Published on September 4th, 2013 | by The Perfume Expert
Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Review
Guerlain’s La Petite Robe Noire is a fun and flirty sweet Fruity-Floral scent that surprises as much as it captivates and delights!
Translated as the “Little Black Dress”, Guerlain portrays the sophisticated chameleon-like properties of the wardrobe staple representing the various themes of a little black dress from classy to sexy, demure to fun, and from elegant to show-stopping!
It is a modern Guerlain fragrance suited for the younger or newer Guerlain clients, as opposed to the mature and sophisticated Guerlain classics that have been around for years and some for centuries. I’m talking about the perfumes here not clients…although Guerlain has had its share of sophisticated clients since the 1800’s the likes of Napoleon’s Josephine and the Queen of England just to name a few!
Nonetheless, La Petit Robe Noire is for the vibrant and confident woman, young and old alike, wanting to steal the spotlight and liven up the party while still maintaining her integrity, class and grace!
The woman who wears this fragrance captivates a room not only with her beauty but her quick wit and keen intellect. She knows who she is, lives life to its fullest, is a mover and a shaker!
La Petit Robe Noire is pretty in a dainty way, sweet in a mature way, fruity in a sophisticated way, and flirty in a classy way. In fact, I will be so bold as to say that is the most complex, classy, and sophisticated Fruity-Floral on the market. Like everything that Guerlain’s golden fingers touch, it is pure class!
When all other Fruity-Florals seem immature and overly sweet, Guerlain uses it’s subtle and impeccable taste to create a scent that balances perfectly the delicate dance of being pretty but not girly, sweet but not coy, bold but not crass, fun but not naive, and fresh but not immature.
Guerlain makes several versions of La Petite Robe Noire, five in total, and while still maintaining the same rich Cherry and sweet through-line, each smells unique and each captivating in a different way. The newest and most popular of the line are the new La Petite Robe Noire Eau de Parfum and Eau de Toilette. This is one example of how an Eau de Parfum version of a fragrance can be a completely different scent than the Eau de Toilette version of the same fragrance (See article here).
Both are of equal elegance and complexity and both deserve equal ratings for their unique and unsurpassed renditions of the ever-popular Fruity-Floral fragrance family. Most importantly, both deserve a place in our fragrance wardrobes just as our multiple LBDs!
La Petite Robe Noire Eau de Parfum is sweeter, in a deep sense, and more lush than it’s Eau de Toilette sister. La Petite Robe Noire Eau de Parfum represents more of the elegant, sophisticated, and classic black dress. The kind of LBD you’d wear to a dinner party for your company’s CEO or to an opera gala.
As with almost all Guerlain fragrances, there is no usual scent note hierarchy of top notes, middle notes and base notes; instead notes weave in and out of each other like a dance and develop at different rates to give a unique scent experience and a personal experience too, as I have never encountered the same Guerlain fragrance twice. Each fragrance smells different on every person and not only that but every fragrance smells different at different times when worn by the same person.
This Eau de Parfum is a glamorous waltz of rich Cherries, tart Red Berries, deep Licorice & Anise, smooth sweet Almonds, smoky Black Tea, and powdery Iris. You do get an initial bit of sparkling Bergamot but it quickly fades into this rich edible mixture of berries, slight gourmand notes, and soft powders. The scent swirls in your senses almost creating a heady and intoxicating sweet red wine scent poured onto a bed of regal Roses. Deepened even more with creamy Vanilla and warm Tonka Bean to send every nose in your direction. It captivates, it intoxicates, and it holds the attention of everyone near.
What the Eau de Parfum makes up for in terms of sophistication, class and intellect, the Eau de Toilette makes up for in wit, charm, and vibrancy! La Petite Robe Noire Eau de Toilette represents the LBD that you’d wear to a cocktail party or a night on the town. It is a more effervescent scent overall, yet still dries down to the same rich sweet Cherry accords.
But you definitely get a spark of zingy crispness at first spray, with bursts of juicy Apple and fresh greens. But then the transformation begins. At first, the fragrance is delicately floral with spring-like Orange Blossoms and Rose, but then intoxicating Jasmine swirls in and captivates the senses. This dance of notes is further intensified by ripe deep Cherries and rich Patchouli. But I am totally swept off my feet when the red Cherries are dipped in a magical combination of sensuous Musk and warm white Amber that almost result in a cherry pie accord that is utterly lip licking.
Guerlain’s habit of creating some of the worlds’ best fragrances with quality and complexity is, in my opinion, unsurpassed. And although this fragrance is of the more trendy type, it still maintains that luxurious quality and rich complexity that stands it on a pedestal, making all other trendy department store fragrances of its kind appear like drug store body sprays! I am truly impressed! So often long-standing perfume houses try to cater to the younger market and end up lowering their standards in the process, but not Guerlain. La Petit Robe Noire is the most successful launch from an old perfume house to a new market! And this unique and classic scent along with their amazing ad campaign proves why!
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The Perfume Expert Rating
Summary: La Petite Robe Noire is the most sophisticated and classy Fruity-Floral on the market. Representing the chameleon-like qualities of a "Little Black Dress" this scent is captivating, elegant, alluring, and vibrant, yet in a graceful, elegant way. Unlike all other Fruity-Floral scents on the market, La Petite Robe Noire is complex and develops into a subtle dance of scents focusing on deep lush Cherries, making it fun yet not naive, sexy yet not provocative, sweet yet not coy, pretty yet not girly, and smart yet not pretentious. This is THE PERFECT sweet, fruity, floral scent!