Blue Madeleine

Expect the unexpected. Between the name and the ad images, I think they had us all fooled into believing this would be an easy to love, crowd-pleasing, full-on gourmand. And in what in my opinion is their prettiest bottle yet, it promised to become their top best seller. What we forgot is that this is Atelier des Ors. People want vanilla ? Sure, they'll give us vanilla ! But with one hell of a twist, a la Lune feline. And the same goes for most of their creations. They all have a magical touch and distinctive twist that makes them truly special. It starts off as a very smoky, spicy scent. And to my nose, it does lean a bit masculine for the first 30-60 minutes. After that, it mellows out and goes into completely neutral and unisex territory. Then, the tea shows itself fully, a beautiful smoky oolong tea. A little milk softens it a bit further and a slight sweetness comes into play. Never too sweet, just the perfect touch. Do I smell a Madeleine? Yes ! Well, kinda. The thing is, this Madeleine is not on your plate or your hand, and it is nowhere near your mouth. You're at a beautiful terrace cafe, sipping your divine tea with a splash of milk and the perfect touch of sweetness. And someone passed you by enjoying that delicious Madeleine. Oh, you can smell it, but you can't have it ! The perfect name for this would have been Tea-sing Madeleine. Anyway, although I didn't get the Madeleine I thought I would get, I did get a beautiful tea fragrance. In a World where many tea fragrances, both expensive and inexpensive, smell about the same, Atelier des Ors managed to give it their magical twist and turn it into something not just beautiful and captivating, but incredibly unique. Bravo, Atelier des Ors ! Bravo ! 👏 I get about 6 hours with moderate performance before it becomes a skin scent. Not a beast, but certainly a beauty. Cozy, comforting, calming, stunning. And a must-try for anyone who loves tea fragrances. 👌

Atelier des Ors have some amazing smelling perfumes that’s a fact that nobody can deny it! But some of them are simply overpriced for the performance. Case in point with Blue Madeleine. Gorgeous black chai tea scent with an aromatic, spicy, smoky undertones. Instant love but lacks strength and costs almost 250 euros! That besides the controversy regarding the slightly misleading name that makes most of think of something cakey, gourmand. This ain’t that, let’s be honest! But as a tea perfume Blue Madeleine is beautiful! I would consider adding it to my collection because I am starting to appreciate more and more a tea perfume but not for this price. I’m not saying that it’s a cheap smelling fragrance, on the contrary, I think it smells refined and elegant, but somewhere around 150 euros is where I feel it should be priced taking in consideration the way it performs. To get noticed wearing Blue Madeleine, you need to shower in it so you’ll go through a bottle of Blue Madeleine in no time. In less than 10 minutes it’s a skin scent, which is not acceptable for that price. Scent wise and bottle/presentation it gets a thumbs up, performance/price point one thumbs down. I expect more for that amount of money! The only ones that worth Atelier des Ors prices for me are some from the Black collection and White collection, meaning the original ones, released a few years ago. I am sampling next one from the Riviera collection, so I’ll see if that line performs any better... Update: one hour later I can’t smell this at all on skin, it disappeared completely. Will update the performance when wear it on clothing, it might be better..

Blue Madeleine is not the warmth of a golden, sugar-dusted madeleine fresh from the oven—contrary to the expectations of many—it is the echo of one, the scent that clings to the wooden table long after the last crumb has been swept away. The last breath of a patisserie at closing time, when the ovens have cooled and the air is thick with the ghosts of butter and flour, cinnamon and milk, all dissolving into nothingness. A scent not of presence, but of what was left behind. The madeleine is here, but stripped bare—an impression of soft, pillowy crumb without the richness, a whisper of aromatic cinnamon without the fiery bite. The vanilla is pale and wan, barely exhaled, and the sweetness is almost illusory, as if caster sugar had been sprinkled into the air only to vanish before it could land. There is no caramelization, no molten, oozing core—only a wisp of something stretching thin over the composition like a memory of something richer, fuller. No body ever takes shape. Instead, a vaguely nutty note drifts in like ground flour, powdery and muted, blending into a whisper of woods, almost sandalwood-like in its creamy softness but without its usual weight. The composition is like air spun with scent rather than something tangible, and that gourmand promise—it is there, but distant—less a confection and more a trace of something that once was, floating somewhere between nostalgia and absence. One stripped of indulgence, like a pastry turned to air. A scent hovering just at the edge of perception.

