L'Instant de Guerlain Eau de Noel Iris Millesime

Talk about good timing...I just stumbled across this on eBay and grabbed it, based on these reviews. This was quite a daring move for me, as I have heard of L'Instant but have never tried any of its versions and the potion in this bottle has an amber color, as opposed to the clear juice in the bottle shown in the picture above. I was nervous about my purchase and had no idea what to expect. Would it be rancid? A big powder bomb? I am wearing it now and I have to tell you that this is magnificent!!! I didn't have a magnolia fragrance until now. This limited edition beauty needs to be brought back, surely there shouldn't be any trouble to do that? What I smell foremost is a big, proud magnolia (like the beautiful magnolia trees in people's front yards in the more affluent Nashville neighborhoods) that is not sharp but sings with a buttery soft voice. It is tempered with a very smooth, mild honey and now and then it shape-shifts a bit, where the lemon will present itself, then the iris. Occasionally my nose fools me and I detect something that makes me think "white chocolate"...NOT vanilla, but white chocolate! Just a wee bit! I almost want to eat this! It neither whispers nor screams, but it floats like wings. What an amazing creation this is! I wasn't intentionally looking for this and it just happened to be available. I am so glad that I didn't let it get away or I would have lost out on a masterpiece. I agree with everyone's advice: if you see this one, grab it and try to stock up on it. Thank you for your splendid reviews! (happy dance)

WOW! This is such a delicious fragrance. Its instantly recognisable as a member of the L'instant group. The iris and honey are quite dominant on me but the ylang ylang is not far behind and provides the perfect accent to the iris and honey. The overall effect is creamy, a bit powdery but never cloying. I could quite happily bathe in the juice! lol This is what you want to wear when you want remind the oh that you are all woman. There is sort of has an innocent feel to it as well so you dont smell like a man eater! lol Its a man magnet! You just smell so delicious that they cant wait to hold you close. The sillage is good and the longevity very impressive.

I absolutely struggle with iris. It's always so cold that it ends up smelling like plastic on my skin. This one is so breathtakingly beautiful. If you made snowflakes out of the iris in Iris Ganache, and let those float over the thick vanilla, honey & ylang-ylang in the original L'Instant, you'd get this fragrance. It's the perfect blend of cold & warm, light & heavy. It opens cold with the iris, then dries down into everything I love about the original - that gorgeous warm cozy honeyed vanilla - except in this one, it's wears lighter, but still deep - kind of like a vanilla soufflé. Wow.

Gorgeous flanker of gorgeous original scent L'Instant. It was a must for me because I adore Iris- the cool, the buttery, or the rooty dry. It's all good.Very hard to find but worth it if you can get it for around 150. Unfortunately it seems to go much higher. I'm not sure why it was designated a Christmas Iris -these names can be baffling. If you love flower scents in nature, this has a lot of strong references.

Beautiful flanker! Less of waxy, lemony gardenia of the Edp here it's more honeyed and rounded. I also sense a powdered, bittersweet chocolate in the base and I have no idea what's creating that. Magic. I’ve always felt this line was the precursor for Angelique Noire, there's a lot of similarities. Happy to own both. Now I need to find l’instant d’un ete! That's a stunner too

This is my favorite from the L'instant line. Imagine Angelique Noire but you toned down on the greeness and added Iris. So stunning I wish it was still available. I will cherish my 50ml bottle.

minus the sweetness, a lovely composition.. as it is - cloying.

Vintage Iris-A Lesson in Loss and Letting Go The name of this coveted perfumes translates roughly to Christmas Vintage Iris. Now--the bottle and name are lovely, and the Christmas sentiment is beautiful. But this perfume does not remind me of Christmas, nor does it feature a lot of iris, at least to my nose. This was a limited edition from 2005, and man there was a time when everyone was after this unicorn. I have but a dwindling decant sent to me by an incredibly kind woman on Fragrantica...and once it's gone, it's gone. I am a bit of a perfume hoarder in that way, where if I like something I never want to be without it. And if I can't replace it I just hoard it. Now what sense does that make? I have 4 mls left, and in the meantime the perfume can go bad, or evaporate, or leak, or what have you. So I am making a judicious effort to use it up, and enjoy, for eventually it will be gone. So just to clear this up I don't think that this is a iris focused perfume. It's subaudible iris, right under the surface, giving everything a earthy, fuzzy, pastry iris type of feel...ultimately I smell a huge amount of magnolia, a whalloping dose of vanilla, some honey and citrus, and as it dries down, sweet ambered honey vanilla. The iris is certainly there to make this perfume feel as soft and cuddly as an expensive fine knit cashmere sweater. Perhaps one that you are wearing while eating an freshly prepared buttery croissant. There's just a sweet pleasantly doughy pastry note in there, and I think the iris is accomplishing that. That and with the honey, citrus, and vanilla, Iris Millesime is downright gourmand. Even the magnolia is soaked in vanilla. I've always thought that Guerlain can't help but make their perfumes gourmand, and this is no exception. This wears a good 6 to 8 hours on my skin, but softly. I wish for a bottle of this, but it's not worth the $250 that they fetch on ebay. Plus, I want to tell anyone that's wondering: Eau de Noel is NOT the ultimate iris perfume out there. Not by a long shot. So if you missed out, don't worry too much, and honestly, with the magnolia note, this flanker overlaps heavily with the original L'Instant anyway.

