Telekinec

I was given a sample of this one with my UNN purchases back in January and decided to go through them now.

I knew it wasn't going to be my kind of fragrance, but I chose to go for it anyways. I'm not a fan of smelling tart plums on my skin and I'm also not a fan of resinous notes. The beginning is very tart plums on my skin, almost sour fruitiness paired with a very strong resinous accord. This partnership overshadows any other notes I could've smelled on my skin. Somewhere down the line, the resinous plum accord starts to mellow out in place of a sweet, subtle patchouli paired with a soft sandalwood note and some warmth from the benzoin. The drydown is definitely more palatable to me than the beginning.

Overall, I will agree this is a very well executed scent, just not something up to my taste. There are other similar fragrances out there as I do recall smelling something similar to this one. I will say the drydown is very lovely and has an elevated scent to it which is why I didn't score it as low as I could've. This will not be making it as a full bottle in my collection, but I'm still happy I was able to try it out!

This is the epitome of a "perfumey" fragrance. Probably the fragrance I smell every time I enter the fragrance section of a drugstore or something. La Vie est Belle has been out for a long time. It's a staple for many, has flankers all around, but I've never gotten around to it. One of my friend received a sample and decided to pass it on to me.

Overall, it's nice and enjoyable. Strong, has great sillage and projection, but is an overload of feminine sweetness. It's pretty in-your-face. Although the sweetness might suggest youthfulness, I see a mature woman in her 40s wearing this for the playful, feminine edge. It's a pretty mashed, undescript lot of fruits and florals and honestly I couldn't really make out which was what. The drydown gets more powdery, a lot calmer and soothing, it's a very nice combo of tonka (powdery), patchouli (earthy), praline (powdery sweetness) and vanilla (sweetness). The drydown was probably my highlight of the fragrance.

I wouldn't buy this as it's not my kind of thing, but I understand why it's been around for a long time. If you love feminine fruity florals, then this could be right up your alley!

My boyfriend surprised me with this bottle of the Harvest version on Christmas. We thought it had long been discontinued, but he managed to grab a bottle at the airport during one of his work travel. Somewhat a blind-buy, I was curious to compare it to the Forte version that has entered my collection (the OG hasn't made through, though).

Mandarin is undoubtedly the star here in all of its tangy, sweet, fruity, fresh, tart facets. You want a mandarin fragrance without all the bells and whistles? This is the one. Basil is subdued, a little green facet to support the star. Green tea brings freshness and another multi-dimensional facet of green. Woody notes warm the scent on the skin, toning down the sweetness of the mandarin. All in all, it's a juicy, refreshing experience, perfect for summer. Unfortunately, the longevity on the skin is similar to the OG.

I'm still very happy I got my hands on this version and will be cherishing it until the end since it's a LE in my country that is no longer offered in store or through discounters. It's probably my favorite out of the three, although I wish it had the same longevity as the Forte version. Still a masterfully well-blended perfume from Guerlain once again!

Strangely enough, a good portion of this fragrance smells really similar to Le Gourmand. I get the same sweet, gourmand-like notes and the caramel is quite noticeable to my nose. The butter and salted popcorn are a little bit more subtle on my skin but as the fragrance starts to move on I start smelling them. Drydown smells a bit musky and salty, with that hint of caramel sweetness making this scent closer to a salted caramel than a bucket of popcorn. Since I'm not a fan of salty / sweet food, this is not my type of fragrance, but I did smell it on my boyfriend and it was very lovely.

This finally concludes my journey through most of Jousset's fragrance. Strange to see that their best fragrances (to my nose) were the last two that I tried. I had practically given up on them for their harsh use of synthetic vanilla and the messy gourmand scents I got from them. I'm still not entirely sold on their idea of gourmand and most of them were misses, so I do suggest you sample before blind-buying as I do not find them to be "safe".

This is probably Jousset's best one (and might be their swan song if I'm being honest). It's not synthetic, the fragrance is well-blended (althoguh I wouldn't say masterfully well done) and it's a very gourmand fragrance that really give off sweet, tasty treats vibes.

Forget about all of the other notes. Chocolate and hazelnuts are the stars (although an argument can be made for the biscuit dough). Chocolate is rich, creamy, milky-like. It smells like a Lindt chocolate milk bar. Hazelnuts are nutty, sweet, and very close in association with Nutella. There's a hint of biscuit dough in the middle which is interesting to smell, but I wouldn't know it was there if I hadn't checked the notes. The drydown becomes a bit more mundane with a somehwat powdery, almost musky drydown as the chocolate softly lingers on the skin.

It smells great compared to all of the other Jousset I've smelled. I will be keeping the sample for now and re-testing it at a later date since I have two gift certificate for a Jousset fragrance that I can combine to buy this one at a very discounted price. Might just give in to the temptation, we'll see!