Saturday, September 01, 2012

All Things French (a.k.a. Perfume)

Cute Illustration for the Grown-Up La Petite Robe Noire

I haven't done a perfume review in a while.

Guerlain, which houses my favorite perfume Shalimar (here's an article I wrote on Shalimar - Shalimar: Senses in a Bottle has a perfume cutely titled La Petite Robe Noire) or LPRN as the unromantic perfume girl told me is the best way to remember it. What happened to knowing a little bit of French. Petite, robe, noire. Is that so hard to remember?

Of course La Petite Robe Noire is in reference to that cocktail dress which all fashionable women should have in their wardrobe.

Amsale, the wedding dress designer, has put in her collection a few little black dresses. But she has also cheekily added the "little white dress" to her collection, which might catch on as the new style of cocktail dress to have.

Notes the Guerlain's The Little Black Dress:
Top Notes: Bergamot, Almond, Sour Cherry, Red Berries
Middle Notes: Rose, Licorice
Base Notes: Anise, Vanilla, Patchouli, Iris

It sounds like it should smell like candy, but it has the famous Guerlinade that is present in Shalimar. It is in fact a lighter version of Shalimar, and not at all juvenile fruity as the name suggests but a good blend of floral and fruity.

The bottle for La Petite Robe Noire is exactly the same as the 1912 L'Heure Bleue (re-instated in 2012 at its 100 year anniversary). La Petite Robe Noire's bottle, which comes in a deeper purple, could have done without the cute dress illustration and the scribbly script.

Guerlain's bottles for L'Heure Bleue and La Petite Robe Noire

The Seine at L'Heure Bleue