Terracotta Voile d'Été (No.25, Quand Vient l'Été)

Guerlain's Terracotta/1999 Quand Vient is a gorgeous, sun-kissed scent. It has a lovely, abstract floral core dominated by ylang ylang and grounded with vanilla. There is a salty, skin-like aspect to this that gives the impression of a body that has laid out on the beach for the day. EDIT: After trying a more well-preserved version of the original Quand Vient L'Ete, I can amend my comments. Smelling the original fresh, the kinship with the modern scent is actual much clearer than I thought. It almost smells as if someone took the same floral bouquet--ylang, jasmine, carnation, rose--and situated it in a slightly more pastoral background. At the top, lemon pricks the nose and there is a hint of mintiness, but not too much. The aforementioned floral bouquet emerges. The tea-rose smell of phenyl ethyl alcohol does stand out more in this original. The drydown similarly has the sweet combo of heliotropin and coumarin, though it smells less "polished" than the newer one does and is a bit more agrestic/haylike. The original feels a bit less heavy on the vanilla and, overall, definitely more overtly animalic. A cheesy civet is threaded throughout the original. The 90's QVLE has some animalic aspects, but they definitely stand out in the vintage more obviously. Some aspects of it remind me of both old Amouage Golds, but not as incensy, and without the super heavy aldehydes...mostly the combo of indolic flowers, civet, and lemony notes. I still say the newer one (and Terracotta Voile) has a more sunblock-ey feel and it's overall just more round and modern. Both are absolutely lovely!

I was able to find an affordable bottle and I am so happy I went for it. Terracotta Voile d’ete is a sumptuous carnation fragrance. When I smell the atomizer I perceive creamy vanilla, pear and banana- like Ylang Ylang. The opening when sprayed is dry spiced carnation- almost metallic or copper like. It could also be the rose because I get the same metallic feel from YSL NU, Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin, Tom Ford Shanghai Lily. The metallic tones warm and make way for florals, most predominantly the Lily, Iris and rose. A little later on, I sort of smell root beer but I mostly smell the heliotrope, vanilla, spiced carnation and Lily. It reminds me of Lys Fume and Lui. The Guerlain fragrances from the 90’s are some of the best fragrances I’ve smelled. Guet Apens, Mahora and now Terracotta Voile d’ete. A masterpiece! If you adore Lily or Carnation fragrances try and check this one out.

My next Guerlain just arrived (another one on its way :P)and what a surprise! I expected a light floral summer fragrance and instead I get a big dose of spices like freshly crushed pepper with a bit of cardamon and they are not listed here! This only shows what a beginner I am in the world of perfumes. Do they squeeze carnations so hard that they produce pepper :D I guess it takes a master to blend the above components so that one can smell pepper :) No kidding, lots of it and for a long while. After an hour it becomes more delicate but the spices are still there. Very nice scent, love it, but for me Voile d'Ete will work best evenings or cooler weather due to the long developing stage. Finally I get the gentle floral wave but till then in the hot and humid air I could die of pepper overdose if used Voile d'Ete around noon :D

I am wearing this today for the first time and it is 70 degrees outside. I decided to give you a weather update in this review, because many say it is a scent for cooler weather. I found that it is absolutely beautiful. I love spice notes and these are detectable to my nose. I do detect some carnation and the vanilla, but after a few minutes what is left is a sweet spicey smell. I sprayed it over a perfume fixative that is suppose to increase a perfume's longevity and I have been wearing it for four hours and the sillage is moderate. I can't credit that to the perfume or to the fixative, since I used both, but it hasn't faded away yet. I too love the bottle design, it matches a few of my Shalimar bottles and I like consistency and uniformity. Overall, I would probably re buy this if I ever ran out.

We are having a heatwave in LA and it's near 100 degrees here. My skin tends to project spice, so I am leery of carnation notes or anything spicy. On the first spray, it was loud and I thought maybe I had chosen wrong, but no. This softened down to one of the most gorgeous creamy carnation scents ever! I got a nice opening that smelled like warmed flowers on baked terracotta tiles. The heart was a lily, the same lily in Lys Soleia. The dry down is a gorgeous creamy ylang-ylang and vanilla. It's similar to the creamy ylang-ylang in Mahora. Wow, this is stunning and it is the perfect scent to wear on a hot day. The spices aren't overwhelming, they are soothing.