La Petite Robe Noire (2012) (Eau de Parfum) by Guerlain

Bottle Design:
Kuntzel+Deygas

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La Petite Robe Noire Guerlain 2012 Eau de Parfum

Version from 2012

7.3 / 10 948 Ratings

A perfume by Guerlain for women, released in 2012. The scent is fruity-sweet. It is being marketed by LVMH.
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Main accords

Fruity

Sweet

Gourmand

Floral

Powdery

Fragrance Notes

Almond

Bergamot

Black cherry

Bulgarian rose

Red fruits

Turkish rose absolute

Perfumer

Thierry Wasser

Videos

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Ratings

Scent

7.3948 Ratings

Longevity

7.8767 Ratings

Sillage

7.2751 Ratings

Bottle

8.3753 Ratings

Value for money

7.4290 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 11/06/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

La Petite Robe Noire (2012) Eau de Toilette

La Petite Robe Noire Extrait de Parfum

La Petite Robe Noire (2009)

La Petite Robe Noire Ma Robe Velours

La Petite Robe Noire Mon Eau de Lingerie

La Petite Robe Noire L'Eau Rose

Reviews

79 in-depth fragrance descriptions

09/06/2012

6Scent 7.5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Sherapop
1240 Reviews

Sherapop

Helpful Review 7

Guerlain does a Lolita Lempicka Flanker?

Well, my enchantment with the house of Guerlain fizzled out some time ago, and by the time INSOLENCE arrived on the scene, I had completely lost all faith. No more blind buys, I vowed, although I continue to test when presented with a vial, as I was recently by Sephora of LA PETITE ROBE NOIRE (2012).

The most obvious thing to say would be that this perfume is decidedly un-Guerlain, but perhaps it would be better by now to renounce the use of the word 'Guerlainesque' altogether. Guerlain is not Guerlain anymore. Nothing could be clearer to me. The bottle strikes me as a sort of cruel joke. So what is this perfume, if not what Guerlain used to be?

It seems to me that it would fit right in with the Lolita Lempicka range. I'd place LA PETITE ROBE NOIRE (2012) about midway between LE PREMIER PARFUM and FLEUR DEFENDUE with perhaps a bit of Jesus del Pozo IN BLACK thrown in for good measure. Licorice, cherry, patchouli, almonds, tonka bean, vanilla. Yes.

Upon initial application I was struggling to see the difference between the demeanor of this composition and that of a celebrity scent. However, I do own that the quality is higher than those sweet fruity patchouli perfumes. I am not convinced, however, that this is any better than the Lolita Lempicka launches on this very same theme. I do not put a lot of stake in originality in perfumes, so the question for me becomes: does this smell any better than its already available close olfactory neighbors?

The answer is: No.

08/25/2012

6Scent

Awesomeness
247 Reviews

Awesomeness

Helpful Review 6

Berry-chouli

Upon application, I'm hit with ripe berry juice that has been sweetened with high fructose corn syrup. To a certain extent, the berries remind me of the berry accord in Estee Lauder's Wood Mystique and in the original Hot Couture No 1 by Givenchy. The only difference is that Givenchy does this accord better - the Givenchy leaves a darker and more natural impression of berries, whereas the EL leaves a berry impression that's got the Lauder vibe. LPRN leaves a bright, sweetened impression of berries than these other two, although they are all on the same playground.

As La Petite Robe Noire dries, the berries subside and there's a muddled phase in which the rose seems to emerge but never really presents itself with any force. At this point, I really don't know what the scent is other than some potluck melange of drying berries, weak roses, and patchouli. When dry, the fragrance is a bouyant base of musked, vanillic patchouli - nice but neither spectacular nor unique.

I think La Petite Robe Noire could be fantastic if it was truly Noire, but it's not - it's a daytime scent for soccer moms that's on the edge of having baby's juicy juice from the sippy cup spilt down the front of your blouse. If you like this style but want something deeper & darker & more mature, give the original Hot Couture No 1 a try.

La Petite Robe Noire is good, respectable, and better than most scents on the market. However, it's not up to the usual Guerlain standard. A bit of a disappointment.

05/16/2014

8Scent 5Longevity 7.5Sillage

Jbells
46 Reviews

Jbells

Very helpful Review 5

Lovely gourmand!

Let's get this out of the way: I love this. So very much. It's one of the few fragrances that made me want more of it after the first try. Wearing this conjures images of young ladies in tulle twirling around. Gorgeous.

