Gourmandises (200x)
by Keiko Mecheri

Crazy sweet rose and harsh woody notes. Reminds me of some rose-flavored candy I ate a long time ago, just add some cedarwoods. It's very light though longevity is good.

On my skin this is a almost tart but fruity rose, where saffron takes center stage, softened in the base with ambrette and praline for sweetness to counter the astrigent quality. Probably not for everyone, but I love it.

There are certainly genuine gourmand notes in this — praline, and jam. Almonds, even bitter almonds, usually double the sweetness of sweet accords to my nose, and when almonds are presented in the form of praline, well, I might just as well rub almond scented cotton candy over my body… But within all that sweetness whetting my appetite (but not my really appreciation of the scent), I get a prominent rose almost from the start. And it’s a truly beautiful rose note, pure and natural and not disagreeably heady as many rose notes tend to get for me. There is a strong saffron note in the accord, too — not too bad, but something I could do without. So what we finally end up with is a sweet, sweet base with rose and saffron flowing in and over the sweetness in continuing vignettes, waiting for musk. It’s almost existential. I don’t think of it as being very unisex — I find it a little too feminine for my taste. Those who do love sweet may very well find Gourmandises a wonderful fragrance. It’s an elegant fragrance with quality ingredients, very interesting subplots within its linearity, and slightly longer than acceptable longevity. It’s just too, too sweet for me.

Roses and sweets. Not "juicy" and shocking pink like celebrity perfumes, a bit more subtle and powdery, more like baby pink, but still far too sweet and soft and girly for me. I even get a hint of salty play-doh. It doesn't smell bad but doesn't smell its price.

Started off with a jammy rose potpourri, after an hour or so it became a powdery rose potpourri. Its more feminine than unisex. And I can't see spending all this money to smell like drugstore potpourri...

Gourmandises is not what I expected, as it's not sweet on me and I don't smell praline or jam. I think I expected Gourmandises to be a version of Loukhoum because of its notes but it's completely different. It's a fascinating, multi-faceted rose fragrance that is fantastically unique. It's a mood fragrance; slightly dramatic but possessing more of a warm, confident, alluring beauty. One of the best things about is that it doesn't remind me of any other fragrances. I've never smelled anything like it, and this makes it intriguing, and even beautiful.