Bix1602

First of all: unfortunately, I have never consciously tried the predecessor "Les Élixirs Charnels - Gourmand Coquin | Guerlain". So I can't make a comparison - even though I would love to.

But at least I have an open mind about the fragrance. And it saves me the possible disappointment that the "mischievous gourmand" has been stripped of its rough edges, as I've already read here... because I really don't find them in "Fève Gourmande | Guerlain".

Rather the opposite. For me, it is an absolutely well-rounded feel-good fragrance and exactly what I want in the dark, cold season. It is not an olfactory challenge, but wraps me in a perfectly balanced warm and spicy blanket. It is gourmand and definitely sweet, but far from being sticky. I smell real cocoa (not pseudo-chocolate) and very slightly smoked tea, which doesn't exude any freshness. Together with a barely perceptible vanilla, the spices and the (completely unmuffled) rum, the result is something that I can only describe as "full-bodied". The rose is very subtle, but adds a minimal florality and sweetness. Patchouli is not perceptible to me individually.

The perfume transports me to a Swiss chalet at Christmas time... Darkness has fallen over the mountains, fires and candles are burning and you can slowly see large snowflakes falling outside the window. There is homemade punch with a generous dash of rum, cocoa and gingerbread and vanilla crescents brought from the Christmas market. The hands were washed with the expensive rose soap ...

With this latest and old perfume, Guerlain has created an absolutely worthy new addition to L'Art et la Matiere: a wonderfully pleasing winter gourmand fragrance without any kitsch or frills.

The longevity and skin is good at 5-6 hours and I could still smell my four sprays on the scarf for days. Nevertheless, like most of the perfumes in this collection, it doesn't want to be a "sillage monster" with "beast fashion". And I'm glad for that. Nevertheless, it projects very well - especially at the beginning.

The bottle: elegant, luxurious and with a bombastic spray that is typical of Guerlain.

I fell in love with this fragrance in a flash and it was allowed to join my small collection.

Night falls in the Moroccan desert. I'm sitting at the entrance to the Khaima. The day has been hot, my cheeks are burning and I am exhausted. A fire has just been lit in front of me and the elder is preparing black tea in a centuries-old ceremony. The leather and wood of the tent, warmed by the day, exude an aromatic, woody, leathery scent. As I watch the sun sink red and gold, I play with my bare feet in the soft sand and can still feel the warmth of the day in the ground. Small wisps of smoke in the dust-dry air tickle my nose ... and I feel wanderlust in the distance.

This perfume once again makes me impressively aware of the enormous power of fragrances. Because "№ 02 - L'Air du Désert Marocain (Eau de Toilette Intense) | Tauer Perfumes" touches me emotionally in a strangely deep way that I cannot comprehend. It triggers such a longing and melancholy in me that it brings tears to my eyes in a kitschy way... and makes the fragrance unwearable for me in everyday life.

I keep my little bottle carefully together with my other fragrance treasures and will bring it out the next time I want to spend another night full of longing in the Moroccan desert.

Mr. Tauer, I bow my head for this masterpiece of a feature film cast in fragrance.

Dear Green Butterfly,

on paper we are enemies. Because I don't like chocolate in fragrances, please no orange blossom, get away from me with neroli. The combination of citrus and vanilla makes me nauseous. Suede also turns into a sharp something on my skin, vetiver quickly makes fragrances too masculine for me. And now all of these notes come together in you. Nothing can save iris and white musk...

Now, however, a generous perfumer sent me a small bottle of you with an order. I sprayed on a few drops with great interest. Pure confusion....

Why are you like a perfect combination of a grown-up gourmand and powdery classicism in a modern guise? Why are you so dense and delicate at the same time? Cool and fresh yet warm and round? You are a chocolate-vanilla fragrance that doesn't smell like food. Sweet but not sticky. You strike the perfect balance between kitsch and elegance... you float around me and cuddle me in your delicate arms. You are the scent of a wood elf dancing among the trees, your wings glistening golden in the sun.

All the fragrances are so masterfully dosed and interwoven that nothing stands out or stings

Even if there is a hint of synthetics at the beginning, you will experience a wonderful journey on your skin. You become increasingly rounder, softer and more balsamic - without losing a hint of freshness.

Its longevity on the skin is really good at around 7 hours. Unfortunately, I can't say anything about the bottle yet - but I really hope that you can move in with me in all your glory soon.

I'm sure not everyone will like you and you're not a fragrance for every day - but for me you're something special.

See you soon,
Bix

The first time I heard about this fragrance was about three years ago, in the middle of the Corona Pandemic. I remember how I furtively pulled away the mask in the perfume department of my trust to smell the fragrance, which was just praised to the skies.

The expectation was high, he should be the "unicorn" of fragrances and combine the best of so many fragrances. He would be sweet, gourmand, fruity, soft and yet intense and just heavenly.

The disappointment that followed was bottomless....

A cloud of synthetic pseudo-fruit hit me with such olfactory aggressiveness that I flinched back from the bottle. I just could not believe it, and smelled it again carefully. No, it couldn't be. One look at the bottle - I was not mistaken.

Even on the fragrance strip, this perfume did not undergo a miraculous transformation. To the artificial indefinable fruit cocktail came only a pungent musk note to it, which made the fragrance but not really more rounded, but rather more penetrating.

Nevertheless, I still gave "Erba Pura | XerJoff" many chances, even on my skin and on others. But I just can not "see" what others perceive so positive and pleasant in this fragrance. The described "mouth-watering" fruitiness and softness remains completely hidden from me.

Also the "beauty" of the velvet flacon, which calls me - certainly somewhat exaggerated - "unhygienic" and with time gets a worn and flaked "patina", does not open up to me.

And if I'm honest, my black soul is already looking forward to the Erba Pura after his meteoric rise just as quickly burns up as he appeared.