Blue Madeleine is unlike anything I have so far, which makes me really happy! As a notorious blind buyer I was really intrigued by the notes and couldn’t wait to try it. At first sniff, what hits me most is the pepper note. That spiciness moves in the background as the scent develops, revealing a woodiness that is a litlle smoky from the black tea. The milk note also comes through rendering the fragrance creamy with a subtle floral sweetness from the rose and praline. I really enjoy the fragrance the more I smell it. It is a very cosy, comforting fragrance that sits fairly close to my skin. It is cocooning and nostalgic and I think the name and story are well-portrayed in the scent. As to longevity, I don’t know yet, as I’ve only just received it. It’s a very non-generic scent that I think is best worn during colder days. Edit: I have been waiting for the appropriate weather, and as the temperatures are getting colder and the leaves are turning, I have put this on. Longevity is pretty good, I still smelled wafts of it after many hours of weating it. I like the smoky tea and creamy sweetness, there’s just something I can’t put my finger on, that smells a little dusty. Still a great autumn scent, with moderate sillage and good longevity. Not for everyone, quite different to most scents, not blind-buy safe, but a beautiful and, imto my nose, unique composition.

Since the launch I have tried to remind myself that a beautiful bottle does not a beautiful perfume make (and it IS beautiful), but when I found out this is the same perfumer as DVN Soie Malaquais and MM Beach Walk I knew my days were numbered. Having succumbed to my impulses, I can say that this perfume is for a specific kind of person but thankfully that person is me. In a nutshell: this perfume is evocative of sticking your nose into big tins of loose leaf black tea at a specialty tea shop. The smokiness is less fireplace or jazz club and more the bold roasted toasted earthy spicy quality of that experience. Those facets are blended beautifully with a lightly sweet rose milk and praline that give the fragrance a feminine softness. To me, the contrast is beautiful. I think you might have to be more into actual tea than tea fragrances to truly “get” this one, but I love buying loose leaf tea so this was a big hit for me. It is beautifully unique and I think it will be an easy reach in the fall and winter. Until then I’m happy just to stare at the bottle.

EDIT: I have since purchased a FS bottle for a very good price and let me say that an atomizer makes a HUGE difference is experiencing this fragrance. My 1ml dabber sample from Lucky Scent did not allow me to fully experience and appreciate this fragrance the way it was meant to be. It is truly a beautiful, creamy, moody tea scent for cool weather, or even year round. It is so well blended and I get about 6-7 hours of wear with about 6 sprays. Old review: Is it bad to say I am slightly relieved (for my wallet) that this was a disappointment? This is a classic case of why to sample even if the notes of a fragrance speak to your soul...the opening and fist hour of dry down on this was sharp and medicinal aromatics to me. I kept waiting for it to settle down into a creamy, cozy, woody tea scent but that is the faintest of whisper in the background if you put your nose all the way against skin. There is something almost like camphor that remains the overwhelming scent I get. So far from a Madeline of drinking tea in Paris that I was longing and eager for.

This perfume really transformed with maceration, I am stunned. I bought a sample around half a year ago and I had a similar experience to a lot of people here when I smelled it right after receiving it - very smoky, woody and balsamic, barely any sweetness. It was definitely original but too sharp for me and I didn't get the madeleine connotation at all. I returned to my old unfinished sample recently and I am shocked how much it changed. It has gotten sweeter and it really smells like madeleines now! I can't believe it's the same perfume - the smell of madeleines is really intense and kind of sticky (just like the cookies are). Very realistic. I definitely wouldn't say it's a full on gourmand as it still has that woodiness and some freshness lingering in the background. I don't really get any smokiness anymore though. My advice is if your are really hoping for a madeleine perfume, sample this first but also allow it to mature if you are disappointed with the smell when it's still new. This one needs to sit.

