L'Orchidée Léonard (2007)
by Léonard

L'Orchidee isn't what I'd describe as being an oriental floral. What I smell is a particularly strong fruity floral.

This fragrance was suggested to me by a helpful sales assistant when I expressed my love for strong scents. L'Orchidee is indeed very powerful, however far too much for me.

The black currant, peach and bergamot opening, screams fruit. In my opinion, this opening is far too loud and offensive. I gave L'Orchidee some time to develop hoping that the orchid note mixed with the tuberose and jasmine would impress me.

Unfortunately, the orchid note, although present, isn't particularly dominant so it doesn't seem to justify why this fragrance has been named after this note. Up until the drydown, this fragrance annoyed me with its cloying and intense black currant note which made me feel as if I'd had bathed in black currant juice for a couple of hours until it had permanently seeped into the pores of my skin.

The drydown offered me some relief, with the jasmine, vanilla and woodsy notes calming me down considerably.

I actually like the bottle, but I find the whole concept rather misleading. I expected something floral and feminine, but what I experienced was quite the opposite.

On a more positive note, at least the lasting strength was reasonable.

30th June, 2011.