Ce Soir Ou Jamais

This was one of my first gateway perfumes, a chance freebie from Sephora. (Thank you nameless sales associate, wherever you are!)The promotional card it came on featured a lady's silouette holding some esoteric contraption, which to this day, I have no clue as to its purpose. I strongly suspect it was selected to mess with people. Marketing aside, as others have noted, Ce Soir Ou Jamais is a lovely rose-centric scent. This is doubly true for the EDP version, which I bought. The rose is front and center, juicy, and in full bloom tucked next to a pear poached in sweet red wine. The EDT is lighter, the rose is fresher, and to my nose the perfume shifts much more noticiably through its various notes. The EDP is much more stable, which is pleasant, but I miss the shimmery dream-like quality of the EDT. Staying power on the EDP is longer, as might be expected, and longer still if sprayed on clothing or hair. All in all, it's hard to find fault with this fragrance unless you simply don't like roses front and center. It doesn't demand much from the wearer, and is far from a simple soliflore. Tonight or never? It's all the same. This rose blooms when she sees fit. Edit: I forgot to add the one and only thing I don't care for: the packaging. I do not have the lovely crystal bag bottle pictured. I have the standard Annick Goutal bottle. For some reason this scent comes with a gold lame bag wrapped around it. It is really quite odd and doesn't fit the feel of the perfume at all. Like a solid gold dancer at ballet recital. Annick Goutal is my favorite perfume house, and while I like the quaint and romantic ribbed bottles, I do wish they would do a little updating.

EDP. Goutal creates the perfumery paradigm of flowers in nature. I grow a rose in my garden that smells quite like this. golden yellow and dense with petals, like a pompom. Bees literally have to burrow inside and disappear. They aren't sweet or honeyed, they are a bit earthy and musky, slightly green. Flowering in Spring and end of Summer. I can smell a lot of lemons! linalool (?) or limonene (?) in the opening, alongside a greenish vegetal nuance. giving this a fresh rose petal smell, like sticking your nose in the rose. This fresh rose note continues throughout. the lemon is strong in this to my nose today, a facet of turkish rose, but too obvious to just be part of the rose, this is an added extra. it makes the scent bright, but to me has a citronella thing going on. Unfortunately, i have no idea what hibiscus smells like in real life. but i suspect it adds to those greenish vegetal, musky petals. the ambrette adds a nice musky warmth and creates a kind of rosehip tea thing later on, as the rose sweetens a touch and becomes slightly fruity. it reminds me of Imogen Rose, this more watery, bright, delicate, petals and musky. lemons dominate today for a good while and didn't last test. Last test this smelt like a grown up rose "perfume". Reminded me somewhat of Grand Amour in essence, not in smell. flowers in a vase, the flower water, the stems in the flower water. A Goutal rose for sure! naturalistic beauty, fresh from the garden.

The first time I smelled it, I thought they confused the labels on the bottles and that it was Petite Cherie. Even the shop assistant agreed with me. The top notes of the two perfumes bear a striking similarity thanks to a common ingredient: Pear! It felt as if they share exactly the same notes, in different quantities. Cannot escape the thought that maybe Annick Goutal would like to give her final and most elaborate creation (CSOJ) a little hint of love from the perfume dedicated to her beloved daughter Camille (PC). But these are just the top notes... Because, here, the combination pear-rose takes a more feminine twist, revealing a first class rose, freshly cut, and not the opulent grand dames like Serge Luten's or Frederic Malle's. It depends on how each of us likes their roses... To tell you the truth, I would have expected a more aggressive rose just from the statement of the name! Maybe the EDP evokes this ultimatum, but I will stick to the EDT, as reviewers claim it is less intoxicating, and more wearable. And rounding off, I'm quoting Elvis: "It's now or never..." (I know- quite predictable and commonplace- but couldn't resist ;-)

I received this in a swap from lovely cisco.It has taken me awhile to write the revuew because it truly is a mysterious scent.I love the dew kissed pink rose .Pink roses r my favorite.THis is truly like walking up a stone path to anold church,covered with ivy where a bright light shines out when u open the door.OUtside there r dozens of natural flower beds with huge pink roses,their little faces,dripping with dew.THe pink is almost neon with pale creamy pink centers.All arround there r hybiscus in different shades of pink and purple from powder pink and lilac to hot pink and bright purple.THe scents waif up towards the heavens,mingleing together ,making one scent instead of 2.The purity of the fragrance,makes it hard to describe.Rarely7,is there a fume that has such true scents of the flowers all the way through without all the other notes to confuse ones nose.It is a beautiful,sexy,calming scent,tha6t yes,u do have to reapply every couple of hrs.But,those hours in between r pure heaven.I reapply anyway,so that is no big deal.BUt,dear prople,u owe it to urself to at least sample this masterpiece,it may leave u speechless for awhile too.

OMGoodness I am in ROSE NIRVANA! If I close my eyes, its almost as if I have transcended as a Queen into the palatial, lush, Kings rose garden. The paths in this mysterious garden are lined with silky smooth, pungent, ohhhhh soooooo SWEET Turkish crushed rose petals. On this magical garden stroll I detect wafting breezes carrying in sexy spices, and musk maybe from a nearby spice market. It's as if they are floating in on angels wings especially to grace this beautiful gardens presence. This heavenly fragrance is intensified and warmed by the heat of glorious sunshine. The aroma from the wine in the glass I carry mingles with the Roses and spicy musk in perfect harmony. All in all...a decadent olfactory treat. My experience with this Frag from start to finish has been divine. In my mind you must be a rose lover extreme to appreciate this vividly colorful, rose perfume. It is not for those who like to dabble with a rose scent... It is for those no matter what their age, live to rebel in a glorious rose fragrance. Sillage was great. Longevity was good A tad pricey but worth every dollar spent. Could even become my signature scent?