Quel Amour! by Annick Goutal, 2002

I see red! Wear QUEL AMOUR! and you will too: wild roses, rose geranium, red currants, pomegranates, and cherries. Yes, there's an awful lot of red going on in this rich fruity-floral perfume, and all of it is good! The fruits and florals are well-balanced, each carrying their weight and not being drowned out as is often the case in fragrances of this kind. The other primary virtue of this creation to someone like me, with whom fruit notes are notoriously uncooperative, is that these juicy red fruits really are fresh. They are not plastic or artificially sweetened or rotting or sour or vaguely (or profoundly...) emetic. Not at all. It goes perhaps without saying that I am not really, in my throbbing red heart of hearts, the fruity-floral type, but QUEL AMOUR! has made a believer out of me (along with Ineke BRIAR ROSE, which is even better...). Yes, it is at least *possible* to create a wearable, enjoyable, fruity-floral perfume for adults. For years, I believed that the sheer possibility might be precluded by some arcane law of perfume logic, but this sort of composition, albeit rare, roundly refutes that hypothesis. Although QUEL AMOUR! is relatively simple, it's quite nice for what it is and certainly leaps and bounds better than the vast majority of fruity-floral BHT nightmares on the market today, most of which are pointless and some of which I find even painful to wear. The red here is saturated, making this perfume rather assertive. The longevity is also good, like a deep red wine stain on a white linen tablecloth. Even after a full night of sleep, the rose geranium, in particular, lingers on...

I was so relieved when I read here that Quel Amour had a note of mint. I spent many hours trying to determine whether or not my nose had become incredibly confused. Strangely enough, I sensed the mint when I first applied Quel Amour to my skin. It was almost like a breath of toothpaste wafting up to my nose. Although to many that description may be unpleasant, to me it was different and somewhat appealing. The scent began with its minty freshness, before developing into a rich, romantic and classic floral. Peony and rose are very prominent notes in this fragrance. The scent reminded me of beautiful, old-fashioned trinket shops where the smell of pure rose oil used to fill the store. Like most Annick Goutal fragrances, Quel Amour has such a charming presence. In my opinion however, you won't like this fragrance if you don't like her previous scents. Quel Amour is more of an old-fashioned, classic, early 1900's inspired fragrance rather than being a modern scent. The fruity notes in Quel Amour aren't all that strong, although they are present. The peach is hidden in there somewhere however it has been overshadowed by the peony and rose. Quel Amour is your quintessential, rose scented Spring/Fall scent. Thinking of possible similarities, Stella by Stella McCartney comes to mind, however Quel Amour is much lighter and not as modern. This fragrance contains all natural oils and ingredients so you are guaranteed no artificial surprises. The scent is actually really long-lasting on my skin, and that is just for the EDT.

Quel Amour! A Love Story:

Oh, how I love a fruity floral, but oh, how over-the-top they tend to be these days with a sweetness that's almost suffocating! Although fruity-floral is one of my favorite fragrance families (if not my absolute favorite), sometimes it's hard to find one that doesn't smell like an expensive counterpart to a Bath & Body Works fragrance or one that's appropriate for someone over the age of 25 (not that there's anything wrong with being 25).

I also adore the scent of a rose, but every time I think I've found the perfect rose fragrance on paper, it leaves me flat, disappointed - deflated even - not to mention covered in a dry down that smells suspiciously like Playdough or a 70-year-old lady ( not that there's anything wrong with being 70) depending on how humid it is that night.

Enter: Quel Amour! Where the heck has it been all my life? It's everything I want a fruity floral to be: slightly tart and almost - but not quite - sweet. It's both sensual AND sophisticated, and best of all, even as an EDT it seems to last forever on me.

I kept waiting for the rose to turn into Playdough, and it never did; instead just mingling with the with the tartness of the berries with a very soft powdery veil. Quel Amour! is intimacy and candlelight and Brut champagne with berries bouncing in the bottom of the flute, and at the same time a sunny breeze on a June afternoon when the flowers and berries have just come into bloom and before the summer air has become a sticky, humid mess.

I admit, although the flowery notes seem like rose to me, I actually have a sneaking suspicion that what I'm really smelling here is geranium, which is perhaps why it never got around to rapidly aging me into an old woman. I'd forgotten how much like roses geraniums are, but Quel Amour! reminded me.

I am so excited about this fragrance that I've written it a love letter and then sprayed it with itself, and that letter goes a little something like this:

Quel Amour!, mon amour, you deserve that exclamation point in your name that I admittedly thought was a little wacky at first! You are my new favorite smell and I love you. I love you because you are what fruity florals are supposed to be. I love you because you make me feel beautiful, even in my ugliest nightgown. I love you because when you show up, I can tell you're into me because you linger for awhile. But most of all, Quel Amour!, I love you because when your silky caress is on my skin, I still smell like a grown woman and not an active sorority sister ( not that there's anything wrong with active sorority sisters...sort of ).