Petite Chérie (1998)
by Annick Goutal

For the EDP :
A very true Bartlett pear note opens big with Petite Cherie and quickly rose is quite prominent followed by a light non foody vanilla . The grass note is not perceptible to me but as a previous reviewer mentioned - there seems to be a watery accord in there towards the dry down . No cumin for me ,the rose is not musky to me at all.
Sometimes I get rose-vanilla water syrup and other times I get fresh cut peaches and vanilla. The pear note is fleeting though highly enjoyable. The best pear note I have smelt in a scent so far. This is a sweet fragrance but sweet like inhaling the aroma of 'fruit cocktail' - the good old canned variety (!) and not a huge gourmand.
Even for an EDP the tenacity is lacking somewhat. I find Folavril has better projection and tenacity even though it is of EDT strength .
I have read reviews that Petite Cherie resembles the smell of a new Cabbage Patch Doll.Having never owned a Cabbage Patch doll I have no scent associations of Petite Cherie with them.
I find Annick Goutals last well if sprayed on hair and onto fabric. They all last well if I spray my hair. If you like smelling your perfume - getting whiffs of it from time to time - spraying your hair is the wayto go with Goutals.
Very few scents are particularly 'girly' to me but Petite Cherie is most definitely very female ,girly, bright and wide eyed.
I am not particularly girlie but I guess I could use this to 'bring out' my girlie side ! :) It's good stuff but will not appeal to everyone I am sure. It's unusual - it smells fresh ,the accords are quite life like. If you like a sweet light aquatic rose plus vanilla- I think you may enjoy Petite Cherie.
Advice : Go straight for the EDP for better longevity .Layer with the body cream .

26th August, 2011.

It's easy to fall in love with a scent such as this. Classic yet simplistic, Petite Cherie has shown once again why I love Annick Goutal fragrances so dearly.

Although primarily fruit-based, with pear being the most notable accord, Petite Cherie proves to be quite refined and elegant, which are rare qualities in a fruity floral. I find the scent to be very rich and insanely addictive. My mother happens to love this fragrance with a passion, so it looks to me like I'll be buying her this for Christmas.

Petite Cherie is Spring and sunshine in a bottle. The refreshing pear note blended with rose, gardenia and peach makes this fragrance so very juicy and green, especially with the almost grassy-like note in the drydown.

Unfortunately, like many have stated, the lasting strength is very poor. I'm determined to find a giftset where a lotion and shower gel is included so that the scent should last a lot longer.

11th June, 2011.

The opening of lightly spiced poached pears is very pretty in the “little girl” manner that was no doubt intended, and the clean, bright, powdery base maintains the mood consistently once Petite Chérie’s pale white flower accord falls into place. Petite Chérie is vey quiet, as befits a scent for the very young, and it trails off into a sweet, powdery whisper inside of an hour. In its final moments it smells of nothing else so much as marshmallows, and what could be more appropriate in a scent for children?

I do have a reservation where Petite Chérie is concerned: while pleasant, it also seems more than a little bit insipid, and I’m not sure that’s absolutely necessary. My little girl for one, has a mischievous spark that a scent like this one cannot express. Hence, as a child’s scent I’d sooner recommend Goutal’s more pointed, though still chaste Eau de Camille, Eau de Ciel, or Le Chèvrefeuille.

16th December, 2009.

The opening blast was turpentine-y to me, too, but it doesn't last.  It's gone as soon as it dries, within seconds.  Then it's soft, sparkling peaches, and very faint rose, and...cumin?  I got a faint but detectable, and unfortunate, cumin note when I sniffed my wrist.  That, too, disappears, within half an hour, and it is all soft peach with what I take to be light grass taming it and keeping it from becoming too sweet.   It's really light and upon reading that it is a scent meant for children, I understand it better.  All in all, it wears fairly well on me and its lightness and lightheartedness is a surprisingly pleasant repast from my regular rotation.

27th February, 2009.

Very light notes with a pastel quality and yes, it's insipid, but I'd been looking for something like this, a fragrance calculated to be naive. There's something mouthwateringly wet about Petite Chérie's fruit and florals. It does remind me of fruit and petals in water.

That same 'water' accord does begin to smell plastic-like after a few minutes, which might be a turn-off to some but it reminded me of the toys I played with as a kid in the 80's, so I was pretty charmed.

13rd February, 2009.

Like some other reviewers, I immediately got a hit of something like "fizzy peach/pear liqueur," more pear than peach, which I found refreshing and quite summery. I don't get the cut-grass note, but rather something pleasantly astringent, like gin. (Actually, I'm now rather inspired to make a mixed drink of peach schnapps, Poire William, gin, and seltzer... must try that sometime when the weather's hot...) It then moved into a delicious-smelling, warm, fresh blend of peach and rose, which l enjoyed for about an hour before the scent gradually trailed off into faint whispers of rose. Doesn't last long, but the comfort factor is enormous.

I bought this for my 13-year-old daughter to try, but on her the opening notes are turpentiny rather than fruity. "What does this smell like?" I asked her after spritzing her wrist, fully expecting her to get the same notes I got. "Paint," she said. Paint?! Then I sniffed her wrist. Yup. On her, it's paint thinner which moves into a gentle rose.

It's pretty pricey for something that I only find sweet and comforting. I'll use up my sample, and then drink my "Little Darling" mixed drink while smelling garden roses. Ahhh. Much the same effect, far cheaper.

30th January, 2009.