Our take
What does La Belle Fleur Terrible smell like?
Jean Paul Gaultier unveiled La Belle Fleur Terrible in 2022. Quentin Bisch composed this flanker of La Belle, still housed in the bottle shaped like a woman’s torso. The opening is watery. Water lily leads, brightened by bergamot and pricked with a little ginger. It smells like a flower with its roots in a pond. The heart moves to iris, which brings a cool powdery texture, and ylang-ylang makes it sunnier. The base returns to familiar territory. Vanilla takes over, while heliotrope and almond give it a marzipan edge. Compared with La Belle, built around pear and vanilla, this one is more floral and less fruity. The water lily is pleasant but fades quickly. After an hour it smells a lot like its older sibling. That is a shame, because the opening idea promised more than the drydown gives.
When to wear it
A spring and summer scent for daytime or dinner on a terrace. Two sprays, since the vanilla base projects well.
It belongs to the Floral, Powdery family. La Belle Fleur Terrible is one of 14 creations by Jean Paul Gaultier in our encyclopedia.
