Love Osmanthus

Some people's chemistry and aesthetics gel with certain houses. It's safe to say I gel with Atelier Cologne, as I've liked and even loved several of their offerings: Oud Saphir (would repurchase), Orange Sanguine (would repurchase), Santal Carmin (would repurchase), Cafe Tuberosa, Clementine California, Vanille Insensee... One thing the house knows how to do very well is CITRUS, so when I read the description of "Love Osmanthus" I was very optimistic, and ultimately selected a sample with my Sephora order. This right here is the elusive fresh lemon scent. So if you're someone who loves the smell of actual lemons, but shudders at lemon fragrances from the memories of furniture polish, *this is for you*. Sillage / projection is practically nonexistent, this is a perfume solely for the wearer, but the first almost two hours are just a freshly cut and squeezed lemon, just gorgeous. Now, I have next to no experience with the osmanthus flower (or apricots really), but around the two-hour mark is when another note peeks above the lemon. It's almost like a peach, fleshy, but not syrupy. It's soft and utterly pleasant. The fragrance itself barely lasts past the three-hour mark, during which the faintest note of wood shavings surfaces with the osmanthus. This is the type of fragrance for which the travel size is perfect, so you can spritz on the go. Or, if you decide you really cannot live without this lemon, then you get the big bottle and invest in an atomizer (I recommend Juliette Has A Gun for that). Edit: On a second wearing, I noticed another stage between fresh lemon and lemon-tinged apricot: JELLY BEANS! After the first hour I smelled jelly beans when I sniffed my skin where I sprayed. If this is something I can expect from osmanthus, I'm going to start looking for this flower *everywhere*!

Atelier Cologne is one of my very favorite perfume houses, and I was extra excited about Love Osmanthus because, you've guessed it, I do love osmanthus. It's such a happy note, a sort of floral cross between a bag of candy and a powder puff, both concepts that I'm more than partial to in perfume. And as others have mentioned, Atelier Cologne is especially good at citruses, so I was counting on their ability to make the combination of that lovely sweet-powdery osmanthus note with bright sparkling lemon smell as enticing as it sounds. Having finally gotten my hands on a decant, I can happily confirm that it does! Or at least, straight from the bottle and in the opening, it smells exactly like I had hoped it would; I'm in candy-floral-powder-lemon heaven, feeling as sunny on this dark cloudy November lockdown day as I ever did at the height of summer. It's sweet and bright, but soft as well - very well balanced. The lemon note does smell a lot like the one in Light Blue, but I don't have a problem with that - I've always liked that part of Light Blue a lot, and unlike some other reviewers I think the addition of that wonderful osmanthus notes is enough to make this one stand out. Unfortunately, as is often the case with this house and hard to avoid with colognes in general, the drydown is less spectacular and less up my alley in general. That typical AC cedar base gets more and more present, and I've never really gotten along with it - too synthetic and too dominant for my taste. Still, I can always re-apply at this point (which only really starts to dominate several hours in anyway). With my huge (decant) collection I'm not sure if I'll ever get through my 10 ml, but I wouldn't be surprised if I do, and then a little bottle is definitely on the cards. Such a mood-lifter!

This is one of those scents that I didn’t care for when I first tried my sample. I tried it again though, some months later and kept thinking “what is that lovely scent?” It was THIS. I do also own Light Blue (original) and I get some of the same feel in this scent - I do understand the comparison - however, this is peach versus apple and - LASTS longer on my skin. I get comments on this scent at bedtime even if I can no longer smell it at all. For some reason it also feels more “natural” or, made of quality ingredients. I still love light blue - love that apple note - but when I am looking for longevity, I chose this one. Addressing the price comparison - if you get the large 6+ oz size - the price per ounce is not so high at all. Next time, I plan on purchasing this in the largest size available. I wear this with the pomelo paradise lotion - great combination. I do not pick up lemon in this scent as much as I get peach. The first time I tried it, I got none of that juicy sweet, happy sunshine...but now this is pure love. Refreshing, happy, summertime gorgeous scent that I really hope they keep a part of their line.

