WHAT I SMELL: L’Heure Mysterieuse has a strange opening that’s full of smoke and tar as well as a heavy patchouli that is thick, chewy and rather like paste. The smoke rises off of the skin like some kind of industrial component. This is a very bizarre as I can’t see how the opening brings promise of anything beautiful or gentile….or something that represents “Cartier.” Thankfully, after a short time, the tar and heavy smoke begin to lift. A dried flatness of incense appears instead and the perfume starts to belie a more gentle persona. But don’t get me wrong, there’s a strength to the perfume in that it has a fighting energy buried beneath the smoky subdued radiance. After quite some time a light floral appears, once again softening the former intensity. To me, L’Heure Mysterieuse is a hard perfume to describe, but I can tell you that it has a classic old world heart that reminds me of fragrances from the 1970s.
From the Cartier website:
Silence was on the prowl. You could hear it breathing, lurking like desire. The calmness felt only temporary. Drowsiness gained life, slowly jasmine and heavily PATCHOULI. This was the time for listening to your own pulse at the edge of abandon, like a reverse countdown, a voyage into the intimate where everything both takes shape and disintegrates. Withdraw into yourself, escape and focus your mind on your inner self, reaching that point where self-awareness resides. Was it elemi gum, CORIANDER day? Was it incense, FRANKINCENSE night? Soon you must leave the juniper darkness… but not quite yet. First, savor L’HEURE MYSTÉRIEUSE for just one hour – no longer, that’s a promise – extracted from deep within, and rediscover your own personal roots.
La Liberté guidant le peuple. Eugène Delacroix. 1830
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: La Liberté.
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE L’HEURE MYSTERIEUSE: smoky, intense, retro
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT L’HEURE MYSTERIEUSE: AustralianPerfumeJunkies, Bois de Jasmin, Katie Puckrick Smells
BOTTOM LINE: L’Heure Mysterieuse Is a like and not a love for me. The opening is weirdly interesting, but the drydown redeems the perfume as it turns into a retro classical scent.
- Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Oriental Spicy
- Nose: Mathilde Laurent
- Classification: Unisex (but to me it leans masculine)
- Expense: $285 for 75 ml eau de parfum
WHAT I SMELL: Rather than a dry heat rising from the Sahara, Egypt opens with warm nutty lavender that quickly begins to fizz with a mellow lemon citrus coating. It’s warm, but at the same time rather crisp and slightly formal, while projecting a casual vibe. The lemon and nutmeg make for a light gourmand presence…slightly sugared, but never sweet. The patchouli enters rather quickly, but instead of taking over, it glides underneath the nuttiness. Here the perfume really begins to project and it’s warm and inviting and rather sexy as its self-assured. As the perfume continues to develop the patchouli comes front and center with a sandalwood that tries to keep the scent from becoming to sweet. But unfortunately on my skin, Egypt turns into a patchouli bomb…that’s not bad, but I would have liked to experience some more of the leather, which only appears after an hour or so and with barely a whisper.
WHAT I SMELL: I guess I should not have been surprised, but I was pleasantly so as the opening of Amorem Rose is warm, deep and incredibly rapturous with a beautiful saffron topped by a mentholated rose. This rose is not one of playful and sweet frivolity, instead, it’s a rose wrapped in abundance of mystery and intrigue. The mentholated opening gives way to a grand rose that lingers in smokiness making the perfume feel as if it’s smoldering off the skin For the privileged wearer, the perfume resides in this most exquisite place like a queen holding court. There’s power in Amorem Rose in the way the rose holds the wearer captive revealing its infinite wisdom. After considerable time, the perfume’s smokiness is met with a warm ambered wood which adds even more depth to this royal treasure. Amorem Rose is beautifully calm, but beautifully serious.
The Scented Hound 