Le Chat Blanc

Le Chat Blanc is a perfume built to smell as close as possible to aniseed drinks and sweets. The maker says that was the whole aim, and the title promises aniseed, wormwood, bergamot and licorice. It is sold as unisex and described as bright and sparkling. The opening is bergamot with aniseed. The heart is star anise, sweet fennel, hedione and wormwood, and the base is benzoin, licorice and a modern amber. Buyers hear it plainly. One says it smells exactly like jelly sweets, and another finds a sweet gourmand aniseed like black jacks and coltsfoot rock on the counter of an old-fashioned sweetshop. The same buyer calls it the playful younger sister of Le Chat Noir, which is darker and moodier. Buyer notes on performance are thin: the aniseed stays on clothing for a while, and the scent is fresher and more wearable than its darker partner, more of an everyday scent. An independent wearer describes it as pure nostalgia, recalling aniseed drops and childhood trips to a corner shop. That supports its nostalgic character, but says nothing about wear time. Buyer notes on performance remain thin, so treat the longevity and projection values as estimates. It will divide people, because aniseed is a love-it-or-leave-it note. For those who enjoy it, it is a light-hearted, sweet and herbal scent for daytime in spring and autumn. It sits beside absinthe-style and liquorice scents rather than ordinary florals, and is made by hand by Juliet Rose in the UK.