Honoré Delights

Floral Fruity Gourmand? My nose says...not really. Musky floral powdery perfection? Absolutely! I've never had the honore pastry, so I can't say if this fragrance smells like the dessert or not. I can only say it doesn't smell like any pastry I've ever had. On top-- Top notes are citrus, but not too bright. I get more neroli than bergamot. They're a little light, which is how I prefer citrus, so we're off to a good start. On my skin, the top notes last about 30 minutes which I found unusual but enjoyed the nice slow transition to the heart. The heart-- The iris is so lovely and powdery in Honore Delights. There is a subtle sweetness during this phase, but it feels like it's coming from the florals (especially orange blossom) and musk mallow. It's not edible in this presentation to me, though with this name, I'm sure it's meant to appeal to gourmand lovers. The heart is softer than the opening, as the top citrus has faded and is very powdery courtesy of a delicate iris. The base-- A soft sweet persistent musk defines the base. Nothing more or less so than that, but it's enough to round Honore Delights out and make this a love for me. Notable-- the softness on the skin sweetish, but not cloying the powder, the musk you have to respray if you want to enjoy it all day--it leaves a bit of an 'after-smell' on the skin when left to simply fade away. For me, there's nothing gourmand here except the name but I still find it a delight.

I was ready to throw in the towel with Ex Nihilo fragrances. None spoke to my nose. This bad boy, however. Wow. Its fluffy, this perfume has a cozy texture to it. Like you are wrapped up in a blanket laying in the clouds. Initial spray is a bit of a peppery musk, but the dry down is magical. Sweet, savory, gourmand fluffy musk. Its angelic, ethereal. I love the review below saying this is what fairies would smell like. Its light and airy, only leaving whispers in the air rather than announcing. I reach for this for daily office wear, its so comforting, welcoming, cozy and quiet. Never annoying or cloying, doesnt project or leave a heavy trail. Great bedtime scent too. I find it lasts a significant amount of time on my skin, HOWEVER, it is very very light. If you want beast mode this is not it. The warm edible, sweet musk will cocoon you all day in the gentlest way. Its a beautiful woman walking through a Parisian city, faint wafts of freshly baked bread and pastries in the air. I love this perfume and crave it so much. Please test it on your skin to appreciate this perfume's depth and beauty (smelling the cap or on paper, you will just pick up a peppery musk)

very, very pretty. honore delights is a fragrance that also has an almost palpable texture - and that's an intense fluffiness, pink and soft. it smells like a bedroom that is entirely pink, adorned with soft furnishings and glittering white light. the neroli and orange blossom give a slight, soft citrus on top of the bed of fluffy, pretty ambrette and iris, and the typical ex nihilo musk sits underneath, soft and clean (this house really does do some objectively good musks, whether dirty and not-to-my-personal taste like is musc infini, or clean, fluffy and soft like in this fragrance and santal calling). it's quiet, it's dainty, it's feminine and it's pure. i really like it, though ex nihilo's offerings as a house on a whole are so damn strong, there's other fragrances from them that i prefer more. and for soft, fluffy, cosy fragrances like honore delights, i do slightly prefer guerlain's cuir beluga, so i feel that this fragrance would be a bit obsolete to me. 8/10 smelled alongside their vision and goals for this fragrance, they absolutely nailed it.

This is a very pretty perfume, with no sharp edges or strong elements. When attempting to rate the strength of the notes for Fragrantica, no single note stands out above any others. I smell a harmony of iris, ambrette, orange blossom/neroli and bergamot. The base is neither too musky nor woody and all the notes flow seamlessly into one another. This is a light and airy "easy reach" for warmer weather, despite the combo of notes making it a tinge gourmand. I'm loving this for summer! I've heard criticism of Ex Nihilo fragrances for having poor longevity. I think part of that may be due to their sprayers-- the stream of liquid from my sprayer is coming out in a wide, fan-shaped mist. It seems like a good portion of the mist isn't connecting with my skin at all, just dissipating into the air. This type of spray lends itself to a very light application and I definitely don't prefer this.

An embodiment of the current 'stealth wealth' craze. A beauty dressed in a cashmere sweater, she's lounging in her tasteful upper-class home and answering any money-related questions with the avoidant 'we're comfortable'. Her home points to generational wealth, manners and class - without being stiff or old-fashioned. It has a distinct guerlinade vibe to it which very quickly dries down to iris/musk combo. There are some similarities with L'Eau d'Hiver but Honore Delights is warm and smooth where LdH is cold and chalky. It also bears a striking resemblance to Guerlain's Parfum Initial minus the caramel/vanilla sweetness. The performance is average at best, probably along the lines of 'wealth whispers'...it's the only factor that makes me hesitate when it comes to buying a FB at that price point.

