Helene

Oh, Hélène! So beautiful! I'm happy to see it listed here! I could try it in the only one-brand Rancè shop about 30km from me. The lady inside is one in her kind too! So overdone yet soft and friendly! I like almost everything Rancè, because they are beautifully blended, ancient-like perfumes. Some like Laetitia are heavier which makes sense anyway, but others smell like the scent you would smell in heaven forever! Hélène is one of them. Very romantic, luminous, no single note screaming out of the perfect composition and it has a perfect aura of bliss. Flowers are at the core of blend and radiate so beautifully all together. Fruits if there are not so noticeable. The green edge is very well made too because it's not pungent and acrid, but rather a fresh, smoothy very natural green made of angelica. The drydown is much softer and rounder, quite powdery in an airy way. A scent for delicate yet deep souls. I tested it while searching for a signature and... ended up with a small bottle of Organza! Why? Because I liked that too and it smelled stronger and more earthly, more attached to everyday life in a city full of stinks from the pavements and aggressive scents from humans. More of a weapon than Hélène, the ethereal beauty from ancient times. Hélène is also very expensive, but with a good sillage and lasting power. For me it's a masterpiece.

My review is for the original version of Helene. "Before reformulation top notes were neroli, ylang-ylang, cardamom and cinnamon; middle notes are jasmine, african orange flower, tonka bean and rose; base notes are musk, iris, sandalwood, benzoin and heliotrope." (From Fragrantica) Helene is my very first foray into the Rance 1795 brand. It won't be the last. Helene is a slightly sweet, perfectly spiced, floral sandalwood fragrance. Mellyhelly's review (the first one of this fragrance) is really spot on to me, except I would have chosen Helene, rather than Organza ;) Sandalwood, Tonka Bean and Heliotrope make an enchanting triple crown base for Helene. They blend together seamlessly, beautifully. I'm a Cardamom lover, and this note just shines in this scent. The florals are wonderful accents. I love Helene. This is my first full day of wear. I find the sillage to be soft to moderate, the longevity is pretty decent, 4 plus hours. The bottle with its' pretty bow fits my Helene's aura perfectly. I am so very happy to have found her.

Long-lasting (the scent lingers on the skin for at least 12 hours), unique and not commercial or generic. The fragrance develops beautifully on the skin, becoming light and natural after drying down. This is a beautiful and elegant perfume, lively and charming! I LOVE IT!

This is a very soft and elegant floral woody musk. Unfortunately it is not longlasting. On my skin I can smell it for one hour. IMO it's a good office scent. But nevertheless one of my best blind buys.

Classy yet Sexy. If I could choose just one from my collection, THIS is the one.

oooh I want it! beautiful notes...and my name on the bottle

Beautiful elegant and lovely scent.

There are only 2 faults in Hélène: 1. It's extremely soft. 2. It's extremely expensive. If you could get over those, though, you'll find that Hélène is a very rare gem which deserves so much more attention. It's elegant. It's enchanting. It's like a ghost from the past, bottled and sealed. Hélène smells like an ancient perfume, and in a very good way. It's very warm, woody, balsamic and spicy. But at the same time, unlike many others out there who scream and shrill at you, "Look at me! Look at me!!"...Hélène is a dignified lady. It's almost unnoticeable, in fact, for it's very soft and it stays really close to your skin, just like other Rancé perfumes. Still, it doesn't mean it could be written off that easily; in fact, Hélène's shy attributes only makes it even more alluring and intriguing. That being said, first blast of Hélène is rather unpleasant. You're greeted with a whiff of balmy scent which, thankfully, mellows down beautifully into a sandalwood-dominated scent (it's very mild and creamy, by the way--very pleasing). The drydown is warm and woody, but neither cloying nor choking. In fact, its softness lends a very dreamy quality to the warm notes, making it very wearable and very approachable. Hélène is very soft, so if you're looking for strong, head-turning fragrances this isn't for you. If you're looking for a modest fragrance that is warm, polite and just a little bit lively, then you might like Hélène. Give it a try. It's much more than just a pretty little madam. Rating: 8.5/10

As the owner of two Rance perfumes, I knew to expect something extremely soft. That being said, Helene is still very beautiful. I was intrigued by the strong cardamom upon spraying. The heart consisted of a delicate blend of jasmine and neroli, which, when blended with cardamom, added an exotic element reminiscent of colonial India. Helen dries down rather quickly into a powdery sandalwood and vanilla kind of scent. Although Rance perfumes are light, I have figured out that I can really increase projection and lasting strength by simply spraying twice as much as other perfumes that are stronger. Doing this will ensure the perfume lasts for many hours.

