Petite Chérie
Eau de Toilette, Goutal (1998)

A fruity pear-peachy opening soon mixes with a dominating floral drydown of a somewhat unexciting rose and whiffs of a white flower-like note. Later herbal hints lead lead to a vanilla base. Not bad, but a bit dull on my skin, although a nice idea.

I get soft sillage with limited projection and three hours longevity. All right. 2.5/5

Genre: Fruity Floral

The opening of lightly spiced poached pears is very pretty in the “little girl” manner that was no doubt intended, and the clean, bright, powdery base maintains the mood consistently once Petite Cherie's pale white flower accord falls into place. Petite Cherie is vey quiet, as befits a scent for the very young, and it trails off into a sweet, powdery whisper inside of an hour. In its final moments it smells of nothing else so much as marshmallows, and what could be more appropriate in a scent for children?

I do have a reservation where Petite Cherie is concerned: while pleasant, it also seems more than a little bit insipid, and I'm not sure that's absolutely necessary. My little girl for one, has a mischievous spark that a scent like this one cannot express. Hence, as a child's scent I'd sooner recommend Goutal's more pointed, though still chaste Eau de Camille, Eau de Ciel, or Le Chèvrefeuille.

A bit of a guilty pleasure for me, Petit Cherie kicks off with a pear note with just a touch of that peach smell that was unavoidable in the 90's, but made sparkling, like some sort of fizzy pear cider. It's quite sweet and could come off as candy nonsense, but the aldehydes go a long way to class it up, while it's also supported by a very French mix of beeswax (a popular note in old Carons, a smell halfway between honey and plastic) and polite soap, so it never feels overtly candied or dumb.

Sure, it fades in volume quickly (though the peachy wax soap basenotes last for quite a while), but I think most people who have an issue with Petit Cherie will take umbrance with that plasticky wax note. It's a note that it's taken me a long time to enjoy, and it can still kill a perfume if used wrongly, so I'd suggest giving it a wearing before buying. As a side note, if you want those sparkling effervescent pear topnotes without the weirdness, try Jo Malone's English Pear & Freesia.

For the EDP :
A very true Bartlett pear note opens big with Petite Cherie and quickly rose is quite prominent followed by a light non foody vanilla . The grass note is not perceptible to me but as a previous reviewer mentioned - there seems to be a watery accord in there towards the dry down . No cumin for me ,the rose is not musky to me at all.
Sometimes I get rose-vanilla water syrup and other times I get fresh cut peaches and vanilla. The pear note is fleeting though highly enjoyable. The best pear note I have smelt in a scent so far. This is a sweet fragrance but sweet like inhaling the aroma of 'fruit cocktail' - the good old canned variety (!) and not a huge gourmand.
Even for an EDP the tenacity is lacking somewhat. I find Folavril has better projection and tenacity even though it is of EDT strength .
I have read reviews that Petite Cherie resembles the smell of a new Cabbage Patch Doll.Having never owned a Cabbage Patch doll I have no scent associations of Petite Cherie with them.
I find Annick Goutals last well if sprayed on hair and onto fabric. They all last well if I spray my hair. If you like smelling your perfume - getting whiffs of it from time to time - spraying your hair is the wayto go with Goutals.
Very few scents are particularly 'girly' to me but Petite Cherie is most definitely very female ,girly, bright and wide eyed.
I am not particularly girlie but I guess I could use this to 'bring out' my girlie side ! :) It's good stuff but will not appeal to everyone I am sure. It's unusual - it smells fresh ,the accords are quite life like. If you like a sweet light aquatic rose plus vanilla- I think you may enjoy Petite Cherie.
Advice : Go straight for the EDP for better longevity .Layer with the body cream .

It's easy to fall in love with a scent such as this. Classic yet simplistic, Petite Cherie has shown once again why I love Annick Goutal fragrances so dearly.

Although primarily fruit-based, with pear being the most notable accord, Petite Cherie proves to be quite refined and elegant, which are rare qualities in a fruity floral. I find the scent to be very rich and insanely addictive. My mother happens to love this fragrance with a passion, so it looks to me like I'll be buying her this for Christmas.

Petite Cherie is Spring and sunshine in a bottle. The refreshing pear note blended with rose, gardenia and peach makes this fragrance so very juicy and green, especially with the almost grassy-like note in the drydown.

Unfortunately, like many have stated, the lasting strength is very poor. I'm determined to find a giftset where a lotion and shower gel is included so that the scent should last a lot longer.

The opening blast was turpentine-y to me, too, but it doesn't last.  It's gone as soon as it dries, within seconds.  Then it's soft, sparkling peaches, and very faint rose, and...cumin?  I got a faint but detectable, and unfortunate, cumin note when I sniffed my wrist.  That, too, disappears, within half an hour, and it is all soft peach with what I take to be light grass taming it and keeping it from becoming too sweet.   It's really light and upon reading that it is a scent meant for children, I understand it better.  All in all, it wears fairly well on me and its lightness and lightheartedness is a surprisingly pleasant repast from my regular rotation.