Les Heures de Parfum - VII L'Heure Défendue
Cartier (2010)

Bombshell cocoa perfume – dark and dusky, with glints of booziness and even a lip-smacking milk chocolate aspect. I love how it takes an essentially indulgent, gourmand note and turns it into a perfume of great maturity and depth – a lovely interplay of bitter tones with headrush accents of furniture polish sees to that. In the background, dried wood bark and an earthy patchouli add further to the experience of travelling down a dark and inviting cavern where the cocoa pod may be the abiding deity but other sensory and sensuous pleasures beckon, too. Reassuringly grown up, everything’s right about this one apart from the price.

Clever, ingenius semi-gourmand fragrance from Cartier!

L'Heure Défendue (the "defended hour"!) centers its focus on the classy cocoa accord, which seems naturally to pair with the patchouli plant and vanilla. Tolu balsam adds a warm, spicy element, working well beside the sandalwood adding its creamy woody quality in the midst. And powdery iris ties up the notes nice and neatly.

Very "delicious", comforting, and elegant scent that stands on its own as a great outing within the "Les Heures" niche collection.

L'Heure Defendue starts like a chocolate liqueur, and ends like one of those higher quality Ghirardelli chocolate powders. This is a fantastic, gourmet rendition of chocolate; a gourmand of the highest, most single minded order.

Chocolate chocolate chocolate!

But wait, do I want to smell like JUST chocolate? Even the most chocolaty dessert isn't only chocolate!

Not really, and I honestly believed that smelling like chocolate was exactly what I wanted. Strange how that works, but I suppose that this particular smell is only complete when the sugar and fat accompany it, and without such elements it just doesn't satisfy.