Champs-Élysées (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain

Bottle Design:
Robert Granai

See Prices

More

We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Les Légendaires

Champs-Élysées Guerlain 1996 Eau de Parfum

8.2 / 10 185 Ratings

A popular perfume by Guerlain for women, released in 1996. The scent is floral-fruity. It is being marketed by LVMH.
Pronunciation Compare

More

We may earn a commission when you buy from links on our site, including the eBay Partner Network and Amazon.

Main accords

Floral

Fruity

Sweet

Powdery

Fresh

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Violet

Aniseed

Peach

Almond

Blackcurrant Melon

Melon

Heart Notes

Lilac

Lily of the valley Peony

Peony

Mimosa

Rose

Hibiscus

Base Notes

Almond tree Benzoin

Benzoin

Sandalwood Vanilla

Vanilla

Cedar

Perfumer

Olivier Cresp

Ratings

Scent

8.2185 Ratings

Longevity

7.9150 Ratings

Sillage

7.4151 Ratings

Bottle

8.2155 Ratings

Value for money

7.255 Ratings

Submitted by Serenada, last update on 11/11/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the Les Légendaires collection.

Variant of the fragrance concentration

This is a variant of the perfume Champs-Élysées (Eau de Toilette) by Guerlain, which differs in concentration.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Champs-Élysées Eau de Toilette

Too Much... Champs-Elysées

Champs-Élysées Extrait

Aimez-Moi (2013)

Afrodite

My Name

Reviews

12 in-depth fragrance descriptions

08/27/2017

Anthology
18 Reviews

Anthology

Helpful Review 4

Champs Elysees EDP by Guerlain

At first sniff – lily of the valley – fresh, sweet, magnificent. It opens with floral scent, more floral than fruity to my nose. In the opening there is a mixture of mimosa, rose, lily of the valley, violet – like a little floral garden from someone balcony. Some fruity notes can be spotted but in a little proportion. I can smell anise because it spreads a sharp, pungent odour. It’s not disturbing, it’s like a high note to a musical composition. The result is a beautiful harmony between flowers and fruits.
The heart of the perfume is sweeter than the opening. This sweetness comes from peony and rose, it is more like a jammy odour. To my nose this is not a mimosa scent. It is a floral scent but not with mimosa on the first line.
The dry-down is vanilla, woods and benzoin, sweet and warm. Projection and longevity are average on my skin. Not a loud perfume for me.
This is a lovely perfume, no matter what others say. Maybe it is not as good as L’Heure Bleue but is beautiful in its own way. I recommend a try if you look for a floral fruity scent.

02/10/2025

8.5Scent 8Longevity 8Sillage

Ringtale
136 Reviews

Ringtale

Helpful Review 3

Not every Guerlain needs Guerlinade to be lovely

So, another take on the Guerlains I know, no Guerlinade here, but with the quality of a Guerlain for sure!
I know mimosa from Belle de Grasse and tested Mimosa Tanneron, found the latter better, but in both scents the mimosa performed quite 'stuffy' and too distinct on me.
I loved the mimosa in, unfortunately, discontinued Summer by Kenzo which I loved (though different than this), maybe because there was also almond in that one?

In Champs-Élysées Eau de Parfum, the mimosa is less 'pollen-like' than in Belle de Grasse and Mimosa Tanneron; it's lifted to a more ethereal level by the other notes and so more bright and less dry.
I don't find this too powdery because it is also a bit creamy (must be the almond) but overall: bubbly and - again - ethereal.
It's one of those perfumes of which the sillage is the most likeable aspect of the fragrance in my opinion. I like the 'aura' it builds around me, so no need to sniff my skin all the time...just inhale :-).
I do get the lilac, but lilac can sometime be a bit headache inducing, here it is not, maybe because the anise is toning it down and brightening things up a little.
In final drydown I get the sandalwood the way I love it: more airy than in -say- Samsara Eau de Parfum which I find beautyful for half an hour, but exhausting after that. (My skin seems to radiate sandalwood in all perfumes that contain sandalwood, also in latest Chanel 5 EDP sandalwood is very strong on my skin). In this perfume, the sandalwood just gives the sillage this 'angelic' feel.

I knew I had to block all memories of my other beloved Guerlains when smelling this one and advise other Guerlain-lovers (especially those who love scents like L'Heure Bleue Eau de Parfum and Mitsouko Eau de Parfum or even Liu Eau de Parfum) to do the same when testing this because expecting something alike, will make this a disappointment.
You'll have to experience this scent open minded if you're a Guerlain kind of person.
I never smelled the original version of this or any other versions that came after that, so I can't compare this to those. Maybe that's for the best, I don't know and I don't care, this is nice.

So now bring on spring !

Edit: It's true: this needs a sunny day!

03/05/2024

9Scent 8Longevity 5Sillage

Nicolata
4 Reviews

Nicolata

4

Beautiful Fragrance

I've been working my way through decants of all the classic Guerlain fragrances, when I saw this perfume in a drug store and had to try (the stores near me mostly carry the Aqua Allegoria line, not the classic Guerlain perfumes).... I was blown away.

It opens with an intense spring flower scent-- felt very much like standing near lilac bushes on a warm spring day, though you can also smell rose and peony. As it dries, it sweetens and I get the almond scent, eventually giving away to a warm but fresh amber that sits close to the skin. A gorgeous floral-forward scent, and I don't get any powder, though the violet is very similar to Guerlain's meteorites face powder.

