I have a confession: I don't care for most vanilla perfumes. I find them either childish and cloying or bland and boring. I much prefer greens, fresh florals, and chypres. Fragonard perfumes are tricky to find here in the US, so I had to do some real searching for samples. My original decant of this was a rather stingy 0.7 mL, not exactly enough to really get to know a perfume. I found it rather nice, but put it on the backburner: I opted to use my included coupon for a bottle of the lovely Grenade Pivoine (also a Fragonard perfume). By chance, I was able to find a larger decant option and promptly ordered a 3mL. It arrived today and I'm wearing it as I write this review.
What a beauty! It satisfies my green floral cravings but provides warmth and sweetness that make it more suitable for the fall weather. The opening reminds me a little of L'Ombre Dans L'Eau, but without the aquatic aspect: no urine note whatsoever in the blackcurrant, just smooth, juicy berry. The earthy green musk of the angelica is also fabulous. If you find most vanillic fragrances too sweet like I do, I'd highly recommend trying Belle d'Amour out. Once my decant runs out and I've finished/sold a perfume or two I already own, I'm quite certain that I'll purchase a full bottle of this one. Whether or not I'll have the self-control to wait, however, remains to be seen.