"Blue Madeleine is a tribute to the emotional power of the olfactive memory... A simple inhalation of a familiar scent can transport you instantaneously to a precise moment in your past , evoking long -forgotten sensations, emotions and experiences." Well this perfume's aim worked perfectly with my body chemistry. The first time I tried my sample, I started CRYING. On my skin, it smells like my granny's house at a very specific time in my childhood. Warm milky tea, old wood cleaned with orange oil, hint of burnt sugar - oatmeal cookies baking, and hint of dusty rose petals. This is the most transporting perfume I've ever experienced, and it's wild to me that the intention was to do just that. I only sampled it because the notes reminded me of Lost Alice, a perfume I find to be a lot of fun but doesn't take me back in time. Today, over a year (???) later, I finally have my full bottle, and it's even better sprayed on (of course and thank goodness - so many reviews scared me). What a gift!

I blind bought this one and I am really happy I did. This was my first Atelier Des Ors parfum. First spray: “Ugh it’s smoky.” I was not expecting that at all. Like I was next to a fire place with a cup of spicy tea in my hand. I can also detect some creamyness and sweetness behind and as the smokyness becomes less intense, these come trough and start to dominate with the tea note and probably bergamot forming a very comforting creamy Light, freshning tea scent on my skin. I can imagine wearing it during the Summer. It’s long lasting, but not too Intense (unfortunately) it stays close to the skin. However I am kind of ok with it, I put on my hair/ clothes and problem solved, it has more sillage on clothes or in my hair. At first try I was cunfused, but I recommend you to give it a second chance. I fall in love with it. The smokyness at the begining is similar to me to the smokyness in Lune Féline, but luckily it does not stay intensely smoky at all. Thanks for reading. 😊

There’s something whimsical about this fragrance. In a nutshell, it’s a creamy green tea scent — but done exceptionally well. I haven’t smelled anything quite like it before. It opens with bergamot, a zesty herbal blast softened by a gentle sweetness underneath. The sweetness isn’t overpowering or sugary; it’s mild, grounding, and perfectly balances the herbal notes. I would say I smell shortbread type cookies in there too, but again, nothing too sweet. After a few hours, the scent becomes musky and a bit woody, so if you enjoy musk and tea fragrances, this one will be right up your alley. It takes me back, perhaps to my Elizabeth Arden Green Tea era, but this perfume feels more refined and complex. Longevity is about 4–6 hours on skin. It wears close to the skin, yet I still catch soft whiffs of it throughout the day — it’s pretty magical. It truly shines in warm weather and makes a lovely scent for the transition from summer into fall.

I am in love with the concept of this perfume. The marketing, the bottle design and the smell are so unique and made for book girlies. But since it’s a really pricey perfume I am really disappointed with the intensity of the smell. I know it’s supposed to be gentle but I want other people to around me to smell it too. It’s very pricey I know it has gold inside the bottle and ingredients are high quality but I personally didn’t buy it because of the performance. It lasts for 4-5 hours but it’s to gentle. I got a sample from the store I really feel in love with the smell but unfortunately it’s out of my price range. I would recommend this to people who can afford it or get it as a gift. Because the smell is really like black tea with madeleine cookies so gentle and pretty, you feel like a princess drinking black tea with milk on your sunny balcony. It’s not a must have but it is a special perfume.

