Duel (2003)
by Annick Goutal

I've tried hard to like any fragrance in the Annick Goutal line, but only Eau du Sud comes close to being a purchase. Duel doesn't change things one iota. The Mate kills off any sparkle in the citrus notes and it stays as flat as dishwater thereafter. Very dull.

17th October, 2011.

When I read comments from people stating that a particular fragrance makes them sick, I often laugh - how could that be? That is until I tried Duel, I cant believe that it actually turns my stomach. Perhaps it just doesn't mix with my body chemistry, but it is extremely unpleasant on me. If you are a Goutal fan like me, experience Mandragore and Mandragore Pourpre, both are amazing!

25th June, 2011. (Last Edited: 21st August, 2011.)

With such a cool name I wanted to love this. But now, 3 minutes after applying to wrist, I feel ditched. Duel? Where did you go? Duel? I thought we were going to get french fries and hang out...

The ghostly scent that may or may not be on my arm seems like a pleasantly fresh citrus. One that smells slightly better than pez. Or maybe that is just me, all by myself, doing that? Maybe I just imagined applying? And tea...yeah, maybe tea! I guess. Maybe.

It does get stronger with time on me as the tea aspect develops. Really pleasant, I think, and really weak.

6th June, 2011.

A scraping of lemon peel up top; a watercolour leather, meagre iris, and mildly smoky maté tea leaves below. This could've been a discarded preparatory sketch for Hermès' Osmanthe Yunnan. The maté leaves, caught at the wrong angle, smell like stretched rubber. A discreet radiance when up and running, it also, lamentably, has the sneeze-and-you'll-miss-it longevity of which more than one Goutal fragrance is guilty. Overall, pleasant but feeble.

29th September, 2010.

Pleasant. Citrus -> rubber. Lasts about half an hour.

6th May, 2010.

Duel Cologne for Men by Annick Goutal (2003) is a wonderful deep,smooth,citrus fragrance that works for a man or woman. It's composition is green Maté absolute, Paraguay petit grain, Iris root, leather and musk. It does not have tobacco as noted on some sites. The scents that stand out are; Mate' absolute and Paraguay petit grain. The rest blend to make this scent round and smooth. It envelopes one rather than attacks. Just lovely!

13rd February, 2010.