L'Homme de Coeur (2002)
by Divine

It’s so simple. If you like iris note in masculine scents you will love L’homme de Coeur. Otherwise don’t even bother to try it. Clean, sweet, ethereal, powdery iris along with juniper and musk create a noble, non offensive scent that stays really close to the skin. You will never get the feeling that your scent “is wearing you” with this one. I only wish it had a little more longevity, but I am willing to compromise as this is a general Iris defect. Really nice bottle and clever refill system.

I quite like this, it starts out smelling of 'wet' sweet flowers (maybe rose). Over time it becomes powdery and fresh with a peppery note that appears in regular bursts.

In the opening I thought it was very similar to Ungaro III, so I tested the two alongside one and other. They are a little similar early on but diverge soon enough, though both have the wet floral note with a touch of pepper. For the most part I see a closer resemblance to Erolfa. Testing the two together I feel that the pair is indeed pretty close. The Divine has a little saltiness but far from as much as the Creed. The Creed is certainly fresher and has none of the Divine’s powderiness.

L'Homme de Coeur holds up quite well during the day and doesn’t eventually become musty (which I half expected) remaining pretty fresh until the end.

It may just be the weird effect of the comingling of juniper, angelica and iris, but the end result to me is old-fashioned powderiness in a cheaply synthetic-smelling "modern" context. The typical "violet leaf" note doesn't help either. A sinus-irritating bother of a fragrance. I find dior homme or TDC's Bois d'Iris far preferable.

My husband tried this and we both disliked it intensely. We had just sampled Dior Homme the night before and much prefer the iris in that. Maybe I object to the iris/juniper combination? To me, this smells similar to the old-fashioned bitter-sweet reek of certain perfumed toiletries, like Joico hair pommade or cheap French liquid shower soap. Obao or something. When the woody notes appeared we liked it better, but still were not seduced.

Pfeh, Lanvin's Oxygene Homme with a high price tag just without the aquatics.

I'm not sure if my skin does not work well with Divine's perfumes or what (I've also tried Divine's Divine and Divine’s L'Homme Sage) but L'Homme de Coeur smelled musty and camphory on me, almost like a house that has been shut up for a while. It may have been the Iris note but whatever it was, it was not a pleasant scent on my wrist or that of my guinea pig boyfriend’s.

Here are the notes per The Perfumed Court’s website: Top: Angelica, Juniper Berries and Cypress; Middle: Iris; Base: Vetiver, Ambergris, and Deer Tongue.