Reviews of Habit Rouge Eau de Toilette Légère (2005)
by Guerlain

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.

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!!

This review is under revision.

With the newest Habit Rouge derivative, Eau de Toilette Légère from 2005, Jean-Paul Guerlain added a fizzy lime-lemony accord to the top notes and thereby modulated the whole Habit Rouge 'tune' into a bright, joyful key. While the classic Habit Rouge lives in a forest where smartly dressed haunters on horseback are garthered, Habit Rouge Eau de Toilette Légère lives in the city. Though still recognisably Habit Rouge, it's a brighter, sunnier, gayer scent. Very well constructed.

It's very hard to tell what has changed, but overall this version seems to be better blended, smoother, and not as rich. The topnotes seem stronger with more citrus and the bottom notes seem less sharp.

Being that the original was created back in 1965, I never thought I would wear a "dated" fragrance. Not until Guerlain released a Legere (means light in French) version, I was brave enough to give it a try. Because it wasn't released here in the US, by the grace and generosity of steely glint here on the Basenotes forum I managed to get a practically full bottle of the stuff. NO REGRETS, PEOPLE!!! At first because I didn't know what I was expecting, I was taken aback by the strong topnotes of lemon and lime! It remains on the rest of the drydown, but doesn't take first fiddle afterwards. The oriental part emerges, sensual, sweet with vanilla, some florals, with a hint of an earthy patchouli and warm woods. I managed to sample the original finally, and rather than the lemon-lime note taking the scent out of the depths like the Legere, they soon disappear a lot quicker and let the oriental notes prevail. They're both good and they both have their purpose in my fragrance wardrobe.