This is another fun one from the house of Atelier Des Ors. Aptly named, Blue Madeleine is a milky tea & cookies gourmand. I have a gift for randomly choosing - from my hundreds of vials - a sample to wear that reminds me of one I’ve recently tested. I did just that again: I get a bit of By the Fireplace here. Smells to me like Maison Margiela By The Fireplace and Nishane Ani X were added to madeleines batter that was baked into cookies and dipped in Earl Grey glaze. A rose like the one in Atelier Des Ors Pink Me Up peaks through here in much the same way it does in that one. Dry down smells like geranium and coffee on me. A fab frag on its own - tart, lactonic, softly floral, subtly smoky, spicy, and aromatic - but I imagine layering it with a cypress or camphor scent would be electric. Increasingly enjoyable, the more I wear it. A favorite bottle to boot.

It’s a tea room in a bottle, but it’s not the light, bright, posh/chic airy high tea the packaging and bottle would have you assume - It’s tea in a Turkish tea salon with heavy smokiness, spice, and a very jammy rose. I typically (heavily) dislike smoke and rose, but this blend just works for me! Those characters in this perfume are woven in so realistically with the tea and the vanilla that the balance makes intuitive sense and takes you on a journey. My first spray shocked me with how much smokiness came off, and that’s all I got for a while. It dried down to a smoked oolong with sweet vanilla biscuits - no rose in sight. My second spray is a juicy jammy rose tea. Those two sprays are on different arms right now and they continue smell completely different from one another. I am confused. I am intrigued. I am enamored.

I get a very fresh rose and some citrus in the opening and a slightly smoky tea and then this is a soft milky cinnamon all the way for me. I don't get calone ( and I love the nuda veritas / riviera collection especially pomelo which do all have this). I wonder if some people are finding the tea and cinnamon to be smoky ..I definitely do not. It's a pretty scent...I think more for spring summer and daytime. You don't need to overspray and it's one to wear around your neck to be allowed to warm up properly. The atelier white boxes really do best in summer heat...they are intended to be worn to be refreshing I think and this is a lovely different take for a summer scent. I think its quite cool still being able to wear a soft fluffy cinnamon when it's hot. :) .

I like this... fresh...and I don’t mind that it’s more intimate—those are my kind of scents. I will say that I smell Calone...like in Nuda Veritas, although it isn’t listed in the notes for this scent. I find Blue Madeleine more palatable than that scent however —as the Calone smell was too much for me in NV. Villa Pirmrosa is also worth checking out. I don’t like leather but the soft style of this leather works for me. Update: I love this and find it uplifting, unique, fresh, and lightly gourmand. I think it’s beautiful. Sniffing the sprayer alone is a mood booster. I’m surprised others are getting a strong tea note. I get only what I can discern as Calone... which as mentioned above... is done in a way that works for me.

When I tell you my eyes rolled back in my head the moment I smelled this... what a beautiful tea fragrance! It's so cocooning, warm, a tiny bit spicy, a tiny bit smoky. But don't let that scare you - it's not a heavy firewood smoke or a cigarette smoke... It's just slightly hazy, like you've got a hot chai tea latte in your hands while a fireplace is crackling in the other room. This is a fall/winter tea for sure - much more cozy and comforting than fresh and uplifting. It dries to a milky, sweetened musk. This is, without a doubt, my favorite tea fragrance I've ever smelled. I only wish it lasted longer, but I would not hesitate to purchase this and just top up throughout the day. It's so so good. Solid 10/10!!

Ok, so I initially was mad at this fragrance, not because it doesn’t smell good, because I happen to love this scent, but because I thought the projection was so light. I was wrong. The projection is still quite light, but not as light as I had thought initially, especially when sprayed on clothing. I think this fragrance is done so well, and the lightness of it is intentional. I think if it were any stronger it would be headache inducing and wouldn’t give off the scent profile it’s intending to. I happen to smell more of the madeleine/cake than black tea, and I consider myself lucky for that. I found a really good offer on this and decided to grab it. I don’t regret it.

