Matcha Soft Serve

Upon spray it’s bitter green tea but with milk. It does not smell like green tea by itself. I think green tea latte is a good description. The bitterness is present. After drying down and a couple of hours later, the scent is mostly gone and I am left with milky vanilla and perhaps a hint of tea. The sillage is rather poor. I sprayed myself almost 10 times and it barely projected or lasted. I think I like it as it dries down. Of tea fragrances, I prefer jasmine tea composition. One Day Jasmine Tea is very realistic without much citrus. Most tea fragrances have too much citrus. Soft Serve is fine, not my favorite. I think a really good fluffy green tea with lactonic scent is Kilian’s Princess, the newer formulation, not the one with a ball—which is sweeter and denser and less fresh. Update: 04/08/2025. I have worn this several times more, and I appreciate it for what it is. Green tea latte. Not sure I get waffle cone. But I am liking more. Not in love territory because I prefer Jasmine tea scent better. But for what it is supposed to be, this is very well made. Now, I am keen to try other perfumes from this brand. Update: 04/20/2025. I have continued to wear this often. The more I wear, the more I like. Actually I like that it’s not so milky. I have Sorce’s Matcha perfume, and that is too buttery creamy. While it’s nice for a few minutes, that indulgent smell sickens me over time. D’Annam’s cleaner matcha latte is not sickening. I like the subdued profile. Upgrading to love.

I really enjoyed much of d'Annam's first drop, but didn't pull the trigger on any of the fragrances. Then, in my hunt for a replacement for Matcha Meditation, I saw that they were releasing a Japan-inspired collection. Immediately, I thought: "If one of those fragrances is matcha, I'll order it on the spot." I chickened out on blind buying the full bottle, but I did end up ordering the Chapter 2 discovery set quite literally just for this fragrance (a decision I don't regret - there are quite a few gems in the full collection). If you've had a matcha soft serve outside of a temple in Kyoto - one where they sprinkled extra matcha powder on top - you can attest to the fact that this does honestly smell like its namesake. As others have shared, it opens as a nearly photorealistic matcha fragrance. I certainly get ebbs and flows of vanilla, and while others don't get the waffle cone, I get the faintest hint of something not all that dissimilar from, say, Imaginary Authors' waffle cone fragrance. This is not a Matcha Meditation dupe - but that's not a bad thing. Never a full on matcha latte/frap, where d'Annam truly diverges from Margiela is in just how green the fragrance stays over time. Two sides of a similar coin. In the end, the closest I've come to recreating MM is by layering this with Kilian's Princess. I'm only upset that I now have to buy two bottles to half-heartedly recreate what I used to have in one.

D'annam's Matcha Soft Serve is definitely the most realistic matcha perfume out there. Some might say....too realistic? It's bitter, powdery, and earthy just like real matcha powder. I appreciate when perfumers are cognizant of the culture. The only thing that prevents me from reaching for this as often; is because it's a bit too green for daily wear. But when I layer with a vanilla perfume, it's much more wearable but that's because I prefer gourmand scents. I actually like layering with Sorce's Match Made in Heaven, since that one is missing the matcha powder feel. The two layered together is my preferred matcha combo. Otherwise, best gourmand matchas - Kilian's Princess, Arielle Shoshana's Sunday, Mochiglow Matcha Cloud, Kayali Freedom Musk Matcha, Fantome Kuidaore Green tea with lemon, but not matcha - Le Labo The Matcha 26, Narcotica Happy Dust, Teo Cabanel Je Ne Sais Quoi, Momji Angel's Tea, Fugazzi Matchabuya Grassy matchas - Obvious Un Ete, D. Grayi Matcha Cat Floral or soapy matchas - Liis Rose Struck, Sorce Match Made in Heaven, ROAN Current Culture Save your money, no don't do it - Obvious Milk & Matcha, Theodoros Kalotinis Matcha Ice Cream, Solinotes The Matcha, Smell Frankly Lie To Me, Tabbeau Place Matcha Rush Also no since they're dupes - Dossier Citrus Matcha, Zara Matcha Mochi, Briix Fragrances Matchatopia, Le Monde Gourmand The Matcha, Parfums by Cherie Stardust, Dua Tangy Matcha Latte

