La Belle Hélène Parfums MDCI 2011

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7.7 / 10 164 Ratings

A popular perfume by Parfums MDCI for women, released in 2011. The scent is fruity-floral. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Fruity

Floral

Sweet

Powdery

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Pear

Aldehydes

Lemon blossom

Mandarin orange

Heart Notes

Bulgarian rose

Hawthorn

Iris

Mimosa

Mirabelle plum

Osmanthus

Ylang-ylang

Base Notes

Amber

Cedar

Oakmoss absolute

Patchouli

Sandalwood

White musk

Glycyrrhiza glabra Myrrh

Myrrh

Vetiver

Perfumer

Bertrand Duchaufour

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

7.7164 Ratings

Longevity

7.5130 Ratings

Sillage

6.6130 Ratings

Bottle

8.5120 Ratings

Value for money

6.327 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 08/11/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Femme (1989) Eau de Toilette

VIII: Rococo - Magnolia

Wild Pears

Reviews

4 in-depth fragrance descriptions

08/11/2025

ClaireV
958 Reviews

ClaireV

1

Pear gourmand sliding into plummy chypre

This is a beautiful piece of work, and entirely fitting with Claude Marchal's focus on commissioning perfumes that nod at French classicism without getting bogged down in pastiche. La Belle Helene has the feel of an old school fruit chypre but none of the somber tone that characterizes most of the classic examples. It opens with a shimmering pear note that's realistic without straying into Pear Drop or acetone territory, and sharpened with juicy tangerine. Held aloft by a spackle of fizzing aldehydes, the opening notes smell slightly boozy and metallic, like the feeling you get when you knock back a glass of champagne too quickly.

The heart notes are comprised of orris butter, plum, myrrh, rose, and osmanthus, which converge on the most wonderful accord of vintage lipstick or cosmetic powder. It smells absolutely gorgeous - soft, rosy, waxy, and creamy. Literally, like the most expensive and most luxurious body cream you could ever afford, perhaps one of those Chanel ones that come in the white box. The osmanthus, in particular, provides an apricot jam note that is close to edible. What's even more impressive is that the pear note is still present and detectable in the heart notes, and casts its bright, green fruit aroma over everything.

By the time La Belle Helene reaches its drydown, much of the sweet fruits and florals have been whittled away to reveal a more sombre backbone of sandalwood, moss, and patchouli. The landing is soft rather than bitter, and has an inky cocoa feel to it, an effect deliberately created, I am guessing, to suggest the dark chocolate sauce that is poured over the poached pears and whipped cream of the famous dessert this fragrance is named for (Poires Belle Helene). Delicious and elegant - a real gourmand treat in the beginning, and then a chypre in the base.

02/08/2025

4
Pricing 7
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 7
Scent

Musicandarts
216 Reviews

Musicandarts

2

A fruity aldehyde that evokes the seventies - not sure about the point of this one.

La Belle Hélène is my first foray into the catalog of MDCI Parfums. This is a fruity floral chypre fragrance created by Bertrand Duchaufour in 2011. The perfumer calls this a chypre scent though I wouldn’t, because there is neither a strong citrus in the opening, nor cistus-like resins in the middle. But labels like chypre and fougere are too loosely used these days to mean anything. This review is written based on an official sample from Jovoy Paris.

The notes listed on Parfumo and Jovoy are mostly correct. La Belle Hélène opens with a beautiful pear and aldehyde notes with hints of orange and lemon blossom. There is a brief gust of an unpleasant aldehydic smell that resembles castor oil that disappears quickly. Soon after, you can smell almost every note listed for this perfume. I can distinctly smell the heart notes of osmanthus and rose, as well as the base notes of myrrh, vetiver, amber, musk and some woody notes very early. But it is impossible for any human nose to pick out all the twenty different notes listed for this perfume. Many of the fruity and floral notes fuse into a lovely composite accord. The base notes and dry down on my skin are pleasant woody notes with a touch of fruits and flowers. There are no major transitions as La Belle Hélène ages on the skin. To its disadvantage, the overall personality of this perfume is too vague and too generic to justify the cost.

La Belle Hélène performs well on my skin. I can smell the pear easily for 6-8 hours. Unfortunately, its other notes do not perform so well. Even after 12 hours, I can pick up the pear. The sillage is strong in the first few hours. I would shy away from wearing this in the office because its strong fruity aldehyde notes.

La Belle Hélène is a traditional fruity floral aldehyde that harks back to the last century, inspired by the likes of Chanel No. 5 and White Linen. A retro-futuristic fruity aldehyde that evokes the seventies is not my cup of tea. It is too expensive, costing $210 for 75 ml, to recommend it to even the most dedicated pear lover. But it does inspire me to try another pear-scented lady that followed this one, the La Belle Le Parfum from Jean Paul Gaultier.

