Reviews of 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.

Superb iris as others have described. Masculine. Very very close to the skin. Would be bottle worthy if it projected more.

Superb iris, indeed. I am very surprised, though, that no one here has drawn the most obvious comparison yet: Versace's Dreamer.

L'Homme de Coeur is a softer, slightly more sophisticated version of The Dreamer, IMHO, but with four to five times the price tag. None of the tobacco of The Dreamer, granted, nor the sharpness of Iris Bleu Gris, nor the mystery of Iris Silver Mist. Still, of all the iris frags out there, its closest cousin remains, IMHO, The Dreamer.

An iris scent for men that’s modern without being trite, Divine’s L’Homme de Coeur is exactly what Dior Homme should have been. After a brief citrus fanfare L’Homme de Coeur reveals a creamy, smooth iris that reminds me a bit of Maurice Roucel’s Iris Silver Mist for Serge Lutens. In this case the iris is spiked with a dab of lively juniper – a very clever touch that offsets and lightens the velvety texture of the iris. L’Homme de Coeur’s iris rests on a foundation of lightly sweetened crisp woods that keeps what could have been an overly thick scent surprisingly clear and buoyant.

None of this projects too much, so L’Homme de Coeur works mostly as a skin scent on me. It sweetens gradually as I wear it, but always remains quite cool, drying down after three or four hours to a soft woody (cypress?) and vanilla base. This is a very dignified and discreet scent that would be easy to wear on almost any occasion. It’s not sexy or romantic, but it’s very, very civilized. L’Homme de Coeur belongs beside Iris Bleu Gris, Iris Poudre, and Iris Silver Mist in the upper echelon of iris fragrances.

A masterpiece, the fragrance that made me become a Divine-addicted. I have always been too critic about men's "fresh" fragrances, they always seem to me quite boring and conventional. This is actually a "fresh" perfume too, but a unique way of "freshness"; is fresh as a green north meadow after a rainy afternoon, dancing in a light grey breeze, drops falling from the fresh leaves. A cold watercolour picture of the French north coast on a mid-november day. Melancholy with a touch of smile. The central and charming iris note brings the first fresh and light notes (lavender, orange, juniper) gently through a fairy violette to the soft ending carpet of vetiver and muscs. I know that these words could make it appear as a "normal" good fragrance; believe me, it's not.

Lovely, involved, definite but close to the skin. Others have described this as short lived, and it's true that the strong angelica and juniper topnotes calm down quickly. The iris persists, though, through a slow progression that is increasingly animalic, earthy. It is a fragrance that has to be learned to be clearly perceived, not one that shouts its name to you.
This is an intense aesthetic experience to me. It is a guardian spirit, meditative and subtle, a gentle rumble. To me, this is how Rilke's terrifying angels of the Duino Elegies would smell.

H'm, yes! I smell the Woody Iris that Turin described in his long gone blog. He also described it as unusual, and that's the truth of it.

Homme de Coeur immediately expands into my sinuses and give me a piercing ache--the wood pencil shavings and graphite lead note--which is too bad because I think this is a very good fragrance after this initial burst quietens down.

There may be some issues with longevity as well.

I prefer L'Homme Sage from the same house.

This is the most unique iris fragrance I’ve tried. At first it doesn’t even seem to be an iris fragrance—it seems to be quite green—coniferous green. But very quickly those undeniable earthy, powdery, sensual iris notes flow into the olfactory picture. They progressively imbed themselves among the opening greens and florals creating a full-blooming iris accord that retains just the right tinge of those juniper, vetiver, and cypress notes: It’s a green and clean and earthy and masculine iris—the most masculine of the irises that I have tested. And yet it retains the delicacy and transparency of any well-bred iris fragrance. The dry down is of vetiver, amber, and musk still blessed by the iris persona: An excellent, creative, glowing fragrance, indeed.

I didn't expect to like this, but tried it along with the magnificent L'Homme Sage when the samples came, and what do you know? I really liked this. I bought this! I will wear this a lot this summer. The iris is balanced against the bacing vetiver and other notes, and it is a perfectly acceptable masculine fragrance. It is perfect for warmer weather as it is decidedly cool aspect. It might be described as a French barbershop smell, very, very, very high end, very unique French barbershop. This is a truly great floral-cool-bracing fragrance that is unlike anything you have tried before. You will not smell like anyone else when you wear this, and only those you permit close access to your person will smell it, and appreaciate it. You will be very happy wearing this scent. Applied in the morning, it lingers like a lovely song til evening.

Joe

I've tested it on the tanned skin in St. Malo and found it very nice and quite long lasting, very suited in the crisp breeze of Britain climate. It's curious that his creator in person sprayed it on my wrist!
He told to me it's a composition dedicated to the man in love; a blend of angelica, juniper, lavender, bergamot, cypress, IRIS, violet leaves, liatrix, ambergris, vetiver and musk.

Unique. I bought a decant roll-on of this edt recently. To start, it moves fast. Right out of the bottle, the top note starts off with the scent of old lipstick (must be the carrier) but almost immediately blooms into a blend of juniper berries and a cedar-floral note I cannot nail down (I am so bad at this sometimes). Then from underneath, a hint something earthy and animal rises. If I pull the scent up deeply into my nose from right off the surface of my hand, there is a very subtle smell of... what else can I call it... baby vomit! but not in a bad way. It's clean and virginal baby vomit and it is WAY down there at the bottom where it serves as a good foundation for all this other stuff brimming to the top; cotton candy, amber, and a hint of grass. The sum effect is subtle and unmistakable and definitely incomparable. (It smells like...L'Homme de Coeur.) In case you are wondering, I like this one... a lot.