While this may be classified as a gourmand perfume, this is gourmand under the Japanese sense of desserts not being too sweet. I have also tried Sorce - Match Made in Heaven, Theodoros Kalotinis - Matcha Ice Cream, and Obvious Parfums - Milk and Matcha, but those were all too sweet gourmand or the matcha was too weak. d’Annam hit it out of the park with Matcha Soft Serve! It opens with a photorealistic, rich & nutty matcha aroma distantly accented by a vanilla ice cream on crunchy waffle cone. In the drydown 1+ hour later, a really soft, beautiful floral note reveals itself! It feels like a whisper of sweet lily of the valley or honeysuckle. I can see this fragrance being polarizing because of the drier matcha note, people are either going to love it or hate it. But coming from a person who drinks pure matcha in the traditional way 🍵, this fragrance balances, with a Japanese esthetic, being a subtle gourmand and a gentle floral skin scent. The presentation and packaging is so beautiful and thoughtful as well, each fragrance featuring its own artwork and haiku (Japanese poetry) and presented in a reusable box. Love this fragrance and house in so many ways!

Okay so this is one of my favorite perfumes but with that being said, it should just be called Matcha, not Matcha Soft Serve because this is not that nor is it Matcha Latte, this is pure bright green ceremonial Matcha Powder, I would not say it is a sweet gourmand in the least bit, i wouldn’t say it’s overpriced for what it is, it is a very unique DNA that I haven’t found anywhere else trust me I’ve been trying o find a dupe, however I wouldn’t say it’s affordable either, to me it’s a perfect rainy day perfume, I love it but I also don’t think it’s a safe blind buy for many people, get the discovery set for sure, it does project I think, but I also do run through the bottle rather quickly due to having to spray constantly since it’s not very long lasting, that is my biggest critique for this fragrance, the scent is unmatched however at $160 I would want a longer lasting fragrance

This is my first time diving into the world of matcha fragrances. I am not a matcha enjoyer unfortunately, despite my many attempts. As someone who has (also unfortunately) drank lake water (as a child) (regardless who among us has not? Really. Is it so bad? I was thirsty) I have an uncomfortable association with the flavors. That being said I really like this. The negative reviews were hard to avoid and maybe the bar got set too low but I'm really impressed by the photorealism and balance here. It is not overly sweet like I had expected (maybe hoped. I'm a sucker for ice cream). Its closer to a froyo maybe. But boy does that matcha stay the star of the show. It takes a slightly more "perfumey" fragrance oil turn at the end, at least on my skin, but I'm still enjoying it a lot. I think I'll give a matcha latte another shot sometime.

i didn't think i'd like this but i absolutely adore it. head over heels for it, nothing i can do about it. it opens so green and bitter, in a natural and earthy way, even. i get no vanilla here, but there is definitely an ice-cold feeling about it, and it has me smelling my own wrist over and over again. it slowly melts into a nutty perfume that has just a hint of sweetness, the same way a hazelnut is sweet. the name promises an freshly-served cone of ice cream, but i get a cold, matcha mochi enjoyed in a garden while it rains. can't say anything about the longevity, though i can say, sadly, that the sillage is almost non-existent. however, this might make me cave in and just buy a full bottle, even if it's for my own pleasure. gorgeous, delicate perfume. excelent.

Nails the photo realism of matcha to a T. This opens with that fresh, green, powdery, and earthy aroma that pure matcha tends to have. It’s like you’ve just opened a new tin of ceremonial matcha and the smell has graced your nose. Then the scent develops and you get a subtle milky creaminess that’s cloud like, paired with an unsweetened waffle cone note in the background. There’s no detectable vanilla and overall it’s not super sweet which I appreciate. I wouldn’t say I get matcha ice cream from here but it does have a subtle creaminess to it and the matcha is perfectly done. A 10/10 matcha scent in my books.

