Haute Couture

I was really surprised to see that Hanae Mori's Haute Couture is listed as FLORAL GREEN. It actually manifests in a more SPICY manner on me. It is definitely distinctive for sure!!! I would say it is one of those where a little goes a long way and stays all day. I would suggest getting the lighter version ( Cologne) and spray a mist and walk through it. it really stays with you all day, and it is kind of hard to wash off , so if you wear it, wear it LIGHT, and be sure you like it. Overall, I like it. I've had people stop me on the street to ask what I am wearing. As a rule, as with when ever I am complimented on a perfume or asked about it, I ask people what it smells like to them, when they compliment it, or ask about it. They can never quite describe it. SOme people say it smells like cool air, others have said, it smells like spice and flowers. Hm, multiple personality perfume. This Review is just 'FYI'. I love perfumes and had an expernsive perfume store owner once tell me that they opened an account for me. When I asked why, they said that even though they know that I'm not RICH, I buy like I am. HAHAHAHAHAH. Well, now with online purchase, I find perfumes in the stores and then see if I can find them less expensive online. There are some that are expensive everywhere. But, Haute Couture, when you feel like being a little daring, it would be good to have this little magic elixer in your arsenal!!!

Hmmmm OK, I was lucky enough to get a tester from ebay. The testers usually last longer and tend to be stronger in my experience. So, that said, the bottle I have , 3.4 oz lasts a loooong time I mean LOOOOOONG time after spraying and at least with the tester, you can count on 12 hours....that has been MY experience anyhow. On the back of the bottle ( remember this is a tester) is a list of notes. Here they are: bergamot,tangerine,coriander,black currant. narcissus, gardenia, rose, jasmine, tuberose, lily of the valley, aldehydes, iris,muscs, ambers, sandalwood, precious woods. It's no wonder the drydown is so complex! On me , it turns into a beautiful powdery floral with a soft spice,. VERY soft. To tell you the truth, I have never smelled anything like it. To me it is beautiful. I would say that the floral mix, really makes it. I don't really smell the tuberose, but going by what it says on the bottle, I guess it's there. I think that very little tuberose was used, but just enough that it takes the edge off. I highly recommend it. As F_A indicated, yes, dusty, but in a good way...DEFINITELY elegant, vintage classy. Just use very little.

Additionally, I just realized as I was smelling this ( I sprayed it to write the review... I realized that this is a variation of another favorite of mine- Avon's COTILLION. Cotillion is softer, and sweeter, but by no means something that you smell and say ' oh, that's a sweet scent'. So this Haute Couture...... BEAUTIFUL I would say for Fall winter, and spring. It has a coolness to it for me, that can put it in winter, spices for fall, and a light floral ( if you put very little on) for Spring. I definitely would not dare to wear this in summer. I tried, and it's well..... not a good layer of time and place.

Long ago I wrote a review on this perfume. I notice a mix of comments, here. The secret to wearing this fragrance is that a little goes a long way. This is definitely one you spray twice in the air, then walk into the mist. It evolves as the day goes on and does become lighter, especially on me. Surprisingly, this is one that works really well in Fall and winter. There is a coolness on top of the floral. i really encourage all to give it a try. I am still wearing mine. Also, at least on me, there is no need to spray it on more than once a day. Enjoy!

This is a very unique, elegant and feminine perfume. The dry down has a chrysanthemum scent which is not mentioned in the notes and I just love it.

Starts out as a sweet, soft, slightly spicy, slightly powdery fragrance. It’s also a little fruity, with green apples, and a hint of coumarin-infused tobacco. I do smell the coriander a little, and some cinnamon, too, eventually producing a powerful apple-pie scent, in which the apples are sugared, spiced, vanilla-flavored, and fully cooked. There’s mega-sillage, making me feel like a baking pie radiating its scent all over the place. The baked apple scent lasts for 6-8 hours or more, after which it subsides a little, adding a bit of generic woody-muskiness, but it never goes away completely. I like HC, but quickly learned that it’s extremely strong and should not be sprayed. If you like powerful gourmand fruity scents, it would be worth a try.

This does not present itself as a floral green at all to my nose. I get a spicy floral heart (a subtle spiciness, in the way that some flowers naturally have a spicy smell to them - like carnations and some roses), with a musky, slightly soapy base. It has sort of an old-fashioned, vintage appeal and does actually look like something the woman pictured on the box would wear. On me, this is almost a skin scent, as if you bathed with some great-smelling, expensive French soap that left a trace of it's scent lingering on your skin. Not the type of scent that I am usually drawn too, but I have to admit, I'm really quite taken with this one. Reminds me a bit of Gucci Accenti, but HM Haute Couture is really quite it's own unique creation.

My favorite of the Hanae Mori line so far, though admittedly, it is only the third I have tried. The others I tried did not make a big impression on me, but wow! Couture is a powerhouse compared to the original HM and Magical Moon. It's very green and floral on me, with a bit of spice and not much sweetness. It has a touch of the old school about it, recalling vintage Intimate and Cachet and some other green or chypre scents of yesteryear. Two little dabs from my sample vial almost seemed like too much. Sillage was incredible and longevity was decent. Very pretty and the perfect scent when you want to cast your fragrance aura far and wide.

