Philtre d'Amour (2000)
by Guerlain

Nerver heard of this stuff until I tried it on paper at the guerlain «institute»...how snobish. I wasn't overwhelmed with the first few whifs I gave it, but on the way home, I smelled a few (of the many) paper strips I kept in my handbook. Philtre d'amour realy shows it't true sensuality only after the fresh citrus top fades away. You see i'm quite new to the world of fragrances and I kinna get mixed up trying to figure out the notes in perfumes. By example, I tend to see patchouli where their is apparently none... But gees, the only thing I figured out of Pd'A was the citrus top, something something, and a VERY seductive patchouli. Trying not to get influenced by the name of the perfume, I think that the patcouli note (and the whole fragrance for that matter) is extremely sensual and perhaps romantic like some people said.
two thumps up, well made... and smells appealing to me ;)

A name like Philtre d'Amour ('love potion') for a perfume makes you think of one of Guerlain's big oriental seducers. But Philtre d'Amour - a limited edition from 1999 - is a Jean-Paul Guerlain creation, and his focus on romantic rather than erotic love also shines through here: Philtre d'Amour is a romantic, slightly wistful and timid seducer. We're in the sunny, lemony world of Eau de Guerlain, but here more bitter and dry and also darkened with a sophisticated, nostalgic-green and unmistakably Guerlainish chypre-bouquet of herbs, like petitgrain and myrtle. Its herbal bouquet is not unlike the one found in Jacques Guerlain's magnificent breezy-dry Sous le Vent from 1933. A dusty-powdery, musky base - still with the nostalgic-green streak running through it - is perhaps what mostly justifies the designation as love potion. According to perfume expert Luca Turin, it would make 'a great masculine'. The uniqueness and sophistication of this fragrance qualified it for entering the prestigious 'Les Parisiennes' line in 2005.

I really wanted to like Philtre d'Amour. The reviews of it elsewhere were so glowing and I usually like citrus notes so I thought this would be for me. Sadly, it was not. It starts out smelling like a piece of lemon hard candy with a sparkly touch. Then then nice lemon note left and it becomes more of an aggressive masculine type scent - perhaps the petitgrain? Anyways, it kept intensifying and after 15 minutes I wanted it off my skin. It just became annoying! And that lasted for about 8 hours. Ugh.

Starts out crisp, with a distinctly juicy, tangy lemon, on the whole rather natural, supported by verbena and neroli. It is light but strong, with a lifting feeling, very open. The additional flora of lemonly geranium, spicy carnation, green myrtle and coriander are subtle and never overshadow the citrus. Animalic properties creep in gently as time goes by, in the form of musk. Together with the petitgrain, patcouli and myrtle, they create a woodsy, earthy, accord that is quite wild and attractive. The whole is gently sweetend with a little amber, never too sweet, as the fragrance gradually dries and rises into air.

One of the best perfumes I've ever worn, smells great on me! Bitter, but juicy at the same time, invigorating and still reflective. Unusual, I always feel I could almost drink it! When a local Guerlain shop was closing, they were selling out and I bought all the 6 bottles left. And though I'm quite merciful of character, I did not have mercy on a lady after me, who wanted to buy at least a single bottle. I treasure it, since it is very hard to get. Lemon and patchouli make this exceptionally good frame for the rest, I guess. I even tried my own hand in composing a copy and it went quite well, even though I lacked verbena and had too little of jasmin. Smelled quite interesting, but lasted only half an hour... How do they do it that Philtre and the other perfumes last so long?!

I didn't get the same reaction as the other two writers at all - as a matter of fact, it smelled so distinctively old-fashioned I was surprised to see it's a 2000 release. I thought I was sampling one of their vintage fragrances!
I think it was the patchouli that did it. I've never been a big patchouli fan, and it gave my sample a musty note, which combined with the lemon verbena smelled "old". It never really blossomed or evolved on my skin, and seemed muddled and unclear. It wasn't a bad experience, but wasn't pleasant either, and I was glad when it disappeared. Another limited edition Guerlain I don't have to worry about trying to find!