Les Heures de Parfum - XII L'Heure Mystérieuse
Cartier (2009)

The main ‘mysterieuse’ thing about this perfume is the damp place it seems to want to take me to. Another is that though it feels straightforward enough, it is doing a number of unusual things. Such as essaying a patchouli aspect with a marshmallow floral gloss, so that it comes across as cloudlike and delicate instead of the power chord it usually is. Such as cutting through that soft cloud with the sharp resinous tones of elemi and a sprinkling of nutmeg. Such as presenting the whole thing with a light Parisian elan while still giving a dark almost sepulchral impression. Of course, the overall lightness may trick inattentive noses into missing its subtleties.
Something very clever is happening here but I’m unsure whether I’m sold on it. And that impression is confirmed by the leathery slump of the deep drydown which seems a bit too mono for its own good.

It smells like morning after the romantic night.warm skin,not so fresh sheets, leftovers from yesterday's perfume, hangover...this fragrance is intimate, personal and a bit sad.there is something nostalgic here, something makes me think of dark gloomy late autumn afternoon.a real love fragrance. it has niche quality,no wonder it isn't a crowd pleaser.but is certainly speaks of pleasures.

The opening is strong,mildly dirty in a seductive come hither way.i get massive smoky incense,big beautiful. after 10-20 min later,develops to floral notes by jasmine.then comes the amber,it is an all out amber and then as the minutes passes the resinous slowly evaporate, and let the amber come more and more into focus.it is a warm amber incense which lends with the patchouli gives it an almost grassy earthy feeling.this scent dries down and transforms quickly into something very cozy,and comfortable.

I love Cartier L'Heure XII. To my nose, it smells like XIII with vanilla being added. It still smells exceptionally delightful to me, and they smell great when layered. I think XII and XIII are my favorites. What I don't like though is that Cartier has changed the bottle design. It now comes in a clear bottle with a plastic cap wrapped in string. To me, it looks cheap and they should have left the old bottle alone, the brown gradient glass with clear top and gold striping. Who makes these decisions??? When they change the bottle design, it also makes me wonder if they changed the formulation, too? They did it with Red Door (Elizabeth Arden). When they changed the bottle, they reformulated the fragrance, which then became a very weak version of rose water, no longer the rich long-lasting fragrance of the original Red Door. Why can't these perfume companies leave well enough alone, or just produce a new fragrance under a different name. They should leave classic vintage fragrances alone!

I'm usually into perfumes that try especially extra to be different, but I'm not really liking XII. I would never have guessed jasmine and incense without reading the other reviews - to me this mostly smells like dry cement powder, but candied and sweet. It's also kind of musky, in that old-school plasticky musk way, and there's also a dirty hamster cage cedar note hovering over the musky candied cement.

In a way, it all melts together to smell like that really fake chocolate note you smell in really bad beauty products, but plasticky and off.

As much as I want to appreciate this just for being weird, I honestly don't like it. The pieces don't seem to fit together, resulting in a gross clash of mineral, animal, wood, and candy that doesn't work for me at all.

Almost sugary, a resinous sweet opening. Jasmine seems drowned out, as I usually notice her with no delay... More resin, femme incense, a balsamic feel. This one is hypnotic. I get a distant flower. I smell a honey accord. Mysterieuse begins to feel powdery for me after awhile. Alas, I am hooked. It's a beautiful oriental!

It becomes slightly earthy, less sugary, a bit more jasmine unfolds later. This isn't a long-timer. It fades from my skin in about 4 hours.