WHAT I SMELL: Promise opens with a soft and cottony musky iris that is quickly infused with a combination of herbs that are too light to distinguish or specify. The perfume is so transparent and barely there that unless I stick my nose in my arm, I’m not able to smell much, if anything. As the perfume develops, the lightest of wood draws the perfume back from the iris and musk and moves it to a light paper pulp. But as soon as I say that, the iris comes gliding gracefully back to the center of the perfume. Promise is a sheer fragrance where the iris is warmed by a light sunny sandalwood. It’s beautiful, but it’s so barely there at the beginning that you wonder if you sprayed anything on at all. Thankfully, as the perfume wears, it begins to grow, but it never deviates from the warmed iris that first came forward; except for the addition of a wonderful powder that helps the perfume to radiate in just the right way.
From the Cartier website:
It was time to capture a life full of fresh early mornings, Petit grain, FRESH HERBS at the dawn of intentions. Everything seemed possible – love, creation, belief. The time had come to embrace the day, comforted by self-confidence and honesty IRIS, and to fly or walk in the first glimmers of a spring of existence. The sheer newness was just waiting to be explored like an undiscovered continent bathed in hope, with the promise of cherishing the moment a little longer while everything remained quiet. Prolonging, preserving the moment: L’HEURE PROMISE by Cartier. An eiderdown of fragrance sandalwood, for leaving the night behind without affronting sleep. Outside, I sense, like a veil of tulle MUSK NOTES, my own deciding scent – that of my destiny unfolding and of an adventure that is anxious to take place.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Iris colored tulle.
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE L’HEURE PROMISE: soft, elegant, sheer
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT L’HEURE PROMISE: Perfume Posse
BOTTOM LINE: L’Heure Promise is incredibly beautiful in a simply elegant way. I would probably give the perfume a 4 bone rating, but this is so much of a skin scent that I would find it hard to do so given the hefty price tag. But would I like to have this as part of my perfume collection? That would be a definitive “yes!”
- Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Floral Green
- Nose: Mathilde Laurent
- Classification: Unisex
- Expense: $275 for 75 ml eau de toilette
WHAT I SMELL: Jersey’s opening consists of a soft, cottony lipstick tinged lavender that is soon met with a warmed, lightly brown sugared and caramelized vanilla. The vanilla isn’t heavy nor overly sweet, and as such it’s the perfect companion for the powdery lavender that resides on top of it. At this juncture, Jersey feels as if it’s made from cotton which has been milled and then folded into a bottle. As the perfume continues to develop, the lavender and vanilla begin to add a bit of cream that softens the perfume and turns it from the muslin towards a lightly sweet lotion. And basically that’s it; Jersey is a simple…no make that…Jersey is a simply beautiful perfume.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Dreamy lavendered cottoned clouds.
WHAT I SMELL: Flamenco dances open with a cotton candy raspberry that’s quickly met with a sweet and candied violet. Very soon after, a soft orris makes a quick entrance making the super sweet opening something a bit more tame. But don’t get me wrong, the perfume still remains in the confectionary, but now it includes a lovely musky undertow. Soon the florals begin to break through with a rounded rose front and center. Here, Flamenco begins to quickly grow and rise as it seems to spin wildly off of the skin. It’s here that the perfume resides for some time; at times soft, at other times projecting greatly. But each time it moves, Flamenco becomes a bit warmer and more comforting. Flamenco doesn’t morph all that much after this point, and in the end the rose, mixed with the soured woods, wafts along as if they’re ready to once again start a fire on the dance floor.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: With the name Flamenco, can there be any other visual than a whirling Flamenco dancer?!
The Scented Hound 