First of all I must say: I am not familiar with the original L'Instant, so I review this rare beauty only on the basis of its own merits. I found it yesterday in a charity shop for 15 GBP...about 24 USD. I could hardly stop myself from jumping up and down right there, and I dared not to breathe, cause I was terrified they might realise what a mistake they made with the ridiculous price! But there it was, 15 pounds, and in a few minutes I was the rightful and proud owner of a rare, vintage scent, that might only turn up once in a blue moon on eBay! My bottle was produced in 2005, and thanks to the careful owner's correct storage, it is still in impeccable condition today. It says on the box, that this is a winter fragrance, and although I don't find anything particularly Christmasy about it, it is like a wonderful warm blanket that envelops one soothingly in the cold season. It is soft, somewhat powdery, sweet, but not in the cloying gourmand way, as the iris lends that characteristic elegant "dryness" to the harmony. L'Instant Iris Millessime is sophisticated but friendly and loving, elegant yet not posh...just perfect! The honey in it is safe (unlike in for instance Serge Lutens's Miel de Bois or Dior's Mitzah), and very pleasant, couples perfectly with the lovely, soft ambre. The floral notes are soft and understated, just the way I like them! This fume is one of those wonders that have a great sillage without being too much, headache inducing, cloying or overwhelming. It is definitely not up in your face, but it is there and reminds you softly of its gentle presence. Longevity is excellent, I applied it this morning, and at 6 p.m it is still around me. All in all, I can't believe my luck to have stumbled on this exceptional juice and will cherish it till the last drop! 10/10 Grab it if it comes your way!

I don't have the original L'Instant, just this one and L'Instant Magic, so I can't say how this one compares at all. The first blast of this is very floral---a strong sweet powdery magnolia and iris. My initial impression was "oh man, this is VERY strong, not sure I should wear this to the office" but within 15 minutes it has softened out, you get sweet amber and powdery clean honey tempering the heavy opening and it wears soft and sweet and close to the skin. I don't get much jasmine, which is a bummer, but on the whole it's a very nice powdery floral. I am disappointed with the longevity and sillage---I get 4 hours tops from 5 sprays on my body, and after the first bomb, the sillage is close to the skin. The drydown is gorgeous enough though, so I'm ok with that. This *is* an EDT, so it performs like one. Sadly, it is not the beast that most Guerlains are, but as far as collectible limited edition flankers go, it's quite nice. The bottle is gorgeous. I'm quite puzzled why they call this a 'Christmas scent'---this is not how Christmas smells to me. But overall, quite lovely.

This is a feminine leaning honeyed floral with a touch of iris. This remains bright, not powdery, and dries down to warm sweet vanilla but not venturing into gourmand territory. While it released during the Christmas season in 2005, I don't detect any notes that remind me of the holidays. It's a cheery fragrance that could be worn all year but it would shine in spring and fall.

This fragrance shines, and is a true beauty. Not like it's siblings, this version is pure magic in a bottle. A very fluffy, cozy scent. Sweet and such a treat. A soft iris, a pastry filled with creme, and drizzled in white chocolate with a hint of floralS that just brings the fragrance to the next level. A TRUE UNICORN.

Smells like medication (but "expensive" one), in a hospital. I dont get it. May be I am too young to understand this. Lets wait a couple years.....

One of my favourite scents. Very similar to the original L'Instant and yet a bit different, more straightforward and easy to remember.

Ditta70 Very lucky you!!!!!! Enjoy it to the last drop!

Have it for swap or sell europe . Pm if interested.