New Perfume Review Goutal Le Temps des Reves- Summer Dreams

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As we enter the figurative final weekend of summer represented by Labor Day in the US it feels melancholy. The summer has always represented a time of free-spirited exploration. More than any other season it carries a hint of laughter with it. The first verse of Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer” captures the loss of it, “Nobody on the road/Nobody on the beach/I fell it in the air/The summer’s out of reach”. This is where perfume steps in to save the day with a fragrance which captures the summer in a bottle. Goutal Le Temps des Reves does this nicely.

Camille Goutal

Camille Goutal has done an admirable job transitioning the venerable line for a new generation. She made the conscious decision to make perfume to appeal to a twentysomething European woman. For the last four years she has been more successful than most in achieving this. I have found the releases since this change to be of the kind of style within this trend that appeals to me. Le Temps des Reves continues this.

Mathieu Nardin

Perfumers Mathieu Nardin and Julie Masse were asked to design a perfume which captured their memories of summers in the South of France. It is composed of classic Mediterranean ingredients with one clever twist.

Julie Masse

The ingredient which they use as their keynote is orange blossom. Before it arrives the unique twist, I mention comes first. In the wine country of France there is a kind of green vegetal undergrowth called garrigue. The perfumers wanted to add an accord of that which is where this begins. Using bergamot and myrtle they form the kind of undergrowth you tramp through on the way to the orange grove. When you break through the scent of orange blossom is there to greet you. This is the joy of a sunny day as the mellow floral comes to greet you. Sandalwood represents the wood of the trees. A set of white musks then add the expansiveness to it all to find the transparency desired.

Le Temps des Reves has 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.

This is my favorite of the recent transparent Goutal creations. It has a sunny disposition to spare which just says summer to me. In a few weeks when it seems the summer’s out of reach Le Temps de Reves will let me dream it is still here.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample I purchased.

–Mark Behnke

Under the Radar: Goutal Bois d’Hadrien- Summer Woods

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I am guessing my first introduction to Annick Goutal perfumes is the same as many, Eau d’Hadrien. That perfume was a perfect summer refresher built around lemon. I went through three bottles before other new brands spoke to me with different lemon voices. I recently realized I hadn’t replaced it. I then remembered that a couple years ago it was a different Hadrien which has taken over; Goutal Bois d’Hadrien.

I enjoy cedar fragrances when the temperature rises. There is a freshness which counters the heat which appeals to me. Eau d’Hadrien was first released in 1981 and has been one of the flagship perfumes of the brand. It remains a great lemon option for the summer. I expected Bois d’Hadrien to be the version for the cooler weather. It turned out that it was better in the warm than the cold.

Isabelle Doyen (l.) and Camille Goutal

Creative director Camille Goutal and perfumer Isabelle Doyen teamed up again for Bois d’Hadrien. The copy on the website mentions they are trying to capture twilight in Tuscany. I guess that might be it for some. What it reminds me of were the days I would hide from the Florida sun among the sentinel pines of the nearby forest. The trees would capture the cooler air underneath the canopy. That is what Bois d’Hadrien smells like.

It opens with a reversal of the top notes of Eau d’Hadrien. Now cypress is the keynote with lemon playing a supporting role. The heart is incense and pine. This is the smell of the pine trees I remember with the incense evoking the drops of sap on the bark. There is a coolness to this accord I didn’t expect. The fresh cedar holds the center in the base with a musk that reminded me of sweat sheened skin.

Bois d’Hadrien has 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.

I know that Goutal is not one of those brands that necessarily would be considered Under the Radar. I picked Bois d’Hadrien because I think its more well-known relative keeps it on the down low. That’s why I wanted to make sure those who are looking for a summer woody choice can put Bois d’Hadrien on their radar.

Disclosure: this review is based on a bottle I purchased.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Goutal Etoile d’Une Nuit- Lipstick Lite

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One of the classic perfume styles is the “lipstick rose”. In the earliest incarnations it was meant to capture the smell of a lady’s cosmetic bag. During that time period it was Coty red lipstick which was the most popular. It was known for adding some iris to it to give it a distinctive smell. Anyone who grew up in the latter half of the 20th century has a female relative who owned a cosmetic bag which smelled of iris, rose, and leather. It fell out of favor as we crossed into the new century. Mainly because that accord had the pejorative “old lady perfume” attached to it. It didn’t entirely disappear, but it diminished in presence. The pairing is so good I was wondering how long the style would have to live in perfume purgatory before making a return. Over the past year there have been a few which have made the effort. Perhaps the best is Goutal Etoile d’Une Nuit.

