Da Lat

Da Lat is my first try of my newly-received Discovery set of Chapter 1 from d’Annam, a fragrance house from Vietnam that is both celebrating Asia and inspiring calmness, per their literature. Da Lat is an homage to the city of the same name and is a fresh blend of juniper berry, rose, red wine, and pine, fresh and green and a touch sweet, and not quite smelling like a perfume I’ve tried before despite having a fairly calming general familiarity and, perhaps most importantly, harmony among the notes. It has a floral, fruity opening that dries down into a more calming, green blend with the wine/pine/juniper trio taking center stage. It stands out positively, a pick-me-up that’s nevertheless also calming, smooth, easygoing. It’s an instant winner for me. d’Annam’s fragrances are EDP concentration and priced at $120 for 50ml, sold in the US via both their house website and Luckyscent, which currently carries 5 of the 9 scents. It’s reasonable pricing in the current market, in my opinion, and look forward to trying the rest of the line. 8 out of 10

This perfume is spectacular. I didn't know how I would like wine notes in a perfume but this has thoroughly convinced me. At first spray, it's refreshing and intoxicating with the rose, crisp juniper and sumptuous wine. Floral, coniferous and ever so slightly powdery. It's like rose petals dipped in wine around Christmastime. After the first hour, the wine and evergreen notes fade a bit, and the magnolia and peony emerge to bolster the rose. It's dewy, light and somewhat titillating—just so lovely. It remains a floral wonderland for a few hours before the musk comes out adding body and some softness to the scent. From here on, it smells like pure rose water to me. Overall, this is easily one of my favorites. The longevity is great too, lasting about 10 or 11 hours on me. d'Annam is easily becoming my new favorite perfume house as everything I try from them is a home run.

Woahhhh I did not expect to love this as much as I do. I never reach for rose or floral scents. When smelling the bottle I was a little worried, it smelled very similar to spray tans like Saint Moriz. But when sprayed on the skin 😍. In the opening you get a bright almost citrusy blast of cypress and it almost reminds me of litchi! This makes this scent so unique and captivating. I also see the comparisons to Delina so if you are a fan I highly recommend Da Lat. The dry down is shampooy- boozy- rosewater, very sophisticated. I can see this as a date-night or girls night fragrance. A definite compliment getter. Just be wary if you strongly dislike rose or find it headache inducing this may not be for you.

You really gotta search for the wine all the way to the back of the cellar with this one. I can sort of read the jammy feeling some people are describing, but my initial impression of this is a very fresh rose. It has generic DNA, nothing crazy, but it is a fun take on an otherwise overused formula. I can't say I'm blown away, it's relatively unoriginal for this brand, but it is pleasing, and I'm enjoying wearing it a lot more than I thought I would. Edit: I still stand on my review, that this isn't a mind-blowing scent. But it just does what it aims to do so well that I can't stop reaching for it. I think this might be my favourite from the sample set, and overall I am very impressed with the brand.

I love the adventure this one has taken me on! The opening for me was a deliciously sweet, jammy rose - maybe fruity? Warm, juicy, red and orange comes to mind. It sharpens a bit to present the cypress and cedar more prominently. But the sweetness remains? It's confusing me in the most delightful way. If I smell it close up, it's woody and sultry, but if I don't pay too much attention a juicy sweetness comes forward that I want to chase. I don't know that I experience red wine for this one, but I am falling in love with the fruity-ness. I love that it feels naturally sweet, not candy-sweet? It's not the sweetness of sugar or honey but of fleshy summer fruits and sun-warm roses.

Beautiful This is a very good floral scent, beautifully blended and just amazing. In the opening the right away the florals kick in with a hint of red wine then as it sets down rose starts to be the main accord accompanied with the red wine, cypress and the juniper berries. After the full dry down the rose is still there with the red wine but now with cedar wood, musks with that cyproil oil that makes everything all a bit smoother almost if not creamy. I get around 6-8,9 hours on my skin with good projection. In conclusion as a man who loves florals this is the most amazing and perfectly blended rose/floral scent. I'm in love.

