L`Heure Attendue Jean Patou for women

This may be the finest sandalwood I've ever smelled. Aldehydes that blossom rather than attack, followed by white florals. At some point you discover the sandalwood which is soft and rich. A discontinued classic. Worth seeking out before it's all gone.

Sillage: 5-6 ft; makes a statement
Duration: EDT 4-5 hours
Fabulosity: opera pearls
Price to value ratio: very good
9/10

Glorious aldehyde..does tricks Chanel no5 never imagined on my skin..clean but chameleon-like as any true classic should be. Yes real sandalwood, wispy flowers, doesn't smell of soap..of course it's discontinued!

A typical vintage Patou EdT that starts out on a soft floral aldehyde note but almost immediately turns into a soft, powdery sandalwood. It’s the Mysore-type sandalwood, in all of its rich and sweaty magnificence, made thoroughly European by its trappings, a maharaja visiting Paris, wearing a tuxedo, out for a night at the opera in the company of a sophisticated French woman. After an hour or so the sandalwood gives way to a riot of spring flowers, narcissus and lilacs. After a couple of hours, the scent becomes a little soapy, but the sandalwood undercurrent is always there.

The story is that L’Heure Attendue was released to celebrate the end of the Nazi occupation, and a fitting celebration it is - the return of a normal life and, ultimately, the little luxuries like imported sandalwood. Possibly the woody beginning represents the period of austerity during the war and the flowers that follow, the blooming of peace.

Like all the rest of the Patou “Ma” series, now discontinued, this is an extraordinary perfume. There’s something about these Patou fragrances that really speaks to me. They’re old-fashioned only in their high quality, and thoroughly contemporary in their spirit. They seem just as wearable today as they were before most of us were born. Although this is listed as a “women’s” perfume, I think it would be extremely seductive on a man.