Camille Goutal

Ever since 2016 Camille Goutal has made the business decision to make new perfumes in the transparent style seemingly desired by the younger generation. It has created some new collections within the Goutal brand. Oiseaux de Nuit has been one of the earliest. This was a collection on which Mme Goutal has exclusively collaborated with perfumer Mathieu Nardin. The concept is to appeal to twentysomething Parisiennes. The two previous releases, Tenue de Soiree and Nuit de Confidences, have chosen crowd-pleasing themes with clever twists over an opaque scent. While lipstick rose was crowd-pleasing a couple decades ago would Etoile d’Une Nuit find its way to a new generation?

Mathieu Nardin

Mme Goutal and M. Nardin have now formed a good working relationship where they understand the kind of fragrance they want to create. Etoile d’Une Nuit shows their improvement over time. Even with a construct as simple as this one is.

The difference to the old style of lipstick rose is evident from the first moments. The iris here is a shimmering powder instead of a concentrated lacquer. It adds a veil for the equally transparent rose to add another layer underneath. This is beautifully realized as it stays lilting and not heavy. Then the base of a leather accord infused with raspberry provides the finish. Neither of those notes add to the heaviness they jut arise and mesh with the rose and iris. I found the raspberry had an interesting grounding effect on the iris and rose. It keeps them tethered to the ground so that they don’t just dissipate away.

Etoile d’Une Nuit has 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.

I am interested to see how Etoile d’Une Nuit will be received. I believe Mme Goutal and M. Nardin did a great job of updating the venerable lipstick rose by making it lipstick lite.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Neiman-Marcus.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Goutal Chat Perche- Child’s Play

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I grew up in the flattest of flatlands in South Florida. Which meant any elevation was treated as something of wonder as a child. Even better it was something to play upon. Near my house they had built up an artificial elevation for a new highway. By the time I was out of school for the summer the new grass on this mound had fully grown in. Someone in the neighborhood had received a large appliance delivery and the giant box it came in was on the street for disposal. I imagined a different use.

Camille Goutal

Slicing down each corner seam with a steak knife I had four long panels of carboard. I took them over to the new hill and walked to the top. I sat on the cardboard on one end pulled the other end up in a curved cover to my feet and nudged myself over the edge. I hurtled down the grassy slope on my cardboard-a-boggan. It was not long before my friends showed up on their bicycles and the other three panels of cardboard were also flying down the hill. If I was asked for a perfume which captures the scent of that day it would be a combination of crushed vegetation, sun-warmed cardboard, and freshly washed clothes. Not something I expected to find its way into a bottle until I received my sample of Goutal Chat Perche.

Isabelle Doyen

Creative director and owner of Goutal, Camille Goutal, has been overseeing a shift in the brand aesthetic over the last couple of years. It is not an easy thing to accomplish but I have been impressed with the latest releases for this long-time niche perfume brand. Ever since the 2016 release of Tenue de Soiree it has felt like there is new vitality at Goutal. One thing which has remained a constant is Isabelle Doyen who has been there for most of the last thirty years. She is the perfumer behind Chat Perche.

The name of the perfume comes form a child’s game which is a variant of “Tag”. In this game the Chat (cat) stalks Perche (perched) mice who are not allowed to have their feet on the ground. Once the cat touches a perched mouse they yell out “Chat!” and the mouse has now become the Chat; then the game continues. The perfume is meant to represent that spirit of outdoors play as a child. Mme Doyen has created a fantastic fragrance of green growing things and the scents produced when running through them.

Chat Perche begins with a fabulous accord of green grass. I am reasonably sure this is a mixture of oximes to provide the scent of a field of grass. To this there is a lovely piece of nuance as a peppery green floral accord identified as nasturtium in the note list. Nasturtium essential oil is quite pungent and I guess it could be a new isolate I am unaware of but I think Mme Doyen has fashioned a fascinating variant of the grass accord. Together there is this natural effect that might be the product of a perfumer who knows how to get the most out of her synthetic palette. There is a diffuse citrus accord from lemon blossom which captures the hazy sunlight of a summer’s day. It finishes with a set of clean laundry musks which feels like just right as grass stained clothing would be the order of the day.

Chat Perche has 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.

