PureNeugier

"Quel Amour," my great love and practically the beginning of a somewhat expensive addiction.

About 2 years ago, something changed in my olfactory perception. Whether it was because I have so many (wind) dogs and over the years I have gotten into the habit of keeping not only my eyes but also my nose open during every walk to catch any nearby or hidden game before the dogs do... I don't know.
At least it not only led to me being able to smell wild boars, deer, and foxes before I spot them, but also to a sudden, immeasurable longing for scents that wouldn't let me rest. I couldn't explain it to myself. In the years prior, most of the perfumes in my small collection had only been used sporadically and were already quite dusty, which was mostly because I simply no longer found them satisfying.
However, I was now seized by an almost greedy obsession with scents.
It was summer, and I remembered a fragrance I had about 20 years ago and liked very much, very fruity and summery. It was "Eau Jeune Boheme" by Jade, which I (then still a teenager) had found extremely pleasant and melon-like at the time. (Although, as I now know, there is actually no melon in it!)
Long story short. I stormed into the nearest perfumery to find a similarly delicious fruity scent, moving from "Sync Woman" by Puma, to "Maracuja" by Barony Brazil, to "Born in Paradise" by Escada. Each individual fragrance was good in its own way, but none of them dispelled my longing; on the contrary, it grew even stronger! After this obsession nearly culminated in madness (suddenly everything in my life revolved solely around scents!), I confided in a good friend, slightly embarrassed that my initial desire for fragrance had turned into such madness.
This friend indirectly led me to the solution during our conversation.
She herself had developed a dislike for overly synthetic and clumsy scents as she got older. Even most of her favorite fragrances now seemed far too dominant to her, and she had already sorted out a large part of her beloved classics like Calvin Klein's "Eternity," some Bulgari fragrances, and much more from her collection and passed them on to her daughters. Her search for something more suitable had led her straight to the Hamburger Hof perfumery, where she had found what she was looking for.
As she told me her "fragrance story," I heard names like "Creed," "Acqua di Parma," and "Annick Goutal"... I had never heard of them before, but they sounded expensive, and unlike my friend, I am unfortunately far less well-off, so the names I had just heard quickly sank into my subconscious. So still no solution for my problem. And that's where you came into play, dear Parfumos!
For during countless nights of research on the internet about various fragrances and what they actually smell like, I stumbled upon Parfumo for the first time. I was so happy, as if I had received the perfect directions to the holy grail! I navigated through thousands of perfumes, and when the name "Annick Goutal" appeared, something clicked in my mind. I read through the various comments on the different fragrances, some very imaginative and vivid, others very analytical and factual, and got stuck on "Quel Amour." Here, all the fragrance notes sounded consistently harmonious. I like fruity scents, I love rose! There was simply nothing to go wrong here.
So I searched for offers for this seemingly not-so-well-known fragrance and was lucky enough to find a new unopened 50ml bottle from a return for just about 35 euros. That was affordable, so I didn't hesitate and grabbed it immediately.
When the long-awaited package arrived two days later, I was really nervous. I had never spent money on a perfume I didn't know. What if it turned out to be a disappointment? What if I didn't like it?! No!!! I HAD to like it!
I opened the package, and out came an elegantly designed cream-white box with a golden emblem. It wasn't like the usual perfume boxes to open, but rather with a base that is enclosed by a lid that you have to lift off. And underneath, embedded in the base, was a timelessly classic bottle that looked elegant yet pleasantly simple. I opened it carefully, sprayed a puff on my wrist, and was instantly in love! I was in heaven! I was intoxicated with happiness!
I deeply inhaled the scent, once..., twice... Calmness flowed through me. Bliss! The longing that had tormented me for months had suddenly dissolved into contentment. I had arrived. I held the holy grail in my hands :-)

"Quel Amour" strikes exactly the right balance between fruity accords and a very opulent yet natural rose scent. This fragrance radiates! It is consistently present without being intrusive. It is playful without losing its seriousness or elegance. It is lively yet at peace within itself. For me, it unites completely contradictory tendencies into a deep harmony.

"Quel Amour" was the end of my desperate search and the beginning of a wonderful love, my true love for fragrances, which I have now rediscovered for myself.

My grandma was a true storybook grandmother: loving, warm-hearted, very proper, and always forgiving with me. During the week, she always wore a house dress, and on Sundays, she usually wore something fancier. She had short, silver-gray, permed hair and always wore one of those funny transparent rain hoods with white dots when it rained. In her kitchen cupboard, there was a whole assortment of coffee tins, each filled with a different kind of cookies, and in her bathroom, behind a blue curtain in a niche, there was a small mirrored cabinet where she carefully stored her perfumes alongside her medications.
I can't even say how many times I rummaged through that mirrored cabinet as a child (even more often than the cupboard with the cookie tins), sniffing the various scents for the thousandth time. A cabinet full of classics like 4711 Echt Kölnisch Wasser and of course Tosca.
My grandma was always very frugal with her perfumes; she only wore Tosca on special occasions like birthdays or other holidays. Nevertheless, it was HER scent! A bottle lasted her for several years.
When she passed away in 1993, a whole world shattered for me. It marked the end of my childhood; for several years, it felt like the end of everything... When we had to clear out her apartment, I was allowed to keep her small, modest, yet exquisite perfume collection. Over the years, many of the scents lost their bouquet. Unfortunately, perfume doesn't last forever, and so I had to gradually sort out bottle after bottle. But Tosca remained!
The little bottle of Tosca, now surely about 30 years old(!), still stands half-full in my bathroom and actually smells just like it did back then on my grandma. Perhaps a little less intense than before, but still as unmistakable as ever.
Time could do nothing to this scent, just as it couldn't to the memories of my beloved grandma, whom I still miss so much! And when the longing for her and that very special sense of security she gave me becomes too great, I take Tosca in reverence, open the bottle, and let the scent overwhelm me, and all the memories are revived as if new, clearer, sharper, and closer! For a brief moment, it feels as if my grandma is standing right next to me in her blue and white going-out dress, in the garden among the blooming roses, awaiting the approaching birthday guests, and smelling so wonderfully of Tosca...

