Habit Rouge Sport Guerlain 2009

Today, Habit Rouge Sport has arrived, finally! Among the Habit Rouge variants, the Sport version stands out with a truly successful bottle. It is cherry red throughout and really makes an impression!

However, the Sport variant is likely to have disappointed many Habit Rouge fans. If it weren't labeled Habit Rouge, one would hardly recognize any connection at first glance. It's as if Habit Rouge has been dissected with a scalpel, all the characteristic elements removed, and the rest reassembled with the addition of aquatic freshness.

And yet, something good has come out of it! With this sport fragrance, I have a rather inconspicuous, subtle, but restrainedly fresh perfume before my nose. The subtlety is so pronounced that it is difficult to describe individual scent notes. It is bright, somewhat, but not overly citrusy, with the citrus note lasting quite a while. Only after a while, with a bit of imagination, might there be a powdery-rosy resemblance to the original. However, I find a very slight soapy, creamy note, probably a musk, to be quite defining.

As a typical sport scent, this variant must be granted full office suitability. I would never think of wearing the original to work. For me, Habit Rouge has nothing dynamic, gripping, energizing, or invigorating about it. It is, for me, a scent for relaxing and feeling good, with which one can let all four limbs rest. Exactly this aspect is missing in the Sport variant. Habit Rouge Sport is subtly fresh, just the way one likes it in the office, and there is not much more to say about it.

At least: compared to other sport fragrances, Habit Rouge Sport can be credited with full Guerlain quality. Nothing is off, everything is harmonious and balanced. Why, then, has this variant been buried again? The Habit Rouge fan probably did not like it, and followers of sport fragrances might find it suspicious that Habit Rouge is on the label.