Eau d'Hadrien
Eau de Toilette, Goutal (1981)

Eau d'Hadrien by Annick Goutal (1981) is inspired by the 1951 book Memoirs of Hadrian, plus Annick's own personal experiences in Italy. This fragrance helped launch the Annick Goutal house, and was considered a signature scent for the celebrity-turned perfumier herself. Completely unisex and based around citrus, following a tradition set down by Ô de Lancôme (1969), Eau de Guerlain (1974), Yves Saint Laurent Eau Libre (1975), Eau de Patou by Jean Patou (1976), and Sisley Eau de Campagne (1976). Goutal's version of the unisex aromatic citrus chypre is very fundamental, and some may say bare-bones, focusing mostly on lemon verbena, grapefruit, ylang-ylang, and a woody/mossy base. As an eau de toilette, wear time is also a bit longer than you may expect too.

The opening is pretty straightforward, with lemon, mandarin, grapefruit, and green verbena notes boosted by a bit of galbanum. Aldehydes also boost projection but burn off fast, as the jasmine and ylang-ylang filter in. Some creamy woody tones of santal and cedar move in, with just a pinch of undisclosed lavender and sage for roundness in the aromatic department. Still very chypre however, the oakmoss and labdanum settle this down into a clean long-legged subtle wear, while the lemon and grapefruit in particular shine on. Performance is very cologne-like for the first few hours, booming bright and fresh, but then becomes a whisper for about 6 to 7 hours. This could be a signature if you just wanted a subtle clean skin-scent, but the typical perfumista or "cologne guy" might be disappointed.

The hard-to-beat simple goodness of Eau d'Hardien set a standard to be followed into the 80's with fragrances like Heure Exquis (1984), Sables (1985), and Gardénia Passion (1989). Several flankers followed, including an eau de Parfum in 1988 that only shuffles the cards a bit to get more of a creamier and muskier finish, burying the lemon and grapefruit somewhat into the drydown. Since both versions of the fragrance are extremely alike outside of moving the equalizer faders to the left or right, I count one review with a few modifications as representative for both concentrations. However, Les Nuits d'Hadrien by Annick Goutal (2003) is a true flanker and entirely different. Francis Camail did good work alongside Annick Goutal herself, although some may argue subsequent reformulations of both EdT and EdP haven't been kind. I leave that up to you. Thumbs Up

TLDR: Excellent (4/5). Among the very best citrus EdCs money can buy.

JackTwist's review below gets it exactly right: citrus without too much sweetness. The dry grapefruit makes this scent something special. Great aldehydic pop and sparkle throughout the early and mid notes of this fragrance. There is a synthetic woody note in the base of the current formulation, but it is nice enough and seems to have some fixitive properties because the longevity here is very good for such a hesperidic fragrance. Moderate sillage blossoms considerably in high humidity.

Utterly unisex with good presentation & a very good atomizer. A great EdC!

I liked this from the opening. A bracing, aromatic cologne with hints of fougere. Cypress and perhaps rosemary very evident in the beginning. This dies away to a deceptively long-lasting citrus with the support of aldehydic florals. Such a challenge to get those citric notes to last this long, but that's the artifice here. A new favourite cologne? Well, it could have been, but for some reason the FWF household did not approve nearly as much as I did. I think for the same reason I liked it: some early doors rough edges and contours. Could it be considered a touch old-fashioned? Perhaps, but not many scents so successfully evoke the Mediterranean as does this. Light on and not great staying power, but that's most colognes for you.

I note a lot of buts and hedging here. I don't care.

A nice cologne, very fruity; almost only fruity. It lacks something to be great.

Goutal – Eau d'Hadrien

One of the greatest eau de colognes ever created and one with a unique twist on the usual combination of citrus notes (bergamot, lemon, lime) usually contained within an edc. This adds the pungent and very dry notes of grapefruit and mandarin to its lemon center, anchoring it with the tiniest, but very unobtrusive, bit of cypress, which lends it the dryness it needs. The ylang may round it out, but I do not detect that almost always identifiable ripe banana signature note.

It is heads above all the other edcs in the market and is my very favorite of all I have experienced. Dry, Dry, Dry Citrus and the perfect summer scent, equally suitable for office, home and evening wear.

A real top drawer winner, in my estimation. If you love summery scents, and edcs in particular, don't miss this one.

I have two factory samples of Eau d'Hadrien, one from about 8 years ago, and one recent, and they're completely different perfumes. I'm not talking about the way that topnotes can turn with time, but literally different perfumes.

The older sample is the Eau d'Hadrien I love, a timeless classic cologne, perfectly matched lemon and bergamot, slightly sparkling and given grit with lavender, a touch soapy in the drydown.

The newer sample is clearly Creed-inspired. It's still lemon, but with a big shot of dihydromercenol on top and some vague melon and greens underneath, coming across like an extremely lemony Millesime Imperial.

The classic Eau d'Hadrien is iconic, a textbook example of a perfect classic citrus eau de cologne. If it's been replaced by this more modern aquatic lemon, it's a real loss for perfumery, though I must admit that the newer aquatic version is decent for what it is. Hopefully, I just got a mis-bottled sample, but I'll admit to being worried.