Haute Couture has, by far, the strangest evolution of notes I have ever experienced in a fragrance! It starts out smelling like narcissus. Then, in the heart, it morphs into marmalade. HUH? The base smells like baked apples (without any cinnamon) and a little bit of narcissus again. I AM BAFFLED.

a very green floral with lots of spice; main notes I detect up front are lots of narcissus in the opening then all about tuberose and coriander with some sandalwood and musk. Very pretty and unique vintage floral. And aldehydes. Definitely!

I hate HM's other perfumes so I thought this would be another sickly spicy oriental mess, hmm I was pleasantly surprised. This is a floral baby! and a beautiful classy smooth floral! The first whiff I got spices but then it evolves into jasmine and fruits, I normally hate jasmine too but this is tempered beautifully by the fruits. I might just have to buy me a full bottle now! Yum, a just right scent for anytime.

I'm slightly amazed that I'm the only person that seems to dislike this. Unlike the original HM, which is a soft, warm, sweet vanilla-like scent, this smells like mothballs and old roses to me. It's like the quintessential "old lady" perfume, and that's not really an attractive smell on a 17 year old girl (at least to me). I might have just gotten a bad bottle of HMHC, but I honestly did not enjoy it at all.

If Lune de Miel by Fragonard was a soap it will be the Haute Couture. Fruity, juicy, soapy. It can become overwhelming as have been said, so 2 sprays are enough. Bought a pink version on a sale, so it's a very pretty scent for a low price )))) I do not recommend it for teens and for summer. Can anyone tell me, does the blue version differ from pink?

A lovely perfume that unfortunately does NOT work on my skin. I've a full bottle still in the box up for trade for anyone in the States who's interested. :)

Someone didn't want this anymore and gave it to me. It's strong and overwhelming. It's very oldfashioned too. I couldn't bring myself to wear it either.

I got a sample of this one. Feels oldschool to me. Not for me at all. Jag fick ett prov på denna, känns lite gammaldags på min hud. Inget för mig.

Wearing a sample of this today and it's absolutely unlike anything else I own or wear. But not in a bad way. And I think other reviewers' designation of this as "old lady" is a little unfair. It does smell a little vintage. But not too vintage. Maybe "classic" is a better word. It's a bit aloof, not needy or pushy. There's something about Haute Couture that reminds me of opening a drawer where someone has kept a sachet for a long time. I smell face-powdered coriander with deep sweet woods underneath. But it's also very flower-forward, and maybe people are getting an old-fashioned vibe because there's no peony or rose that dominate so many contemporary florals. I definitely also get wafts of the "baked apple" vibe that other reviewers have mentioned (maybe that's the coriander and bergamot together). A little goes a long way with this one too, which contributes to the classic vibe. I sprayed once on my wrists and once behind each ear and this baby is holding up strong! This perfume could be wonderful on the right person. I'm thinking of someone confident, an academic maybe, who doesn't pay much attention to trends and likes a softly spicy complex fragrance with a lot of development.

Hanae Mori HAUTE COUTURE, one of my increasingly rare blind buys, really did catch me by surprise, and I suspect that the same would be true for others familiar with HANAE MORI. Basically, HAUTE COUTURE is the strict antithesis of HANAE MORI! Not sweet in the least, spicy in a unisex way, with coriander and flowers such as carnation, geranium, chrysanthemum--not sure which exactly, as they all meld together to produce a peppery floral mix. I imagine that this perfume must be something of a marketing disaster, since anyone who purchased it blind under the belief that it would be something along the lines of HANAE MORI would be sorely disappointed, while anyone who dislikes that fragrance would probably steer clear, missing out on what might well be a pleasant surprise. Although for some HAUTE COUTURE must be an acquired taste, for others this composition will be most welcome as a low-key floral with coriander as the dominant note--at least to my nose. Definitely suitable for men as well, and perfect for the summer, since the sillage is low and the overall effect quite subtle. I certainly can attest that this quasi-linear composition holds up to heat and humidity!

I didn’t like this fragrance at first but now I love it. It’s bitter when it first opens. When it’s left to settle, it smells like luxury face cream from Shishedo or La Prarie. It gives you that “I’m so wealthy, I smell of luxury without wearing perfume” vibe like Givenchy Mademoiselle does. It mingles attractively with my natural scent. I can’t see what’s wrong with smelling like an old lady by the way - many old ladies are more wealthy, sexily wise and confident, and successful than us. The fragrance smells mature in a way that would make the rest of us wish we were the glamorous, healthy, glowing elderly lady who is wearing it. The lady who has the attention and admiration of all the handsome young men our age, while we stand in her shadow but enjoying her motherly warmth and learning from her.

Arms in the air - whuppah - I love this woody soapy white-gren musky beauty. On me/ to me it is both white and green. It starts out like a fine soap. After half and hour or so the soapy note fades out and the tangerine and black currant fades in, but the white and green notes dominates the picture all the time slightly tangy. I don't really get much spice, but maybe, it is just because, I don't recognize it. The white notes are anchored in the base notes, so that they never gets squeaky, on the contrary it is quite soft. There is no sweetness. - (If you should like a clear, rather cold, white flower sweet scent, L'eau par Kenzo could be a nice choice.) This perfume will work equally well with both dress and high heels, and jeans with a white cotton shirt.