Annick Goutal Eau d'Hadrien

Annick Goutal is one of the more niche-y perfumers that my local Nordstrom always seemed to carry.  I never paid them much attention, because AG scents are largely on the floral end of the spectrum, and that's never been my preference at all.  Now that I'm spending more time discovering the various types of floral notes, I recognize that there are some of them that I actually like.  A lot.  This week, I will talk about a few of my favorite AG scents, starting off with one that is in the citrus family.  Eau d'Hadrien is celebrating its twenty-sixth birthday and is one of the original fragrances in the Annick Goutal line.

Notes: Sicilian lemon, citrus tree, cypress, grapefruit, ylang-ylang

Refreshing, and not at all sweet, Eau d'Hadrien starts with sparkling citrus, lots of fresh tangy lemon with the slight bitter edge of grapefruit.  Undercutting the brightness of the citrus notes is a smoky-edged woodsy note that anchors the composition, along with a bit of gentle ylang that becomes stronger as the citrus fades.  It reminds me just a little bit of Hermes Un Jardin Sur Nil, but not as sweet, and more definitely lemon than grapefruit.

Eau d'Hadrien is a very Mediterranean scent that makes me think of summers on the Amalfi coast, with its candy-colored pastel architecture and bright sunshine that makes the sea seem so astonishingly blue.  Not that I've been there of course, but a girl can dream!