L'Heure Exquise

By far my favourite Bortnikoff. I experienced around 12 of his fragrances and thought he couldn't get any better until I tried the 2020 version of this (I think some of the reviews here refer to the first batch which I never had the chance to smell and reportedly had a stronger oud which I guess explains some challenging smells you can't find anywhere now). Together with Oud Maximus and Musk Khabib, L'Heure Exquise offers a perfect trio to get the best Dima has been able to reach so far imho. Not the easiest, nor the most mass appealing perhaps, but imo the best made, best ingredients, best blends... three jewels that deserve all the raves you've read here and more. I see a link between this jewel and two other fragrances from the same brand, Lucky Oud and Amber Cologne. It doesn't smell like either of those in the first moment when an explosion of top notch flowers, spices, bitter cocoa and rubbery oud strike and dazzle your senses but it definitely shares the chocky floriental dna of Lucky Oud without getting weird at any moment or too sweet like LO sometimes does to me and definitely cocoa here is handled much more harmoniously at the back, bitter, elegant, only in a supporting role. So I don't see L'HE as a gourmand really... every ingredient has its starring moment... notes that appear and disappear... but it is essentially a floral with guests performing golden moments in a seamless blend, if that makes any sense. Then L'HE transforms dramatically into a mouthwatering ambergris bomb and the connection to Amber Cologne is evident, think of a stronger AC in its ambergris phase without the citrus (which is my dealbreaker in that one unfo) with champaca, bitter oud and the softest of spices lurking in the back... salty saliva fest indeed. So my only word of caveat is: if you dislike ambergris in all its glory or flowers galore such as tuberose in Tubereuse Criminelle (here champaca and jasmin)... then perhaps it's not for you. Lovers of unisex florals, the best materials and performance... give it a try! I am hooked. PS: yes, it also smells like the best tutti frutti chewing gum you'll ever come across!!! I never thought it could carry such sexy connotations.

I've been waiting on reviewing this one till I'd really gotten a good feeling for it, but I still will not be able to do it justice. This is an unsung gem in the Bortnikoff lineup - maybe even a masterpiece. I can't compare it to anything I've smelled before. Here goes nothing. The first thing I smell is the brightness of champaca and jasmine, the richness of cacao, the sharp woodiness of cedar and camphor, and the beautiful chocolatey bitterness of Vietnamese oud. It keeps you guessing - is it a gourmand? Not quite. Woody? Definitely. Resinous? Yep. Floral? Of course. Oud? It subtly makes its presence known early and sticks around. As it dries down the sweetness of the florals dies away completely and gives way to bitter oud, cypriol, myrrh, camphor and salty ambergris. The transition is quite breathtaking - like you're getting two completely different fragrances in one. I'm at a loss for words in trying to explain what this smells like. The best I can convey is that it's sharply woody/camphorous with a gentle floral/resinous sweetness at the top which dries down to very bitter woods. You really have to experience it for yourself. It's the kind of scent that fragrance enthusiasts will love to dissect. In my opinion, it falls under the category of wearable art. And it IS wearable. For all its complexity it is an absolute pleasure to wear. You owe it to yourself to wear at least a decant's worth if you like unique fragrances.

The eagle has landed, all the way from Thailand delivering one of the most exquisite oud perfumes ever made. Since the very first moment I smelled it from a sample vial , I knew this was something truly special. L’Heure Exquise unfolds on skin with radiant citruses and the extravagance of exotic flowers perfuming the photorealistic cacao note adding a floral gourmand chocolate dimension to the star of the show “oud”. As the composition warms up on skin the duality of indonesian and vietnamese oud begin to wrap the exotic champaca and jasmine, and ambergris adds a sweet mineral touch of exoticism, along with the incredibly long lasting cacao note, and spicy cardamom nuances. Throughout it’s development, L’Heure Exquise features slight animalic facets, sometimes leathery and dry, incredibly dark , woody, with a resinous quality. Overall, L’Heure Exquise is a super complex and intoxicating concoction, very intriguing, rare, it’s uniqueness makes it a true jewel for true perfume lovers, also the scent possesses gigantic lasting power and room filling projection. I’m so impressed with L’Heure Exquise and Oud Maximus, I can’t pick one over the other as a favorite, as they’re equally stunning.

What can i day about such a wonderful perfume! The opening is very intense and dirty, with all these ápices and a very and medicinal noticeable oud. I has on the background this tipical Barn smell which is at the same time diagusting but very addictibe that most oud perfumes have. With the deydown the cocoa, champava and flowers begin yo appear making the fragance a bit less sweet but much nicer and weareable. After one hour the amber gets protagonismo and the fragance is fabulous. It is still Spicy and remember me a lot, even when It is not listed, to the smell of White pepper, maybe because if the mix between the clove and the Jasmine... I would recommend this perfume to all the ápices and strong fragances lovers, although the dry down is much more subtle. Scent: 9.5 Longevity: 9 Sillage: 8 Originality: 9 Versatility: 5 Quality/price: 5 ( It is expensive but has a very good quality) Global: 8 5

In my humble opinion, L'heure Exquise is an abstract Masterpiece by Bortnikoff, and the most interesting from the ones I have tried. It takes patience to appreciate it, I found it overwhelming the first time I tried it. I don't think it's a crowdpleaser, actually no one liked it in my entourage, and they laughed at me because of the price I payed for it. But then, when you train your nose and start understanding its different facets, it becomes addictive and a scent that makes you contemplative to its complexity... at least for me. It is a spicy, tropical florals concoction with a rich oceanic/sea vibe because of the prominent Ambergris note, and a dark sweet background thanks to the VERY natural Tonka bean. It is like having a cocktail in Krabi, yet it has the Parisian Dandy vibe to it. Not a safe blind buy, try it first ! 9.5/10 , great Job Dmitry !