Lovely but fleeting, like most Atelier Colognes. But it’s a house I just love because they do everything so well, and Love Osmanthus is no exception. I get the blast of lemon at first, but it’s a sweeter lemon, not the bitter peel. At the heart I smell the fruity apricot/peach that must be the osmanthus. The cedar base is hard to catch because the scent is basically gone before you get to the base notes, but I did catch them at first, blended with the sweet lemon top note. I am going to experiment with layering this one with an orange scented body lotion and/or Molecule 01+Mandarin to see if I can get more wear time. But for now, it’s worth just carrying it around so I can reapply it. The perfect warm weather scent!

This scent is delicious! First spray, I got juicy and succulent fruits, Fragrantica says lemon, but it didn't read lemon to me. More like orange and apricot, which makes sense because osmanthus has an apricot-like scent to it. Love Osmanthus is delicious and addictive. I wish I had a 100 ml bottle and could indulge myself in this fragrance this summer. I will try not to ration my travel size, but it will be hard.

So lovely but nothing really special. I get the Light Blue comparisons but I think it is a spot-on dupe of Moschino's I Love Love (which I love :-) Not speaking of this comparison specifically: I am astonished how two fragrances can smell almost identical but have totally different ingredient notes! I wish someone could explain this to me!

The fragrance opens with the most photorealistic citrus scent, like cutting open a lime and the oil spins out of the rind. You might think it would make a perfect summer perfume but for me its cool trait makes it more of an early autumn. Unfortunately it doesn’t last on me at all.

Immediate love for me, my favorite from this label by far. Cannot pinpoint what about it is so intoxicating. Bright and juicy, kinda sour? soft, fresh, breezy and clean. Zero heaviness, which I need while working during hot humid summers.

One of if not my favorite atelier scents. Unisex. Such a beautiful dreamy aura of citrus perfect for day or night, the lemon can be a bit strong sometimes but I love it. Wish it lasted longer though!

This is a beautiful lemon and osmanthus perfume. It wears longer for me than most summer/citrus perfumes. The osmanthus is apricot and leather. Beautiful.

This is an exact offspring of: Jo Malone Honey Nectarine and DG Light Blue! Lovely inoffensible day time fragrance. Fresh, a little dry, clean.

Absolutely stunning fragrance. It's juicy, yummie and very natural. I'm a man and after smelling it in a perfumery I just had to buy it.

My fav scent! I get a mildly floral, soapy vibe from it.

Like the other Atelier Cologne scents, this is a straightforward yet high-quality scent featuring citrus - this time, a lemon top note. Lemon-heavy scents can veer dangerously close to cleaning product territory, but here it is balanced beautifully by the soft, apricot nuances of the dominant osmanthus note. It simply adds a zesty, fresh edge, tying in with the citrusy DNA of the brand. This is streets ahead of the Light Blue, to which it is frequently compared - the lemon here is much less sharp and more natural, while the osmanthus is a delicious addition. LO opens with a light lemon note, zesty and natural yet somehow reminiscent of lemon-flavoured sweets - not too bitter. The osmanthus joins it very quickly in its lactonic, woody, apricot-y glory. It is a simple, yet beautiful accord that really works well. It becomes reasonably full-bodied as it develops, joined by soft cedar notes that ground it nicely. Sillage and longevity are moderate - it lasts a bit longer than some of the more citrus-heavy scents from this line. Really nicely done - a lovely example of an osmanthus scent. Give it a chance even if you dislike lemon. Feminine-leaning in my opinion thanks to the fruity floral osmanthus note. Simple and effective in typical Atelier Cologne manner - the high-quality notes are allowed to shine. 3.5/5.