This had to grow on me but boy am I glad it did! I think I expected it to be sweeter and more milky. Instead, it's more smoky, but in a really cozy way. Reminiscent of By The Fireplace. Like you're sipping some black tea with just a splash of milk and dipping a madeleine cookie in it while you are sitting in front of a fireplace on a cold night. Also, the bottle? Gorgeous. I love wearing this at night before bed or just when I'm having a cozy day. I actually get really great longevity out of this. It's not beast mode or anything but it gives a nice scent bubble and lasts many hours on me. I still smell it on me by morning when I wear it overnight.

The perfect fragrance for those moments when you're feeling... blue. It first greets you with a touch of spice, gently energizing the opening before quickly giving way to a beautifully multifaceted composition. On one hand, the notes melt into a seamless, refined gourmand sweetness. Yet from time to time, individual facets reveal themselves: tea mellowed by milk, a biscuit-like praline, dry woods, and sweet florals. The fragrance envelops, soothes, and brings a sense of bliss. It is long-lasting, with a clearly perceptible projection that remains beautifully restrained, never overwhelming. A beautiful composition and a genuine pleasure to wear.

Seriously do not understand the poor reviews people are leaving for this fragrance — it’s beautiful! I’m a blind buy addict and got worried after hearing people say this smelled like cigarettes or straight up smoke. No cigarettes, the tiniest amount of a smoky note but otherwise this is a soft milky skin scent. The tea is really subdued and feels like it’s fully in the background — very wearable! The scent profile is familiar, definitely feels like something I’ve encountered before but not like a mass marketed scent. It does feel special but not out of this world unique. Very happy I went for the full size!

Quite pleased with this one! I think most of the disappointment from others comes from the expectation based on the marketing visuals. Blue Madeline is not a sweet gourmand fragrance....like at all. It is for the tea lovers. Freshly brewed black/ earl grey tea... with a splash of milk. It's refined...a bit posh. To me it evokes a "Tea Party" vibe in like a beautiful vintage parlor and you're using expensive Chinoiserie porcelain. I find this to be beautiful under my fluffiest sweaters... OK performance... but I did receive a compliment on one occasion. Definitely test before committing to a full bottle.

The reason there is such a vast difference in what people are picking up from this fragrance is maceration/maturation. When I first tried this fragrance it was a disappointment. Luckily I was lazy and didn't revisit to declutter for a good 6 months or so because when I went to test it again before putting up for sale this fragrance rounded out and it completely changed on me! So worth giving it some time. This is the best tea fragrance on the market. Elevated semi-gourmand. This one is worth getting your nose on - and hanging onto to let the notes come together more. It's become an obsession.

I tried Blue Madeline at a perfume shop in Paris near the Louvre. it is hauntingly poetic, and I could detect this instantly. out of all the hundreds of bottles, they let you go home with one free sample. this is the one I chose. The top notes were vivid, a burst of cinnamon and pink pepper gave it a warm, spicy opening, with a touch of bergamot adding a sharp citrus lift.the black tea and milk create a creamy, almost chai-like accord, rounded out by a gentle rose note that adds elegance without overpowering. thank you marie salamagne for making this delicious work of artistry 🌟💙🩵

Someone gave me a 1ml sample a year ago, and I wasn’t impressed with the initial spray but oh my gosh, when I revisited it a month ago, I fell in love! I even picked up a 5ml from www.lifestylewithtrish.ca It’s absolutely lovely. This is my true “London Fog” perfume. I adore the scent of Earl Grey tea: warm, cozy, and slightly lactonic. I’m literally drooling as I type this, wishing I were sipping a real London Fog. Once I finish my sample, I’m definitely getting a full bottle; The bottle with the gold flakes is absolutely divine both the scent and the bottle are stunning.

The note progression from opening to drydown demonstrates the process of taking freshly baked vanilla cake with a custardy warmth and soaking it slowly in black bergamot-scented tea. It's mostly cake at the beginning while the citrus tea notes find their footing and power up after an hour or so. Later on in the drydown the black bergamot tea is the predominant note, turning smokey and woody with a sweet milky tonality from the cake. Blue Madeline is a sophisticated gourmand, complex and worthy of respect. The sillage is soft but satisfactory, lasting 4-5 hours in total.