Like some of the other reviewers, I agree that this isn't a perfume wholly reflecting mature womanhood. It's reminiscent of youth, sliding on the girly side; an embodiment of confident young ladies who have the world at their feet.

Now moving on to the scent itself. In the bottle, it seems rather "deep". I'm not quite sure how else to describe it. It reminds me of a pitch black night that goes on and on. I think this comes from the liquorice and patchouli? A little sweet, but not at all unpleasant.

Upon spraying, I get a blast of cherries and liquorice with some tea playing in the background, but not much of anything else. It's a little candy-like, even - a sour tinge also comes into the mix.

Over the next hour, it somehow succeeds in becoming just a tad sweeter. The tonka note begins to peak through along with something like a spice, and there's a faintly discernible floral presence.

It stays like this for a while, then gently turns the bend towards deeper zones. The tea is now a lovely black, the cherries aren't as sweet anymore. Vanilla comes up a little more, while the liquorice is just hanging around the way it has been since the beginning. All the flowers become deeper, too, thanks in part to the patchouli, IMHO. This goes on right up to the end of its presence on my skin, a total of 3.5 hours.

I find myself wishing that the roses were more prominent, and that it had better longevity on me. Sillage was just right - it projected a little, but not too much. Again, I love this a lot.

Note: I have a sample of the LPRN EDT, and to me, it is similar, but does not develop into a deeper scent the way the EDP does. The EDT is a lot more girly, a little more fun, but unfortunately lacking in the longevity and sillage departments.

06/22/2018

MasterLi
376 Reviews

MasterLi

Helpful Review 3

A dark licorice and cherry syrup masterpiece...

Make no mistake, this is not for everyone. La Petite Robe Noire is a dark, syrupy but grown-up perfume from the house of Guerlain. It is a cherry and licorice scent with a rose and patchouli mid and base. It has a darkness which stops it being a standard, run-of-the-mill fruity floral patchouli fragrance. I can imagine that Guerlain here were targeting the younger crowd with this one, but that doesn't make it necessarily bad in any shape or form.

Personally speaking, I have tried this on my skin (male skin)... and honestly, it's not too far from Tom Ford - Black Orchid, which works beautifully on male skin also. So on that basis the juice itself is unisex, dark and unisex (not the bottle or marketing but the smell is definitely unisex).

That being said, I think this absolutely fits the marketing of "Little Black Dress" etc. and I would say that this would be suitable for so many people. Definitely a night perfume and would do great in cold weather. It's a good fragrance and out of all the fruity-patchouli fragrances I've tried, this is the most sophisticated (well, what do you expect? It's a Guerlain). Really good beginners fragrance for those looking for something more sophisticated but wearable.

04/12/2025

6.5Scent 8Longevity 9Sillage

Akira1005
221 Reviews

Akira1005

3

Dr. Pepper & Rose

I love it. I bought this and got hooked on Guerlain. It's the one who brought me back to the world of perfume.
In a word, it's Dr. Pepper and rose.
However, from what I read, it wasn't Thierry Wasser who created the prototype of this fragrance, but three women, Delphine Gelques? I thought she was amazing. (Wasser made the final adjustments.) I thought this was not a fragrance created by a man, but it turned out that it was.
The top is a sour cherry like the cherry flavor of 31 ice cream. However, it is not officially called a cherry perfume. (L'Homme Ideal Eau de Parfum is more cherry.) "The main character of this fragrance is rose." Eh? Rose? Yes, it's rose. After about 30 minutes, the rose slowly appears. It also has a black tea vibe. I love this part. I don't like synthetic fragrances, but I know this is not a natural perfume like Miller Harris. But it's very good. It has a taste that only a woman can produce, like Lancome's Tresor. Mon Guerlain is a fragrance that brings out femininity. But La Petite is a fragrance that gives excitement. It lasts well, and although it's difficult to wear in the summer, it can be used in the spring, fall, and winter. However, it's not a fragrance that helps you concentrate on your work, and if you're an office worker or civil servant and you wear it during the day, you'll look a little strange. But I heard it was very popular in Paris when it was released? I totally get it. When you think of Guerlain, you think of Mitsuko and Shalimar, but this fragrance gave the image of La Petite Robe Noire. Cheers to the three women who rejuvenated Guerlain while giving birth and raising children. Women know what makes women excited.

Edit: I wore it for the first time in a few months and it gave me a bit of a headache. It feels like it lacks some roundness. I recommend Lolita Lempicka.

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