I really like Annick Goutal Heure Exquise. It’s old-fashioned, feminine, and mysterious without being cloying and heavy. I must add that I love iris/orris scents. They are fresh and green. Often iris based scents are masculine (a reminder of antique after shaves), not Heure Exquise. It’s a seductive fragrance with class. The iris in Heure Exquise is not as green and medicinal as some iris heavy scents. It is more powdery and feminine. It really is what Annick Goutal was going for, an “exquisite hour”. It is dusk hovering over a well manicured garden with classic blossoms of iris and rose. It’s a “darker” iris, an iris for evening.
At first the fragrance is green in a classic iris way. It’s fresh but in a dry, earthy way. It becomes sweet yet green, thanks to the rose. The fragrance smells of an old-fashioned and symmetrical Victorian garden. It’s proper but soft and grounded. It’s beautiful. (I’ve already let it out that I love iris scents). This iris heavy scent is made feminine by sweet roses. The rose gives this earthy floral fragrance a bit of honey sweetness. The fragrance smells powdery. Since this is an EDT, it does change rapidly. The mid is beautiful. You still get an old-fashioned iris that is powdery but it is almost like incense. The Mysore sandalwood makes a presence, mingling with the dry florals. It is so soft but not delicate. It is really like the sun is setting over this proper garden. It has a bit of mystery, a bit of haze. The dry down is rich and incensey. I get lots of Mysore sandalwood, one of my favorite notes ever. It is made feminine by a light touch of vanilla. The dry down is sweet but not in a gourmand way. It is sweet like resin.
I really like the fragrance, but I like old-timey scents. This one is old-fashioned but since it is a light-wearing EDT, it is very wearable. It isn’t heavy. The top is refreshing like going on stroll through a flower garden. The sun begins to set and this fragrance becomes very mysterious. Shadows change the scenery. Even though you’ve seen it all before, it becomes new with the darkness, mysterious, but still harmless. This is an understated sexy scent. I think it is trying to be sexy but it manages to do so tastefully.
For an Annick Goutal EDT, I find that it wears longer than most. It wears for about 4-5 hours on me during “average” temps.
Notes listed include Floretine iris, Turkish rose, Mysore sandalwood, and vanilla.
Give this fragrance a try if you like fresh, powdery scents, Editions de Parfums Iris Poudre , L’Artisan Parfumeur Drôle de Rose , Jean Paul Gaultier Classique EDT, YSL Paris, Victoria’s Secret So In Love and/or Lubin Nuit de Longchamp.
The 3.4 fl.oz EDP (not what I reviewed) retails for $182 and is available at Annick Goutal.
Great review! This is such a beautiful fragrance. It makes me feel so elegant.
This is my favorite fragrance from Annick Goutal.
It’s such a beautiful fragrance.
This is my favorite AG.
Hi Victoria, I really enjoy your reviews and videos. I find your reviews so helpful when I am thinking about buying a new perfume. I am wondering if Heure Exquise also comes in Eau de Parfum and, if so, do you have an opinion? My skin eats perfum so EDT isn’t always the best choice for me.
Your blog to me is the equivalent of nice glass of wine after working all day. They are very enjoyable and I look forward to them. Thank you so much.
Thank you so much for the kind words. Made my day! My week! Maybe even my month 🙂
The EdP is gorgeous, it really is. It wasn’t so easy to find in the US; hence, my EDT review. But, I have tried both. If you can get the EDP, I do recommend it over the EDT. It has more “volume” and it does wear longer.
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