Habit Rouge Dress Code 2016

"Dandy and flirty; a nigh departure from the original." Dress Code is a 2015 fragrance from French fragrance giant Guerlain that underwent a cosmetic makeover for its 2016 edition. It is a flanker of the original Habit Rouge (HR), a Guerlain classic masculine fragrance, that is given a contemporary and gourmand twist to appeal to the current market. Although it's a flanker of HR, it's difficult for me to see it as one. It's vastly different from the original in many ways, and I can consider it as a completely new fragrance that deserves its own name. This is my third blind-buy fragrance bought on a whim for myself for my birthday, and my decision was made after hearing positive feedback from my peers. Any regrets for my third outing? Not at all. On my skin, it opens with a huge waft of powdery rose coupled with smooth vanilla and sweet praline. The result is a gourmand Turkish delight-like rose that will appeal to both men and women, rendering Dress Code a perfectly unisex fragrance. I suspect a hint of toffee in there too, as blogger Kafkaesque mentioned in her review, because I notice that the sweetness is a sticky too. Also, I get a momentary "fizzy" note which Guerlain attributes to the bergamot note, which is strange because I don't get a citrus note at all in Dress Code. The drydown is a light woody base with a faint lick of leather, but I suspect that there is some sandalwood in there. "Dandy" and "flirty" are the 2 adjectives that immediately came off the top of my head for Dress Code. It makes the wearer stand out and it verges slightly on the feminine side with its dessert-like notes, making it a masculine fragrance that appeals to the ladies (or just a unisex fragrance altogether). All Guerlain fans and aficionados of rose fragrances should definitely give this a sniff. It's very interesting and gets a thumbs up from me! edit (12 Jan): And may I add, I think the bottle design is sleek and swanky ;)

It's a powdery, citrus scent that seems most at-home on someone in more formal wear and who is older (probably 45+). Similar to the original Habit Rouge, except the addition of praline adds a bit of (fleeting) sweetness that makes this a bit more wearable. Longevity for me is well above-average (8-10 hours) as is projection. Large scent cloud. Once the top falls off I have trouble distinguishing this from the original, though. It's a bit hard to pull off for me as I think it's for an even older guy and I don't wear suits much anymore, but I still reach for it when I want that classy feel in cooler months. An 8.0/10 for me. Worth seeking out, especially if you like the original.

sept 2022 i have recently finished a bottle of habit rouge edp and finally got to go to this bottle that has been quietly sitting in the dark closet. i have always had a soft spot for hr since the 80's. this formulation seems more grown up and a bit darker. it still is sweet and powdery, but somehow smoother. i actually prefer this.

I really liked this scent at first, it was strong but there was a good kind of sweetness to it, balanced with the fresher lemon, but after a while it dried down leaving only behind the powdery rose smell mixed with some cheap sweet vanilla which eventually gave me a headache because I couldn't stand it. The worst part, it stayed on my skin for days (I'm not even kidding). Big no for me!

Even though my Monsieur received a phone call from the Guerlain Boutique “that the Grand Mystère de Noël has arrived” several weeks ago, I’m a bit surprised not to have found any reviews of the 2017 version yet. Being unfamiliar with the 2016 version, and looking at the notes listed here, I would presume HR Dress Code 2017 to be at the very least quite reminiscent of the one of 2016. Could anyone confirm or give his/her take on this please? It’s a delightful fragrance that can easily pass as being unisex. I dare even say that it strikes more resemblance to some of the gourmand renditions from the ‘l’Art et la Matière’ collection than to the relative stiff-upperlipness (at least in the opening phase) of the original Habit Rouge. So yes, at almost half of the price of l’Art et la Matière, i do consider this to be a worthy purchase.