Cartier has launched XI L'Heure Perdue, a new fragrance in the luxury Les Heures de Parfum series. L'Heure Perdue was reportedly "inspired by Proust's childhood memory of eating madeleines".
Voluptuous and intimate, like a familiar scent, the L'Heure Perdue fragrance owes everything to science, an alchemist so skilled at seeming natural. Science explores the artificial through a precipitate of the greatest synthetic molecules, with a preference for vanillin, the aldehyde with voluptuous aromas whose silky aura floats over this eleventh L'Heure Perdue fragrance.
XI L'Heure Perdue was developed by perfumer Mathilde Laurent.
Cartier XI L'Heure Perdue is $280 for 75 ml Eau de Parfum, and can be found now at Saks Fifth Avenue.
(first quote via dailymail.co.uk, second quote via saksfifthavenue, additional information via cartier.us)
Wow! That may be the worst scent description I’ve ever read to describe a scent. Sort of the anti-prix eau faux.
Yes and double yes! And what’s even odder is that the Proust reference, which is the only charming aspect IMHO, is not mentioned on the Cartier website anywhere.
I find it a little insulting. In my opinion, it shows very little respect for the intelligence of their market. ….and the price!
They should have stuck with Proust!
A highly descriptive paragraph and they think it conveys so much but the only message I got in the end was: We managed to create a fake but convincing, albeit faint, vanilla. Now please dish out $280 instead of going to your local supermarket’s baking isle for a more intense, authentic one for $28..
LOL!! Perfect.
Good one!
Mathilde Laurent is wasted at Cartier. Attrape Coeur was so beautiful, but now they have her making artificial perfume, and they are apparently proud of it.
Gosh, would be really surprised if she sees it that way. At Guerlain she got almost no credit, and I would bet had very little freedom. Cartier has made her name famous (at least among those that care about such things), and would be surprised if she doesn’t have considerably more freedom to make the sorts of fragrances that interest her.
Also seriously doubt Cartier uses more or less synthetics than Guerlain, and would guess they do not stint on the materials for this particular series. (and wasn’t AC an aldehydic?)
Such an unfortunate description, but I’m betting it’s worth trying for anyone who likes vanilla. I’ve liked several of this Cartier series and found them overall classy, elegant and interesting. And I like Mathilde Laurent just generally.
Agree…and pretty sure I read something positive about it on Twitter.
I like that description. I like how it recognises the importance of science and experimentation and the laboratory in perfume making rather than suggesting that all perfume is created by people wandering around lavender fields in France and conjuring up scents intuitively. It feels like a very honest description to me. As a 50+ woman who has worn perfume for 50+ years I find this new approach pretty exciting.
Well at least they’re not even trying to pretend there’s anything natural in it. So +1 for honesty?