Eau d'Hadrien

@Louismanuel: There is no presentation of Eau d'Hadrien with the words 'pour homme' in the name. Hadrien is a shared fragrance and it has no gender designation. The only difference is the bottles; for the men's presentation, the bottle is shorter and squat, whereas the women's bottle is taller and slightly more traditionally feminine in appearance. These are relatively new presentations but the bottles for the men's/women's Hadrien have always been different. The juice however, is identical. This particular page depicts the Hadrien edt, in an older, ribbed bottle, marketed to women. There is currently no Fragrantica page for the women's edp. It was identical to the one shown here, with the exception of the ribbon holding the name card in place on the bottle. For the woman's edt, the ribbon was white, as shown here. For the women's edp, the ribbon was gold. These ribbed bottles are still available online, but not officially through the brand, as the bottles have changed. Finally, there *is* a Fragrantica page for the older Hadrien edp for men, in the square bottle. It's called Hadrien Absolu. In closing, a word on the overall longevity of Hadrien, because I see that's a common gripe here. The edt is a wisp of a scent. Top to bottom in about 2 hours but even then, it's detectable if someone is standing close. The edp is another story entirely; more pronounced aldehydes, ylang, cypress, and yes, in the opening citrus blast of bergamot, grapefruit and Sicilian lemon. The edp lasts on *well moisturized* skin 5-6 hours. Even the reformulated edp. Goutal never intended her scents to last the entire day. She created them to smell good, and then fade away, leaving room to spritz on something else (preferrably another of her creations, of course), later in the day.

Annick Goutal was my first foray into niche fragrance, back in the early 90s when the brand could only be found in about 3 shops in all of NYC. Hadrien was her love song to Italy, Tuscany to be more specific. While the Eau d'Hadrien of today isn't what he used to be - with reformulations and all - I am happy enough with the current version to always keep a bottle or two (I am also very fond of the eau de parfum version) in the refrigerator. It opens with a bracing blast of lemon, properly tart and very dry and given a little lift by sparkling (not soapy) aldehydes. It's sharp and likely to make you pucker. It quickly moves through grapefruit, citron, a touch of the sweet and tropical ylang and finally settling into its woody base of cypress. The grapefruit and ylang are more evident in the edp, so much so that it feels like a different fragrance - they definitely share the same DNA but are different enough to warrant owning both versions. People often complain of the longevity of Goutal fragrances but I have it on good authority that she never intended her fragrances to last all day; she preferred a scent applied in the morning to fade away, making way for you to apply another of her perfume creations later in the day. If you want your Hadrien to hang around a bit longer, try layering it with the body creme, which has a very high percentage (I think it's 3% or more) of perfume. It's a pretty luxurious way to experience the fragrance, and if you're a fan, you should treat yourself. :) A modern classic for those who love their citruses neat and dry. It's been love for me for over 20 years!

(Bottle c. early 1990s) Water from Hadria, or Hadrian Water, a town of northern Italy. Or, perhaps, a reference to the Roman emperor, Hadrian, or to someone "dark haired", apparently. How ever you choose to translate this, and derive the creative vision from the meaning, there is no doubt you will find blistering Italian sunshine heating up a lemon and herb garden. At this point in the perfume's life, which for this bottle is getting on a bit, the top notes of lemon have gone a bit bitter and astringent to give a determined bergamot and lemon verbena accord; not the intention of Annick Goutal or Francis Camail, but it is certainly striking as was the original lemon top. The sheer force with which this old perfume still tries to assert those top notes certainly gives you the impression this was a lemon bomb in its prime. It dries down quite quickly to a heart of cypress and grapefruit. They too have lost some of their bright and sour notes but instead now have the effect of dried green herbs and freshly ground anise roasting in the sun. The woody and aromatic oily note of the cypress turned more anisic, and the sulfuric tendencies of grapefruit highlighting the more dried zest facet... I think. So, while it may not be the same perfume it was nearly 30 years ago, it's a testament to just how good it is that even well-aged it is still great.

What a disappointment! I was looking forward to trying Eau d'Hadrien very much, because I love citrus, I love the colour yellow and most promisingly I love Mémoires d'Hadrien by Marguerite Yourcenar. So my expectations were high, which is rarely a good thing... My first impression was of a lot of citrus, nice and a bit herbal. I wasn't blown away, but not immediately dissapointed either. I thought it would be interesting to see where it and/or my appreciation for it evolved. The problem is, it didn't. After half an hour it's almost entirely gone. I have a sample I bought online; I'll try this again if I see it in a store to see if I get better results with another bottle/another version of it (the eau de parfum instead of the eau de toilette, maybe?), because I do so love the idea of smelling like that book! Edit: I finished my sample on a hot day, and in the crook of my elbow this time, and the effect was very different. Still a lot of slightly herbal lemon, but blooming in the heat and much brighter. This time the simplicity of the scent did make it convincing as the perfume of Hadrien in the book! It lasts a bit better, too. I think I would like at least a decant of this after all, but now I know better than to wear it on a colder day...