Goutal suggest this is an all-ages perfume starting from age three. I am not sure if I subscribe to that as I have had many e-mail conversations with readers about the right time for them to share their perfume with children. Age three has never been one of my recommendations. For the older perfume lovers Chat Perche captures the joy of child’s play in the summer. Even at 58 it has me eyeing the large cardboard box out for recycling across the street.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Goutal.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Annick Goutal Nuit et Confidences- Creating Space

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I try not to use sport metaphors in perfume reviews but every once in a while, it fits what I am thinking. In the sport of basketball as you are on offense and looking for a path to the basket the player with the ball is expected to use their skills to “create space”. What that means is you use footspeed, ball handling skills, or some assistance from a teammate to get free and drive towards the basket for an open shot. When it comes to perfume I think when a brand enters a crowded genre they also must look to create space from their competitors. One of the most crowded spaces for new perfumes is the cozy vanilla. Annick Goutal Nuit et Confidences looks to see if it has the skills to create some space in that sector.

Camille Goutal

A year ago, with the release of Tenue de Soiree creative director Camille Goutal began the Oiseaux de Nuit collection. In my review of that first release I mentioned that this seemed like a pivot point for Annick Goutal to try to attract a younger consumer to the brand. Working with perfumer Mathieu Nardin they managed to keep the Annick Goutal aesthetic within a more transparent style of perfume. Seeing that M. Nardin was once again the perfumer for Nuit et Confidences I presumed this would be the blueprint to be followed again. It is, sort of, but there is a clever twist to add something just a tiny bit more which is where I think they were trying to create some differences.

Mathieu Nardin

The early going is likened to “champagne bubbles and sequin dresses” which I guess I can somewhat see. It is a lively mixture of bergamot, incense, black pepper, and florals. It doesn’t fizz and sparkle so much as smolder on my skin, but this may be semantics. This is a very transparent accord which sets the stage for the vanilla to arrive. The vanilla early on sets up shop in the middle of the spectrum between airy and heavy. Then M. Nardin uses a set of white musks to stealthily push it towards the airy end of the scale. It is a nice effect where it allows the vanilla to move from heavy to light rather than the opposite which is what is most often encountered. This is where Nuit et Confidences makes its move towards the basket.

Nuit et Confidences has 8-10 hour longevity and moderate sillage.

I am liking the direction Annick Goutal is moving in which preserves what made the brand one of the original niche brands while carving out a new space to remain relevant. Mme Goutal and M. Nardin seemingly share a vision of what this looks like as Nuit et Confidences shows that shared confidence.

Disclosure: This review is based on a sample from Annick Goutal.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Annick Goutal Tenue de Soiree- Completing a Pivot

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I’ve probably watched too much election coverage lately. There is a word which is used often in describing the issues a candidate talks about, “pivot”. It means the candidate will move to a different perspective depending on the dynamics of the race. Particularly over the past year it seems like the dynamics of the typical perfume customer is also in flux causing brands to decide if they want to “pivot” towards existing trends. The group of consumers up for grabs is the Millennials. It has been one of the grand influences of 2016 and looks likely to continue into the next few years until there is some consensus on what this demographic wants. Which means the brand which can identify it earliest can perhaps gain some brand loyalty. Many of the niche brands seem to be watching and mostly waiting; Annick Goutal is jumping into the fray.

Camille_Goutal

Camille Goutal

At the beginning of the year, with the release of Rose Pompon, creative director Camille Goutal said she was reaching out to twentysomething Parisiennes. Working with a different perfumer than Isabel Doyen she collaborated with Philippine Courtiere. That alteration already signaled a pivoting to a new demographic. Now at we get to the fall Mme Goutal completes that transition as she works with a different perfumer on a fragrance that is also very different from the rest of the line with the release of Tenue de Soiree.

The brief behind Tenue de Soiree is to capture that anticipation as a young woman is preparing to get dressed before an evening out. Mme Goutal chose to work with perfumer Mathieu Nardin to form a gourmand chypre. Tenue de Soiree succeeds at that better than I expected.

mathieu-nardin

Mathieu Nardin

The perfume does not begin promisingly as there is a very typical fruity opening of berries and pear. The best part of it is M. Nardin makes it hazy instead of intrusive. He has better things to get to which is to use a vibrant orris which he supports with violet and freesia. The orris is as close as I get to finding the “getting ready to go out” vibe as I can imagine an iris-scented powder or lipstick being used although this orris is not that powdery. It has a richness to it which sets itself up to be part of the gourmand chypre base M. Nardin assembles. The chypre parts are courtesy of patchouli and low-atranol oakmoss. This is the chypre-ish nature without the heavy bite as M. Nardin also keeps it lighter. The finishing touch is a sweet praline accord; sugary, nutty, and bready. It adds a unique vector to a chypre focused base. It isn’t something I would have expected to like as much as I do. The praline fits with the patchouli and oakmoss in a sweet earthy way.