This is a very womanly and an mature feeling sent. My mom said she only smells flowers in this and no red wine, but personally I can smell the red wine, especially after it dries it becomes very distinct in my opinion. I somehow get slightly similiar vibes to ”Grace” by Comme des Garcons even though they’re not really that similiar. I think this fragrance could be a really great date sent since its kinda gives romantic vibes to me. Very strong sillage and its really long lasting, overall this very nice :)

I’m so happy to have received a sample of this and now have finally found a rose scent I want to wear. I get the red wine and rose on the top and the juniper is there to ground it so perfectly and keep it from being too serious. I am not yet getting any soapiness but I like that note should it make an appearance. I love all the D’Annam fragrances I’ve tried, what an amazing house.

This is a lovely and fairly complex scent. For the first minutes, the red wine note is almost overpowering, and then soon, all the notes blend together in a beautiful way. It’s almost as if one is camping in the forest, sitting around a fire, drinking red wine while wearing a rose essential oil. Definitely fb worthy.

It’s poetic and haunting, a perfect balance of tenderness and melancholy. A true hidden gem — delicate, soulful, unforgettable. The wine note revealed itself turning the rose into something completely mature, serious, and different. If you think you don’t like rose, try this twist, it might change your mind forever.

The most sexy, romantic, feminine fragrance ever. I wear this perfume and feel like I am one of Tony Soprano's mistresses fr. Sweet warm rose and red wine combo sounds like it could be mature and old fashioned but it's so spritely and youthful. Just bought the full size because it's soooo good. Luv <3

This smells so good! I love a rose-heavy perfume. At first, this smells a lot like one of my favorites, Rose 31 by Le Labo. But upon dry down, the juniper and other notes comes in stronger to create a clean, fresh scent as opposed to a warm, spicy rose. I would love to own this.

This is excellent, a very pleasant surprise. It reminds me of Atomic Rose, but at a much lower price. Sillage and longevity are both excellent. D’Annam really is a house to watch as I’ve now sampled 4 of their perfumes and liked them all.

Very unique scent but also so familiar at the same time. Realistic red wine notes but it’s mostly juniper and cranberry like winter berry notes with cedar wood. Smells like a candle honestly- beautiful scent

I imagine a beautiful redheaded vampire wearing this on a snowy day. The red wine note hits me first, then the juniper and rose join to create a beautifully fresh scent with depth. Perfect for date nights.

A lovely, dew-covered tea rose on a cool dawn in a pine-juniper woodland. I don’t get the red wine note. Dries down woody and a little spicy. Lasts over 8 hrs on my skin.

a jammy berry rose that dries down sweet and a bit boozy, very feminine scent :) this one was unexpectedly great as someone that doesn't typically like florals!

The opening was very loud for me, but as it dried down I found myself coming back to sniff over and over. It becomes very juicy, tart, and of course rosy.

woah...got this in a discovery set...woah...it doesn't smell like a rose at all...it smells like lychee and magnolia with hints of red wine...this is peak

Rose-addled sangria made juicy with mulberry, enjoyed in a misty pine forest. A rosy look at a bygone era of Đà Lạt. #idogetit 💔

This smells like deep red fruits. The wine is the star. The rose is secondary.

A fresh yet jammy rose–peony duo. It’s pink, lively, and cheerful, but unfortunately not very unique... though definitely better than its close counterparts. The wine note, to my nose, functions more as a fruity sweetness than anything truly gothic or vinous; don’t expect a dark wine accord here. Despite being quite sweet and playful, I appreciated how naturally it wears. I’ve never been to the city it’s named after, but this fragrance just added it to my bucket list Edit: Later on, this started to read a bit too aromatic to my nose, more woody and more juniper-heavy. It’s like the focus shifted away from the pink florals and moved here instead. Still nice and fresh, though. Tag(s): rose, peony, pink, fruity, cheerful, romantic, fresh

If Diptyque’s L’Ombre Dans L’Eau is a rose pressed against damp blackcurrant leaves and Jo Malone’s Red Roses is the bouquet held high, Da Lat is the lichen-breathed air between. Dew, condensation, fog, splattered red berries, roses refracted through glass—that's what I get. Verdant, yes, but not in a necessarily leafy way, more as a rain-washed, wine-stained bloom on the stem, shivering in mountain air. Slightly ozonic, moss-stained around the edges, The rose for introverts. Luminous and maybe a tad cold, but never distant. Da Lat just makes you want to breathe slower.

