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Miller Harris Un Petit Rien ~ new fragrance

Posted by Robin on 9 December 2009 40 Comments

mh

Miller Harris Un Petit Rien, due to launch this month, is a new lighter version of 2006's L'Air de Rien, the fragrance inspired by Jane Birkin:

A lighter version of the original L'Air de Rien fragrance, created especially for iconic actress Jane Birkin. A delicate scent which blends Neroli, Oak Moss and Musk, to successfully embody the elegance and mystery of its muse. Jane Birkin's delightful nymph illustrations adorn the flacon...

Miller Harris Un Petit Rien launches at Harrods this month, and is £60 for 50 ml Eau de Cologne. (via press release from Harrods)

Filed Under: new fragrances
Tagged With: flanker, miller harris

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40 Comments

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  1. Absolute Scentualist says:
    9 December 2009 at 11:43 am

    This sounds quite nice for the summer months. But an EdC concentration? Hmmm… Maybe the lasting power’s meant for summer, too.

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    • miss kitty v. says:
      9 December 2009 at 11:45 am

      It’s weird, because I was thinking Rien was really light already. But maybe my memory’s just off.

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    • Minnie says:
      9 December 2009 at 11:54 am

      I’ve always been confused about edc’s strength in relation to edt and edp. Is it weaker than both of them?

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      • mals86 says:
        9 December 2009 at 12:17 pm

        You’re right, eau de cologne is toward the bottom of the strength ladder.

        Robin explains more fully here: https://nstperfume.com/perfume-faq/

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        • Minnie says:
          9 December 2009 at 12:20 pm

          Thanks!

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          • pigoletto says:
            10 December 2009 at 10:28 am

            Just adding, even though that is correct, there are brands like Jo Malone who label their scents are cologne, but they are clearly stronger than most other scents labelled cologne. I’m guessing there’s some more or less official scale of % of scent that makes cologne/EDT/EDP/parfum, but like anything else I imagine liberties are taken with the numbers, and also that there is a image they want to project by saying (Jo Malone) they are all colognes (I guess it psychologically makes sense if you are presenting the line as everything being able to be cross blended and not really calling anything a man’s or woman’s scent specifically. You probably end up selling more across the board to everyone, rather than certain scents to certain sexes.

          • Robin says:
            10 December 2009 at 12:21 pm

            So far as I know, there is no official scale at all, and there is a great deal of overlap.

    • Robin says:
      9 December 2009 at 12:22 pm

      Could be!

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  2. Dolly says:
    9 December 2009 at 11:57 am

    I don’t know about you folks, but it’s dumping like mad here in this section of the Northeast. Anyhow, this seems like a nice, uncomplicated scent for spring, but I’m getting the feeling that it doesn’t have enough staying power for my tastes.

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    • Robin says:
      9 December 2009 at 12:22 pm

      Not here, knock on wood.

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  3. Dolly says:
    9 December 2009 at 11:58 am

    Might be a good choice for a young girl’s introduction to fragrance.

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    • mals86 says:
      9 December 2009 at 12:14 pm

      Or maybe not… LT called the original something like “fantastically unwashed.”

      I haven’t smelled it, but Angela compared it to Bal a Versailles, and invoked stables. Other reviewers have mentioned dirty hair and sweaty subway stations.

      But I don’t know… if said young girl likes horses and is familiar with their real-life smell, it could be a winner.

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      • Suzanne941 says:
        9 December 2009 at 12:15 pm

        …or if she rides the subway! 🙂

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        • mals86 says:
          9 December 2009 at 12:21 pm

          Could be!

          You know, I absolutely adore the way my boys’ hair – and my brother’s too, when he was very young – smells when they’ve been running around outside. It’s slightly sweaty, but somehow not the same as if they’re running around *inside* and playing basketball in the gym, or the like. It’s like a cross between slightly-sweaty skin and sheets dried outside on the clothesline. And neither my sister’s hair, nor my daughter’s hair (nor my niece’s!) smells like that – just the boys. It’s just one of those inexplicable things.

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      • norjunma1 says:
        9 December 2009 at 12:18 pm

        And what little girl doesn’t love horses?

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        • Andrea D says:
          9 December 2009 at 12:20 pm

          This one.

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        • mals86 says:
          9 December 2009 at 12:24 pm

          Oh, lots of them do, without ever having been close to one. Most people do love horse smell; it’s just that not everyone has had the opportunity to smell a horse up close and personal…

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          • miss kitty v. says:
            9 December 2009 at 12:29 pm

            I love the smell of horses. I’ve always said if you smell like horse, prepare to have me follow you around all day.

          • norjunma1 says:
            9 December 2009 at 2:10 pm

            OK. Comment amendment: What little girl doesn’t like the idea of a horse? (This is all said tounge-in-cheek, of course, of course).