I surprisingly like this one. I don't think I'd actually wear it, but I'm considering buying it. It's a very nice adult gourmand. It's not too sweet, but it's peppery, sweet, kinda citral which balances it really well. It honestly reminds me of a true Earl Grey Cream. I love the milk, rose, and bergamot notes. It's inspiring. I'm getting the praline at the end, and it's creamy and salty. It reminds me of a dreamy night carnival and the warm scent of cotton candy being made.

This is so pleasant. I passed on many opportunities to sample Blue Madeline and now I am kicking myself for not getting my nose on this sooner. On my skin it's creamy, slightly sweet, and playfully smoky. I get a pinch of smooth black tea, and a soft rose in the background as well. If I caught the sillage of someone wearing this I would assume that they either naturally smelled incredible, or spent a ton of money to smell that way ;)

A lactonic fragrance with an easy airiness to it. It’s been about 20mins since I sprayed on tester, and the more prominent notes are the black tea, milk and rose. A combination that feels so incredibly refined. This reminds me of being young and going through my mother’s drawers, trying on her jewelry, putting on her makeup and everything had traces of her scent. Feels young and old at the same time, nostalgic. 💯Full bottle worthy

Typically dont grativate towards tea perfumes, but this was such a great surprise. Here I get sweet milk tea, but make it fresh with some spice & the aromatics adds brightness to the composition--which blends so nicely together & stays linear throughout the wear. Ive been reaching for this the past three days & though it may not be a huge projector, I can smell it on myself throughout the day. First Atelier that's a love!

This is a perfect scent if you want something for fall/winter, but don’t want overly woody or gourmand fragrances that make you smell like a dried up leaf or a vanilla sundae. The tea, lactonic and woody notes are well-balanced and slightly sweetened by the citrus, floral and pink pepper notes. The bottle is incredibly beautiful and I just wish it wasn’t so pricey. I guess the holidays are coming...

I'm surprised at all the negative reviews. To me this smells like sweet madeleines, black tea with a splash of milk, lit candles, and smoke. Delicious, but in a grown-up way. It starts off pretty peppery but mellows out as it wears. Surprisingly long lasting on me (I don't need to reapply throughout the day) but it does become quite soft after the 2 hour mark, which I don't mind.

Coming back to report I’ve been wearing this for nearly a week straight and it’s perfect for me. I find this so easy and soft, milky but light and airy — even with the added depth from the tea, balsam and cade oil. Truly this is one of the prettiest scent profiles in my collection. So glad this one gets along with my skin chemistry. Already looking for my backup bottle ☁️🍃✨

Absolutely gorgeous 😍 Milky earl grey tea. I can absolutely detect the praline and balsamic aspects that together with the lactonic notes create a soothing, mouthwatering drydown! It’s a little softer than I thought and I don’t find it really smokey, as some reviews suggest. Wears like a silky aura scent, I’m in love!

This is my ride-or-die....I may need to be medicated if it is discontinued. BEAUTIFUL, smoky black tea and bergamot opening, with the just-sweet-enough madeleine accord coming through on the dry down. Lasts several hours on me, especially on fabric. It is a more intimate fragrance, not a "beast mode, bro!" projector.

This was not love at first sniff. It needs TIME on the skin. Initially it’s quite smokey, but this note mellows out and the perfume sweetens. After about 10 minutes it’s milky tea with praline and the smoke is left somewhere far in the background, as if you were enjoying an afternoon tea near a crackling fireplace.

I love the opening. Is so smoky and airy hard to explain I am waiting for the dry down. I also love the bottle is stunning and I am also waiting to se show long it lasts. I want to buy it I am not sure if I will not for a while anyways. I have to many and it looks like this one does not last or project to much.