On initial spray I was instantly reminded of Dom Rosa - the red wine note very strong, but as it settles this become more floral - the rose and magnolia lends a softness where as Dom Rosa is more fizzy and has the zestiness of the pomelo. Both fragrances are underpinned with woody notes. I feel like Da Lat is more approachable as a fragrance. I would say the image this fragrance conjures for me is of a plush red rose wet with dew, being warmed by the sun and surrounded by a cool damp forest of cedar and cypress trees.

She a fan, she a fan, she a fan. I bought the sample of it where you have to rub it with a stick, so I don't think i'm gettin the full experience of this perfume but oh man it's powerful. Not in an overbearing way, but to me the wine notes stick out so well, I love the fruitiness. And as it shifts to the middle notes, the smell of the flowers are so so pleasant. Hope to get a bottle and use it right.

Stunning realistic red-wine opening. Just a moment before it settles there its stronger, boozier, maybe a little bit of orange and fruit juice in pure hard liquor. Very cool effect. Finishes with a strong but pleasant spicy rose. Dreamy, elegant, intoxicated and calling a cab home. One of the more interesting rose forward fragrances I have.

This is such a unique rose fragrance. It opens smelling like gin from the juniper berries. It mixes in the rose as it dries down. The musky rose finish it a lovely skin scent that stays on me for several hours. I ordered a larger decant from Scent Split so I can try it on a larger scale.

Sweet rose. Fruity. Playful. Feminine but not 100%. This is a fun scent! The rose is gorgeous and clear, but it's giving that overwhelming "look at me, I'm fancy, I wear rose scented perfume" that I think a lot of rose perfumes give.

would it be bad for me to say this reminds me of rose jam from lush? in only the best ways though and more complex. sweet, boozy, and feminine! i think this is an amazing scent. i could see a lot of friends loving this. 4/5

Juicy, tart red wine and rose. I think the juniper and piney notes do make this unisex. A lot of reviews read this as very feminine but my husband has been wearing it recently and getting lots of compliments.

I clearly smell celery in Dom Rosa Millésimé — and I like it. Da Lat feels like a celery-free version of it.

It smelled like church wine to me. So a slight sweet red wine. It’s nice.

Love the opening, hate the drydown. The opening is very similar to moonlight samurai with almost a very pronounced boozy accord. I find this fragrance would be great if it could hold on to those aspects a bit longer but sadly it very quickly turns into a fruity rose. I find the rose in this to kinda of be the rose that I kind of hate tbh. It’s becomes a bit stuffy with the lychee combo imo, almost air freshener like. Something about the lychee combo lends itself to something more artificial smelling than natural. Hate to sound harsh but really reminds me of Lysol on skin.....

Got a sample of this from Luckyscent - certainly not bad, but boy is it tart! I tested it before looking up the notes pyramid, and my guesses were lemon or lemongrass with some green elements, maybe some tea. Rose and wood definitely didn't cross my mind. I can kind of see why red wine is listed, but the acidity comes across as citrus more than anything. I can smell a little juniper and musk after it sits for a while. Tart/citrus scents have never worked very well on my skin, so this wasn't for me, but it does smell very nice.

gorgeous wine, roses, and pine to start but the dry down reminded me of this hollister cologne my little brother used in 2005 and i simply cannot

It smells like roses and Merlot. There's nothing wrong with it, but it reminds me of the old-fashioned cosmetics I used in the 2000s.

working my way through the discovery set. objectively i will say this is a very unique rose scent and the red wine is both distinct and complementary. subjectively, i hate rose accords. this was not the perfume to change my mind. good for a night out etc think big events. defo not a day to day scent.

I had high hopes for the red wine note, but it smells balsamic and borderline nausiating. Not my cup of tea, sadly. I can't find any rose or forest vibes here, but a damp and blurry scent.

pickles. or anything pickled actually... absolute opposite of deepness and brightness makes me sad considering how much I anticipated trying this.

Jammy, boozy rose. It’s interesting, but this is too aggressive for me.

