6
Top Review
Spicy-woody-oriental par excellence
I don't see (smell) Habit Rouge as a 'love at first sniff' type of fragrance at all. On the contrary, you might actually hate it at first and then one day, all of a sudden, you find yourself in love with it.
Habit Rouge opens with lemon note, which is paradoxically both juicy and dry. Things turn quickly into a very pleasant bouquet of spices, which I find utterly comforting - especially in the wintertime. The mix of spices is not too far away from gingerbread or (If you're familiar with) 'glögg', the Swedish-style heavily spiced mulled wine. Parts of that spiciness last throughout the dry-down, while the overall impression gently morphs into a woody-oriental base. The vanilla is gentle - there's less of it than in, say Héritage. The leather note is also very delicate. Neither do I find HR's dry-down too sweet or resinous. Things are just ...right - seamlessly from top to down. I feel the key players that neatly tie the whole package together (and smooth the transitions to the point of being unnoticeable) are rose and incense. Both are present from start to finish, but not for a minute they dominate.
I haven't bothered chasing the vintage formulations, because the current one is just perfect and doesn't cost a fortune. I feel it has hidden unisex-potential, too.
If I had to wear only one fragrance for the rest of my life, Habit Rouge would be on my very short list of candidates.
Habit Rouge opens with lemon note, which is paradoxically both juicy and dry. Things turn quickly into a very pleasant bouquet of spices, which I find utterly comforting - especially in the wintertime. The mix of spices is not too far away from gingerbread or (If you're familiar with) 'glögg', the Swedish-style heavily spiced mulled wine. Parts of that spiciness last throughout the dry-down, while the overall impression gently morphs into a woody-oriental base. The vanilla is gentle - there's less of it than in, say Héritage. The leather note is also very delicate. Neither do I find HR's dry-down too sweet or resinous. Things are just ...right - seamlessly from top to down. I feel the key players that neatly tie the whole package together (and smooth the transitions to the point of being unnoticeable) are rose and incense. Both are present from start to finish, but not for a minute they dominate.
I haven't bothered chasing the vintage formulations, because the current one is just perfect and doesn't cost a fortune. I feel it has hidden unisex-potential, too.
If I had to wear only one fragrance for the rest of my life, Habit Rouge would be on my very short list of candidates.