Collection Heritage Que Sais-Je?

Easily one of the most enchanting, bewitching, magnificent scents ever made. Every aspiring "nose" is told that this is one scent he must sniff as part of his education. QUE SAIS-JE? [ka-SEZH'] means "What do I know?", as in "I am falling in love and not using my head". A head of sweet peach, aldehydes, bergamot and a slightly urinaceous honey (yes, you read that right) descends into a floral heart of carnation, orange blossom, jasmin and rose, with a musky/ambered/patchouly base. There is also a slightly camphorous note in the head that is the magic foil to the sweetness of the fragrance, and, I believe, some cedar and ambergris in the base. A real Art Deco/Roaring 20's masterpiece, QUE SAIS-JE? is exuberant and optimistic and, with its piss-like hint, slyly sexy. When they say, "they don't make 'em like that anymore", this is what they're referring to. This flawlessly constructed scent is transporting, exceptionally flirtatious and giddy-making. A marvel. <> The newer "Heritage" version of QSJ is an appallingly bad jus that smells nothing like the 1920's original, and should be avoided at all costs. Without the toasted hazelnut-- so integral to the 1920's jus--- this just cannot be called QUE SAIS-JE?

Never had the luck to try the original, but on its own merit this one is absolutely fantastic. What sets it apart is not simply how wonderful the peach note is, but also the fact that it comes across as aromatic (rather than that heavy fruity thing one gets with most fruity frags). The composition literally sings. Bear in mind that it needs a very long macerating time. Carnation adds a spicy dimension and dry down is honey-musk. Performance on the average side.

A sneaky, musky sweet concoction that hums along quietly and close to the skin. It somehow conspires to smell slightly nutty, as if you are only smelling the stonefuit pits instead of the flesh. I like this for it's understated elegance, however, I am immensely pissed off that Fontaine left the frickin hazelnuts behind on the mixing bench. Maaaaaate. That was the whole damn point.

This is peach, apricot and carnation w/ a little bit of animalistic tang from honey. There is also a vintage powdery and soapy notes. I can understand why they called this one Que Sais Je? or What Do I Know? Because it is hard to describe. It isn't excessively sweet, floral, fruity, animalic, powdery, balsamic, herbal, woody etc... I agree w/ the review below, it is dusty papyrus on an ancient scroll probably found tucked away in an ancient library in Egypt. It smells slightly vintage. It reminds me of Mitsouko from Guerlain quite a bit, probably from the peach. There is an earthy quality to this as well, earthy isn't one of the accords listed above but I would've listed earthy, at least it is to my nose. This smells like what I imagine the Library of Alexandria would have smelled like. I think I will wear this one when I am reading a classic book, which I do often since I am an avid reader. An introspective and thoughtful perfume. Edit: 12/2/22 The more I explore this fragrance the more I love it. There is a subtle but voluptuous beauty about it. Heady and thick in the beginning but becomes classic and chic as it goes a long. I would actually love this on a man because of the heavy carnation. Most male fragrances are horrid, I like my husband to wear my unisex or more feminine fragrances like this one. You wear this perfume; it doesn't wear you but that is the case w/ most Patou's. A house that knew how to create beauty, class and refinement. I am so glad I picked this one up. Just a very unique fragrance that shows different facets (Joy does this as well) every time you wear it. Another side note I have sampled FB Tyger Tyger and did not like it at all. The peach note in that one for me was very rotten. Que Sais Je? is sooo much better. Besides Que Sais Je? can be bought for a lot less today on the grey market.

I don’t believe fragrances in Collection Heritage, a set of remastered fragrances based on vintage releases, should be compared to respective predecessors. They aren’t meant to be identical, if they were meant to be the same, SA Designer Parfum Ltd would have just manufactured the originals & sold those (assuming they had the license to). So, this review is of the Que Sais-Je? from Collection Heritage as a different fragrance to the original. Initially, I get a strong honeyed peach but the presence of the lime note makes it fresh & appealing. The Honey note is fairly dominant for about an hour and a half on my skin but that settles allowing the floral notes to peek through. For better reference, Viktor & Rolf’s Bonbon shares a few similar notes but Que Sais-Je? is more stripped back & mature, less of a candy vibe because of the use of honey instead of caramel, which gives the fragrance a bit of a tangy vibe to it. There is also the presence of rose & carnation in the heart which makes this far more floral, it’s a lovely fragrance for when a little maturity & sophistication is required like a wedding/job interview etc. Has heavy longevity & sillage on me. Not sure either bonbon or Que Sais-Je? are worth their Recommended Retail Prices (£90 & £180 respectively) because neither are groundbreaking in the innovation department, both are solid fragrances though. That being said, Que Sais-Je? can be picked up on eBay for a mere fraction of the cost today, far less than say Bonbon. At these lower price points, I would say it is definitely worth a try, especially if you like Bonbon but want a more mature take on it & like strong honey fragrances.