Most matcha frags have turned either super duper powdery on me or super bitter and dry, but this one stays super sweet for hours before becoming a powdery but warm and inviting scent. I fell in love with this at Perfumology in Philadelphia, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. It’s a “photorealistic” scent for me, smelling exactly like a matcha Frappuccino tastes, if that makes sense. It is very creamy, green, and dewy, and the back half of the wear is a pretty little skin scent that is young but not childish. I suspect this would do well on any age person. This is a good one.

you know how a lot of asian parents (credentials: i am asian) say “not too sweet(:” when they think a dessert is good? that’s how i feel about this. i really like this, as someone who does like a sweet scent but not cloying sweet, like i find most gourmands. the initial spritz is a photorealistic matcha powder before settling into a sweet, toasty waffle cone. not as creamy as i thought it would be, but definitely an iced matcha latte with just the right amount of vanilla as to make it sweet enough. light, soft, and airy. maybe like a whipped matcha cream. very nice!!! <3

I love this scent. The matcha note is almost exactly like opening a bag of matcha powder and taking a sniff. It is very soft, but with a brightness. Slightly sweet but a little creamy. I can detect all of the notes. It's a simple but perfect combo. However, my qualm is that it does not last!! Like at all. I can expect to barely smell it on my skin or clothing an hour later. And I absolutely hate that. I want my fragrances to last, to project, to give sillage. If d'Annam would update this and make it more potent & powerful, it would be my favorite fragrance.

I’m on the quest for a perfume that will smell like matcha for a whole day without being too sweet. This is not it because the matcha fades quickly and it’s on the sweeter side, but it’s lovely and I like it and I may get a bottle anyhow. The initial green-grass matcha scent goes on strong (I love this part) but then fades quickly into a milky vanilla almost-nothingness that sits close to the skin. The waffle scent is there too, and beneath that the matcha — but you have to be close up and looking for it.

wow wow wow i just fell in love with this immediately. the matcha is extremely realistic, bright and grassy, and is complimented really nicely with soft and floral jasmine. it reminds me exactly of a delicious jasmine matcha milk tea i had recently. the vanilla and waffle cone are subtler but round things out beautifully - milky, brown sugary, a little buttery. it overall reads as an approachable powdery-sweet scent, but not at all basic!! i'll definitely be buying a full bottle :)

I fucking love this stuff, and this comes from a matcha hater lol. The scent is amazing. Smells identically to a soft serve matcha ice cream...what did you expect??? At first, the matcha was over bearing, but over time it got better and more smoother. Has a hint of soapiness in it in the dry down, like imagination-type soapiness. I love this stuff and I need to get a bottle as soon as I can. High quality, from a nice brand with a great experience. Really reasonably priced! 9.2/10

This is a very realistic Matcha scent. It feels like opening a tin with Matcha Tea Powder, real Japanese Quality Matcha Tea Powder scent. This note lasted on me for about an hour, after that it dried down into a boring tea scent, like the one from Elizabeth Arden or Molecule 21 Black Tea, with way less citrus notes. The longevity is sadly not that good. But the art behind this scent and the extremely realistic Matcha Scent deserves 5 stars. Amazing!

I just purchased a sample of this perfume and it smells like you just rolled in matcha powder in the best way possible. The initial spritz is veeeeeery green, which made me nervous, as did the vanilla waffle cone note which I was worried might be too sweet for me. But the dry down is much more tame with a soft matcha/powder balance, which i personally love. Definitely a nice spring or summertime scent that is not too overpowering!

as a self-proclaimed matcha fanatic, I was so curious to try Matcha Soft Serve by d'Annam... I also love everything coming out of Vietnam right now. the opening is bold and bitter, like pure usucha: sharp, grassy, and intense. it punched me in the face like a pure matcha usucha usually does. but give it a few moments... creamy, milky notes and warm waffle cone emerge, softening into a cozy matcha latte. earthy and comforting.

