Quel Amour! (2002)
by Annick Goutal

The same nanosecond that the cap came off the sample, I could smell perfume. Quel Amour! presents itself powerfully at first – that’s probably why its name ends with an exclamation point!!!! For what it is – a fruity-floral – it is very good. It has that “fruity-floral” down quite nicely, except that it’s more “FRUITY-FLORAL!!!” than “fruity-floral.” The opening is strongly fruity with peach predominating, but the potency does not last for very long before it settles down to tolerable peach / cherry duet. Those fruit notes hold for an extraordinarily long time for an Annick Goutal fragrance, eventualy to be replaced by the lavishness of peony coupled to the sharpness of rose hip and geranium – I don’t get a floral rose note at all except for a bit of that from the geranium. No drydown but the peony lingers.

Quel Amour! has more longevity than most Annick Goutal fragrances. It’s a pleasant, well-done floral that lacks, I think, the sophistication I expect from AG fragrances. It comes across as very girly and frilly.

I don't want to totally pan this fragrance because I'm sure it smells great on some people. But for me it had too much of a sweet "red fruit" fragrance like strong pomegranates, and unfortunately rather than being zesty, just smelled like nice air freshener. You can tell though that they used nice quality source materials. This must be delightful for some people, and I dare say even a good masculine for the right guy who could pull it off due to the unisex soap accord. I strongly advise to test first.

Quel Amour! is a very sweet fruity-floral that is one of the better offerings from this house. Although I have no reservations about its loudness, like Caltha, I probably would have appreciated it more if there was another note incorporated into the composition, to anchor the sweetness down.

It’s very nice but a bit too feminine for my tastes.

[Original submission date: 23 October 2008]

This is a bold and strong parfume even in edt form. Opens with a quality rose bouquet, then i got something reminding me bubblegums. bubble gums? no i got some berries, getting stronger and stronger. which berries? exactly the ones in the jungle berry bubblegums. i feel confused about it. It is well done but i do not feel charmed by it. As it become sour cherry over the rosy base and fade away i decided that it is not for me.

The notes listed are: peonies, wild roses, geranium rosa, red currants, pomegranates, cherries, and wine.

So: it's sweet and flowery, but luckily it's very unlike your average fruity floral (such as, for example, Dior's J'adore which seems to me the epitome of plain). I think the main difference is that QA doesn't seem a cold, sugary assimilation of fruit and flowers, preserved in alcohol. It's a blooming beauty! You can almost taste the ripe cherries and bury your nose in the soft blood-red rose petals and pink peonies.

Smells exactly like Bulgari Pour Femme to me. Otherwise, I agree wholeheartedly with Caltha's review. I love it on my three year old daughter, though!