Heliotrope Blanc

[AUGUST 2023] Was not expecting its inner seal to be metallic copper with tiny frills at the end of its design (much like a vintage sody pop), certainly you could hurt your fingers getting it off! Luckily, there were pliers at the garage and I took them right off safely. You would not twist it off, more than pry them off... Much like a vintage soda pop. Grievances aside-- Heliotrope Blanc comes with a beautiful cake-like sweetness to its almond-heliotrope accord with a hint of soapiness not alhydelic but similar to organic oils. ...Yet the perfume's consistency is watery, so best to tightly seal the cap shut to keep it from leaking. It applies a generous amount to your skin at the beginning. It has a powderiness similar to that found in many vintage pre-1930s fragrances, including that which I've tested in Roger & Gallet's Fleurs d' Amour and Santa Maria Novella's L'Iris EDP (which is a very accurate new fragrance capturing the discrepancies of a Belle Epoque parfum.) The fragrance while short lived, if applied conservatively, wafts around you with a cake batter like sweetness, but not to the carrot cake intensity of Miller Harris' Violet Ida (highly recommended for gourmand and vintage lovers.) In my case, since the bottle seeped itself quite liberally in comparison to my Roger & Gallet perfume, could be smelled from afar if I pulled my head back away from my chest and arms. I recommend layering this fragrance with other vintage or vintage-inspired fragrances to give a Belle Epoque cherry milk-almond-heliotrope-cake lilt to your parfums. Reminds me of a light roulade, whereas Violet Ida by Miller Harris is a much more indepth take of heliotrope with violet powder undertones which resembles a slice of carrot cake, not unlike Heliotrope Blanc. My favourite combination thus far is Heliotrope Blanc (wrists, sides of neck) + Santa Maria Novella's L'Iris (under neck) + Floris' Chypress (below chest.) Also yes, I own more fragrances than I show on my Fragrantica page, but for minimalist and recommendation's sake I only leave presented what I want others to try and have. Overall, a light, languid and enjoyable slice of life... or a piece of cake for those whose skin amplifies balsams. PS: I find Heliotrope Blanc much better than Buly 1803's Heliotrope du Perou, the latter just smells watery. Heliotrope Blanc smells like Heliotrope, as described, indeed.

I got a 14.25 ounce of Heliotrope Blanc for $20 and change. When I read the article here that Elena Knezevic used this to sterilize things in her home w/ etc.. I thought it would make and excellent hand sanitizer. I've been on a heliotrope/powder/musk kick lately and all my hand sanitizers are either fruity or lavender. This will make a nice addition. That being said this a very, very heavy w/ almond. It smells almost like almond extract that I bake w/ at least in the beginning. As the fragrance goes along it becomes more vanillic w/ a slight yellow floral vibe, an ylang custard vibe. This is very cuddly, softly powdery, lightly sweet almond like fragrance that is very likable. I have never smelled heliotropes before, something that saddens me since I pride myself on knowing what flowers smell like in nature since I smelled so many growing up. Heliotrope just wasn't something we grew on the farm. But I have heard that heliotrope is sometimes called cherry pie as a nick name, and I can see why. Elena said this perfume lotion was the best representation of the living flower she has ever smelled and to my nose I can smell cherry pie like nuances in this. Gosh this smells like purple cherry pie made into a powder LOL. Just upgraded to Love. One thing I do hate is the bottle, hard to open but the fragrance is just divine. I decant it into other spray bottles. I use this as a perfume and a hand sanitizer. You can spray as much of it as you want anywhere. I've used it to clean tables at restaurants. It is just nice to carry around in a purse. Smells great and cleans and sanitizes.

This was a blind buy. Just goes to show that no matter how safe a fragrance seems, there's always the chance that it will shock you. The coumarin in Heliotrope Blanc reminds me very much of Kiehl's Vanille & Cedarwood. It's a soft powdery whisper on my skin. However, the addition of almond and some faint florals makes the opening of this smell EXACTLY like Porto-potty deodorant with my skin chemistry. I am so not okay with this association. This is coming from someone who wears Hypnotic Poison and Etro's Heliotrope without reservation. Not almond hand soap, but straight porto-potty/outhouse!! Oh dear. Hopefully I can retrain myself to forget it and forge some new ideas about this scent. I want to focus on Heliotrope Blanc for what it is, not what it's like. Perhaps this will prepare anyone who might recoil in horror at my findings. It is important to represent the full spectrum of experiences on here. My bf loves this one, so what the hell do I know... Update: After wearing this on and off for a few weeks, I am happy to report that Heliotrope Blanc has somewhat grown on me, and no longer screams plastic outhouse when I first apply it. Now it speaks softly of shimmery powder with a polite suggestion of jasmine. Still don't love it though. I let my sister smell it and her reaction was, "why would anyone want to smell like that!?"

Absolute almond heaven! I love that it doesn't smell artificial. I use it before bed, but it's actually got a good longevity for a lotion, so I'm going to put some in a nice glass spray bottle and use this as a proper fragrance too. I can't wait to spray this all over my body and clothes in the summer! I love it during fall & winter too because it's so cozy and warm. Just makes you want to sit my the fire with a chai latte. It's really high quality, well blended, beautiful almond, quite sweet but not sickly. I love that there's a vintage vibe to it, but I can see a modern girl wearing this too. I personally love vintage. Soft, creamy, milky. I can't think of a more cozy and wholesome fragrance. The price is unbeatable. I just ordered a back up of the huge bottle. This is definitely one of my all time fave fragrances. It's not a beast like my other faves (Boucheron, D&G red cap), but it's one of the very few sweet and cozy fragrance that makes the top shelf in my house, because I don't like modern fragrances and this hits that sweet spot (no pun intended) of an almond perfume that isn't candy-modern.

I bought quite cheaply all the old Piver's fragrances I could find, out of curiosity and also as an attempt to find good 'nostalgia' fragrances (i.e. recreations/reissues of old formulae). The bottle is charming and it does have a vintage feel to it, with an old fashioned plastic cap and simple packaging. It is called 'lotion' in French, which is sometimes interpreted as eau de cologne strength, but I think it is much stronger, definitely EDT. Good sillage and about 12 hours staying power (albeit quite delicate in the end). This is probably the best of this range - it has a genuine, old fashioned 'vintage' look and feel, including the bottle and the little plastic screw on cap (the splash bottle is different from the photo above). It is solifleur with a bit of vanilla and slight powderiness. Quite feminine, but not too sweet - very wearable. As a man I would probably only wear this for my own enjoyment at home. It is not a modern fragrance, but it is rather ageless. I was surprised by the quality of this fragrance, especially that it cost less than 10 pounds (!).