Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Folle X

L'heure Folle (X) is a delightful, fresh eau de toilette. I don't want to heap too much praise on it, because it is frankly pretty simple and fleeting. L'heure Folle smells of fresh berries and green leaves on a summer day. It performs like an eau de cologne, and is a fizzy, bright mood booster of a fragrance. Notably, this perfume is completely free of the super-saccharine, gloopy "berry" aromachemical smells of celebrity and designer perfumes. Instead, L'heure Folle is lightweight and whimsical, like a walk through a blueberry patch in a daydream. It makes me wonder why there aren't more "serious" perfumes exploring berry themes... I am amazed by Mathilde Laurent's work at Cartier. Her creations are, on average, extraordinarily creative and imaginative, and it appears that Cartier really has given her free reign to create free from the constraints of the corporate focus group. Laurent takes advantage of this freedom, and continually surprises us with her creations. She often focuses on quirky, unexpected notes (e.g. mint, ginger, honey, berries, chocolate, kumquat), fitting them into somewhat more traditional structures. The perfumes are always made with excellent quality materials (especially in the exclusive lines), and executed with an unmistakably French refinement. 4/5

I purchased L`Heure Folle X after I was dumbfounded by it's brilliance. I spent my childhood hiking with my father in the Catskills and Adirondack mountains in New York and this smells like a sunny trail through blueberry bushes in July. It absolutely took me back to that happy, calm time. To get all those smells, the leaves, the grass, the fruit, the sun into a bottle is amazing to me. I wore it to work and began to feel I could only wear it with white shirts. It is very elegant and crisp. I think for my tastes I would prefer a little more earth in the bottle or something to make it less pale, wan, or cold. I would love this in a candle I would buy several. I would love my home to smell like that day picking blueberries. This is the real thing.. smells like real life. Nothing synthetic. I would love to congratulate the creator. This is true artistry. Magnificent.

Thanks to great Mathilde Laurent, Cartier's fragrances are always of great quality. This line (Les Heures de Cartier) is a rare treasure, all of which are experimental, but seemingly get much less attention than it deserves. X starts as fruit syrup with black tea at the background and moves to flowers and leaves. For me, the experience is quite different from the table. Firstly, it is mainly alike star fruit, a little bit sour but with some sweetness of extract. Thus, grenadine instead of other currants. At the bottom, there are some hints of black tea. Then the scent of the tea rise up with fruity fading out and handovers to ivy and flowers. Just like the other, this masterpiece is not daily, but deserves to be added to a certain artwork collection.

L'Heure Folle X was one of the earliest « Les Heures » perfumes. I am a fan of this particular line (as well as Cartier in general), and much of the reason is Mathilde Laurent, one of my favourite perfumers. For the most part, « Les Heures » are high-quality, deceptively simple and frequently groundbreaking perfumes, each forming a distinctive image. X, "the crazy hour", aims to conjure up images of extravagence and luxury, reflecting the diamonds that Cartier is known for. Instead, it is a summery scent, evoking images of berries being grown in a Mediterranean garden, not especially reflective of its name or concept. X opens with a syrupy berry accord, with a dominant blackcurrant note. Initially berry-like, it becomes reminiscent of crème de cassis. Tart redcurrant, as if freshly picked, joins it, along with some juicy blueberry. Pink pepper adds a spicy-sweet kick, while grenadine adds sweetness, tempering the tart berries. It becomes cordial-like, light and refreshing, but really quite sweet. As it develops, lush, leafy green notes creep in, adding a garden-like freshness. This gives the effect of the vines of the plants on which the berries are growing, giving the full picture of berry cultivation. It is summery and pretty, simultaneously sweet and green. Violet adds a damp floral note and aldehydes make it slightly soapy as it develops. X fades to a sweet skin scent with a trace of green notes. Sillage and longevity are moderate. On paper, I should love this scent, but X is too sweet for my taste - it might have been better without the grenadine. Still, the image of berry bushes in full, summertime bloom is very well-rendered. 3/5.

It opens waxy green and melts into tart blueberries and sweetens into currents and grenadine. It's very mild and pleasant.

fresh cut ivy , the same exhausting/sickening aspect as cut grass decomposing in the compost at the back of the garden and then mixed with syrup and sparkling water. why?

This is the sacrificial lamb of the line. Given the enormous popularity of bubble gum themed perfumes, Cartier must have realized that without one this line would not have survived. And so, here it is- a nauseating blend of sticky fruits over a base that looks great on paper but can't stand up to the cloying tutti-frutti that dominates the top and heart. It has a slightly repulsive background note not unlike that in Guerlain's Insolence. At least the ingredients are not as cheap as the composition.

Not a mainstream perfume, which is quite on the moderate side.