like it (“the perfume of the serene passion Annick experienced with her husband…” – romantic, isn’t it?). But this is one more love-related perfume from Annick Goutal that just doesn’t work for me (another one was Quel Amour! – it was so bad on my skin that I gave away my sample and do not plan on trying it again ever but I read that others enjoyed it so it might be just my chemistry). Once applied Grand Amor stays noticeable for the whole 15 minutes – which isn’t bad taking into the account that I do not like the opening notes: it smells green, powdery and, for the lack of a better description, dusty at the same time. After that it becomes a relatively pleasant skin scent that quietly dies in the next couple of hours.

Sillage: very light (2 out of 5); tenacity: poor (2 hours).

For a more positive spin on this perfume read reviews from I Smell Therefore I Am and Perfume Shrine.

Image: my own

(as always, feel free to share a link to your blog if you’ve written on the topic before)

See all episodes:

Weeklong Test Drives, Season 1: Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.1: Eau d’Hadrien by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.3: Le Mimosa by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.4: Heure Exquise by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.5: Neroli by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.6: Petite Cherie by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.7: Songes by Annick Goutal

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WTD, Episode 1.1: Eau d’Hadrien by Annick Goutal

 
Eau d’Hadrien – created in 1981, notes include Sicilian lemon, citron, grapefruit, green mandarin, cypress, aldehyde notes, ylang-ylang and cypress). When I was a child, my friends and I liked chasing and catching butterflies. Cabbage White (Pieris brassicae) was one of the most common butterflies where I lived. No matter how careful you would try to touch those delicate wings some pigment would always end up on your fingers. And from this particular butterfly my fingers always smelled lemony. Eau d’Hadrien scent reminds me of those carefree summer days, bruised knees and weightless wings flapping in my domed palms.
Photo : Bresson Thomas

Robin at NST had an update posted to her earlier review for Eau d’Hadrien referring to the alleged reformulation of the perfume in 2009. I compared two samples – a new one from the store and an older one that I got many years ago. I cannot smell the difference. If there was a reformulation indeed it must be the best one I encountered so far*.

In summer I might occasionally reach for the small bottle of Eau d’Hadrien EdT, which I got as a part of some other purchase, but I do not see it as a full bottle in my collection in future.

Sillage: light (3 out of 5); tenacity: good (4 hours).

(as always, feel free to share a link to your blog if you’ve written on the topic before)

* Update: Thanks to Robin I found an interview with Isabelle Doyen (at Grain de Musc) where she says: 

“But we haven’t touched L’Eau d’Hadrien! All we did, and that may have confused some people, was to increase the concentration a bit to satisfy those who thought it was too fleeting. We didn’t want to touch the formula, so we just increased the concentration by one or two per cent. But that was at least four years ago!”

See all episodes:

Weeklong Test Drives, Season 1: Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.2: Grand Amor by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.3: Le Mimosa by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.4: Heure Exquise by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.5: Neroli by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.6: Petite Cherie by Annick Goutal
WTD, Episode 1.7: Songes by Annick Goutal

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Weeklong Test Drives, Season 1: Annick Goutal

Annick GoutalI noticed that I have a tendency to collect things in series: books, movies, TV shows, costume jewelry, etc. It’s hard for me to stop at, for example, just one show season or a necklace if there are more. I will keep buying books from a favorite author even if the last couple weren’t that great. I will wait till the show is canceled or closed to buy a complete set. And I will keep browsing new offerings from a designer I like to see if there is a piece of jewelry in a new color/form/material that will fill some imaginary hole in my collection. Because of that I have some problems with testing perfumes: my impulse is to go through the complete line or at least a very representative subset of it; and you can imagine how hard it might be in case of niche or indie perfume houses. It usually results in a wide variety of samples for a single line (which I consider an upside of my OCD behavior).

Dive in to keep reading…

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Dial M for… Spring or A Perfect Mimosa

A gray chilly day, gray dirty slush on the pavement, gray skies and serious men in gray gabardine overcoats with gray newspaper cones – in their hand, under arm or even sticking out of a handbag. And confined in each of those cones are hundreds of small suns.

MimosaThis is how I remember 8th of March, an International Women’s Day, from my childhood. Of course, there were other early spring flowers – tulips and daffodils (back then we didn’t have “evergreen” roses yet) – but mimosa* was strongly associated with this holiday (a combination of Mother’s Day and St. Valentine’s Day). Mimosa was such a sunny and happy flower that you couldn’t help feeling Spring in the air even though it was still cold and unpleasant outside.

It’s almost never cold where I live now; all seasons’ boundaries are blurred and I gladly swapped not so “international,” as I found out, holiday for a more romantic, in my view, local one. But I still smile and my heart fills with joy whenever I see these bright golden constellations on a filigree of silvery leaves.

  Dive in to keep reading…