The warmth feels a bit sexy but the freshness keeps it from cloying. I'm in love.

08/29/2019

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Pluto
353 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Pluto

Top Review 56

Röschen Kummerfeld,

I haven't thought about Röschen in more than 20 years, but with the scent of Champs-Élysée, she stands before me again, trimming her roses, cutting lilacs, and talking to me about the garden gate. I don't know if she wore perfume or if her garden smelled so enticing, but with this Guerlain, she emerges from the past.

Röschen Kummerfeld lived in a tiny, winding old house that stood between multi-family rental buildings from the 70s. The small but enchantingly beautiful garden in front of the house was so overgrown that you could only see a bit more of the house from autumn onwards. My sister lived across the street on the ground floor. Röschen Kummerfeld was a petite woman, always wore her blonde hair in a bun, never wore makeup, and dressed in cotton dresses in a country style. She was beautiful, rather unique, but you could only see that if you gave her a second glance; her age was hard to estimate. I liked her, even though I hardly knew her. She waved to my sister in a neighborly manner, and I was also greeted with a friendly nod when I came to visit. But there was something about her that made her seem melancholic. For this reason, my sister named her Röschen Kummerfeld, as we didn't know her real name and never found out.

Champs-Élysées starts for me directly with lilac, a lot of it. And with a summery fruit basket, peach is quite noticeable. But the fruits gradually yield to the power of the flowers, lilac, rose, a very delicate lily of the valley, honey sweetens pleasantly, and anise adds a fine spiciness. The latter ingredients are likely due to the mimosa, probably from concentrate. Mimosa doesn't actually smell, at least the yellow one we know here doesn’t. My father liked to use mimosas in flower bouquets; they didn’t smell, but they were beautiful to look at. This wonderful floral magic is spread by Champs-Élysées for a while, then a pleasant soapy note and a hint of vanilla come in.

Champs-Élysées is a fresh floral with a pleasant sweetness, very good longevity, and the sillage should not be underestimated. A scent that comes into its own most beautifully in spring and summer. And I think it is reserved for women. Something this pretty should not be shared. It has already moved in with me; finally, a scent that touches me again.

And tonight I will call my sister and ask what happened to Röschen back then. Unfortunately, the house has long since disappeared.

10/22/2016

9Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

MisterRossi
24 Reviews

Translated · Show original

MisterRossi

Top Review 35

Boulevard d´Or

I have known Champs Elysees since its launch in 1996. And I remember it being both a spectacular and restrained introduction. It sounds contradictory, and it was:
Guerlain could/would/must modernize, tap into new customer segments, keep the brand youthful, and at least reduce the considerable dust of the old-fashioned fate it had back then.
The initial sale and the associated presentation have therefore remained in my memory as somewhat ambivalent: The lady from Guerlain presented a fragrance of which she knew that the expectations were enormously high. At the same time, she informed us that the "new" Guerlain is basically no longer one, as it comes without Guerlinade.

A Guerlain without Guerlinade? Scandal! Unheard of! That can't work! No one will buy it! Understandable reactions back then - it was a different time. The clientele was stable and tradition-conscious...and at the same time constantly searching for something new.
From that perspective, CE was absolutely on trend, and within the house of Guerlain, it was akin to a quiet revolution.

Accordingly, the success followed: CE still leads a rather niche existence today - dismissed by devoted "Guerlains" (on both sides of the then-existing sales counter) as a modern aberration, if not outright betrayal of the house's traditions, it was more likely purchased by people who were less inclined towards the classics.

The fundamental difference between the EdT and the EdP lies in the absence or presence of Guerlinade. The EdT lacks it, which makes the EdT appear more transparent, brighter, lighter, fresher, and airier. This comes at the expense of (still good) longevity, but that surprises no one, right?
Since this did not aim for the hoped-for "explosion" in purchasing behavior, Guerlain subsequently delivered the EdP - and now with Guerlinade.

For the fragrance, this means that in the EdP, the base ensures that freshness and transparency are somewhat toned down. It appears slightly sweeter, but more powdery, rounder, and more composed.
Where the EdT is flirtatious - which many found slightly "sharp," the EdP comes across as more agreeable and indeed a bit more "Guerlain-like."
I no longer own an EdT for direct comparison, but since I used it for a long time (due to the fortunate circumstance that I was always supplied with it), I remember it well and I dare to say that it is just as beautiful today as it was then. And for me, the EdP works better in its noble restraint today than the EdT did in the past. Everything has its time.

Gold and fuchsia are excellent ambassadors for the fragrance's statement, which I perceive as equally cheeky and elegant. In the EdP variant, it is lush but not overwhelming, powdery but not dusty, fruity but not "girlie-esque." All in all, a typical Guerlain that has captured the turning point of times with all its contradictions and pitfalls well.
A lavish bouquet, but tied in a traditional manner. In its restrained opulence, it has some parallels to Beautiful/Lauder for me, only it is significantly less woody in the base and less space-filling.

In the bottle - which was also designed to be rather atypical - the perspective axes of Champs Elysees are supposed to be abstractly represented. I don't see them, but so be it.

I find that precisely because it is a fragrance from "difficult" times, it gains an additional, perhaps even mischievous charm. When I look at more recent creations (e.g., Idylle), I can only conclude that CE can do everything a Guerlain must be able to do. And it does so unbroken and by miles better than much from the 21st century.

Difficult times can sometimes indeed be good - often it just takes a little more distance to see the relations differently.

More reviews