Matcha Soft Serve is truly stunning. This is not a sweet, edible matcha. This is matcha in its rawest form with a few sweet accords to balance everything out. I definitely pick up on a jasmine/white floral note that isn't being marketed. It's not strong or indolic, but it gives the fragrance a very relaxing/spa vibe. I'm planning on getting a full bottle of this it's that beautiful.

One of the, if not the best photorealistic matcha scents I have ever smelt. Once you first spray it on, personally, all I can get is just the tea scent, but after it has been on the skin for awhile, it definitely develops into a sweeter, lighter scent that is absolutely divine. If you've been looking for a realistic matcha scent, I would absolutely recommend this one!

Fresh and grassy, has the faintest tinge of bitterness that I love in real matcha powder! I was so excited to smell this one when I first sprayed my sample, I giggled a bit. How delightful! I currently wear Strawberry Mochi almost every night for bed, so I've been looking for something adjacent but a little less sleepy/warm for daytime wear. This might be it!

Beautiful, sifting matcha powder and some is in the air... incredibly realistic! Not a citrusy or overly nutty or super sweet matcha at all! After around two hours it fades from the powdery green matcha into the vanilla waffle cone, but it's not very present. I don't mind much, since those two hours are just delightful, but keep in mind.

Amazing fragrance and extremely photorealistic. I see so many reviews that are all over the place and it seems that if you love matcha mochi you will like this. The drydown is powdery and dusty and lactonic, reminiscent of the dusty rice powder covering the mochi. I guess the bitter "matcha powder" effect is a bit much for some people.

Heavy and very accurate matcha powder scent on opening. The waffle cone note was more noticeable on my fingers from touching the bottle rather than spraying it on myself. Didn't really last long stepping out of the house, might last longer in cold weather. I think this would work really well with a milk themed perfume layered on.

The most incredible matcha scent on the market. Powdery green tea that opens so photorealisticly I catch a hint of that seaweed nuance some green teas have (literally just when you first spray, don’t worry). It stays very fresh and green on me. Subtly sweet but I don’t get any waffle cone or ice cream on my person at least.

This was the scent I was most excited about when I ordered my discovery set, and it did not dissappoint! Super photorealistic matcha! It has that seaweed-y undertone in the beginning that really makes it feel real. Gives way to a little more nuttiness over time, but that astringent tea quality stays. I'm addicted to it.

This is incredible! It smells like real matcha ice cream with the cone. I sometimes don’t like waffle cone scents, but it has been done beautifully here and really lets the matcha shine as the main star. I used to live in Japan and this scent takes me back to eating a matcha soft serve from Cremia.

I thought the matcha would be a bit much in the beginning, but after smelling it a few times I fell in love. This is the perfect matcha latte scent. Heavy on the latte aspect. It is super sweet and creamy with that special sweet matcha powder mixed into it. So comforting and cozy and relaxing.

Photorealistic matcha. At first I was a bit put off by the name because of the soft serve part, thinking there would be a sickly sweet vanilla base. But it’s actually 90% matcha! Which I adore. It’s so real, you can smell the bitterness. It’s stunning. Love love love!

favorite matcha scent! smells just like photorealistic matcha powder, i don't get much sweetness which i like. the drydown is more of a generic floral vanila? the performance is terrible especially for the price :((( i can barely smell it after an hour

The matcha scent hits you like a truck, which is exactly what I wanted. The vanilla and milk is there too, but not nearly as much as the MATCHA ATTACK. It calms down quickly into a more evenly-distributed scent, but I'm here for the matcha. 10/10.

Gorgeous scent, very matcha-y. I don't really get the cone notes, though. Layer this with Matcha Ice Cream by Theodoros Kalotinis, which is extremely cone-forward, for the perfect matcha ice cream cone scent.

Yet another perfect banger from the house, not even milk and matcha, a perfect matcha icecream I have no clue how they were able to make it smell like that. Perfect, only wish it had stronger sillage.

Initial tea scent is AMAZING. Truly accurate matcha (to me). Dries down over time to a pleasant but not particularly exciting or special vanilla gourmand, which lasts a really long time.

