Reviews of Eau d'Hadrien (1981)
by Annick Goutal

I stand with the minority of reviewers that dislike this Eau d’Hadrien. It is dominated by a rather harsh and unpleasant lemon note that I do not like at all (and I do enjoy quite a few lemon scents, ranging from Acqua di Parma Colonia to Eau Sauvage). I have tried it several times now and can’t get any enjoyment out of it; a definite thumbs down.

ALL THIS PRAISE HAS GOT TO STOP NOW!!!

Look, I've tried both versions of this and here is my summary:

Beechams Hot Lemon and Honey!

Now, do you really want to smell like that during spring and summer? I thought not…

[Original submission date: 25 May 2008]

It didn't make me happy while wearing it. I think this particular perfume is for a person of a melancholic nature that needs to brood. I'm not being sarcastic, it's just that I know there are different fragrances for different personalities.

I had to get rid of my bottle. When I swapped it, I felt guilty giving this melancholic perfume to someone to assist in their unhappiness. It just wasn't for me.

there are better citrus scents as this one.this is pure lemon and citrus-too intense with no staying power!very boring , simple and nothing special- go for eau sauvage ir yves saint laurent pour homme if you´re looking for a classical citrus summer scent or monsieur de givenchy but eau d´hadrien is a total waste of money-one of he most uninteresting scents ever made-lemon pure that lasts for 2 hours - if this scent is discontinued noone would miss it!By a cleaner at a drugstore and you get the same but for less money ..........................

Tart and crispy grapefruit blast at the top brings literally water to my mouth. I also think of poison-green tart and crunchy winter apples and raw rhubarb stem that makes your face look funny when you take a real good bite of it.
It’s absolutely wonderful. The opening, I mean.

The drydown is everything I suspect and feared: It really does go downhill quite fast, and it’s fading to this boring subtle citrus scent that has a notable soapy structure to it.

More oomph! and more range to those top notes I would probably love this much more. Perhaps in this case EdP concentration would do the trick.

Most of these Goutal scents are just way too quiet for me. I suppose I just like to reek as much as possible.

The citrus fragrances that are more into my liking are, just give you a couple of examples; Soda by GdG, Oyedo by Diptyque, M7 Fresh by YSL…..and then of course I love those rich citrus classics such as Eau Sauvage, YSL PH, Ungaro II etc.

The lemon top is too vivid and cutting for my tolerance. I prefer Goutal's Mandragore, which is slightly sweeter, deeper, and more interesting.

L'Eau d'Hadrien is guilty by association, a tragic victim of the contextual nature of scent perception. That overpowering, bitter cedrat and lemon oil scent has become so typical of "natural oil"-embellished household cleaners, detergents, furniture polishes and what have you, that the first whiff alone is enough to remind me of duties around the house I am little enamored of. Just what I need in a luxury fragrance. If we should ever be able to afford a cleaning lady, she'll be getting this for Christmas.

I bought a bottle of Hadrien Absolu blind. Not a good decision for me! As with nearly every Goutal I have sampled, it starts off with an incredibly harsh, bitter blast of topnotes. In this case, a very bitter citrus and wood smell. As it dries down it does soften, but the bitterness remains, and to that, arrives a musty, almost mildew-like smell. It lasts fairly well for a citrus scent, like 4-5 hours...it is an EDP after all. It projects way too much for my tastes, given what it is that it is projecting! Just for the record, I'm not commenting on the quality of the components or the composition here, just stating my experience and opinion. This is simply not my style of scent. If you like sharp, raw, and even bitter citrus scents, then check out Goutal's works. For a sweeter (and to my nose even more natural) take on the same raw sort of scent, try some of i Profumi di Firenze's fragrances, especially Costa Mediterranea.

A great Citrus for 10 minutes...Then, on my skin, wet cardboard...not impressed.

Eau d’Hadrien is an incredibly short lived, reasonably nice, but nothing special citrus fragrance. I just can’t really think of a reason to own this on a market that is flooded with more interesting, and longer lasting citrus fragrances.