02/12/2019

9
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 7.5
Scent

Serenissima
729 Reviews

Translated Show original

Serenissima

Top Review 15

my "inner pear purist" takes the floor

Questioning everything is typical of me. That's probably why I've been wearing a small golden question mark on my "everyday" chain for years.
So I ask myself with this Helena of course: which one is probably meant?
The beauty from the Greek legend, whose kidnapping triggered the Trojan War?
This Helena, who as the mother of Emperor Constantine indirectly determined the fate of the Catholic Church?
"The beautiful Helena" in Jacques Offenbach's operetta?
Or simply the dessert, to find as "Coup Helene" on the international maps?

Right at the beginning: I love pears!
The original small green "Gute Luise" - often in baskets; but especially the tender yellow dessert pear - usually called "Anjou".
But I prefer it as "solitaire": a ripe, aromatic pear after the meal or as a snack - wonderful! (Sometimes also with a drop of "Aceto Balsamico" and some freshly grated nutmeg.)
This preference is also reflected in Jo Malone's "English Pear & Freesia".
The clarity of this fragrance enchants me again and again. That was a "love at first sniff"!

I was all the more disappointed when I ordered a special filling of Annick Goutal from ALzD, with the focus on the pear. Unfortunately I forgot the name in the meantime.
There I met an overripe, top-fermented pear that dominated everything; she was also allowed to travel on quite quickly.

I like the MDCI scents very much; often especially, because they represent something very special out of many scents.
This is also true of "La Belle Hélène": this fragrance is unusual and therefore does not fall outside the scope of what this brand stands for.
It was among these first impressions that I wrote my statement.
After a closer acquaintance with Helena, I will have to relativize that a little here. After we "got warm" with each other; namely during a long and steam-intensive "ironing battle".

As a prelude I meet a fruit cocktail here: generously garnished with white flowers!
Pear, tangerine and mirabelle plum are just visible to me before the white-flowering plants - and here for me especially the hawthorn - enter the fragrance stage!
Everything is tastefully arranged, even the rose looks out from time to time.
Ylang-Ylang pulls its usual radiant scent paths, crowns this melange together with the aldehydes, which appear here rather medium-term.
For my taste, there has already been a little too much stirring, too little shaking.
Nevertheless, this fragrance is quite entertaining; even if it makes me a little restless: I'm probably still looking for the pear as it is stuck in my head.
"("Stubbornness of Age" you may call that.)
The base note is almost overflowing with great scents; it almost rolls over me!
Three, four - yes, even five of them, how nice that would be!
But nine at once - in the long run this is so enormous for me.
"La Belle Hélène" is harmonious and round, but for me there is a little too much of everything.

MDCI fragrances often "paddle" instead of "spilling"; that's what makes them so special, and that's something I always fall for too.
But here, at "La Belle Hélène", my inner purist takes the floor.
I don't really like the fruit blossom wood resin mixture.
Now not everything that is lovingly created and beautiful must be compatible for everyone.
It is therefore particularly pleasant that the shelf life does not exceed the average This bulb with its diverse entourage slowly loses itself; the loud voices that chatted unmoved become quieter and "La Belle Hélène" disappears.
Of course I would like to include one of these wonderful flacons in my collection; it should also be empty!

For me, the following applies here: no, to this "Coup Helene" - yes, to a ripe, golden pear for dessert!

12/08/2018

5
Sillage 8
Longevity 5
Scent

Gelis
164 Reviews

Translated Show original

Gelis

Helpful Review 5

Am I too cold?

It has occurred to me that perhaps I have too little inherent body heat for this scent (and perhaps others). I noticed that LBH - as well as others - show themselves only properly after I have moved for a while, for example after a dog walk come home and me, when I take off the jacket, "suddenly" a surge of the scent sprayed on in the morning, which had supposedly already evaporated.

However: the prelude is always there. And with LBH I must say unfortunately: Because that consists of fruit gum, and indeed old, dried up, musty fruit gum. This lasts - getting weaker - up to an hour and then LBH is gone. Until those moments described above, where either beautiful light floral notes with a hint of powder waft towards me, or, when the base notes are reached, gentle spicy warmth.

Conclusion: if LBH were more perceptible to me, I would very much regret the horrible opening for me, as it spoils the following beautiful heart and base notes. Now, I move on - with a perhaps new knowledge regarding the body heat - shrugging to the next fragrance.

I thank Serenissima for the test opportunity.

Addendum 1: It just occurred to me that I usually only know this phenomenon of not noticing a scent from scents I've worn too often or for too long because I've gone "nose blind". My beloved Chanel No 5, for example, I wear only rarely and only ever for a maximum of two days in a row, because then I can't smell it anymore. But what about me completely new fragrances...?

Addendum 2: My assessment of the durability is based on the fact that I always perceive the heart or base notes only a few hours after spraying.