Ce Soir Ou Jamais
Goutal (1999)

There is a rose as the main top note, and initially I get the smell of a rose, that is of a rose blooming, but this does not last very long. Soon the focus shifts to the lower part of the Rose, the leaves and the stem, and a woodsy/green-ish impression of the rose stem takes over. This takes on an earthy character with and undertone of moist soil over time.

Further into the drydown the second mainly player in this olfactory spectacle makes an appearance: the ambrette seeds. Its characteristically dark, musky and dirty aroma merged with the earthy/dirty residual from the earlier development, but the musky side gradually assumes domination on the battlefield of smells. The persistence of theurinal-like undertone signals that the ambrette seeds lasts the longest here.

I get strong sillage, excellent projection and nine hours of longevity on my skin.

This autumnal scent's pairing of a non-musky and a musky stream remains me a bit of Creed's Orange Spice, which expresses and very similar musky and spice theme, but with more of a clove impression that is only minimally present here.
The counterbalancing orange is much better developed in the Creed though and forms more of a additional note that varies the whole and makes it more interesting, whilst the rose here is missing the actual floral side that would make it more interesting hereThis lack of different player to compete with the Ambrette seeds makes this scent less convincing, and the rose stem notion is too similar to crete a real contrast to the overwhelming musky impression.

Still, this one is quite good, but not good enough to cross the line to a positive score. 2.75/5.

A huge floral bouquet with quite a heavy dose of plain citral and linalol, so don't worry about someone cleaning the floor - it's you and your Goutal. On the base, a classic accord of patchouli, benzoin, oak moss, to create a really traditional, and honestly a bit boring, mossy-floral chypre scent. I can't not think of boredom because despite I like chypres, I like them to be deep, raw, intense, rich, that is how they are supposed to smell. This instead is more like a wannabe-chypre: the "surface" smell is that, more or less, but it smells plain, conventional, empty and synthetic. Shortly, not enough compelling or fascinating to me. It is not bad, but it's like one of those restaurants which work mainly for clerks and employees at lunch time offering quick, generic menus at cheap prices - you wouldn't really take your darling there for a special occasion, would you...

5,5-6/10

A Portrait of a MarriageIf Vita Sackville West had harnessed her knowledge of flowers and writing to a penchant for perfume what reviews would have graced The Observer? Imagine Sissinghurst Castle as an English Givaudan. Vita would have loved Ce Soir ou Jamais. It defined her life. "Tonight or Never" she told her lover, Violet Trefusis. They left their respective husbands and fled to Amiens, where their husbands, having flown in on a two seater plane, intercepted their plans. It was 1920. Absolute scandal ensued. Her garden was overblown with roses; she reported herself ‘Drunk with Roses.' What rose perfume would Vita have loved? Her son wrote a book and called it ‘A Portrait of a Marriage' Would Vita have loved Portrait of a Lady? Yes, I think she would have. She loved Souvenir du Docteur Jamain, deepest darkest blooms of Damask, prone to blight.....Yves St Laurent's 'Paris'?...Without doubt. Perfumer's Workshop Tea Rose? Yes, she would have worn that in the garden and kept Ce Soir for the twilight. Would Sa Majeste from Serge Lutens have found its way into her tower. Yes, she would have worn it during the winter at pruning and burning time. Ce Soir ou Jamais is nothing but a thick jammy rose but it's not what you've got, it's how you use it. Reply Pros: Seminal work of Annick GoutalCons: Drunk with Roses"

This smells like a fresh, real rose. Absolutely beautiful for a few hours. My only caveat was, at about the 6th hour mark, it was as if it had dropped off a cliff and was completely gone. I couldn't even catch a hint of the drydown. Still, really worthwhile.

Luscious, dripping with dew, deep red rose which never turns powdery but keeps its lush, wet scent. Gorgeous. Smells like plunging your head into an old fashioned Mr Lincoln rose. I'm 3/4 through my EDP. It has a hefty price tag though and, I love Stella just as much and it's a much more affordable option.

I had read somewhere that Ce Soir ou Jamais was one of the late Annick Goutal's favourite fragrances. I find all of her scents to be lovely creations, however if I were to choose my favourite rose from her collection, I'd also say Ce Soir ou Jamais.

Rose may be this fragrance's most dominant note, however the additional frangipani, jasmine and musk add extra colour and complexity to something that could be straight-up, pretty, pink roses.

Had I smelt this particular scent a few years ago, I may not have appreciated it. It was on my twentieth birthday that the allure of a owning a rose scent really grabbed my attention. For those that associate rose to that of an old lady, which I once did, needs to open their eyes and experience something as beautiful as Ce Soir ou Jamais.

The delicious rose note in this fragrance is almost dewy, being fresh and exotic in a very appealing sense. It is a tad 'antique inspired', however it does not seem so rich and ancient like it's big sister, Rose Absolue.

Ce Soir ou Jamais has a rather youthful impression, which I feel is brought about by subtle fruity notes, like pear, that tends to linger softly in the heart. This fragrance is a little bit like Quel Amour!, yet perhaps not as Spring-like and fresh.

I read a beautiful article on the Perfume-Smellin' Things blog, that portrayed Ce Soir ou Jamais as being in 3-D. I have to agree that this fragrance has the ability to bring a rose note to life.

I have only experienced this fragrance in the EDT concentration, and from that I would say that the lasting power is quite good and the sillage light yet detectable. As in regards to the EDP version, I have noticed that some feel it too wine-like, quite intense and boozy. For a delicate rose like I have described I'd probably lean more towards buying the EDT.