Divine I get none of the "smoke" anyone has mentioned. It's fresh, pretty, intriguing. Comforting and elegant/refined. Layers nicely with Riviera Lazuli, but my favorite is Blanc Polychrome. The whole is greater than the sum of the delish parts. A whole new twist on both

Not rating this fragrance as I've yet to try it, obviously. But I cannot wait to do so. The middle and base notes sound incredible. Different, too. A much needed reprise from all the cherry scented fragrances being released. Anyone else excited about this new release?

Nice fresh creamy with little hint of rose in opening. Black tea and sweet maybe from praline in drydown. I like it a lot. It's unique addictive and fun to wear. The only downside is projection. Need more spray than usual. Scent : 4/5 Longevity : 3/5 Projection : 2/5

This is such a warm and comforting scent. A perfect light rose with tea but with an added warmth coming from cinnamon. This is what winter cabin vibe dreams are made of. A beloved favorite in my collection that I can't get enough of.

Reads very masculine and kind of screechy in the opening. After some time it mellows out but remains very incense-like, with sweeter notes peeking through. It smells like a sweet cookie dipped in very strong and smoky lapsang.

Way too smoky on me, which I'm assuming is the cade oil. I don't really enjoy smelling this and it makes me a bit queasy. Kind of savory in one sense, but also a bit industrial. I'm so glad I didn't blind buy this.

Yes it smells how the brand described it imo. Very happy. Not cheap smelling, not offensive, interesting and pretty imo.

my ultimate comfort perfume, just wish it didn't have the gold flakes bc they keep clogging up the atomizer!!!!

I like this fragrance! Honest, I do! Well, I mostly do. It’s a little creamy like a teacup of black tea that had been left to brew just a little too long, and to make up for the bitterness, it’s been loaded up with delicious full-fat cream. I get the brightness of the bergamot in the astringency of the tea leaves (ah, it must have been a cup of Earl Grey then), and the impression of something buttery and perfectly sweet (like a fancy madeleine biscuit painted by Monet—you know, if he ever broke the laws of physics and somehow managed to paint with sandalwood and milk and cinnamon and uh, a praline accord). I even like that it’s a softer gourmand fragrance that doesn’t fill the room with something incredibly dense and loud. There’s a lot of perfectly good gourmand fragrances out there that fill that niche, but Blue Madeleine? Non, madame. It’s chic. It’s got restraint. It’s also got a lot of cigarette smoke. I don’t know what it is in this perfume that’s the culprit, but there’s a persistent smell of lit cigarettes, and compared to how much I was enjoying this perfume before it reached this stage of dry down, it’s suddenly become aggressively acrid. It’s as though I’m sat outdoors at a Parisian cafe—a nice one, but not one that’s like crazily overpriced and high-end. And my dining partner, who instead of enjoying the little luxury experience of tea service in Paris (complete with fresh baked madeleines and other Parisian dainties) is just sitting there, compulsively chain smoking, and intentionally blowing cigarette smoke all over the table, all over our cups of tea, and all over those pretty little petit-fours. And you know what? It kinda stinks! And I kinda think I’ve had enough! It’s put me off the daydream and I kinda want to call off this entirely imaginary whirlwind of a Parisian romance! So we’re quits, Philippe! I’m leaving you! (But I’m still keeping the perfume.)

