Attrape Cœur

I finally, FINALLY got my hands on a bottle of this insanely rare perfume and I’m just smitten. In fact, I got not one but TWO formulations of this rare elixir, that has eluded me for that past 3 years, popping up in eBay here and there but just out of reach since the listings typically go for around $800 and up. And that’s just beyond my budget, unfortunately. But I found one at a reasonable price and snagged it right up. I don’t think it had been listed more than an hour lol.

So the fragrance itself is exactly what I was expecting it to be: it smells like Evasion, but perhaps a bit less creamy. The top notes are subtly different and it really takes a few minutes until it gets into the heart of the perfume, for that familar, intoxicating fragrance to begin seducing the senses.

This Bee Bottle flacon that I bought is, from my understanding, the second version of Attrape Cœur, aside from the other named incarnations. It’s a reformulation. The juice is golden yellow as opposed to that familiar shade of peach that I have become accustomed to from Evasion. But the scent itself is the same.

Now for the original formula, which I acquired as a 15ml decant from an incredible swap partner on Fragrantica. It’s incredible. It’s BEYOND incredible! This juice IS peach colored only deeper, darker than Evasion. It’a also a bit “dirtier”. From what I’ve learned, the original Attrape Cœur contained oak moss, which shortly thereafter production, became banned by the IFRA. So it was reformulated with a different tree moss. But the original is thick, syrupy and wears like an extrait. Perhaps it IS an extrait, I’m not sure, but it certainly feels like and wears as such. But it is amazing and I would consider selling a kidney to get a hold of a full bottle of the original haha.

Oakmoss. Photo Credit to Eden Botanicals

The reformulated version is definitely lighter, more effervescent and doesn’t have nearly the longevity of the original. In fact I think Evasion actually wears longer than the reformulated version, though the longevity IS fair for an EdP.

Photo Credit to Monsieur Guerlain

So now I’m left with two more versions of this precious liquid to try: Guet Apens and Royal Extract. Though there ARE actually several other versions of this fragrance that were released over the years, they were such limited and exclusive releases that it’s just not plausible I will ever get to try them. But I’m happy to say that I located and purchased a partial bottle of Guet Apens from a person in France, though it will be several weeks until I see it. But I definitely have something to look forward to!

For die hard perfumistas and serious Guerlain aficionados, there are only handful of perfumes from this house that are truly considered real unicorns, holy grails, the “El Dorados” of fragrance and Attrape Cœur is right up there at the top. It is truly a masterpiece and I hope Guerlain continues to tease us over the years with more mysterious releases of this elusive perfume. ❤

Guerlains limited release “Guet Apens” 120ml  blue lamp flacon 

Season: Any and every chance you get, but it wears great year round.

Top: Peach, Rose

Heart: Iris, Jasmine

Base: Vanilla, Amber, Oakmoss, Woods

Various flacons released containing this same fragrance. Photo Credit to Monsieur Guerlain.

Oriental Brulant Guerlain

Oriental Brulant is the most gorgeous epitime of a gourmand oriental. The vanilla is so delicious I just want to chew on my arm where I sprayed it lol!

While the projection is relatively low, it lasts forever. But that is something I have come to expect from the Elixer Charnels collection.  These fragrances are very romantic and stay close to the skin, very intimate.

This is a very flirty, sweet sexy pink fragrance for sure but still very grown up. Nice enough for wearing out on a date night but still casual enough to wear cuddling on the couch watching tv. Whenever you want to smell delectable is the perfect time to wear this fragrance.

This is a very safe, very clean, and very pricey perfume.  I do think there are other more reasonable options of oriental vanilla fragrances on the market at a better bargain for sure, but that didn’t deter me from wanting to add this final jewel to my Elixir Charnal collection. This perfume IS gorgeous afterall, but for most people, this perfume is way out of budget and just doesn’t deliver the bang for the buck, like Gourmand Coquin does.

There’s nothing really groundbreaking about OB. It’s not a trailblazing perfume. But then again, I tend to stick with the safer frags that work with my chemistry and are appropriate for the occasions I want to wear them.

No matter what, you can’t really go wrong with this frag. It’s amazingly gorgeous and I feel lavish and sexy everytime I wear it.

Season: Fall/Winter but I think it works well year ’round

Top: Mandarin

Heart: Almond

Base: Tonka, Styrax, Vanilla