One of the very best EdCs you can find anywhere. Beautifully blended with a dry, almost arid, grapefruit keeping the other citrus notes from getting too sweet. It is this grapefruit note that elevates this fragrance and justifies its almost legendary status 40 years after its initial release. The quality here is indisputable. The notes smell incredibly natural and are given a sparkling sensation throughout the opening and middle by aldehydes. The base has a pleasant cypress note that last for a considerable time. Indeed, the longevity of Eau d'Hadrien is impressive for such a hesperdic fragrance. This scent is as unisex as it gets. At one time, this fragrance was my everyday warm weather scent. These days, I live mostly in hotter climates and find that, while excellent in every way at temperatures up to the middle 80°F (38.5-32.5°C) range, at higher heat levels (especially with accompanying high humidity), this fragrance is just a little bit too weighty to be quite the right choice. But on merely warm days, this scent is just magnificent. The current bottle is elegant and attractive and the atomizers used here are among the very best. This really is wonderful stuff. Highly recommended for warm weather use.

I'm a sucker for sweet, bright citrus. Especially lemon. Finally tried this and it is as luscious and delicious smelling as I had hoped! My arm was just bursting and fizzing with mouthwatering lemon and mandarin! It's starting to heat up here in TX, and this treat made me feel at least a few degrees cooler, and very refreshed. I was headachy, and losing steam at the end of a long errand-run, and this put the pep back in my step.:) Something I loved about this scent was the dry-down. I am anti musky/woody dry-downs. At least on me. It makes finding a perfume I love a definite challenge. There are so many scents I absolutely enjoy-until the dreaded dry-down. But I digress.... As this dried I kept trying to decide what orange/lemon sweets it was reminding me of...tic tacs? Fruit loops? Smarties? Then I realized it was chewable baby aspirin!!! I loved the taste of baby aspirin too alarmingly much when I was little. I wish I could still take them, I have to admit. So, some will no doubt read this and think, "yuck!" but even though baby aspirin sounds artificial and medicinal, it really is just this light little whisper of pleasantly sweet citrus that lingers and lingers. No musk to be found! Yay!

Right from the start, a very appealing and realistic lemon scent. Sweet, but not saccharine or candied. Sour but not unreasonably so, and without the use of bitter herbs. And just floral enough for you to be aware of it in the background. It stays relatively pure in the way that many of the English barbershop lime scents do, so I was worried at first that that it would peter out quickly and into utter nothingness. After a few more minutes, I can tell that it's dropping off a bit less steeply than I thought it would. I'm not really sure how much of the trace woody base comes from other things they've added and how much is from the vague natural base of the lemon itself, but I definitely notice that the lemoniness has lasted far longer than I expected it to, much like the (relatively) long-lasting limeyness of Truefitt's surprisingly good lime scent. I don't like lemon as much as lime or grapefruit, but this is quite plainly the benchmark for lemon, and I don't recall any others I've tried beating it on longevity, initial strength, or the naturalness of the scent. Well done!

This is for an EDP version. Couldn’t find an ideal citrusy scent for myself until I came across this one. It’s lemony zesty but unlike many other citrusy fragrances this lemon zest is also somehow quite thick. Must be cypress and aldehydes. And I’m very-very picky about aldehydes. Most of the time I can’t stand ‘em unless they are blended in to the extent I can’t tell these are aldehydes. Seems to be the case. Have been comparing this side by side to Nicolai’s Cedrat. As much as I like and respect the house of Nicolai the latter frag has a sweet lozengy feel - not quite to my taste. In fact I believe Eau D’Hadrien deserves the name Cedrat much more - all bitter zest without a hint of sweetness. Dry and classy. And that’s what I love about it. I wouldn’t complain about longevity either - I apply this over a body lotion and get solid 4-5 hours on my skin which is not that bad for a citrusy frag. Can’t believe how fast it’s becoming my favourite. And it really brings back Summer during the cold dark month of November.

