Hélène Rancé 1795 2010

Hélène was simply passed to me by the lovely Florblanca, many thanks for that!
Those who know me are aware that I am the embodiment of unfaithfulness; I wave my flag with the wind, change my opinion with the weather, and switch my fragrances more often than my towels. But a few clear preferences do emerge, just as there are some don’t-likes and no-go’s on the other side. Powdery scents are definitely me-likees. The powderier, the better; they can be old classics like Rive Gauche by YSL or extreme newcomers like Poudre by Jovoy.
With Hélène, I am a bit torn. I found Laetitia super beautiful, and the bit of patchouli (which isn’t part of my I-like’s) was just right. Here, I find there is a bit too little powder, but a lot of fruit and even more flowers.
The top note is a fruity affair; I hardly detect any flowers, but rather exotic, juicy aromas from the South Seas.
Only after about 20 minutes of development can one generously call it powdery, but I think floral-woody would be more fitting.
That’s not bad, nor is it sweet, but warm, very pleasant, and also very feminine!
Now I can finally smell the iris and violet quite subtly.
The sandalwood also comes through.
A lovely fragrance, not 100% mine, but for fans of radiant, unsweetened floral scents with a slight woody, powdery touch.