Ммммм это самая сладкая вкусная реалистичная пудровая матча в мире! Любителям сладенького но интересного - пробовать обязательно! Есть вероятность что это будет большая любовь ❤️

the ONLY matcha scent that actually smells like matcha. & the other sweet notes, they might enhance the warmth of it but I genuinely don't smell no sugaryness in this scent.

Sweet and powdery, high quality matcha with a subtle hint of vanilla. Hyper realistic and intoxicating. I almost have to remind myself not to eat it

Thought it would be sickly sweet but its perfect! sweet but also musky..if you ever Hello Panda green tea cookies it smells just like that!

Honestly one of the best scents I have ever smelled. So beautifully powdery and lightly sweet. Dries down into a gorgeous waffle vanilla.

my current daily driver — subtle and soft and good for all seasons but especially in spring/summer it feels fresh without being crisp!!

This might be the closest to a glass of iced matcha latte I've ever smelt in a perfume. Wow.

lovely scent smells like matcha ice cream very weak and faint though, intimate gone too soon

Name is spot on - lovelovelove! :)

i am performative i love my wife

Matcha Soft Serve is the first green sip of velvet, cool against the lips. Not the dense, foamed ritual of a whisked latte, no, but the hush before it, the stillness of a chilled cup cradling liquid jade. Fresh, powdered earth sighs into the air, that pyrazine-laced matcha crackle alive on the tongue, bitter and bright, sacred and edible. I am hooked from the first breath. Bittersweet, almost translucent, it's hard not to like this verdant yet sorta edible shot that never quite feels pretense. The green then dissolves. Not abruptly, but like silk loosening from the shoulders, into a slow, lactonic murmur, that soft fusion of milk-peach skin and ethyl maltol weaving the faint memory of waffle cones warmed by summer wind, dessert dissolving on fevered palms. Musky undertones, soft and persistent, round it out, milky like the sigh of a baby sleeping against your collarbone, anchored yet weightless. Behind this tenderness, a glimmer flickers. Something floral and ephemeral, perhaps the jasmine touch of hedione blooming once then slipping away into the green hush. A secret the skin alone remembers. This is not realism. Not ceremony. No iron bowls or bamboo whisks, no chalky bitterness cracking against the teeth. Rather, Matcha Soft Serve is an olfactory iteration; an impressionist painting blurred with misty strokes of green and milk. Soft, comforting, diaphanous. True, the matcha brilliance may just go too fast, like a lover’s smile at the threshold. But isn’t that proof it was real; that it was good? I find myself longing for that earthy verdant touch, over and over, reaching for it in the bottle, the way a hand reaches back in sleep for something that isn’t there. Ahhh. A scent so artistically delectable. Fleeting. Real.

Edit: I didn't know when I bought this perfume that this brand's name is very offensive to the Vietnamese! It's the name Vietname had foisted on it when under the colonial rule of the French. No idea why you'd choose that for a brand name, and it's pretty insensitive, to say the least. I don't think I'll be buying perfumes from this brand again. This has a gorgeously photorealistic green matcha scent. Right off the bat, you get the tea scent with the vanilla - you can see how the tea scent *could* transition into a sweeter, more rounded scent, but it hits a point and goes "no – no further". I like that; a lot of Japanese confectionery isn't very sweet, and it feels nice that a perfumer decided not to go for the more marketable sweeter scent, I guess. About an hour in, I've started getting more milk notes, and I think the fragrance has really ramped up in intensity - at first, after spraying I actually struggled to smell it a bit. Now I'm sitting in a nice little cloud of tea and milky vanilla. It's perhaps a little less fresh than the tea scent was originally, but that's not too bad. It's a little heavy, but that could just be my application. 3–4 hours after applying, it's mellowed out to a lovely merged green tea and milk-vanilla scent. If the opening is you brewing the tea, the dry-down it's the satisfaction and the warmth that's left after you've had a good cup of tea. It's like opening a tin you keep your teabags in and enjoying the scent. 6–7 hours after applying, it's still there, and it's creamy and lovely. Definitely a summer scent for me, though; it doesn't feel fresh enough or clean enough for spring, and makes more sense to me on a hot day.

