Fragrance comparison

Esprit du Roi vs Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI

Notes, accords, longevity, sillage, seasons and community ratings, side by side.

Updated 23 Oct 2026 369 ratings analysed

4 wins

Esprit du Roi

Penhaligon's

3.80238 votes

Rank #6,870 AromaticFresh Spicy

Full profile Similar & dupes

34%scent match

Clearly different

Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI

Cartier

4.05131 votes

Rank #10,421 CitrusAldehydic

Full profile Similar & dupes

Quick verdict

Which one should you pick?

Esprit du Roi takes 4 of 7 categories.

Esprit du Roi
Choose it for a aromatic and fresh spicy character. Wins on longevity, value for money and versatility. Best in spring.
Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI
Choose it for a citrus and aldehydic character. Wins on ratings & consensus and sillage & projection. Best in spring.

Esprit du Roi4/7

Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI2/7

Ratings & consensus: Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI
Community sentiment: Tie
Longevity: Esprit du Roi
Sillage & projection: Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI
Value for money: Esprit du Roi
Versatility: Esprit du Roi
Note pyramid (duration): Not scored
Fragranxe ranking: Esprit du Roi

Head-to-head breakdown

Every category side by side, with the winner called out.

Fragrance

Esprit du RoiPenhaligon's

Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VICartier

Winner

Ratings & consensus

Average rating and ownership split

3.80/ 5 · 238 votes

Have 72%Had 28%Want 0%

4.05/ 5 · 131 votes

Have 72%Had 28%Want 0%

Category winnerLes Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VIRating weighted by vote count

Community sentiment

How voters split from love to hate

42%Love

44%Like

5%Ok

8%Dislike

1%Hate

180 votes

27%Love

57%Like

8%Ok

7%Dislike

0%Hate

131 votes

Category winnerTieMost positive mix (25+ votes)

Longevity & sillage

0–100 community performance scores

⏱ Longevity63

〰 Sillage57

♥ Love / hate79

⏱ Longevity60

〰 Sillage58

♥ Love / hate76

Category winners

LongevityEsprit du Roi

SillageLes Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI

Value for money

How fairly priced voters find it

¤ Price value47

¤ Price value38

Category winnerEsprit du RoiBest value score

Main accords

Strength of each scent family · outlined = shared by both

aromatic100%

fresh spicy92%

citrus84%

green77%

woody69%

warm spicy61%

citrus100%

aldehydic86%

fresh72%

aromatic58%

woody44%

soapy30%

Scent match34%Clearly different · both citrus, aromatic and woody

Note pyramid (duration)

Top, heart and base, with how long each lasts when known · gold = shared

Top

Tomato LeafMintAldehydesCitrusesBergamotCitronAmalfi LemonArtemisia

Heart

GeraniumClovesJasmineYlang-YlangHoneysuckle

Base

oak mossVetiverRaspberryAmbergrisSandalwoodPatchouliMuskVirginia Cedar

Notes

Amalfi LemonAldehydesGin

No top / heart / base split published

InformationalShared notesAldehydes and Amalfi Lemon. Note durations are not published for these fragrances, so this is not scored.

Seasons & time of day

Relative to each fragrance's best season

Spring100

Summer80

Fall0

Winter28

Day–

Night–

Spring100

Summer0

Fall0

Winter21

Day–

Night–

Category winnerEsprit du RoiMost year-round

Who wears it

Gender appeal votes

Men81

Unisex14

Women5

Men5

Unisex73

Women23

InformationalProfile onlyAudience is not scored

Ranking & credits

Fragranxe overall rank, nose and launch

Overall rank#6,870

PerfumerBertrand Duchaufour

Launched—

Reviews35

Overall rank#10,421

PerfumerMathilde Laurent

Launched—

Reviews15

Category winnerEsprit du RoiHigher overall rank

In a nutshell

Description & review snapshot

Esprit du Roi is a crisp green aromatic from Penhaligon's, built around tomato leaf, mint, citrus, geranium, clove, oakmoss and musky woods. Reviewers often describe it as clean, classy and traditional, with a lively herb garden opening rather than a simple lemon cologne. It suits people who like old-school aromatic c…

Reviews →

Mathilde Laurent composed Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI for Cartier in 2009 as a sharp, transparent aromatic scent. The opening hits immediately with sour Amalfi lemon juice and crushed green citrus peel, lifted by a heavy dose of soapy aldehydes that give the air a frosty, effervescent brightness. As t…

Reviews →

InformationalRead bothTaste is personal

How we score: ratings blend public fragrance ratings with Fragranxe member votes; longevity, sillage, value and sentiment are community vote scores, and season bars are relative to each fragrance's strongest season. Categories with too little data are shown but not scored. The scent match weighs accord overlap (60%) and shared notes (40%). More in the FAQ.

Common questions

Straight answers from the data above.

Which is better, Esprit du Roi or Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI?

Esprit du Roi takes 4 of 7 categories. Esprit du Roi is rated 3.80/5 from 238 votes; Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI is rated 4.05/5 from 131 votes. Choose Esprit du Roi for a aromatic and fresh spicy character. Wins on longevity, value for money and versatility. Best in spring. Choose Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI for a citrus and aldehydic character. Wins on ratings & consensus and sillage & projection. Best in spring.

Which lasts longer, Esprit du Roi or Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI?

Esprit du Roi lasts longest (Esprit du Roi 63/100, Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI 60/100), based on community performance votes.

Which projects more, Esprit du Roi or Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI?

Projection is very close: Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI 58/100, Esprit du Roi 57/100 for sillage.

Do Esprit du Roi and Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI smell similar?

Clearly different: a 34% scent match on Fragranxe. Both share citrus, aromatic and woody accords. Common notes include Aldehydes and Amalfi Lemon.

Is Esprit du Roi or Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI better for summer or winter?

For summer, Esprit du Roi is the stronger pick. For winter, Esprit du Roi is the stronger pick. Based on community season votes.

What are the notes in Esprit du Roi and Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI?

Esprit du Roi has top notes of Tomato Leaf, Mint, Aldehydes and Citruses, heart notes of Geranium, Cloves, Jasmine and Ylang-Ylang, a base of oak moss, Vetiver, Raspberry and Ambergris. Les Heures de Cartier: L'Heure Brilliant VI features Amalfi Lemon, Aldehydes and Gin.