L'Heure Attendue

This scent found me in a happy accident. I am a huge fan of vintage, especially 1930's-1950's, because of my grandmother and her best friend who had quite a gorgeous fragrance collection. I found this brand new vintage bottle in the box at the thrift store, of all places!! I imagined that it came from some beautiful womans vanity as a personal gift to me at a time when I was feeling depressed. It was a flashlight of sorts, from woman to woman; from a friend who's been to hell and back. Because when you're in hell, you need a flashlight. And, just as any woman who has ever been in a bad situation will tell you, there comes a day when the tables turn - when the darkness dissipates, when you feel "free" instead of "alone", when you feel excited about what lies ahead, instead of mourning what was lost, so you put on your best dress, your sexiest shoes, your best smile and face the day with anticipation. This fragrance celebrates that moment, that "hour", exactly as the name suggests. This perfume was created in celebration of the liberation of Paris from Nazi occupation, and it smells like the scent of victory, confidence, elegance and poise. It smells like the moment you realize that despite whatever crazy situation you may have gotten tangled up in, you never lost your elegance nor your beauty. When I first sampled it, I did not know of it's history, but I could immediately tell it was from the 1940s because it has all the class and elegance of that time period. It is a perfume that gently and undoubtedly reminds your of your beauty and strength; it reminds you that you come from a long line of elegant, beautiful women who survived despite great odds with dignity and poise; when innocence is lost, but not one's soul; the moment when you truly become a woman and let go of childlike ways so that you can grow, like when a rosebud becomes a full blown rose; like Vivien Leigh in Gone With The Wind, when you become a woman and realize that your destiny is yours to create, so you unfold your wings and fly.

The texture of L'Heure Attendue is that of a crisp dupioni silk, patterned with warm, saturated colors. The glistening of optimistic, effervescent aldehydes and bouquet of creamy florals, most notably lilac, ylang ylang, and rose, are reigned in by a more sensible green-earthy geranium. This counterpoint from the geranium is reminiscent of that of the spectacular Phul-Nana from Grossmith. Make no mistake though, this is no shallow floral affair, as a delicious opoponax and such gorgeously poised Mysore-like sandalwood are the pièce de résistance here, feeling fine-grained and tranquil to the nose, like a slow smolder of incense. It's a soft finish, yet present and persistent, and as a release to celebrate France's freedom from occupation in 1946, it seems to make sense that it shapes up to be meditative and reflective by design. Extraordinary. [From 1984 Ma Collection mini]

Top Notes Lily of the valley, Geranium, Lilac Heart Notes Ylang ylang, Opopanax, Rose, Jasmine Base notes Vanilla, Mysore sandalwood, Patchouli The MaCollection mini I have opens different than the Heritage edition but it does settle down into the same spirit. It opens with an optimistic floral into a rich heart and earthy drydown. The LOV and Lilac is dominant with the greeness of the spicy geranium augments the rose. The hallmark about these older Patous is superior blending notes that are silky and a sophisticated finish. This is not the bubbly high spirited optimism in a bottle. Rather the hopeful dawn with a somber tone of the prices paid for freedom. We must not forget. Its a glorious snapshot of the times, and this kind of olfatory history must be preserved. FRAGRANTICA: WHERE IS THE NOTE LIST?

Patou L’Heure Attendue (1946) – The Awaited Hour A piece of perfumed poetry from the post-war era, L’Heure Attendue captures a moment of peace, renewal, and quiet beauty. Created by Henri Alméras, it’s a luminous blend of powdery florals, soft spices, and warm resins that feels like a vintage dream. It opens with a delicate veil of Neroli, Violet, and Lily of the Valley, airy and serene. The heart unfolds with Rose, Ylang‐Ylang, and Jasmine, rich yet balanced, a nod to Patou’s heritage of elegant florals. As it settles, a smooth base of Sandalwood, Opoponax, and Musk emerges, creating a soft, resinous glow that lingers like a whisper of silk. More than a fragrance, it’s an emotion — a snapshot of relief and beauty after a long wait. Timeless, graceful, and still captivating after all these years.

This may be the finest sandalwood I've ever smelled. Aldehydes that blossom rather than attack, followed by white florals. At some point you discover the sandalwood which is soft and rich. A discontinued classic. Worth seeking out before it's all gone. Sillage: 5-6 ft; makes a statement Duration: EDT 4-5 hours Fabulosity: opera pearls Price to value ratio: very good 9/10

