Magnifique (2008)
by Lancôme

It is not as horrid as people believe.

That said, it is beyond average, and I can understand why people would find this annoying.

To me, it is simply insignificant, not any better or worse than many celeb scents crowding the fragrance departments. It has an 'old lady' quality to it which is never a good thing. The rose, jasmine and caraway mix do create a quite unsettling and equally boring middle base which is so heavy and heady, that one wonders if the creator tried to impose all this intensity in dosage to mask the lack of creativity in this one.

God knows it is not 'Tresor', 'Hypnose' or 'Miracle'. Lancome nowadays creates one bland juice after the other, and I guess instead of trying to give the company a face-lift, they are making it even more tired and average at best - at least in its perfume selection.

Magnifique is not magnificent, but I would not call it terrible either. It is the perfect 'so-so' fragrance.

The middle part of the development was best, right after the tangy top notes burned away. On me it was a dry, dry woody scent with some light powder, some earthyness (vetiver-like) and probably the cumin making it seem a bit "off", in a good way. If the scent smelled like this the whole time, I would probably buy a bottle.

Unfortunately, the good part goes away after a couple of hours, and the remaining notes are not of interest. A good musk, but not enough of it. And that nasty cinnamon candle wax note. The drydown reminds me of Cuir de Lancome but with an inferior musk.

It reminded me strongly of Escada's Magnetism pour Homme. Not magnificent in the least, especially not on an elegant woman.

My daughter calls it "evil candy.' She's right. It's a fragrance that represents the goth/dark side of your local candy store. Hardly 'Magnifique.' More 'Tres Bizarre.' Points for weirdness, though!

Distinctive enough to be instantly recognizable, but somehow disappointing. On the top I get good dose of red berries, followed by a base that smells like iris and white musk. It seems to clunk along rather awkwardly from one (very) synthetic note to the next. There's something a little 'dead' in the overall effect. I wish it had more sparkle and heart. It's as if the top and base notes are tip-toeing around the edges but the fragrance is hollow in the center. It's crying out for something more radiant in the mix to lift the whole fragrance up a notch. It's just so dreary.

Solidified, berried, hard candy. Awful! It's cloud is so thick that there are no spaces in between to breathe real air.