Big. League. Chew. Bubblegum, but in the best possible way, and only in the silliage. On skin, this opens with an intense medicinal Oud, as well as a sweet ambergris, and dries down to milk chocolate, with whispy white woods lurking underneath. This is just plain fun and wearable. Completely unisex. I can literally see myself wearing this outside a Parisian cafe at sunset, sipping a hot coco on a cool fall evening. The longevity on this is great, and the projection is above average. People will notice this on you, and may think you’re chewing the most exquisite bubblegum ever made. If you like sweet fragrances, akin to Bee, Slowdive, or Saint Julep..you may LOVE this. I certainly do.

Bought this blind based off reviews and I amnot disappointed. Per usual this house uses the best ingredients and it lasts forever. The reviews under me are spot on. It's the world's best smelling big league chew. Once it settles its ambery goodness. The whole experience is delightful imho. Once again bortnikoff scents are not necessarily going to please everyone, but I also don't think you will go into a room where people are like wtf is that a hole wearing. And if you run into another frag head they are going to be like wtf are you wearing you glorious man. I say try it, if you don't like it @me.

I use Attar for this, I like it mostly mine. Dmitri Bornikoff manages to elaborate the oils in perfumes with mathematical calculations, which almost always give an excellent result and for this reason, it is one of my favorites, this perfume is also among them. So, if you are looking for an olfactory bomb Dmitry is not for you, but if you want a perfume with good ingredients and that stays on the skin even for 14 hours, with Bortnikoff you spend a lot of money but you spend it well. Dmitry is a great perfumer.

I think this is such a refined and opulent perfume that my review can’t do justice to this scent, It transitions beautifully from top to bottom starting from floral to heavy tobacco facets. The woods used for the drydown are exquisite. Please do yourself a favour and try it. Its performance is also not very intrusive neither too weak, exactly how a perfume should be. The chocolate texture gives this one a delectable feeling once you smell it in the air. Masterpiece fragrance.

Now this is definitely more my speed. Less oud forward and more oud backward. It really doesn't smell like anything else to my nose. The camphor and the clove come together beautifully with the champaca creating a lovely dry, yet sweet spiced scent with subtle floral essences. It does remind me a bit of clove chewing gum which was a selling point for me to purchase the full bottle. Fairly short life span on this, but I can usually get 4-6 hours from it. I love this one!!!

I’m a fan of @muzzbait and @DawnBreaker’s reviews. Have dived into a few blind buys because of them and have never been disappointed. Then after reading some of the other reviews, got a bottle of this for about 43% off. WHAT A STEAL. I am, without doubt, a big fan of Bortnikoff anyways. Still. This scent is so worth the retail cost. I won’t go into the scent profile, plenty of great descriptions here, but do encourage any fraghead to go ahead and pick-up a bottle!

I’ve had a 15ml decant for a few years now and every time I come back to it it smells totally different from what I remember. Right now it smells like a blast of those chocolate Andes mints with Oud, almost gourmand. Very chocolatey and minty/camphorous. This and Sayat Nova are the best I’ve tried from the house. If anyone has a bottle of this or Sayat and is interested in trading I have a bottle of Bort’s Oud Monarch, nearly full and in box.

What else is there to say the two esteemed gentlemen before me haven’t already said? This is a masterpiece. My favorite by Bortnikoff, and probably my favorite fragrance of 2018.

All I get is a rich chocolate with an undertone of menthol, that doesn't last super long...which makes this waaaay overpriced. Cool looking bottle though.

Smells great just let it breathe in an open area before you go anywhere

Absolute gem. A personal favorite.

A pleasing Oriental gourmand with floral facets to it, this is an offering with high quality natural ingredients and has a candy like vibe to it. The perfume opens with notes of bergamot, neroli and cardamom. The heart is a dense woody floral comprising of notes of jasmine, champaca, cacao, cedar, cypriol, camphor, myrrh and cloves. The perfume settles into a dense powdery base of tolu balsam, styrax, oud and ambergris. In spite of so many many dense ingredients, the perfume upon settling is a happy and pleasing scent and like many reviewers have noted has a candy or bubblegum like vibe. Moderate in sillage and projection and long lasting this can be classified as a unisex scent. Enjoy!

It really wasn't all that great when I first sprayed it; I thought it was completely hyped for some strange reason, but then an hour later!! Wow it was so delicious I couldn't stop smelling it! The transformation (from wet dust to Peru balsam + champaca, which reminded me of Benjoin 19) was more shocking than most oud fragrances!

This is a pretty complicated fragrance. To me, it smells like a Chinese incense I smelt in an Asian Grocer one time. Its amazing because I genuinely didn't think I'd smell that in a fragrance. This isn't really a cacao fragrance on *me*. Oud, yes. Not overwhelmingly so, though. I think I like it.

L'heure Exquise was the one of the three new Bortnikoffs I took longest warming up to. Now I feel that it is a beautiful composition of cocoa, florals, resins and spices. it is very unique and not that easy to decribe but if you have a chance, sample it!