La Belle Le Parfum

TLDR: There are noticeable differences in the 2 formulations of this perfume. Like many of the other reviews state, IMO, the 2021 version is the thicker, heavier and more gourmand version of LBLP. The scent is most definitely a flor-mand rather than a gourmand. The jasmine is there and it's candied (Alien-esque jasmine or Donna Born In Roma, for example) as opposed to the fresh and flowery jasmine we smell in something like Chloe Nomade Jasmine Naturel. This is a very sugary perfume. Bombastically sweet so you must love a sweet perfume. I see some reviews stating that leather can be smelled. I don't get any leather and I'm extremely sensitive to that note. If you love sweet, decadent and beast mode frags like DBIR (or any of the flankers), Flowerbomb Extreme and/or Nectar, etc., I think you'd really like this. Some reviewers say they smell a pear pastry/tart type of smell but I don't get that and it's due to the very noticeable jasmine. Some reviewers say they smell a cinnamon note...I don't get that either although there is a noticeable spiciness. This is beautiful. Full review: I have a problem and that is that when I find out a highly loved fragrance has been DCd, I become obsessed with finding a bottle (even though it would be a blind buy...that's why I consult Fragrantica and why honest reviews are so important). Blind buy and worry about the consequences later. And I do always seem to vibe with JPG fragrances...I own many and have smelled many. They're always so well crafted and bold. When I found out Classique Essence was DCd, I went on a mission to find a 100 ML. Thankfully it worked out and CE is a beauty. I know I'm not alone in this struggle 😆. Since I'm an all or nothing type of person, I usually go for the biggest size I can find at the best price. Especially if it's a DCd frag. Order a sample? No. Lol. A decant to try it? Maybe, depending on the price. This is one of those much loved fragrances. And a Quentin Bisch creation. We already know it's going to be well crafted simply because he's one of the perfumers. But pear? I don't know. I usually find pear leans too fresh and crisp but I admittedly don't have a lot of experience in smelling pear frags. The note has never appealed to me (with the exception of VS Pear Glace...90s girls IYKTYK). But all of your reviews here were telling me that LBLP isn't that type of pear. Many of your reviews say that THIS pear is caramelized and tart. Sounds amazing!! I tried the OG La Belle years ago and hated it due to an odd leather note that didn't work for me. So I ordered a travel spray of what was advertised as this 2021 version from Fragrancenet. The price was right. The picture on their website led me to believe that the travel spray would be filled with this 2021 formulation. Before I even placed the order, I knew there was a chance I would receive the reformed version. Not through any purposeful deception by Fragrancenet (I love Fragrancenet) but simply because they're a large company and might not be paying attention to details that we fragheads become obsessed about, especially when we're discussing reformulated fragrances. I received it a few days ago and I like it but it's not as strong as I thought it would be. In a crazy turn of events, yesterday I received a carded sample of this 2021 Le Parfum version from a kind Mercari seller. So crazy! How did they know that I was confused as to what version I received from Fragrancenet just a few days prior? They are similar but the carded sample one is so much stronger and longer lasting. More balsamic. More juicy pear. More caramelized. More vanilla. I think I smell some tonka. A bit of spice but I can't pinpoint the exact spice I smell. It's thick. It's decadent. It smells expensive. The Jasmine is there (similar to the type of jasmine used in the OG Alien...a bit candied?) but it's not front and center. The dry down is heavenly...rounder and softer than the reformed version I believe I have. It's beastly yet soft at the same time. It projects. There is nothing light about it. It is just better all around. The fragrance from the travel spray is more of that crisp and green type of pear. A bit watery, like pear juice. Like the juice that is in a can of pears. I'm smelling more of a fresh and light type of jasmine (like the one used in Chloe Nomade Jasmine Naturel). Not as much vanilla. Nothing spicy. It's simply a lighter version of the 2021 version. Could this be a placebo effect? Possibly. But I do really think like I smell a difference and I'm not jiveing with the (what I believe to be) reformulation. Could it be that the one from Fragrancenet was taken from a very newly produced bottle of the reform? Possibly. I'm taking the fact that I was JUST sent a sample of this 2021 version the other day (especially since this fragrance has been around for years) as a sign that I need a bottle of the 2021 version. A 100 ML bottle. Thankfully, there seems to be some reasonably priced bottles floating around on reseller sites. That was a really long review. I'm sorry but I felt like it needed to be said that IMO, there is a noticeable difference between the formulations of Le Belle Le Parfum...not as obvious as the reformulated version of Gucci Rush EDT (they MURDERED that perfume...RIP...you might not notice the difference if you've never smelled an old bottle...you might just think, "wow, this is really watered down, why do they talk about how strong this one is?") If you're looking for a ultra feminine, gourmand leaning, thick, opulent and caramelized fragrance, I'd suggest going with the 2021 version of this perfume. I wouldn't suggest blind buying only because I could see someone finding this one headache inducing.