Tenue de Soiree has 10-12 hour longevity and moderate sillage.

In conjunction with Rose Pompon it seems like Mme Goutal is thinking the new generation of fragrance customers will want a lighter floral in the spring and a similarly weighted gourmand in the fall. Her instincts are shared by many of the other bigger brands also working to bring this audience to their product. Tenue de Soiree is an excellent example of how to display your brand to that group without dumbing it down. Tenue de Soiree completes the “pivot” begun earlier. I am hopeful that Mme Goutal will find her audience because I would like to see more of the same next year from Annick Goutal.

Disclosure: this review was based on a sample provided by Annick Goutal.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Annick Goutal Rose Pompon- Rosy Parisiennes

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If robins are the harbinger of spring in the natural world; the release of a lot of new rose centered perfumes is the same in the perfume world. Every year as we move into February my mailbox fills up with versions of new rose perfumes. There are countless rose perfumes out there and it is difficult for a new release to carve out something different. As a result, they generally look to make a variation on a popular trend. Spring rose perfumes fall into two categories; the garden rose or the debutante rose. The latest release from Annick Goutal called Rose Pompon is one of the latter.

Camille_Goutal

Camille Goutal

Rose Pompon is notable for another reason. For the first time since 1989 perfumer Isabelle Doyen is not involved. Annicjk Goutal’s daughter Camille Goutal has been co-perfumer with Mme Doyen for almost all of the releases since 2001. For Rose Pompon she has found a new partner in perfume, Philippine Courtiere.

Mme Goutal wanted Rose Pompon to be a perfume for twentysomething Parisiennes. What seems to be popular among that subset is fruity florals. Rose Pompon is just that but made to be sort of irreverent as if a perfumed pompon stitched on a hat.

PHILIPPINE_COURTIERE

Philippine Courtiere

The perfume Mme Goutal and Mme Courtiere made does open with a very recognizable fruity accord. Grapefruit, blackcurrant buds, and raspberry. Baie rose adds some texture. This is a very berry opening with the grapefruit along for the ride. A very dewy light rose is the heart of Rose Pompon. The perfumers add peony for depth without adding intensity. I like that it stays on the light side through this part of the development. A bit of patchouli and cedar provide the beginnings of the base accord. Then a zippy cocktail of white musks provide an energetic finishing flourish.

Rose Pompon has 8-10 hour longevity and moderate sillage.

This is by far the most lighthearted Annick Goutal perfume ever. I kept thinking it had to come from a different brand. I think Mme Courtiere provided a different point of view for Mme Goutal to work with. Is Rose Pompon something different? Not within the panoply of rose perfumes. Within Annick Goutal? Most definitely. As an inaugural collaboration I like the beginnings of what I see from Mme Goutal and Mme Courtiere. It will be intriguing to see what they do next.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample from Annick Goutal.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Annick Goutal Les Absolus Ambre Sauvage- Vanilla Fetiche

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Over the last couple of years there have been a number of well-established niche brands which wanted a share of the luxury market. To that end they launch an offshoot collection at double, or more, of the price of their regular releases. The selling point is usually that there are more expensive and precious raw materials in the fragrance. There is also an implicit promise that these hold a different aesthetic than the regular line. The latest brand to do this is Annick Goutal.