Purportedly Goutal created this fragrance after reading Memoirs of Hadrian, and crafted Eau d'Hadrien as a tribute to the artistic, bisexual, and most handsome of all Roman Emperors. Those who have only ever purchased mass produced lemons from a grocery store will have no frame of reference for the artistry and craft contained in Eau d'Hadrien. Goutal's prodigy will be evident to those few who have experienced the complex, fleeting, and heavenly aroma found within a bowl of real, home grown lemons, or a late spring's day on the Amalfi coast. When Eau finally calms and a stray organosulfur settles (maybe it's an algae note to conjure a hint of a sea breeze?), it becomes the most authentic and lovely of all citrus fragrances. Rather than every other juicy, creamy, spicy, woody, musky, candied, heavy, punchy or boisterous citrus on the market, Eau d'Hadrien is uniquely airy and luminous. Subtle and sophisticated, like its namesake, Eau d'Hadrien's attractiveness is that it is quite literal. Perfect for all seasons.

This is decidedly NOT a flat, cheap-smelling, sweet citrus scent as I had feared (in spite of it's repute and cost.) I was concerned it might be a cloying "Lemon Pledge" or uretic "bathroom cleaner" smell, but thankfully it is NOT. There is a hint of too-sweet Lemon Pledge that is fleeting and infrequent, moving away from that quality so rapidly that it's actually nice, like a quick taste of candy. Then poof, that sticky sweet is gone. I believe these transformative powers are due to skillful use of aldehydes, making this fragrance sparkle. I find it unusual and valuable for such a metamorphosing citrus to sustain the level of longevity this perfume possesses. Sweet, sour, bitter, aromatic, at times ozonic, fruity, flowery, woody. Every citrus facet laid beautifully on a bed of cypress. This fragrance is perfectly refreshing on a hot summer day and reminiscent of mid-coast California. Yet somehow it also mimics a cold, sunny, snowy winter day and would be an ideal fragrance companion on a snowshoeing trek.

I have been buying this one for about 15 years and wear another 11 Annick Goutal's quite regularly. I first tried it in a Parisian hotel one summer and it was an immediate delight - and always then reminded me of a blissful time. This older version was very lemony, not the strident sherbet lemon of citral, but a fresh lemon peel, bergamot and bitter orange, with a light woody dry-down and slight pepper. It was a perfect unisex choice too. The version I have had more recently contains a distinct celery note which takes the baton from lemon early on. It is an interesting turn, but a lot of the brightness is dimmed by a dry, herby exchange. The woodiness is still apparent, but in a less forgiving mix. The earlier version was really outstanding; a deceptively simply eau de cologne style scent. The later one is less clean-cut and possibly more complex, but it has lost the smooth transition through the notes and I now detect a harshness. It was the confident simplicity of the original that I found so appealing.

I am sorry that for the reason of so many cleaning products having a lemon aroma, people associate lemon perfumes to this type of products. There are synthetic perfumes that could lead to that, but in my opinion, it's not the case here. The opening is sparkling with lemon, cypress and some aldehydes. It is bitter and I get more the peal of the citruses than the juice, or it's like the smell of the inside of a fruit after the juice was squeezed. It is very refreshing and smells natural to me. Projection is medium at this point and it will get milder progressively. The change is minimal, but it's there; the lemon is the heart and soul of this fragrance. With time, the bitterness tones down and it becomes a little more zesty and, by the end, when it's purely a skin scent, a creamier and sweeter lemonade. It's not like a modern sweet citrus, but it has a special appeal that takes you back a few decades. I'm quite a fan of this stuff. It's a review for the EDP. Scent: 8.5/10 Longevity: 7/10 Projection: 3/10

Oh, loving Soul, my own so tenderly, My life’s companion and my body’s guest, To what new realms, poor flutterer, wilt thou fly? Cheerless, disrobed, and cold in thy lone quest, Hushed thy sweet fancies, mute thy wonted jest. The Roman emperor Hadrian wrote this small poem (translation D. Johnson) on his deathbed, addressing his own fleeting life, about to depart to grim Hades. The celebrated epigram is a reminder to enjoy life for the short share of eternity it’s on earth. This iconic fragrance, named after Hadrian, has always seemed the scented translation of this short poem, and I feel like its fleeting longevity and silage is an integral part of its composition. It’s a scented reminder to enjoy each pleasure as it comes (the ultrabright lemon which dominates this fragrance) and that trying to hold on to it is a fruitless endeavour (as represented by the minor chord of cypress in the background). Very deservedly a classic in perfume history.