OLD REVIEW: Super fresh rose. Quite strong though as d'annam tends to be so I wouldn't recommed spraying too much NEW REVIEW: In the opening if reminds me of rose flavoured turkish delight but as it dries down it starts to develop a slight fruity undertone which is either the juniper berry and/or red wine. I will say after a while, undertones of stereotypically masculine notes begin to come through but it still remains a predominantly rose fragrance

I don't know where it comes from, but I smell a huge dose of white sugar mixed with cedarwood from a generic men's cologne.not my cup of tea.

My favourite scent out of the Vietnam Discovery set. I would say it is the safest to smell and I would overall describe it as a pure rose scent. I loved this scent, it was so feminine yet not overly done or too sweet. It was just an easy safe scent to put on. If anyone of you are familiar with attar (a type of perfume commonly used by Muslims when going to the mosque), then apparently this fragrance smells exactly like rose attar and how Muslim men smell at a mosque. I have a very western POV on this fragrance, so to me it is very floral, rosy and just airy and pretty - very feminine. To my friend, this smells like whenever she visits the mosque and smells her dad, to her it smells very masculine - so take that as you will. Note: I just love seeing how people's experiences with life cause this olfactory association with certain memories/thoughts. My association with rose scents are very feminine and pretty, but my friend's is very masculine and associated with the mosque.

Da Lat is part of Vietnam's wine country, which explains the red wine note. ...except that it is far too sweet to suggest wine, even dessert wine. It is more like a sugary wine cooler made with strawberry Kool-aid. ...There is a splash of rose water in there, but more berry than rose. It is far too sweet for how it is marketed, maybe just too sweet, period. Part of Da Lat's problem is that the notes do not blend together. That strawberry wine cooler stands in the center like an inviolate pillar of sugar. Those green, aromatic woody notes then grow around it, but the two do not touch. There are no appropriate bridge notes. It's like two incompatible scents that have been clumsily layered together. Da Lat just smells of disappointment.

I got no red wine from this. At the opening, it just smells like a standard rose scent. Like one of those pink, plastic, rose-scented prayer beads every Middle Eastern grandmother has at her house. I normally dislike rose scents, but I can't bring myself to hate this specifically because it reminds me of childhood summers at my grandmother's house, going through her cabinets. After a while I started to get magnolia and peony while the rose partially over dominated. At that point it became more of a floral scent rather than a straight up rose scent. Not my cup of tea. I wouldn't be wearing this but I can see myself catching a whiff occasionally when I miss my grandparents!

Clean, shampooey peony. A little herbal leaning for my personal taste, reminds me a little of that foamy mens shaving cream. But I really like it. Im going to go against the grain here and say I find this one surprisingly unisex, I would really like this on a man. I get less rose than expected. It reminds me a lot of Luna by Pennhaligon's, which is a favorite of mine. This would be a good longer-lasting alternative. All in all not the specific vibe I was looking for when I purchased this pack of sample, but I do really like it.

i lived in Da Lat for 6 months and this scent felt like a return. to the city where pine meets the morning rose, and the mist clings. residing beneath the soft hush of hills, where Langbiang’s legend still hums through the trees and waterfalls. motorbike humming down winding roads by the lake, riding into the city center together... my arms wrapped around my lover. an ode to the wine sipped in the local jazz bars on those brisk, cold nights ... with low lights and no promises.

This is an aromatic rose scent - it is not fully light or fresh like many modern rose scents, it definitely has some body to it with the wood and musk. The cypress, wine, and juniper notes all push the profile into a green and fruity territory, so it's also not a photorealistic rose. As others have commented, there is definitely a tart component to this that I personally like, but it may not sit well with everyone. Overall I really enjoy d'Annam's formulations.

Cypress and juniper notes are very realistic here. It feels like cold air in the greenest forest. Then enters the rose, the wine, the magnolia...giving the feminine, floral touches that make this scent pretty. It is a little soapy, but very fresh and pretty. You must like or at least tolerate cypress, juniper and cypriol green notes to see the beauty of this scent. I think this is unisex.

This is fine. It's a DNA we know with added wine and juniper. Started out smelling Delina-adjacent then went a little weird on my skin. The rose in Weeping Rose is more dry, and it's a stronger and more textured fragrance. Am I the only one that feels like this house would not have blown up, if not for those cute egg shaped bottles? Aesthetically, they got me, nose-wise I'm struggling.