Duel
Goutal (2003)

I absolutely adore Duel. Built around yerba mate, which happens to be in the holly family, it is rather more a scent that to my nose demonstrates the nuance and elusive bittersweet qualities of black tea. Crisp, bitter, and fresh, there is watery greenness that opens it, courtesy of petitgrain, with an underlying sweetness that almost reminds me of osmanthus.

While this is short-lived, what follows is a spectacular unfurling of mugwort (artemisia vulgaris), which reminds me of the broad belts of it that grow in the wildlife sanctuary that I frequent, especially as the plants mature and release their oils into the air on a misty day. This somehow further enhances the tea effect, with its silvery, sage-like, almost reminding me of the foliage of chrysanthemums. It "lifts" the sensation of tea, making Duel, in my humble opinion, one of the most accurate tea scents I've smelled.

But wait, there's more (said in a commercial announcer's voice)! An elegant, minimalist leather accord enters the scene as Duel settles closer to the skin, extending the tea effect into its base. There is no smoke, only tannins, and tannins are not only naturally found in tea, but are also used to prevent the disintegration of collagen fibers in the skins, allowing them to turn into....leather. What a brilliant pairing, I just can't get over how ingenious such an understated and beautiful scent Duel is.

I am only familiar with my brown bottle version of Duel and cannot vouch for newer versions. I will surely treasure what I do have in my possession.

This went from a like to a big love for me. A rich black tea that always stays *just* this side of bitter. I get wafts of something slightly sweet/fruity (like a peach/osmanthus) but only here and there. I don't get orris really. It's not quite leathery on me either.

I love the name of this fragrance as well, and I'd like to know what dichotomy the perfumer had in mind when creating it. To me, it is a restrained deadlock between that which is green, dirty, earthy, and slightly smoky - juxtaposed against that Annick Goutal DNA: soft, airy, clean, musky, natural, and ethereal.

It's intelligent, understated, and cozy.

Lovely scent with a lot of hay on me. I can definitely understand the comparisons to L'Heure Fougueuse, but I prefer L'Heure. Probably would not purchase this, but I was delighted to use (and use up) my sample, and when my decant of L'Heure is gone, I could see going with a small bottle of this as a less expensive replacement.

Green tea with lemon that at a first sniff feels simple, but when analyzed a bit, I can say that it's not just a straightforward lemon green tea. The notes are very well blended, it is transparent, fresh, elegant and very pretty. It's a quiet scent, though addictive to me. Petitgrain and a faint leather accord in the background from the mate with a crystallized sugary note in the drydown.

First my nose picks up the bitter dry orange-infused petitgrain mixed with an equally dry iris root. I like the darkness and the dryness.

Then the tea notes come in to moderate the effect with a slight bit of sweetness. This comes over a very subdued light leather scent.

The overall effect is quite refined, restrained and subtle. A dry summer cologne of tea and leather. The idea is a welcome one. Goutal seems to be using quality materials here. The effect is quite light and lasts only as long as your typical eau de cologne. I also think a stronger edp version would be welcome for colder weather.

I probably woudn't buy a bottle, but I do like it.

Duel is one of my favourite Annick Goutal fragrances: it is a very unusual blend of tea, lemon, green and subtle spice notes: I find it too complex to identify a lot of the notes. Very elegant and sophisticated. On my skin, the more recent L'Ile au The is very similar (please see my review).