Guerlain

YSL Libre vs. Mon Guerlain Comparison

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Libre by YSL has become a pretty popular lavender based fragrance. Another such option, is the even more popular Mon Guerlain. Due to their similarities, they often can get compared and become the final two options that women are deciding on to purchase. In this post, I want to give my comparison of these two perfumes, and go through why I think one is better than the other.

Tale of the Tape: Mon Guerlain vs. YSL Libre

Mon Guerlain

Notes include: jasmine, vanilla, lavender, sandalwood, tonka bean

Click here to try: Guerlain Mon Guerlain Eau De Parfum Spray 100ml/3.3oz

Read my review: Mon Guerlain EDP

Libre EDP

Notes include: lavender, white musks, orange flower, vanilla, orchid

Click here to try: Yves Saint Laurent Libre Eau De Parfum Spray for Women 90ml/3oz, clear

Read my review: Libre EDP

Opening

Mon Guerlain starts things off with a sweet aroma of vanilla and tonka bean. Though, the way that the fragrance mixes with other notes in its composition, it starts to develop a caramel-like scent.

Then, Mon Guerlain will shift and become more about the lavender and vanilla notes, striking a somewhat similar smell to Libre.

Libre begins with citrus, but is already heavily floral from the start. Orange blossom is paired with the lavender early on, but the lavender will take on the much stronger role between the two. 

Which is better? I prefer the start of Mon Guerlain. You still get the lavender note like YSL Libre, but you also get that sweeter and delicious opening. I think that it smells better and also more interesting.

Edge: Mon Guerlain

Projection

Mon Guerlain has a moderate sillage overall. It’ll be noticeable and project itself fairly well, but isn’t going to overtake a room with a normal amount of spraying.

Libre is firmly in the strong camp. Not the most powerful scent that I’ve come across, but it is well above average, especially among most popular designer scents. Both have nice performance, but Libre is a notch above.

Edge: Libre

Longevity

During testing, Libre would last on my skin for just over 9 hours. While it does have the stronger sillage, I actually get better performance most of the time from Mon Guerlain.

So, Mon Guerlain will do 8 hours at the low end, but it does go over 10 hours. It has a higher ceiling, but lower floor when compared to the Saint Laurent perfume.

Edge: Mon Guerlain

 

Versatility

Both of these scents can be worn for much of the year, outside of the summertime. So, seasonally they are about equals. 

They are both very versatile, being daily wears, that can also be worn casually. I’d say that Mon Guerlain has the edge, as it can venture closer to formal wear and doesn’t skew as much to the younger age range as Libre.

Edge: Mon Guerlain

Overall Scent

Libre is an interesting fragrance and has it merits, but I’m not in love with it. It’s a bold lavender fragrance, that dries down into a creamier scent, with its vanilla note. Not a very deep scent and has an emphasis on the floral notes, including that opening orange blossom.

Mon Guerlain is just better to my nose, overall. It also has the lavender and vanilla, but feels more balanced, especially when the jasmine comes into play. Beyond that, the opening sweetness is a great touch, and Mon Guerlain is smoother/creamier.

Mon Guerlain pretty easily wins this one. Libre isn’t a bad perfume, it just doesn’t reach the same level as its competitor.

Winner: Mon Guerlain

La Petite Robe Noire by Guerlain Eau de Parfum Review

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So, I’ve received two samples of La Petite Robe Noire fragrances by Guerlain, and it of course confused me as to which one was which. There seems to be a long complicated structure to when the original was released and then all of the subsequent flanker perfumes that all have very similar bottles. Never mind all of that though, this post will take a closer look at the Eau de Parfum version of this Guerlain scent, and present my opinions on how it smells, performs, and when it should be worn.

What does La Petite Robe Noire Smell Like?

Notes include: black cherry, rose, almond, licorice, black tea, red berry, vanilla, and more

Click here to try: Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Eau de Parfum Spray for Women, 3.3 Ounce

My Full Review

The opening is a blend of black cherry and berry notes that has a heavy syrup quality to it, much like the type of cherries you’d find at a bar or used as candy flavoring.

This does have that strong candy/medicinal aroma that can wear on me, thanks to the licorice note, much like the one found in Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin. However, it doesn’t bother me as much in this eau de parfum, as it does in that men’s fragrance.

