Habit Rouge Eau de Toilette Légère
Guerlain (2005)

Habit Rouge Eau de Toilette Légère by Guerlain (2005) is a fairly enigmatic flanker to the original Guerlain Habit Rouge (1965), coming forty years since the release of the inaugural eau de cologne, and also composed by Jean-Paul Guerlain (one of his last main-line releases). There isn't much known about Habit Rouge Eau de Toilette Légère, other than it was billed as a "light" variation of the scent, even if after a whiff it becomes obvious that it isn't. Sold strictly as a limited edition, this scent would be ostensibly replaced by the Thierry Wasser-penned Habit Rouge L'Eau (2011), which itself had similar packaging at first, and registered as more of a truly-light take on Habit Rouge, surviving the "woodcap" era but being discontinued itself once Guerlain moved to the square bottles. Habit Rouge Eau de Toilette Légère meanwhile slipped past then faded into obscurity. Compared to other discontinued variants of Habit Rouge, this one gets no love, and isn't scalped by resellers as much.

The defining features of Habit Rouge Eau de Toilette Légère by Guerlain are the changes from powdery-floral to musky-floral, using a heavier neroili and vanilla tandem mixed with a very "80's" musk profile laced with a touch of synarome animalis and patchouli. A lot of the 70's and 80's powerhouse-obsessed gang might start clutching pearls and spending their pensions on this, but before they reach fifteen backups per person (to stack in pyramids for watermarked photos on Basenotes), they would learn this "old-school" musk profile is dosed low enough - as is the overall scent - to justify its "Légère" or "Light" subtitle, making them unhappy. Besides, later in the drydown the spiced Guerlinade asserts itself, and Habit Rouge Eau de Toilette Légère doesn't smell all that far off from the original, just smoother plus a tad sweeter. Having the soul of an 80's fragrance with the performance of a 2000's freshie is a tough sell, although one can pull this off in polite company easy enough.

If this stuff was actually dosed to a level comparable to an 80's powerhouse "real man's man cologne", it would definitely blow doors off and be an even greater foghorn than Guerlain's actual 80's male powerhouse, Guerlain Derby (1985). Presented in this "light" and de fanged form, it comes across more as a "what if" the original eau de cologne of Habit Rouge had been composed by Jean-Paul in 1985 instead of 1965. Additional sprays to try and make this a stronger performer will just bring out the Guerlinade more, and negate any real differences between Habit Rouge Eau de Toilette Légère and Habit Rouge proper; so don't bother. Rumor has it that Jean-Paul Guerlain took the opportunity to "fix" what he always disliked about the original Habit Rouge; but clearly LVMH was not going to let him actually revise a best-seller, giving him this limited flanker opportunity instead. That something like this came out in 2005, even if for but a moment, is its quirkiest feature. Thumbs up

Great neroli floral masculine scet.from first impression I found it niche quality scent.

I purchased a bottle of Habit Rouge EDT Legere because i was hoocked by this new and unknown flanker while wasting my time in the duty free of Saint Petersbourg' s International Airport and nowhere i've met it again out there despite i use to travel a lot all around the world. In my opinion this one is a significantly different (and as said a bright and joyful) version of the classic one cause it lacks of each  element of the normal version's baroque majesty and i mean above all the animalic-leathery feel, the changeability of the wake, the sumptuosity of the effluviums alternance, the deliberately vintage-retro  earthy-rooty trail of hesperides, cedar and patchouli, the strong vanilla, the general woody, incensey, rosey and liquorous warmth etc. This is more similar to the Sport version because it starts with a fizzy-lemony-neroli accord that is sparkling, averagely spicy and strongly citrusy before the scent developes in a sort of drier leathery-musky kind of dry down, less heavy in vanilla (reduced in dosage) and above all in effluviums and balsams (benzoin, olibanum, labdanum). The leathery touch is more woodsy and contemporary than in the original formulation and the fragrance itself is a pleasant and dynamic musky-leathery-vetiver scent, a very different concoction in comparison to the great nocturnal Habit Rouge, the fragrance of the Louvre and Hermitage. Anyway, not bad at all. More adaptable to the hot and humid climates.

It says "light" but I won't,as far as the strength is concerned.More citrusy than HR, which is more like sweet[sometimes] and more complex and heavy.
I love both of them.I don't know why but both of these makes me sleepy-surely they have calming effect.

I have been a loyal HR fan for 23 years, and have mainly used the EDT. My loyalty (or is it resistance to change?) was tested when i came across a bottle of the Legere version in a shop here in Lagos. Without hesitation or testing (no testers) i bought it on the spot.On first application, i actually smiiiiiiled! What a bright interpretation of my beloved HR! It was the HR i knew very well, yet fresher. The amped-up citrus top notes blasting a hip-hop hit using sampling of a classic 80's funk hit. Beautiful. But i was so glad to be reminded this was still my beloved HR, so i felt less disloyal and thought i should appreciate HR's (first class) attempt at a modern makeover. Maybe because i live in the (35 centigrade +) tropics, in about 30 minutes a strong olfactory perception i began to experience was that Legere is quite animalic. "Animalic" has actually not been an impression that came to mind in all my years using and loving HR. I knew i had made one of the greatest finds of my fragrance experience, so far, as i am a skank-fiend. Reading the previous reviews here, i was therefore surprised at pluran's take. I believe he is correct, in his climatic environment, so it just may be that Legere is a climate chameleon. In the dry-down the oriental qualities begin to shine prominently, the woods and vanilla also playing their distinct melodies in harmonious accord. The animalic vibe still lurks in and out throughout the dry-down, depending on skin humidity.Legere throws out sillage even better than HR EDT. Longevity is amazing, par for the course with the Guerlains i love.Is Legere better than, or inferior to classic HR? Hard to answer. However, i will just say that while i will always respect and defer to age and experience, when a mature person goes through a makeover and comes out looking better and yet mature, then i would think that the person is all the better (inwardly and outwardly) for the makeover. I believe both HR and HR Legere both have their place in the same wardrobe, so one has a HR for a specific mood, time and occasion.Many thumbs respectfully up!

I'm quite shy to admit that I can't really tell the difference between the original and the Légère version. Light this is not. The sillage is equally vivid and the longevity impressive. Many hours on my skin and I'm still smelling it. Absolutely wonderful!