A lovely scent. Not loud but not totally skinclose neither. spicy Heliotrope with amber and tonka is what I get on my skin. perfect for colder weather. On my skin longlasting. Like it alot. En härlig doft. Inte högljudd inte heller totalt hudnära. Kryddig Heliotrop med Amber och Tonka är det jag känner mest på huden. Perfekt för kyligare väder. På mig är den riktigt hållbar. gillar den mer och mer.

This is really really gorgeous, it’s in the exact same vein as Bvlgari pour femme. Soft, floral-powdery, a touch fresh, and very elegant. I love it! If you like Bvlgari pour femme and/or similar scents, you will love this. I also love the classic feminine Victorian style bottle! So pretty! Also try if you love Guerlain Meteorites or Kenzo Flower as it is also in a similar style to those.

A present. Flowery, then it turns to sweets. Very familiar scent, but I can't remember the sweets that smelled like it. But I do remember that I liked eating them when I was a little girl.

Is it just me or do I smell peach here? Sweet fruity and flowery scent. Yet I do pick up something spicy as well. I like the scent but not sure if it's bottle worthy. 6/10

smells a bit like cola, which i love

The notes make it look as if it is intense and rich. But it is not. I mostly get Freesia, bitter Peach and bitter Almond (not so powdery). Then there is something tropical and woody lingering around. The spiciness is very toned down. There is also something old fashioned about it: some aura of showering with an old luxurious soap (yet the perfume is not soapy). It still feels young despite the notes that are more typical for perfumes for more mature audiences. I like it better than the Peach of Tom Ford, for example. People say Helene is not worth the price. But is Bitter Peach worth its price? Not for me. Dina_France (YouTube perfume reviews)

For me this scent is powdery and not a lot else. It’s very delicate but quite boring.

I received this perfume as a sample within a parcel. The moment I tried the fragrance, notes of powder and a hint of bitterness wafted through the air. To my nose, it bore the scent reminiscent of an elderly woman or, shall we say, a perfume past its prime... Yikes... Given that it was just a sample, I saw fit to discard it. Nonetheless, I surmise it possesses commendable staying power, as I found myself vigorously scrubbing my skin to render the scent undetectable at last... Phew.

The notes of my Helene do not match what is written here on Fragrantica. The notes on the bottle are the same as those on the Rance website: HEAD Lemon, Currant, Pear HEART Peach Flowers, Magnolia, Jasmine, Neroli, Pink Pepper BASE Amber, Tonka Bean, Musk, Patchouli I also couldn't find any information anywhere that the fragrance formula had been changed. Can anyone comment? The scent itself is slightly spicy, a bit old-fashioned. The top notes are more floral, and the flood of base notes makes you imagine times gone by, with the scent of old velvet curtains and gorgeous evening dresses rustling along marble floors. Bvlgari Rose Essentielle reminds me of something similar. A unique, not everyday perfume. But you can wear it in your cozy boudoir even when you are alone and feel like a queen.

It looks so promising when looking at the notes listed here- the woods, the spices, the blossoms..I expected a playful perfume of a whimsical princess, but found a shy and pretty scent instead:).I suppose that back in the day when it was created the quality and concentration was far superior to the formulation that is being used right now (it was made for the royal daughter, no less).. I smelled a light creamy orange blossom enveloped in sandalwood..There were whiffs of Tonka and Heliotrope along with some other undetectable notes, but orange blossom and sandalwood were the real stars.. It really is a light floral woody musc of very good quality. But that's all it is- don't be fooled by the notes.

I got it as a gift, nice pretty scent but definitely not worth the price. I'm glad I didn't spend the money on it because I will definitely be returning it. A serious unnatural chemical smell, especially after you smell another different perfume. It performs well on the skin, perhaps because of its unnaturalness.

When I have a sniff from the bottle, in my mind, there's a little girl wearing a pretty little dress, blowing bubble at her backyard garden, having tea party with her dolly. A little girl type of perfume like Annick Goutal Petite Cherie, means little darling.

I agree with arhytmetics’ review. Please don’t ignore it, as I did, lured by numerous positive reviews on Fragrantica. The fragrance does not remind pre-2015 version and smells unpleasant and cheap. Red card for Rance from my wallet, sorry.