Scared. That was the first emotion that I felt when I first sprayed Blue Madeleine by Atelier des Ors. I was scared because I didn't like it at first spray. I bought this blindly because I am that impulsive and at that time, I was almost in the verge of selling it. But fortunately, this one really grew on me. Blue Madeleine is the kind of scent that's not exactly a love at first sniff. Oh no, it isn't. It's the kind of scent that begs to be discovered and to be understood on a much deeper level. And boy, I'm so glad that I gave this a chance. It opens up smoky. Immediately, I can pick up that smoky tea and citrus combo that's reminiscent to that of a blood orange. In fact, the citrus here reminds me of Casamorati Lira but without the licorice and anise. After a while, the madeleine comes through. It's a little sweet, buttery, airy yet creamy. To me, I can picture a hot cup of freshly brewed black tea with a squeeze or two of citrus in it with a small plate of madeleines on the side. And then I'm also getting the herbal, almost medicinal quality in the drydown. If you're looking for a loud scent that announces your presence before you enter the room, Blue Madeleine is not what you're looking for. In fact, it's completely the opposite. It has a weak, intimate projection and the longevity is also kind of disappointing. I'm only getting 3-4 hours on skin. For the price, I'm expecting that it should last a bit longer. This is a very polarizing scent that needs to be sampled before committing to a full bottle. Don't blind buy like I did.

I still don’t know how to process this perfume. The opening is very smoky, and you get hit with the bergamot, pink pepper, and cade oil, which does make it smell a little medicinal. Even then, it’s not horrible, just interesting. The smoke note isn’t overly harsh. It reminds me of laundry that’s been hung out to dry, but the wind has carried smoke from your neighbour’s bonfire into it. Once it settles, it smells like someone brought that slightly smoky laundry inside, washed with a rose-scented softener, then baked madeleines and handed you a cup of tea. I got a tester because I was after a tea scent, but I don’t pick up a particularly pronounced tea note. I don’t hate it, nor do I love it, but I can appreciate how well blended the perfume is. That said, I do find that the base notes overpower the top and middle notes quite a bit. On both skin and clothing, I also don’t think this scent lasts very long at all, so I’m glad I only got a tester and didn’t blind buy. WAIT!!!! Now that it’s fully settled like a good 3hrs later I smell like a sweet, milky, spiced tea and the smokes gone! I get why people say it’s comforting. I actually lowkey like this now but I still think its projection is weak.

I don't think I've ever been as excited about a fragrance as I was when Blue Madeleine was released. I bought a sample and when it arrived I basically ripped the box open and sprayed Blue Madeleine both on a paper strip and on my skin. My first impression was not good, I was really disappointed because it was so smoky and spicy. Not at all the tea and cookies I was expecting. Since then I've worn it close to ten times (full days) and my opinion has changed. The opening and middle is still smoky and spicy, like a spicy black tea still too hot to drink. This might be an acquired taste, but I've grown to kinda like it. However, on my skin I do also get the madeleines in the drydown, the warm and sugary almond cookie vibe is there for sure. I have to wait a few hours for the madeleines to show up, but it's worth the wait. The drydown is still somewhat spicy and smoky but way softer than the initial two hours, and mixed with the madeleines it's a really cozy fragrance that I prefer on rainy or cloudy days, especially in the fall. It's quite strong, so one or maybe two spritzes are enough for me. Overall rating 7/10.

Kind of glad I only got a 10ml sample of this. For the price it should last longer and be more than just a skin scent. That's not to say it isn't a beautiful scent because it is. It just needs to project just a little more for me to actually want to spend $400nzd on a full bottle. I shouldn't need to spray excessively for me to be able to smell it on my self. I wore this everyday for a week I didn't plan it that way but everytime I wore it, it smelt different or one thing stuck out more than the other. The first time I put it on I immediately got creamy tea, with gentle citrus peaking through it was fresh but lactonic. The second time was very smoky and woody, the tea vibe was still there but it was more sweet and not much milkyness to it. I tried it again and it was like lemony tea and vanilla biscuits, creamy, sweet very gourmand and very light hints of something smokey. Maybe that's why it's so expensive it takes you on a different trip everytime you use it.

Creamy yet smoky, interesting. I wish there was less smoke. Doesn’t smell like the marketing campaign: ‘Madeleine cookie dipped into a tea’. There is no cookie, just imagine strong black tea with milk, minimal sweetness, and incense sticks in the same room. Beautiful and sophisticated in the air. This is art.