Habit Rouge Dress Code 2017

I am fortunate enough to have acquired a 2017 bottle of Habit Rouge Dress Code. I'm unable to track down the 2015 or 2016, but as I understand it there's little, if any, differences. This to me was one of those rare fragrances that I immediately fell for on first sniff. To not just be captivated, but head over heels in love with the scent. That's the effect Dress Code had on me. It's pure class. When I initially ordered a sample I looked over the notes and wondered. I mean... rose and patchouli, praline, tonka, vanilla. I was thinking to myself this must lean towards the feminine side. It does not. Far from it actually. This is as masculine as they come, but not just any man can pull this off. You won't ever walk into the club and smell this on a frat boy. A distinguished and mature man is who you would smell this on. Performance and longevity are both fantastic. Guerlain really did a great job with this parfum. If there is any complaint I would have, it's that I don't care much for opaque bottles. I like knowing exactly how much is in the bottle, but this is a complaint that has nothing to do with the scent itself. They could've put this in a tin can with a shoddy sprayer and I would still rave about it. Top 3 favorite of mine easily.

This fragrance.... wow. Dress Code is an exemplary modern reworking of a time-honored classic. It is loyal to the original but easily different enough to wear both. The fizzy lemon opening of the classic is modernized- smoothed out with bergamot and not as strident. The depth is provided by praline and tonka rather than leather, creating a quasi-gourmand accord. Shared notes like patchouli, rose, cedar, and vanilla link the old/new and provide continuity. Dress Code is just fantastic. It’s so smooth and blended, elegant, gentlemanly, stuff. I can understand why it was discontinued. Perhaps the HR portfolio has expanded beyond profitable practicality and the Dress Code line, with its lack of lineage and narrow appeal in the modern market, got the ax. It’s a great thing to own a bottle of this juice, which will become more desirable as existing supplies dwindle. Get it while you can.

I've finally got my hands on a decant of this perfume (the 2017 edition, so I'm not sure if the other editions are different) and i was blown away by how warm and sophisticated this perfume is. There is a lot happening in the background, and the original core of Habit Rouge is still very noticeable. I wont spend time talking about the notes because its really complex, but it's not super sweet, it's actually barely gourmand. This level of complexity and sophistication which is the essence of french perfumery was ling forgotten, and honestly as much as i believe that Thiery Wasser is a great perfumer, but I've never thought he can come up with something so sophisticated, elegant, warm, complex, and classic with a modern touch. A beautiful perfume and definitely the best ive tried in few years.

Recently got hold of the 2015 and 2017 versions, and comparing side by side there is no real perceptible difference it seems, it is just same juice in different "dress". You can see my actual review under the 2015 version, but I will say the person comparing this to the L'Eau flanker in an earlier review is off imho other than they both share the habit rouge dna (much like all the flankers do). There is no jasmine in Dress Code and no leather in L'Eau, which makes them quite a bit different in tone.

Warning - this could be a trigger. But hopefully not. I FINALLY got my hands on the elusive dress code!! This has been on my list since the inception in 2015. I’m a fan of l’eau - so this was an obvious choice. Unfortunately, I personally don’t see much of a difference. Yes, l’eau has citrus - but by no means is it a citrus heavy scent. This may not have the mild citrus, but for the most part, it just seems like l’eau minus the citrus note. I’m not saying this is bad - like I said, I’m a fan...I was just expecting a more noticeable difference. I suppose this falls under the ol risk of blind buying rule. I would caution those, like me, who blind buy with the thinking that this will be vastly different.