I was so excited to be one of the lucky ones allowed to participate in the test series for the four "Jardin de Vie" fragrances by Weleda. As soon as the package with the 4 sample vials arrived, I could hardly wait to start testing. I tried Onagre last, probably because it appealed to me the least from the description or fit my preferences at that time the least.
A spritz on my wrist was enough, and it hit my nose like a bolt! A scent that vaguely reminded me of cough drops or camphor. "Horrible!" was my first thought, and I was truly tempted to scrub the smell off my wrist. But some perfumes require patience, so I bravely decided to wait it out. After a few minutes, the biting scent became a bit milder; well, still not really my thing, I thought. Only after half an hour did Onagre start to warm up and become more interesting and complex. I had never encountered such a clear scent development or rather transformation in a perfume before, and Onagre increasingly amazed me. I couldn't stop sniffing my wrist. How does it smell now? ...and now? Voluminous yet ethereal, delicate and strong at the same time, warm and melting yet very fresh.
For a natural perfume, Onagre lingered surprisingly long into the late night and even fascinated me in my dreams...

An exciting scent that manages to surprise and ultimately convince. I would recommend it most in spring or autumn. For a very warm summer, I find it a bit too creamy, and for winter, it would be too fresh for me.
One should apply it a bit more sparingly than the other "Jardin de Vie" fragrances, as even a little goes a long way here. Above all, Onagre needs some time, and one should give it that.

And to point out again the different perceptions that are crucial when it comes to fragrances: Unlike my predecessor commentator, Onagre differs from Grenade for me like night from day. I could find no aromatic similarities here. For me, they are two completely different scents. But that’s just how perception works. It is as varied as we humans are...

Thanks to the great testing campaign by Weleda for the launch of their new perfume line, I have tested all four "Jardin de Vie" scents. However, I have only purchased two of them so far, namely Rose and Grenade.
Grenade is, for me, the more unusual scent of the two, because no matter how often I use it, it somehow always surprises me. No matter how fruity and sparkling it comes across, it always reminds me a bit of Christmas, even when I apply it in the blazing summer sunshine. I can't quite place it, and maybe my nose is playing a trick on me here, but for some reason, I believe, no, I'm almost convinced, that I can smell a tiny hint of marzipan.
I am aware that this shouldn't really be possible, but I can't change it; my nose insists on it.
Now, one might think it is the vanilla mentioned in the fragrance pyramid that is coming through, but I have internalized the scent of vanilla in 1000 variations so deeply that I would claim I could recognize it anytime, and marzipan smells completely different from vanilla...
In the end, however, it doesn't really matter, because the fact is that Grenade is an extraordinary feel-good scent that can be worn in any season and has certainly caused a few "Oh" and "Ah" reactions in my surroundings.

The longevity is, as with many natural perfumes, rather short-lived, at most a few pleasant hours, unless you apply generously right from the start. However, when you do, Grenade really bursts forth and takes a while to calm down.

Fruity, sparkling, sweet, delicious, and a little bit crazy, that's how Grenade comes across for me, and it always puts me in a good mood. It deserves a bit more attention and is definitely worth a test!

Encense Flamboyant is now the third fragrance by Annick Goutal that I have purchased (thanks to a particularly good deal!).
It was practically a blind buy, as everything I knew about this scent until then I had read here, and so I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the diligent writers who have captured this fragrance so well and reflected its soul in their comments here, making it so tangible that I didn't have to fear making a bad purchase for a second ;-)

Encense Flamboyant starts for me like a sweetened fireplace, tingling a bit in my nose without being unpleasantly sharp and radiates calm from the very first moment. A reverent calm that is never boring.
At first, the scent reminded me of entering a medieval festival, where the smell of campfires mixed with various herbs, spices, incense sticks, and essential oils immediately greets you.
Over the hours, the softly smoky note dissipates, leaving behind a gentle sweetness that has harmoniously accompanied the fragrance from the start (Or is it?? Doesn’t matter!) and that I can still perceive on my wrist the next morning.
I must say that I am fortunate that all the Goutals I have tested so far - with the exception of Petit Cherie - seem to last unusually long on my skin, often 18 hours or more.
Since this scent is by no means cloying or stuffy, it can be wonderfully worn even in summer temperatures. The warmth actually suits it very well, and it envelops you with a caressing aura; never annoying or intrusive, but always a smooth whisper.

For those who want to find a little peace and surround themselves with a warm and almost loving scent that never becomes scratchy or too unpredictable, but remains reliable and cuddly, I highly recommend Encense Flamboyant.
It has completely captivated me!

And for those who find it too calm or perhaps not complex enough:
With a spritz of "Rose Absolue" (also Goutal) on top, the fragrance feels revitalized, a bit sweeter, and even more feminine. The Goutal house practically encourages you to wear its fragrances in a "layered look," and I must say, in this case, it works really well. So go ahead, just try it out ;-)