First, yes, this is a sibling to Light Blue, and I really enjoyed Light Blue but it's EVERYWHERE. Yes, I wear scents for myself and I'm not interested in smelling like the crowd. Love Osmanthus is similar to LB in that it's a very clean and airy fruity floral with a cedar base. Both are completely inoffensive while still being a delight to wear. Second, the difference between them is that LO has a more authentic (higher quality) citrus profile and leans less sweet on me while being a bit more woody in the end game, which I prefer. As others have mentioned, LB is all about the green apple while LO showcases an apricot accord. The fact that LO is less common than LB is just another reason to find it more attractive! Review of full bottle purchased from Sephora during the Sale on Sale 2022. (I highly recommend picking this up during a sale! It's currently discounted on Sephora. I believe Atlier Cologne goes on clearance every year because the natural ingredients have a shorter shelf life than most mainstream fragrances.) UPDATE This fragrance is still in my collection, I just upgraded to the gorgeous Limited Edition Lunar New Year bottle

This is lovely and fresh, ideal for a warm spring or summer day. As others have said, the lemon is by far the dominant note, with a sweet intensity reminiscent of meyer lemons. Unfortunately, the osmanthus note is a bit disappointing. I have yet to smell a fragrance that accurately captures the scent of real osmanthus blossoms, but in the perfume world, osmanthus is described as having a warm, slightly leathery apricot-esque quality. I get some delicate fruitiness from Love Osmanthus, but it lacks the ripe juiciness I would have preferred for a scent with "osmanthus" in its name. I can understand the many comparisons to Light Blue by Dolce and Gabbana, but I'm not sure if I'm fully on board. To me, Light Blue has a stronger musky-floral aspect to it that makes it more feminine, whereas Love Osmanthus is more unisex. It definitely reminds me of the oil that sprays out of a fresh lemon peel. If you can reframe this as a lemon scent, rather than a lemony-osmanthus scent, it's beautiful, but the poor longevity still prevented me from getting a full-size bottle.

I really love Atelier offerings in general and this is nice enough but def not my favorite out of those I've tried. On opening, a huge blast of lemon. It smelled like I had cut a lemon in half and rubbed it on my skin, very authentic. That was all I smelled for the first 15 minutes probably. After that, the cedar comes in and the osmanthus peaks in a little too. Now after about 4 hours of wear the osmanthus is definitely more front and center and the lemon and cedar are lingering in the background. The osmanthus is def more apricot in this composition. A little bit like the osmanthus note in Marciso Rodriguez for her but I most definitely prefer the latter. It is definitely a quiet unassuming scent, probably good for summer or early fall. I really loved that lemon in the opening. Atelier is great for those super authentic circuses in the opening. I wish that lemon could have lasted a little longer. At 4 hours it is still hanging in there but again more on the quiet side.

I really like citrus-floral combos like this where you have an initial blast of some strong citrus note (a natural burst of lemon here) and then the white florals and woods come out and it becomes a really light and pretty perfume. When I lived in Kuala Lumpur, so many of my older cousins' friends smelled like this which is such a nice scent memory. If you haven't smelled it, osmanthus is a flower that smells like apricots and this perfume has a really fruity stone fruit scent in its midnotes. It's actually kind of like taking Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue replacing the apple with apricot, making the lemon note less screechy, and adding a clean powdery dry down to it. The longevity is short at only 4 hours for me, but it's easy to reapply. I would consider this a more feminine scent, but that could just be my cultural connotations around it.

Seriously just came here to say this smells exactly like Light Blue to me. Because I don't own LB and haven't smelled it consciously since... 2015... I can't say where it specifically diverges. Others below have cited variations in the citrus opening, but to my nose (that is not in close touch with LB) this opening smacked me with some memories. About 10 mins in I think it is diverging with a little more clean musk lemon detergent and white flower and a little powder. I would probably wear this shopping on a sunny day or to grab coffee run errands or maybe after the gym, but I already have enough fragrances that I can sub in for those purposes. I don't think I will buy this. It is pleasant and likable, but too much of a ringer for LB-- if I want to invoke that I will simply buy LB.

This starts out being mostly a slightly sweet lemon, similar to light blue but the lemon in love osmanthus is less screechy to me. After you’ve had it on your skin for about 30 minutes you really start to get more of the osmanthus in the sillage. I wore one spray on my wrist yesterday and I was getting whiffs of it out of no where up to the 7 hour mark, so it performs a lot better than I was expecting based off of other reviews. I will say that when you put your nose right up to your skin and smell it it does smell like light blue, but like I said, when you’re smelling it in the air around you, you get a lot of that osmanthus which makes it distinctly different from LB when you actually wear it instead of just smelling it off a test strip.