Goutal
Goutal
161 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The blackcurrant bud strikes immediately with tart, slightly herbaceous brightness, cutting through the first whispers of mimosa like a sharp intake of breath. Within moments, the powdery floral heart begins emerging, initially making the composition feel almost metallic, austere—a green-gold luminescence rather than the expected creamy florality.
The three mimosas settle into their collaborative role, creating a soft, almost dusty cloud that feels less perfumed than skin-like. The jasmine threads through this powdery matrix, deepening the composition without adding heaviness, whilst the blackcurrant gradually retreats into a subtle tartness that prevents the florals from becoming overly sweet or indolic.
Cocoa and tonka emerge with surprising subtlety, adding warmth rather than confectionery richness, whilst amber provides a subtle golden undertone. The fragrance becomes increasingly intimate, settling into a lightly sweet, skin-hugging scent that smells more like you've been wearing it for hours than like it was just applied.
Eau de Charlotte arrives as an exercise in restraint—a fragrance that whispers rather than shouts, built on the peculiar alchemy of three distinct mimosa absolutes arranged in counterpoint. The blackcurrant bud opening provides a tart, slightly green counterweight to what could otherwise become cloying, establishing an immediate freshness that prevents the composition from collapsing into pure sweetness. What's remarkable here is how Goutal has resisted the temptation to make this a conventional floral. Instead, the Grasse, Indian, and Moroccan mimosas create a polymorphic powdery accord—each variety contributing subtly different facets, the Grasse lending honeyed richness, the Indian adding a drier, almost dusty aspect, the Moroccan threading something almost green and slightly metallic through the whole construction.
The jasmine doesn't dominate; rather, it acts as a binding agent, softening the mimosa's edges whilst allowing the blackcurrant to maintain its presence throughout. By the heart phase, you're not smelling florals so much as an abstract interpretation of white flowers rendered in pale gold—powdery in the manner of talcum and skin musk, never perfumey in the modern sense.
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3.2/5 (133)