Have you ever experienced that serendipitous situation where you go somewhere far away, buy something mundane you never thought you would love so deeply, only to never find it again? Well, La Belle Le Parfum is an old love, lost and reincarnated in a bottle. It was the middle of summer in Paris, 2017. I was at the Saint Lazare train station, saw a Lush store and remembered that i needed soap. So i bought one. I literally told the store clerk my needs based on my skin type, not a single soap in mind. She looked at me and said "this is the one for you". I wish i could remember which one it was, but i can't. All i remember is how much i loved using it and how much i regretted not buying a few of those (no lush stores where i live). To me, Paris will forever smell like a soft -yet noticeable- waft of vanilla that hides something spicier underneath. The true equivalent of a woman walking around the city in a large trench coat and sunglasses, may only God know what she's hiding under it. Day by day, bit by bit, the soap left me. And i left France. Sometimes, things are meant to be enjoyed for a while and that's it. I made my peace with it, and moved on with my life. Almost four years later, i was running errands -and, as anyone who is into perfumes- searching for a specific fragrance that is still running away from me. The store clerk said that, as expected, i would not have that scent today. Instead, she showed me La Belle Le Parfum, sprayed it and...it was nice. Ok, it was more than "nice": there was this pear note, so juicy and all over my face. But as good as it was, i was not into it like crazy. I said thanks and walked around the store, trying to buy the things i went there for. I say "trying", because the moment La Belle Le Parfum dried down, It. Was.On. It was game over for me. I tried to concentrate, thinking why i was so distraught. Something in the back of my mind was awakening, a memory. It felt like now i knew what hides under the trench coat: i'm the woman wearing it, and i won't tell you. The pear note dissipated, showing something spicy, almost cinnamon-like. The vanilla notes showed up later, made themselves more noticeable, but i couldn't be fooled anymore: Paris came back to me, in a sultry bottle. Saying that i'm obsessed is an understatement. Saying that i'm in love will never be enough.

The "scent of desire" was a journey: amazement, confusion, regret, love. At the store, my inexperienced self bought 100ml and a travel spray without even trying it on my skin. I was not familiar with terms like sillage/longevity when I wore this everyday over the course of a winter- and carried the travel spray with me. I'm pretty sure now that it filled the room. Surprisingly, nobody ever said anything to me, no compliments or complaints. I stopped wearing it when I realised it might have been a tad inappropriate. The bottle waited. I started getting into the world of fragrances. I met new people, years passed. Finally, I wore it again (instead of letting it wear me) on a cool summer night. And I loved it. On my skin: The gourmand facet almost disappears for the first 10 minutes, replaced with an almost dusty and very earthy tonka, reminiscent of a smoker. I like the opening, but I understand that a lot of people won't. I personally wouldn't mind having the original LB too- it's juicier, less earthy, sharper with vetiver and a tiny bit fresher. Different enough to own both if you're a true fan. Slowly, but surely, the roasted pear begins to shine, on a bed of vanilla. That earthy blast of tonka is slightly toned down by the vanilla, but is unmistakably still there. I cannot stop smelling my wrist. After a few hours, the pear gets sweeter and the vanilla is now noticeable. Addictive and intoxicating, and ever-present well into the next day. I once wore this (that too from the travel spray) at 9pm and could smell it the next day, after a shower, at 4pm!! This shines at night, throughout the year. Also wearable in the daytime for winter. Delicious, but dangerously so. Confident, but not imperious. The dark, earthy promise of something alluring. The fragrance equivalent of a love potion. Only you know who it's for.

A gorgeous, sexy and seductive fragrance. Syrupy boozed pear, rich amber and vanilla, cherry facets, loads of creamy tonka bean, slightly spicy, leathery and maybe a slight nuttiness too? I have the 2021 original formulation and I am DEVESTASTED that JPG repackaged/reformulated and discontinued this treasure. I have honestly never smelt anything like it! It's so creamy and sweet but deep and sensual. Ugh just perfection in a bottle! In comparison to La Belle (2019 formulation), La Belle Le Parfum is a creamier, deeper and more sultry take. In La Belle, the pear is more candy like, bright and syrupy. La Belle Le Parfum has more of a baked/caramelised pear. They both have a rich ambery-vanilla base and a spiciness, but LBLP amps up the leather and introduces cherry and boozy facets that LB does not share. Both are sexy, but LB is the flirty and slightly cheeky younger sister, and LBLP is the older sis with an alluring femme fatale energy about her. I would encourage anybody who's in the market for this to try and get their hands on the 2021 formulation. I have not smelt the new formula and frankly I am not interested, as I know it can never compare. The way this smells radiating off skin is intoxicating, and it lasts days on clothes. The projection is fantastic. It stands out and is a compliment magnet for sure. Perfect for the colder months and night time. Whenever I wear this, I feel like the most alluring version of myself. I truly cannot sing the praises of this perfume enough. La Belle Le Parfum is an all-time favourite of mine and I will forever grieve her. I will be on the lookout for any of the OG formulation on the second hand market, and I will love and cherish my current bottle. Goodbye La Belle Le Parfum, you will be so missed :(

I love complex fragrances. Niche fragrances that challenge your nose like a good whiskey. But I am at an age and time where I just appreciate a nice compliment now and then. Going somewhere and know I smell good. Jean Paul Gaultier was never really my thing ever since Le Male came out. I wore it like everyone else back then. The perfect clubbing scent and everyone loved it. Back in the days the street was filled with Le Male like Dior Sauvage is today. I digress, after a long shift I went to the perfumery in town and strolled through the fragrances. I noticed the borderline tacky bottles of La Belle and flankers and sprayed the Le perfume version. Oof. OK. Kinda dense. Kinda in your face initially. I walked out to do some shopping. That day not one, but three people told me I smell good. Flattered I googled what's in the juice. Simply three main notes were mentioned: Pear, Vanilla and Tonka. Some Jasmine. After the first compliment I had to smell myself more attentively and lo and behold I get it. It's very well blended, creamy Tonkanilla with juicy, spiced pear. The white flowers keeps this scent from being too gourmand, but enough to seduce you to take a bite. I went home without the perfume nonetheless. A few days later I walk though my hallway and smelled something faint and really nice. It was the jacket I wore when I tried La Belle. I was SOLD. I bought it and wore it every day. Cool weather, warm weather, inside, outside, any time of the day. It's a crowd pleaser and men love it. I am a man and they are sometimes confused to smell it on me. 😂 So if you want to smell like a seductive diva, get this one. Try it on first. Give it a second chance, because it can be intimidating at first! You will get noticed!