          • ggperfume says:
            9 December 2009 at 3:11 pm

            I love to look at horses but not to smell them. And I don’t like the smell of hay either, because in quantity (as around any stock barn) it makes me wheeze miserably. So much for my dreams of raising alpacas. . .

          • Haunani says:
            9 December 2009 at 8:30 pm

            I love hay, but horses kind of scare me. They’re so BIG!

      • Dolly says:
        9 December 2009 at 12:39 pm

        You seem to like some sweaty things, Mals.

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        • mals86 says:
          9 December 2009 at 1:05 pm

          Hmmm. And yet, I have not tried L’Air de Rien!

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          • bloody frida says:
            26 March 2010 at 11:47 am

            L’aDR is one of my faves of all the new fragrances I have tried – if you swapped, Mals, I would send you a sample as I bought a full bottle.

    • Robin says:
      9 December 2009 at 12:22 pm

      No, don’t think so!

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  4. Dolly says:
    9 December 2009 at 12:36 pm

    I like the smell of a leather saddle. And that woody smell of an indoor corral. Horses, nah. To each his own.

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  5. Joe says:
    9 December 2009 at 12:50 pm

    I know a lot of people find L’Air de Rien kind of putrid, and I disliked it at first, but as I was preparing to send it away in a swap promise a couple months back, I sampled it again and liked it. I wish I hadn’t given the sample away. To me it’s sort of evokes the same response as the mustiness of Jicky edt (without really being like Jicky at all).

    I also didn’t think it was so strong as to require a lighter version. The original must sell well if they’re doing a flanker?

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    • Robin says:
      9 December 2009 at 1:13 pm

      I’m guessing that it does sell, but that they think fewer people will find it putrid if it’s lighter?

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  6. Bee says:
    9 December 2009 at 1:41 pm

    I love the original! it is NOT putrid! or maybe I’m biased, anyway, nobody complains when I wear it (not even my difficult boss, a Chanel Nr. 5 addict). It is however powerful, 1 spray a day is enough…I’ll try this lighter version, but don’t think I need it

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    • Robin says:
      9 December 2009 at 2:17 pm

      Oh, many people love it! But some people don’t, apparently — and in general that’s probably true of most any perfume.

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  7. cazaubon says:
    9 December 2009 at 2:49 pm

    The original had oakmoss.. I wonder if the lighter version is perhaps in reaction to the new IFRA restrictions? I did not think it was too heavy myself, but I like strong scents.

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    • Robin says:
      10 December 2009 at 12:18 pm

      I don’t know, but doubt it as they don’t seem to be discontinuing the original.

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  8. sapphie says:
    9 December 2009 at 9:15 pm

    I get more compliments on L’Air de Rien than any other fragrance. But then, I wear it more than any other fragrance. I’m not sure how it came to be associated with words like “putrid”. Granted, I found it difficult at first, and it took me a few tries to appreciate the beauty of this one. I hope I don’t smell “unwashed” when I wear it! I think comparisons to Jicky are accurate; I find Jicky even dirtier. Of course I’ll be curious to sniff the flanker, but I can’t imagine anything replacing L’Air de Rien.

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    • Robin says:
      10 December 2009 at 12:20 pm

      Again, some people like it, some people don’t…and many people aren’t after “difficult” 🙂

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  9. kathy114 says:
    11 December 2009 at 9:59 am

    L’Air de Rien was all unwashed stables in the summertime heat on me, but I only gave it one chance. It was so scary that I haven’t found the nerve to try it again. I may need to sample again and try the lighter version. I hope that it doesn’t turn out just to be unwashed stables in the springtime on me though!

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    • Robin says:
      11 December 2009 at 11:09 am

      That doesn’t sound compelling!

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  10. moss1310 says:
    30 April 2010 at 7:26 pm

    Has anyone smelled un petit rien yet? I love the original and am interested in how it compares.

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    • Robin says:
      1 May 2010 at 10:24 am

      I haven’t, sorry!

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  11. littlecooling says:
    4 April 2011 at 3:54 am

    I just bought this little gem, and I totally love it. As far as it is only a cologne, the lasting power is amazing.
    I didn’t care much for L’air, coz I think it was a bit too much for me. But this IS lighter and brighter. But does have some strength. I think it could be worn all year long…but I will save this for early fall/winter time. Or maybe a light spritz on a lazy summer evening.
    The thing I love the most about this, is, that no one I know, knows about this cologne or even the brand, so I can keep it to myself 🙂

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    • lemonprint says:
      14 January 2012 at 2:00 pm

      I agree, this is gorgeous and fast becoming one of my favorites. I’ve never tried the original L’Air de Rien, and I would like to; but Un Petit is the most perfect light-enough-to-wear-anytime barnyard-sexy scent I think I’ve ever smelled. I can wear it to the office or out, and it lasts quite well on me no matter what the concentration claims to be (and a lot of things don’t). Gorgeous gorgeous – hope this one stays in the market!

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