Review of L'Heure Bleue Eau de Parfum by Yaroslavna Lasytsya

"L'Heure Bleue" is my greatest love among all Gurlain's creations. And just like every love - there are no rational explanations or reasons as to why. It just is, existentialism in itself, beguiling and overwhelming. With first spray of the perfume a zesty and slightly bitter bergamot and lemon take to the air like butterflies in dance. Their colours are bright and sparkling, with spicy powder-like streaks of coriander and neroli glistening behind their wings. Anise is not visible to me, unlike in the "Extrait" where it is very much pronounced. The heart blooms on the skin with carmine red carnation, assured and elegant in her classic representation of gently spiced sweetness. She is a perfect bridge between two stages of the composition, making transition seamlessly effortless. As carnation blooms, the red hue deepens, shifting to magenta and then deep purple of iris, its petals unfolding with majestic grace and speckled by the powdery violet, adding tenderness to this regal flower. Iris turns an imperial purple when it reaches its zenith in the composition, contrasting beautifully with the citrusy notes and adding further depth to the spiced floral note started by carnation. Whilst the flowers bloom, I will say that the projection of the "L'Heure Bleue" is a strong one whether in Fall-Winter or in Spring-Summer, and the sillage flows around the wearer as the cirrus clouds, changing colours and moving in most fascinating patterns, think “Study of Cirrus Clouds” by John Constable circa 1822. This painting also gives justice to the evocation of the "L'Heure Bleue" in the name of the perfume. And even though the traditional meaning of the "L'Heure Bleue" refers to the twilight of the day, being melancholic and romantic at the same time, I tend to see it as the hour of the blue skies with transitioning hues and flowing clouds. The perfume's rich and expressive notes are never in a hurry to settle in and become the skin scent, and they are most persistent in their indulgent exuberance. When the drydown finally arrives (and I am never able to pinpoint the exact moment of scent switching to it) vanilla and tonka envelop one in their soft caress, tempering down the spices and bringing the swirling airy phantasms closer, making them intimate and more etherial, like gentle Zephyrus of Ancient Greece. "L'Heure Bleue" could be easily described as a perfect image of the gentlest of wind gods - Zephyrus and his beautiful wife Chloris - goddess of flowers, gliding through the skies and sprinkling luscious flowers over the earth while the goddess of dawn Eos creates a perfect backdrop of the morning twilight rich in blue, violet, and red-splashed deep blues, painted over the eternal sky.