As it dries down, I do begin to detect more of the almond and vanilla note in La Petite Robe Noire. It gives it a bit of a different profile than that strong almost overly sweet start and some much needed depth to the perfume.

What’s interesting, is that even though this is a sweet/fruity fragrance, it does have a darker and less girly feel than many similar fragrances of its ilk. Also, as it wear it does seem to evolve further, while never losing its cherry aroma.

The black tea, rose, and other floral notes begin to take shape and make me appreciate this scent even more.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, it starts off strong for the first ten minutes or so, before it fades into something much more moderate and tolerable. That opening sweetness can feel a lot more powerful, than the perfume actually is.

The longevity struck me as pretty good but not insane, I would say it lasted about 6-7 good hours on my skin. It’s about in line with what I’ve come to expect from this series.

I think that this is a scent for colder weather. La Petite Robe Noire does have that kind of sweetness that can overwhelm and annoy some people, so I’m not too sure that I’d recommend it for office or school wear. Best to be worn on an evening out, it would seem.

Overall Impressions of La Petite Robe Noire EDP

Overall, would I recommend this fragrance? For some people, yes. If you’re in the market for a solid cherry based scent, this could be one to explore. I find it very interesting, but not incredible, by any means.

I like when the opening settles down and more of the almond and vanilla comes through. That’s when Robe Noire is at its absolute best.

In my opinion, it’s decent to good but for some ladies this might be love at first sniff…and others still will detest this parfum. It’s definitely one to try out and not expect a universal appeal while wearing it. A mostly good Guerlain scent.

La Petite Robe Noire Couture by Guerlain

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This is going to be my second review of Guerlain’s La Petite Robe Noire series of fragrances. There seems to be 80 million variations of this namesake perfume and they all come in bottles that look close to the same. The original La Petite Robe Noire that I reviewed was highlighted by a black cherry note with berries and almonds supporting. Today’s review is going to cover the Couture version in an Eau de Parfum. So, let’s go ahead and jump into my review, starting below.

What does La Petite Robe Noire Couture Smell Like?

Notes include: patchouli, raspberry, bergamot, rose, tonka bean, moss, and vetiver.

Click here to try: Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Couture Eau de Parfum, 3.3 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

From the opening, I of course notice how similar Couture and the original Petite Robe Noire are to one another. Now, Couture replaces the black cherry and other red berries for a singular raspberry note.

It is interesting how this one maintains its sweetness and has a similar aroma to the first one just by swapping the fruit note. Couture feels like it has just inverted some of the background players in the original and then dropped some other notes in favor of new ones like the raspberry.

There also is a very noticeable patchouli note in this. It’s combination with the raspberry reminds me of Black XS for Men and how it pairs itself with a lemon note. However, that men’s fragrance develops into a fairly acrid smell while Couture remains sweet and pleasant.

This perfume also contains a rose note that gets tempered by the presence of patchouli. The rose and the tonka bean pair to give Couture its smooth and powdery element and prevents the sweetness from going too overboard.

The dry down period, gives Couture a nice change of pace as the moss and vetiver begin to emerge and develops into a much more grounded woody base. It’s nice and not too masculine but I think that it gives this fragrance more character.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, La Petite Robe Noire Couture is pretty moderate but by no means weak. It’s not a perfume that will choke out a room. Nonetheless, I noticed it waft up from the skin many times during the day, as I tested this scent out.

Couture seems to have pretty good but not amazing longevity with around 7 hours of wear being well within its abilities. Not an elite perfume, with how long it lasts, but it is certainly a serviceable fragrance.

I’m not sure that I could classify this as a certain ‘season’. It would seemingly work well in all but the high heat of summertime and is versatile enough to wear at the office or out for a date.

Overall Impressions of Couture

Overall, is La Petite Robe Noire Couture worth a buy? Yes, granted you enjoy sweet fragrances. The patchouli isn’t bad in this one, which is usually a note that I don’t care too much for. If you’re not really into sweets, I’d probably avoid this one as it might be headache inducing for you.

That being said, if you enjoy fruity floral scents, this is a very solid choice. I actually think that I like it better than the original fragrance that it followed. Couture isn’t a super powerful fragrance, but it does have a good use as a daily wear, so at a good price it might be worthwhile.

The vetiver and moss in the drydown, does help to set Couture apart, and comes across as a greenish aroma. Somewhat dry itself and a nice contrast from the raspberry and sweetness as a whole.