#006 You Had Me At Hello

You Had Me At Hello is the perfume of number six within L’Envie Parfums' fragrance collection and the creative concept speaks of the Japanese art of flowers arrangement, the Ikebana. As soon as I opened the box and read the name, I immediately remembered a song by Beyoncé called Hello. The chorus repeats that exact phrase and the lyrics have a certain connection with being perfumed when she sings: “I love to see you walking into the room; Body shining light in up the place”. But the name of this perfume is also the same as the name of a famous book, written by Mhairi McFarlane, besides being a famous phrase from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996). However, if any of these options served as inspiration for the name of this perfume, I'm not sure about that. You Had Me At Hello’s fragrance brings starting notes of bergamot, mandarin, cardamom, cassis, and green notes. In the body, aquatic notes, rose, lily of the valley, peony, and violet leaves were combined. The base of the olfactory pyramid carries notes of vanilla, vetiver, amber, sandalwood, and musk. On the skin, You Had Me At Hello opens beautifully, once you're faced with a spicy floral, with a light accord of aquatic flowers reinforced by the spicy note of cardamom. An unusual blend that worked perfectly! Bergamot is also evident, but, curiously, it gains more strength according to the volume of fragrance you apply. From the core, the lily of the valley is the most present ingredient, at least on my skin, although the rose has a little powdery effect. In fact, so far, I haven't felt any fragrance from this house with a very obvious note of rose, even though it is super traditional in perfumery. As time goes by, the fragrance turns into a woody-floral and we have the muguet walking, hand in hand, with the sandalwood. The base reveals creamy woods, which demonstrate the contrast and perfect balance between the elements, mixing male and female, rigidness with softness. You Had Me At Hello exudes creativity and quality. More than unisex, it is gender fluid and mutant. At the same time that it looks sober and sophisticated, it has a malleable personality that borders on versatility. I really enjoyed it! Authorial perfume? You Had Me At Hello is a fine example.