Sampled this for the first time today and my first thought was that it reminded me of Woman in Gold, came on here, and saw that Woman in Gold was the first fragrance listed under “This Perfume Reminds of.” The only common note appears to be bergamot but I suppose it’s quite prominent in both fragrances. Whereas WiG has a generous dose of vanilla, this one has sandalwood. Honore Delights is fresh, musky, floral, and a bit woody. I don’t pick up as much on the iris, and hence powder, as I do the neroli/orange blossom. Personally, I prefer WiG over this one, but Honore Delights is still quite nice and well made. Edit: after giving this another shot, this went from a like to a love. Performance is impressive, and I may actually like this more than WiG. Very elegant scent.

there's a note (the musk or sandalwood maybe) that reminds me from a distance of my own sweat so that tripped me out the first time I wore it in public. in the bottle and on clothing it comes off as light, sweet, and delicate. a good compliment getter, especially the longer I let the bottle rest. i would describe this as a powder puff of shimmery makeup put on in the bathroom during an intermission at the opera. a perfume to spray behind your knees

I agree with violeteme, this definitely gives me Paris-Venise vibes. It’s a beautiful fragrance. I wish I had a spray vial rather than a sample with the dipstick applicator. This is a nice clean, citrusy and powdery musk with light florals. After a couple of hours, it turns into a creamy, vanilla sandalwood scent. I could probably wear this all year around, but I think it’ll wear best in cooler months.

One of the most beautiful things I have ever tested in my life. I am not particularly iris fan and the perfume pyramid would never get my attention but since I was gifted sample I am craving this perfume every day. It does not smell like pastry by any means yet it has similar creamy quality that Lira has without the gourmand notes and is more subtle and chic (it is long-lasting though!).

This is what I imagine fairies to smell like. Airy and ethereal, powdery and sweet, fresh and innocent (without being juvenile). To my nose, this has a similar vibe to Byredo Gypsy Water and a projection akin to Maison Mataha Printemps Blanc; it feels like a subtle soft thing up close, but the real potency is in the magical scent bubble/aura that surrounds you. I adore this scent.

If Chanel Paris-Venise was made into Intense version, it would be this scent as they share the same neroli-iris-musk combination. They are different enough as this comes off more dense and even gourmand and Paris-Venise as more citrusy and light. But I get the same subtlety, femininity, elegance. This is beautiful and lasts much longer. +

This smells like a beautiful angel in a gossamer white gown floated down from heaven on a cloud and gave you a magical lotion. The lotion imparts to you a sparkling aura, makes you ethereal and sexy, and makes your hair blow enchantedly in the wind.

this one is a beautiful your sink but sweeter, it is very sophisticated elegant and protects quite luxury. there is powder in the beginning from the iris and at the musk but the orange blossom and sandalwood gives it a creamy dray down . love it

Absolutely lovely. Powdery and lovely, the right amount of sweetness and just the slightest bitterness (bergamot and ambrette?) to make this interesting. If anyone is willing to sell a 7.5ml travel flask, please let me know!

A candied, sugary lemon musk for those who find Lira and Devotion too sweet. Fluffy and airy, clean and fresh - but very potent if oversprayed. A daytime scent that makes me feel clean and expensive.

This is beautiful. I’m really enjoying the bright and creamy citrus floral facets along with the iris note. The lasting power is quite nice too.

I like iris, musk, and sandalwood, and each time I expect to like this based on the notes. On paper, this smells more like what you would think. On my skin, this turns too sweet for me, and smells like a slightly better-blended Montblanc's Signature. The citrus and musk are prominent here, but unfortunately it's a sweet, vanillic musk, and too creamy for my taste. Nothing about the notes would make me expect anything sweet about this scent - an unpleasant surprise in that regard. On its own accord, its a fine perfume, luxurious, buttery, creamy, but too sweet and a little bit too generic.

If you tried this one and didn't quite love it, try their new Iris Porcelana. Sorry, public service announcement over. This one didn't quite capture my attention. A little too musky, a little too aromatic ~ nothing really wrong with it, it just did blow my socks off like Iris Porcelana. Sometimes I have to wear a fragrance a month or more for it to really click and that may be what's happening. Don't get me wrong, if someone gave me a bottle of this I'd wear it proudly. Ugh, I'm damning it with faint praise and I don't mean to, I guess I was just blown away by the above perfume.

Yet another one I bought a while back and did not reach for. I just revisited it and I like it a lot more than when I first got it. On my skin it starts out with a bit of zest and spice then dries down to a very sweet powdery scent that I kind of like but do not love. I like my gourmands to be creamier and more velvety. This is a nice scent but it doesn‘t wow me, it does not evoke the smell of pastries whatsoever. All in all it is nicer than I remembered.

I've had a sample of this and I've tried it now several times. It's a like, not a love. This is soft and pretty, not heavy... but it's very sweet - in a lemony, creamy, sugary sense. The florals, citrus, and musk are all nicely blended, creating a light gourmand effect. Although I don't see vanilla or caramel in the notes, it hints at the cream puff pastry that it's named for. I can see why many appreciate its musky cocoon, but for me it's just too sweet.