Habit Rouge Eau de Parfum (2003)
by Guerlain

After having my sense of smell completely educated and enlightened by the edt version, I purchased this..the edp. Wow guerlain have basically taken the edt version and made every note denser and more rounded ..what we have is obviously a stronger and longer lasting habit rouge with a much slower dry down. There is less to smell tho with the edp, the dry down isn't a race either ..it's more a journey and that's why I prefer this over the edt..the higher concentration of alcohol in the edt kinda takes some of the elegance away (although the edt dry down has a fantastic light incense). The edt would work better in summer for sure because it is light and fleeting, exotic and thoughts of India come to mind. Overall tho I'll just say this , I think the general smell of habit rouge in whatever concentration and variation is the greatest I have come across. Darvant said it perfectly, each to their own habit rouge.

This is my favorite version of Habit Rouge.

An exquisite limes and citrus peels, bathed by woods and even softer leather, velvety and shiny. A powerful and delicate rose turns it into a fine and memorable powder.
Thus goes on and on, turning the opulent and beautiful roses, joined to a vanilla of the best taste.
Close elegant clean, attached to a glorious past, where the best fragrances have been created.
Three thumbs up!!!

This is a very nice fragrance. I enjoy wearing it because it's a work of art. I do wonder how it smells to other people, and how I would react if I smelled it on someone else. Here's the breakdown:

Right at the start is a very waxy citrus. It's not the powdery vanilla lemon of the original, it's like an old fashioned wax seal with a citrus cocktail, and that's it. Then things start to fade, but the middle notes kick in pretty quickly, and there it's a dry mossy rose with a bunch of resins, a fairly tame oud, and a nice dose of quality-smelling sandalwood. The middle is a little sour and a lot beautiful.

In this middle stage, it bears a bit of resemblance to Mitsouko in my opinion. To me it's Guerlain's masculine iteration of that classic. Don't get me wrong, this fragrance is totally unique, but it smells like someone poured a bit of Mitsy into the bottle.

At the end the vanilla peeks its had out along the oud and sandalwood and things just fade out from there.

I'm not a fan of the original, so don't judge this on the merits of that different fragrance. Also I think it's worth mentioning that thanks to the bergamot, oud, and spices there are a few distinct "cherry Dr Pepper" or cola-esque moments in this. They tend to come out more in warm weather--this is not a summer fragrance! I went out with my roommate who sprayed this on in the middle of the summer heat and he really smelled like a soft drink to me.

Definitely sample this. It's perfume as art, yes, but not everyone will want an entire bottle of this. Sometimes you want to admire a work of art in an exhibit and not necessarily hang it up on your wall! In my case, this fits in with my decor, but I'll put it up in my private study where very few will see it, but I can appreciate it from time to time.

I feel like nobody makes scents like this anymore. It's a shame.

Habit Rouge Eau de Parfum is an amazing OUD fragrance. That is all I can smell from first spray to the end (I figure it's the dry down... I am 3 hours in). It isn't YSL's M7 Oud Adsolu (which has more of a cola vibe that many have mentioned)and is smoother from start to finish. It's different than Supreme Oud by RL (not that Supreme Oud is bad). This is VERY linear for sure... showing the different faces of the OUD note as it drys. If you are in the market for OUD this is a good place to start especially for the quality and price. Enjoy!