This just arrived in the mail! I am so excited to try it. In researching L'Heure Attendue, I came across the following,over on basenotes: "Jan Moran's "Fabulous Fragrances lists the notes of this 1946 invention as [top] lily of the valley, geranium, lilac; [heart] ylang-ylang, jasmine, rose, opopanax; [base] mysore sandalwood, vanilla, patchouli." As Fragrantica doesn't have a pyramid up, I thought it might be nice to share the notes :) This review is based on the 6mL mini released as part of the commemorative Ma collection- it is almost certainly altered from the original. My immediate impression is that this really reminds me of L'Air du Temps, although as L'Heure came first,I guess it's the other way around. L'Heure is softer, and more powdery sweet. It's pretty, but it is also hard to avoid associating it with the scent of baby powder.Although I guess the scented baby baby powder probably also came second. LHA is cleaner that L'Air du Temps, and not nearly so bloody minded...but that also makes it less interesting, to my mind.For those who have never been able to make friends with LdT, LHA may be a good 'fume to try. After that (it was awfully quick to be called a heart phase...the neck? That is what comes after the head, right?) powdery sweet neck phase comes a rich, warm, almost oily sandalwood episode, with crisp florals, and a touch of soapiness. LHA seems to be quite long lasting. I would prefer more sillage, but I am applying lightly due to the precious smallness of this bottle. I wish that this were readily available- I think it would have more of a consumer base now than in the '80s or '90s. It seems to me that people are trending away from the big loud scents, and are looking for complexity and quality. L'Heure Attendue certainly provides that, in spades. Eventually LHA becomes almost smoky, reminiscent of catching the scent of incense on the breeze, as you sit on your porch late at night, watching the sky.A very peaceful, serene scent. So strange, given the characteristics shared with the very energetic L'Air du Temps...but these two are no where near interchangeable, and I would guess that the customer bases would be pretty different too. This is a beautiful scent, with a lovely history. If you get the chance to try it, I encourage you to do so!

A typical vintage Patou EdT that starts out on a soft floral aldehyde note but almost immediately turns into a soft, powdery sandalwood. It’s the Mysore-type sandalwood, in all of its rich and sweaty magnificence, made thoroughly European by its trappings, a maharaja visiting Paris, wearing a tuxedo, out for a night at the opera in the company of a sophisticated French woman. After an hour or so the sandalwood gives way to a riot of spring flowers, narcissus and lilacs. After a couple of hours, the scent becomes a little soapy, but the sandalwood undercurrent is always there. The story is that L’Heure Attendue was released to celebrate the end of the Nazi occupation, and a fitting celebration it is - the return of a normal life and, ultimately, the little luxuries like imported sandalwood. Possibly the woody beginning represents the period of austerity during the war and the flowers that follow, the blooming of peace. Like all the rest of the Patou “Ma” series, now discontinued, this is an extraordinary perfume. There’s something about these Patou fragrances that really speaks to me. They’re old-fashioned only in their high quality, and thoroughly contemporary in their spirit. They seem just as wearable today as they were before most of us were born. Although this is listed as a “women’s” perfume, I think it would be extremely seductive on a man.

L'Heure Attendue is a classic aldehydic floral-woody fragrance that is rich, dry and cool. The first impression of L'Heure Attendue is very similar to that of L'Heure Bleue. Both fragrances contain powdery carnation, clove and vanilla. It's just that the expression is different, L'Heure Attendue is more straightforward while L'Heure Bleue is more subtle. I think the difference between the two is obvious. Patou has a toughness that Guerlain lacks. L'Heure Bleue has a velvety texture, opulent, sweet and complex, embodying a feminine and sensual side. L'Heure Attendue is not so soft, it symbolizes total rationality. L'Heure Attendue was probably the last creation of Henri Almeras.

Not really a review, but might be helpful to someone: @ejfischer1023, the notes list you have added in your review is not for this scent, you have the notes list for the much newer 2014 edition of the same name, released as part of the Heritage Collection. The Heritage Collection is a "prestige" [read - considerably more expensive than regular Patou lineup of Sublime, Joy, 1000 etc] collection of fragrances from Jean Patou, that are "inspired by" the older scents, many of which were originally released in the 1920s and 1930s and 1940s, and then relaunched together as the "Ma Collection" in the 1980s. These too fell off the radar somewhere in history, until recent years when new fragrances inspired by and somewhat based upon the Ma Collection iterations were formulated and launched. I can't say how much the new Heritage Collection perfumes resemble either the originals or the 80s releases, as I have not been lucky enough to get my sniffer on them all. Although I have tried both Heritage and Ma Collection versions of Chaldee, and there is definitely some resemblance. My understanding is that the new Heritage Collection is based upon/inspired by the 80s Ma Collection, and I don't know how faithful they were to the originals. I believe there is some difference of opinions amongst those who have tried both versions, as to how faithful the current versions are to the 80s collection.

Glorious aldehyde..does tricks Chanel no5 never imagined on my skin..clean but chameleon-like as any true classic should be. Yes real sandalwood, wispy flowers, doesn't smell of soap..of course it's discontinued!

NOTES: TOP: Aldehydes, Mandarine, Neroli HEART: Jasmine, Peach, Rose, Ylang Ylang BASE: Amber, Patchouli, Sandalwood From Bassnotes Website.

Sorry I have to say the bottle reminds me of Marge Simpson...

this is very much like Tabu, and very powderee.