Honey & Lemon (2007)
by L'Occitane

Exquisite, like everything made by L’Occitane.

26th March, 2010.

L’Occitane Honey & Lemon (Miel et Citron)

L’Occitane is one of those Houses that I hae really come to appreciate. They do nice quality scents at reasonable prices. A colognoisseur could do much worse than to have a wardrobe stocked with the offerings from L’Occitane. One of my favorites from L’Occitane is the 2007 release Honey & Lemon (Miel et Citron). L’Occitane once again manages to pull off an excellent approximation of a much more expensive scent at a much lower price. Honey & Lemon is a full-on gourmand and while the titular notes are present there is also some other notes which really give a rich feel to this scent. The top is the promised lemon but also there is some other citrus, mostly orange, there so while there is the tartness of lemon it is lightened up by the presence of the orange. Next up is the honey and this is a beautiful sweet honey accord that seems to have a thickness to it that other honey accords have not had, on me, in the past. It is joined by a caramel note which might lead one to think that the addition of another sweet note is gilding the sweetness lily a bit. In this case the caramel does firmly land the heart in cavity-inducing territory but it makes it a rich guilty pleasure instead of the kind of sweetness that gives you stomach cramps or, perhaps in this case, nose cramps? After such a sweet middle phase Honey & Lemon pulls back a bit as vanilla and patchouli finish this scent off, in the base. This allows the vanilla to be sweet but not as sweet as the two notes in the heart and the patchouli brings some needed contrast to nicely round this out. The only drawback to the L’Occitane family of scents is their longevity and Honey & Lemon has the same issue as it makes it through a normal work day for me but not much longer than that. The projection is modest and as stated before the price is low. I wonder if this was presented in a blind sniff with other much higher priced gourmands, how it would fare? My guess is it would hold its own and might even win.

22nd August, 2009.

[Comparing the two versions of the fragrance, Miel & Citron and Miel & Citron EDT Pailletée]

If you love the original (now called "Classic") Miel & Citron, be sure to test the new Pailletee Shimmering version before buying. The original is a smooth, creamy, caramely citrus blend, sweet but not syrupy thanks to the patchouli and vanilla base.

The the new Miel et Citron Pailletee Shimmering is true to its name: I smell two primarily notes: citrus and honey. As a result, this fragrance is at once sharper and waxier than the original: kind of like lemons in a bowl next to bees' wax candles. As it dries down, I detect less citrus and more green floral, but that bees' wax candle note never goes away, and I find the fruitiness a little sour.

Be sure to shake up the bottle before spraying to get the maximum shimmer, which is quite pretty. There's not so much sparkle that you'll look like disco queen, but just enough golden star dust to twinkle in the evening light.

In my own private paradise, Occitane would add shimmer to the original and exchange the two names.

2nd May, 2009.

A lovely, go anywhere scent that mixes well with their tea scents as well. The lemon is nice and zesty and not too tart and the honey is warm and dry. I ended up buying the lotions for layering, but may be back for the edt as well.

7th December, 2008.

An all natural alternative to Lolita Lempicka L. Just lovely! Smells like lemon vanilla cookies!

28th July, 2008.