Created by Bertrand Duchaufour for MDCI Parfums La Belle Hèlène was launched in 2011.

La Belle Hélène was inspired by Escoffier’s famous dessert, Poire Belle Hélène, which was based on La Belle Hélène, an operetta by Offenbach that parodies the abduction of Helen of Troy, which set off the Trojan War.

La Belle Hélène opens with nose-tingling aldehydes that introduce a sweet, refreshing note of tangerine and honeyed, floral lime blossom. A note of sweet, juicy, tart pear joins them. It’s a lovely fruity/floral start. A note of lush rose blossoms on skin and adds sensuality to the opening. It calls forward a note of fresh and succulent osmanthus, with aspects of jammy apricot and powdery and woody violet. They link to a luscious, buttery, banana-tinged note of exotic ylang-ylang that balances the sweetness and adds a floral freshness to the scent. Orris butter echoes the violet with its powdery, woody scent and is linked to a note of floral and sweet, hawthorne and juicy plum. Myrrh, patchouli and vetiver give it an animalic depth at the base. Warm, balsamy cedarwood, creamy sandalwood and earthy, woody oakmoss ground it. Amber adds depth and warmth to it. A licorice accord adds a unique sweetness, and all of it is softened by musks.

La Belle Hélène dries down to a sensuous, soft stunner. It isn’t dessert sweet; it’s much more sophisticated than that. And it isn’t too fruity; it’s much more nuanced than that. Its beauty lies in the way it starts out gourmand fruity and transforms to a full-bodied scent.

Notes: Pear, aldehydes, tangerine, lime blossom, rose essence, osmanthus, ylang-ylang, orris butter, hawthorn, plum, myrrh, vetiver, patchouli, cedar, sandalwood, amber, oakmoss, white musk and licorice.