Perfume-Guerlain-La Petite Robe Noire

With a rather loud, dark, sweet cherry syrup accord mixed with something a bit rice-cake-y powdery, La Petite Robe Noire (the Little Black Dress) by Guerlain greeted me with an unapologetic sweet and flirty hug. This immediately brings to my mind Lolita Lempicka by Lolita Lempicka and In Black by Jesus Del Pozo, for the dark-ish rice-y powdery feeling from the former and the sweet gourmand cherry syrupy accord of the later.

Photo of the commercial 1ml sample and testing cloth of La Petite Robe Noire by Guerlain.

As the scent settles down, the loud sweetness and powdery aspect gradually blend more harmoniously and the whole concoction becomes less harsh on the nose. Every now and then, a relatively more distinguished whiff of powdery smell with some dried vanilla and some cooling element would dance around. Somehow I can smell a little bit of the shadow of Shalimar Parfum Initial in this, possibly because of the Guerlain style of vanilla, or more likely, because both La Petite Robe Noire and Shalimar Parfum Initial were created by the same nose—Thierry Wasser.
For those who find that Shalimar or Shalimar Parfum Initial are a bit too animalistic, rest assured, the vanilla in La Petite Robe Noire does not stir up that much strong emotion to my nose. Maybe just like a little black dress, the notes in La Petite Robe Noire are not meant to openly seduce, but simply being there as a confidence boosting measure.

About 4 hours after, the whole scent is tamed -- a bit balmy with minimum amount of sweet gourmand powdery aura in the background and a hint of tartness. The sillage is within 2-3 cm, which surprises me because this is quite unlike the classic Guerlain fragrances I know of. Nevertheless, the scent is quite pretty.

If you loved Lolita Lempicka by Lolita Lempicka, La Petite Robe Noire might be a lighter, warmer-weather-friendly substitute, if you do not mind to lose most of the liquorice note which evokes purple-ness, and substitute it by cherry syrup and something smells not as mysterious in a way.

If you want a much “younger”, sweeter, more carefree version of Shalimar Parfum Initial, try La Petite Robe Noire.

However, if you are looking for the little black dress perfume, ironically, I do not find La Petite Robe Noire fits the image that well. Because my version of little black dress says more about elegance and effortless chic, with a bit hidden glamour; but La Petite Robe Noire by Guerlain smells a bit too fairy-floss, spring-carnival-fun-park-date to me.