Le Chevrefeuille

I am so taken with Annick Goutal fragrances at the moment. Why I am just now getting around to testing them when they are so up my alley, I can't begin to explain. It's a shame. It's also a shame that the large bottles are quite pricey because I am pining for quite a few of them. BTW-I can't help picturing A. Goutal as this otherworldly fairy or something, smiling, as she brews up blends with nothing less than...magic. The ones I have tried so far are so ethereal, light, glowing, and perfect compared to all other fragrances to my nose. She had some secret--fairy dust or something... Le Chevrefuille is the bees KNEES. For my own tastes, I don't think it gets better than this. I actually get butterflies in my stomach when catch the first whiff of this. I am immediately transported from wherever I am, to the late 80's, As a little girl standing right next to the monster honeysuckle bush growing along the fence in my backyard, with a big, yellow blossom in my fingers, freshly pinched and pulled apart, with a large, glistening drop of sweet nectar balancing where I pinched, waiting to land on my tongue. I would spend hours of my childhood out there, elbowing the bees away, in competition, taking in countless drops of that delicious nectar, this exact fragrance filling the air. Le Chevrefuille is THAT time and place for me, nothing more, nothing less. Just beautiful, and I want to smell like this every day. ETA: Lasting power if sprayed onto the back of my neck/into my hair is hours! Also- thought this had long disappeared on my arms... went out into the TX humidity one evening, and suddenly this magical smell was radiating off of me as if I had just sprayed! My friends noticed as well, and all three vowed that this would be their next fragrant purchase.:) this creation makes me swoon....

A fence in my backyard is covered in honeysuckle, and when it's in bloom, the air is absolutely enchanting. This is a scent I grew up, and I love maintaining it as I grow older. I first bought La Chevrefeuille for my mother back in 2003 after stopping by a Goutal shop on my first trip to Paris. I had no idea what I was doing buying a perfume for another person, but this lovely white floral that is so true to it's name that it felt like a safe purchase to gift. Sure enough, my mother loved it. Despite the fact that light, sweet and citrusy white florals aren't really my favorites, I loved it too and would steal a spray every time I visited her. I was bummed the day I saw that the bottle was mostly empty and could no longer have my fix. Twenty years later, I revisited the same Goutal shop and bought this again for my mother. It is a timeless, vintage-style fragrance, and still something that I would never buy for myself, but makes for a great gift for someone who will allow me to visit it's lovely honeysuckle notes on occasion.

I received the perfume today and I really really love it! I've been spraying it on my skin all day long, I just can't get enough of it! I first received a sample from a friend some years ago and I was and I am still surprised to identify all the honeysuckle plant in this perfume: the flowers, the leaves, the freshness of the morning dew on the flowers. I believe it is indeed a masterpiece and I believe that a masterpiece doesn't need to be a "strong scent". A particular thing I like about this perfume is that reminds me of the linden trees I walk by at the end of spring, that dreamy smell always fascinates me. Le Chevrefeuille has this nectary feel about it that I also find comforting, like a hug. I think the word "dreamy" would well describe this fragrance. The only downside, I think, would be the lasting power (natural scents don't last very long?), still the scent is too beautiful for such a thing to become a reason not to buy it.

I'd forgotten how much I love honeysuckle until I was in a garden that had an abundance of it—vines climbing thickly up an arched wall and clambering over a trellis tunnel, nearly every inch covered in fragrant white and yellow blossoms. The scent was intoxicating, and I fell in love with honeysuckle all over again. I was determined to capture that crisp, fresh, summery wildness in a bottle. For me, Annick Goutal's Le Chevrefeuille did just that. To my nose, this opens with the perfect blend of dew-kissed honeysuckle and green vine; in drydown, the lemon becomes more prominent but still not overpowering. There isn't much evolution in the scent on my skin, but IMO it's quite lovely in its simple profusion of honeysuckle blossoms and green vine. This is a delightful fragrance for a summer day (but I know my OCD will freak out if I try to wear this "out of season").

I have both loved and struggled with Goutal scents. Both a friend and my sister wore Petite Cherie as their signature for years. On both of them it smelled divine. On me it smelled awful. I also struggle with sharper citrus on my skin - I'm one of those people who can wear Amarige and it becomes less intense. But Eau D'Hadrien smells like toilet cleaner on me. I've recently tried several Goutal scents to see if I could find one that I liked that didn't hate my skin. Le Chevrefeullie is IT. The initial scent is more sweet and than I want but it dries down to something light and citrus but not sharp and just... so lovely and just how I want to smell. BUT. The scent disappears so fast. I feel like I need to reapply it several times in a day and that's making me so sad. I really want a bottle and am just not sure it's worth it.