I ordered a small bottle of this online, and oh ew.....it couldn't be any different than what I described with glee in my previous review. I'm so sad. Im not sure which scent is accurate now! If the one I received in the mail is correct, then I feel ridiculous for going on about it the way I did a few reviews down. This one I received smells like a generic department store men's cologne. (aquatic/woody...I'm not one to immediately associate citrus with men's cologne, so it's not the citrus) In fact, even though I love Jo Malone, it smells very similar to her Blackberry and Bay cologne which I seriously do not enjoy. I don't smell any of the bright, refreshing citrus of the time I sampled this at Neiman's. Just a strange, familiar woody smell. Would that be the cypress?? Either I got taken, or my chemistry was night and day different that day at Nieman's compared to today, or this bottle has turned. Sad face.

I read Leonardo D Caprio wears this. Since I'm a collector I figured I'd pick it up and see why. I think this is called a chypre. I have others in this genre. Extra Vielle which is a far better version of 4711 was what I smelled in the beginning of this. I had read that comparison and it was no joke the first time I smelled this. It was my first initial impression of the opening. Then, though it changed. It is still citrusy, but there's a citrus grassy-ness here that reminds me a whole lot of Cappucci Pour Homme. The fullest part of this fragrance is very, very similar to Cappucci. Maybe even in the vein of Acqua Essenziale Colonia by ferragamo. Even though I have a lot of these types of fragrances already, I do enjoy this one a lot. These are really good summer fragrances that are wearable for work or play. I don't think I'd like this on a woman, but on the right woman, I wouldn't care.

I've gone through so many bottles of the EdP that I've lost count. It is bright, fresh, photorealistic lemon sweetened up with a hint of ylang in a cypress grove. Everything about it is crisp and clean and uncomplicated. It lends itself well to summertime use, when it's too hot to want to smell anything heavy or complex. I used to smell cumin in old bottles of this, and I don't smell that anymore. Newer bottles have a strong lemon-verbena note to replace most of the juicy citrus, with a fresh-mown grass quality instead of the deep dark cypress forest. It is still Hadrien, but it's not the same Hadrien. I think the newer version is still wearable and better than a lot of the stuff like it on the market -- notable exception being the incredible and devastatingly expensive Profumum Acqua Viva -- but this has definitely been changed, a lot, and not necessarily for the better.

My bottle is an older version of the aftershave for men. Right away you know as an aftershave it will not have even the strength of the EDT/EDP, however, what it did have is one of the best citrus moments of my life. Lemon, citron, even a little orange, simply stunning realistic citrus. Was it gone in less than thirty minutes, yes, but who cares it was beautiful. Sometime after I got this bottle I quit shaving and grew a beard . . . that was well over a decade ago. I kept this bottle in a dark cabinet (air conditioned all the time). I recently went back to just sample the citrus (having rediscovered my love for fragrances) and to my disappointment they were gone. A citrus that magical probably just doesn't age well regardless the way it was stored but wow, when it was fresh, what a stunner.

Eau d'Hadrien comes very close to a citrus perfection. Maybe I'm being too poetic. And, I've only so far used the Eau De Toilette, but there is a subtle brilliance to this perfume that takes some time to appreciate. Goutal managed to do something with citrus that transforms it into a complex olfactory experience that's bright and optimistic but also has a deeper base that leaves a gentle footprint on the skin. Usually citrus scents evaporate fast, but this one last longer than most openings. It evolves the way you'd peel and eat a red grapefruit - sweet oil on the skin, the bitter aromatic pith, the juicy pulp. Somehow, all those aspects are held in suspension in Hadrien, held in check by the cypress base. This is a wonderful perfume, and a true scientific miracle of scent creation.

I live in San Diego where it's pretty much sunny every day of the year so I have a large affinity for citrus scents. Most of my collection is orange or Neroli with some good limes here and there but I was lacking a good lemon scent. I have tried many and they smell like furniture polish so when I saw a Youtuber reviewing Eau de Hadrien I was intrigued. I bought a bottle on Ebay and this is lemony perfection. I absolutely love this. The cypress helps round out the sharpness that lemon has and brings it back down to earth with a warmness that makes you just want to keep breathing it in. If you feel this is too sharp it does layer beautifully with vanilla. The combo gives the scent more of a meringue sweetness instead of freshly picked lemon that has fallen onto the ground.

I am quite scared of using lemon based fragrances because I suffer from migraines, but not this one. This one is heavenly. It is fizzy fresh with the most beautiful light lemony iridescent blanket to wrap around yourself. I wear this and I feel amazing, absolutely amazing. This fragrance is expensive and it makes me feel expensive, rich and unique. It is so beautiful without being heady and sickly as some lemon perfumes are. I have tried other perfumes in this range and love most of them. I really appreciate delicacy. This scent doesnt last too long on the skin but that is ok, I would rather smell fabulous for a while than have something overpowering that I tire of. It's like the most beautiful spring/summer breeze, to be appreciated in the moment.