Un Matin d'Orage

I've been trying to figure out what floral Goutal perfume to buy for myself for...years. No one does light floral fragrances like Goutal, and though I love Le Chevrefeuille, but it's not quite for me. In the end, it came down to Un Matin d'Orage and Le Temps des Reves. While I initially thought that Le Temps would be the one, as I've been wanting neroli based perfume, there was a Dove soap component to it that didn't sit as nicely on my skin. While gardenia isn't the only flower featured in Un Matin, it's the most prominent. Normally, I'm not a gardenia person--too heavy and sweet--and the love I have for this fragrance is making me call some fundamental assumptions about what I do and don't like. There's something so earthy and refreshing about this blend that contrasts beautifully with the white floral notes. It seems to me to highlight only the good things about gardenia, and as is wears, other scents twist around the florals that make it especially fascinating dynamic. A Stormy Morning is an apt name (though it sounds better in the French, of course).

This is a different face of Anick Goutal’s fragrances. The dirty- green- earthy notes are missing completely. It is creamy, delicate and smooth. I can see it was inspired by the Japanese gardens or more exactly I can see the Japanese approach. There is nothing sharp or contrasting in this scent. Composition as per AG's site: Sicilian lemon, green perilla leaves, ginger, magnolia, jasmine Sambac, Indonesian champaca) I like the picks for the fresh side: sweet lemon and perilla leaves. I find perilla is better choice than mint or basil. It helps the composition and keeps a smooth line. The ginger touch brings an earthy spiciness to the dry down. Champaca, magnolia and definitely Jasmine Sambac complete each other nicely saving the composition from linearity. They are the main players and create a big creamy white flower with refined and complex tones. Everything else is just revolving around them. This is a summer fragrance, ethereal and exquisitely feminine. 8.2/10

I'm not a big fan of gardenia or neroli fragrances, or really any of the big, white, tropical frags. That said, I love this! It does smell more like neroli than gardenia to me and it's not shy. The part that bowled me over was that it seemed to sparkle! I've never thought that about a scent before but that's what came to mind when I sampled this. It's sparkly, sunny, happy, not at all heavy or sultry. It's a wonderful summer scent that makes me smile when I wear it. It took a while for me to be sure, at least half a dozen tries of my sample before I shelled out the money for a full bottle. Once I did, I couldn't have been more pleased. I fall a little more in love with it every time I wear it and have received some great compliments on it. Sillage is strong at first, so I have to be careful not to overspray. Longevity is pretty good, at least 4 to 6 hours. I will definitely be keeping this in my scent collection.

It really smells like discribed, like a wet white floral japanese garden after a morning thunderstorm. You can smell the ozone, wet earth, heavy white blooms and lustrious dark green leaves. It's the most realistic gardenia perfume I know, but it is so much more than that. You feel transported in that superbly organised japanese garden, where everything is in its place. It feels right. Solemn and dignified. I feel serene joy when I wear it. Very adult too. I can't imagine situation when this beautiful perfume would not be suited or feel welcome. I still have some left in my previous bottle, it was eau de parfum. It's lovely, but gardenia has very present and persistent tuberose undertone that is quite narcotic and heady, softend a bit with vanilla. I love it, but the imagery is not as evocative or the same. This perfume is pure Annick Goutal, created well after her passing, I believe she would be proud of it.

When you smell Un Matin d'Orage you quickly guess it's Goutal, if you ever smelled Goutals feminine fragrances like Petite Cherie or Songes. Opening note is bright, sweet floral. Like tree after bad weather, when it's all sunny and flowers smell divine and more intense than in average good weather. Sharp, green note is present in parallel - I can smell citrus (lemon) too accompanying it. This though doesn't spoil the florals but adds extra mood. One other special thing about it is that 10 or 20 minutes after application you can smell Nuphar water lily. Have you ever been on a boat sailing down your local river? Or just took a walk by the river? There you can find water lilies grow. Those yellow ones. I always wanted to pick those, because of their pleasant aroma. So this flower you can smell here in Un Matin d'Orage. Lasting power is very good, projection as well - I sprayed 2 times and it's enough.