The new collection is called Les Absolus D’Annick Goutal and all three of the inaugural releases are composed by perfumers Camille Goutal and Isabelle Doyen. In the press materials there is a lot of talk about both women’s love of raw materials. With Les Absolus being the opportunity to work with the best of them. 1001 Ouds is a very typical rose and oud combination which does live up to the concept of good raw materials but doesn’t present anything new on this very tried and true combination. Vanille Charnelle is like 1001 Ouds very focused on the vanilla with a fleshy ylang-ylang providing some contrast. Again nothing new. Ambre Sauvage was the one of the Les Absolus which caught my attention but it did that because it strongly reminded me of a previous Annick Goutal release.

isabelle and camille

Isabelle Doyen (l.) and Camille Goutal

If you spend any time in the fetish community they refer to those who live a conventional lifestyle as “vanilla”. This concept would come back to me as I wore Ambre Sauvage. One of my favorite ambers of all-time is Annick Goutal Ambre Fetiche. It was another of those fragrances which seemed out of place from the rest of the Annick Goutal style. It was discontinued last year with a few other of the releases which also had this out-of-step style in common. Ambre Sauvage seems like this is the opportunity to make a more accessible Ambre Fetiche. The perfumers achieve this by making it more vanilla.

Ambre Sauvage opens on a mixture of pink pepper, lavender and orris. While not identical to the opening of Ambre Fetiche when smelled side-by-side they are surely close cousins. The main difference is the lavender and orris are more pronounced in Ambre Sauvage. Ambre Fetiche has a glorious frankincense and amber foundation. It is Gothic and beautiful. Amber Sauvage is much more conventional as the amber accord is tilted to be warmer. Patchouli adds a woody aspect. The vanilla provides a safety net with its crowd pleasing nature. It forms a very conventional final stage to Ambre Sauvage.

Ambre Sauvage has 12-14 hour longevity and average sillage.

It might not seem apparent with the comparisons to Ambre Fetiche but I really enjoyed Ambre Sauvage. It has much of the same things which I enjoy in Ambre Fetiche. There are definitely days when you have to show a vanilla personality to the world. For those days Ambre Sauvage is the perfect choice.

Disclosure: This review was based on samples provided by Annick Goutal.

–Mark Behnke

New Perfume Review Annick Goutal Vent de Folie- Searching For A Pulse

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There seems to be a pattern that all perfume lines which have been around for years go through. At first they are new and exciting. Then they enter middle age and very often they go through a mid-life crisis of sorts looking back to former triumphs via flankers and reformulations. Then there are two tracks which follow from here; either the line fades to irrelevance or it gets a creative rejuvenation. Annick Goutal is at this cross roads right now. The last good perfume release from them was Ninfeo Mio at the beginning of 2010. In the over four years since, the nine releases have been surprisingly poor. What is more surprising is the creative team of Creative Director Camille Goutal and perfumer Isabelle Doyen have remained intact. As a result the sample of the latest release Vent de Folie was not high up on my list to test. That changed when I was at Sniffapalooza Fall Ball and sniffed it there. Maybe just maybe the grande dame still had something to show after all.

isabelle and camille

Isabelle Doyen (l.) and Camille Goutal

I am glad I returned to the press materials after having sniffed because there is a definite attempt to appeal to a younger perfume wearer. Vent de Folie doesn’t try to break out of the sheer fruity floral mode seemingly prized among that set. If there is a bit of a quibble with Vent de Folie is it is seemingly so safely constructed. A fruity top, a floral heart, and a woody musk base. This is the recipe of hundreds of perfumes all vying for that elusive young demographic. Despite that Mme Doyen manages to make this an interesting version of well-trodden territory.

I think what grabbed me was the opening fruity fusillade. It isn’t subtle. In truth I wouldn’t disagree heartily with someone who found it to be over the top. I think it is exactly that excessive layering of the fruity notes which made me give this a second chance because when Mme Doyen works in overdose she often provides interesting insights. For the top notes of Vent de Folie that is what happens for me. She combines blood orange, blackcurrant buds, and raspberry. Each one of these is present in high concentration. The blood orange at that level shows off more of its tartness. The blackcurrant buds show off the sticky green, almost urinous, quality. The raspberry provides a saccharine foundation. All together they sing in three-part harmony which I found lovely to listen to. Unfortunately the rest of the development is very straight forward as rose and geranium provide the floral foil to the fruit and cedar and white musks provide a clean finish.

Vent de Folie has 8-10 hour longevity and average sillage.

For at least the first hour of Vent de Folie there was a vital pulse again in Annick Goutal. I was reminded when the line used to take risks. The remainder of the time I wore Vent de Folie the patient lapsed back into the creative coma it has been mired in. When you are hoping for a recovery though you will latch on to any small sign. Which is what I’m hoping for as perhaps Vent de Folie is a sign of better days and better perfumes to come.

Disclosure: This review was based on a sample of Vent de Folie provided by Annick Goutal.

–Mark Behnke