Habit Rouge Eau de Toilette Légère (2005)
by Guerlain

I purchased a bottle of Habit Rouge EDT Legere because i was hoocked by this new and unknown flanker while wasting my time in the duty free of Saint Petersbourg' s International Airport and nowhere i've met it again out there despite i use to travel a lot all around the world. In my opinion this one is a significantly different (and as said a bright and joyful) version of the classic one cause it lacks of each  element of the normal version's baroque majesty and i mean above all the animalic-leathery feel, the changeability of the wake, the sumptuosity of the effluviums alternance, the deliberately vintage-retro  earthy-rooty trail of hesperides, cedar and patchouli, the strong vanilla, the general woody, incensey, rosey and liquorous warmth etc. This is more similar to the Sport version because it starts with a fizzy-lemony-neroli accord that is sparkling, averagely spicy and strongly citrusy before the scent developes in a sort of drier leathery-musky kind of dry down, less heavy in vanilla (reduced in dosage) and above all in effluviums and balsams (benzoin, olibanum, labdanum). The leathery touch is more woodsy and contemporary than in the original formulation and the fragrance itself is a pleasant and dynamic musky-leathery-vetiver scent, a very different concoction in comparison to the great nocturnal Habit Rouge, the fragrance of the Louvre and Hermitage. Anyway, not bad at all. More adaptable to the hot and humid climates.

28th September, 2011.

It says "light" but I won't,as far as the strength is concerned.More citrusy than HR, which is more like sweet[sometimes] and more complex and heavy.
I love both of them.I don't know why but both of these makes me sleepy-surely they have calming effect.

16th December, 2010.

I have been a loyal HR fan for 23 years, and have mainly used the EDT. My loyalty (or is it resistance to change?) was tested when i came across a bottle of the Legere version in a shop here in Lagos. Without hesitation or testing (no testers) i bought it on the spot.

On first application, i actually smiiiiiiled! What a bright interpretation of my beloved HR! It was the HR i knew very well, yet fresher. The amped-up citrus top notes blasting a hip-hop hit using sampling of a classic 80's funk hit. Beautiful. But i was so glad to be reminded this was still my beloved HR, so i felt less disloyal and thought i should appreciate HR's (first class) attempt at a modern makeover.

Maybe because i live in the (35 centigrade +) tropics, in about 30 minutes a strong olfactory perception i began to experience was that Legere is quite animalic. "Animalic" has actually not been an impression that came to mind in all my years using and loving HR. I knew i had made one of the greatest finds of my fragrance experience, so far, as i am a skank-fiend. Reading the previous reviews here, i was therefore surprised at pluran's take. I believe he is correct, in his climatic environment, so it just may be that Legere is a climate chameleon. In the dry-down the oriental qualities begin to shine prominently, the woods and vanilla also playing their distinct melodies in harmonious accord. The animalic vibe still lurks in and out throughout the dry-down, depending on skin humidity.

Legere throws out sillage even better than HR EDT. Longevity is amazing, par for the course with the Guerlains i love.

Is Legere better than, or inferior to classic HR? Hard to answer. However, i will just say that while i will always respect and defer to age and experience, when a mature person goes through a makeover and comes out looking better and yet mature, then i would think that the person is all the better (inwardly and outwardly) for the makeover. I believe both HR and HR Legere both have their place in the same wardrobe, so one has a HR for a specific mood, time and occasion.

Many thumbs respectfully up!

11th July, 2009.

I'm quite shy to admit that I can't really tell the difference between the original and the Légère version. Light this is not. The sillage is equally vivid and the longevity impressive. Many hours on my skin and I'm still smelling it. Absolutely wonderful!

28th April, 2009.

I bought this first and then Habit Rouge EDC second. I like all of the incarnations of Habit Rouge, but I find the EDT a little too powdery for my taste. The EDC is sublime, but it wears like an EDC and the pitch of the fragrance tends to fall in the lower midrange.

Habit Rouge Legere is a much brighter scent than the EDC, and less powdery than the EDT. It really accentuates the citrus topnotes. In a way it's almost unisex, but there in the basenotes, the leather and musk are still there. I actually find this fragrance to be much stronger than the EDC, so it's not quite accurate to think that this is just a "light" version of Habit Rouge. I also keep getting this red licorice "twizzlers" note out of it. When I sniff this, I can see what Dunhill Desire for a Man tried to be and failed at miserably.

25th August, 2008.

IMO, one of the most fantastic scents ever from Guerlain. Perfect from start to finish and a great compliment to the original! This version has that little extra flair to make a huge difference in "wearabilty." I think that Mr. Guerlain explained it pretty well. A HUGE THUMBS UP and 5 STAR RATING!!

17th July, 2008.