Personal: 6/10 - It smells exactly like Matcha Pocky. More novelty than wearable. Mass appeal: 7/10 - Though sweet gourmands are usually safe, matcha isn't the most appealing gourmand note. Performance: 6/10 - Sits surprisingly close to the skin. Value: 5/10 - Not entirely unreasonable for niche, but it's also not something I could justify. Uniqueness: 7.5/10 - Few fragrances capture this playful, edible, matcha-cream profile. SCORE: 63/100 Full bottle buy? NO, too much of a novelty fragrance to justify a bottle. Blind buy? YES, it's light and sweet, a safe gourmand, but taste Matcha Pocky first. Recommend? YES, if you want a quirky gourmand that's not the usual vanilla/chocolate/nutty profile. Date night? NO, it's more cute than anything. Maybe for a casual summer date. Office safe? YES, light and cozy, highly unlikely to offend anyone. Pros: Fun, playful, smells completely edible. Definitely worth smelling. Cons: It's expensive, performance isn't too strong, and not the most versatile. This fragrance opens with a very unique blast of bright matcha. It's unique for a fragrance, but the scent itself is not unfamiliar if you enjoy matcha pocky. It's got that herbaceous, green, matcha note, with a slightly sweet, creamy, warm vanilla base. It's definitely a unique fragrance, and something worth sampling, but it's more a novelty than it is a great perfume. That's not a bad thing, though. Though it's a sweet, dessert-like gourmand, it's definitely fun once in a while, rather than every day. *Review #38 in my fragrance journey - this fragrance I own as a decant*

this and kilian imperial tea are the most realistic green tea scents that i tried. no citrus, fruits and sweetness bs added...this one is similar to kilians imperial tea but with matcha powder . the opening smells like a cold matcha beverage then dries into a dried tea leaves dust smell, its like what inside a empty tea can or inside a luxury tea shop smells like, most Asians and people who grew up shopping in tea shops can relate .... weak perfomance like most of the tea scents, only lasts 2-3 hours, you have to reapply it 3 times during daytime and overspray like a eau fraiche/cologne to get good proyection and longevity, so no good value as a daily scent. for a weak perfomance but amazing scent like this, the best occasion to wear is for coffee/Tea dates and quick errands. i spray before enter the store, once the scent runs out it tells me that i have to leave

It's good, I like it! Fresh, green, creamy, simple! It just seems like it might struggle to find a broad audience. Not sweet enough (or, at all) for the gourmand girlies, not complex or intentionally poetic enough for the niche artistry fanatics. Perhaps calling it 'soft serve' oversold it a little, but only just a teensy bit. I'm glad I fell head-over-heels for another one in the discovery set because I do see how this can be both "completely fine" and still be a tiny bit of a letdown. It's fine for what it is, but there's still room in the market for a decadent, dessert matcha. Gotta try some of the layering ideas I see here. That's not usually my thing, but I can see how it would apply with Matcha Soft Serve. Someone spritz Whiff of Wafflecone over it and see if the matcha survives, I'm curious!

not super creamy! opens with a very nice matcha note and as it dries down theres a faint moment where the vanilla and waffle cone comes through but it ends up being more floral and tea forward. the waffle cone and vanilla is still there, its just super subtle. personally im looking for something more on the gourmand side (like matcha milk tea or matcha latte) so my exact request wasnt fufilled but i still really liked it. doesnt project much so im going to try layering it on a vanilla-y gourmand to achieve that latte scent. i got a discovery scent for this collection — would consider going for a full bottle of this due to how versatile it is or a smaller decant.

The initial spray is a photorealistic matcha ice cream. To me it smells exactly like powdery Matcha from the tin and a touch of vanilla or sweetness that gives the soft serve image. Though I love the scent of fresh matcha, I don't really want to smell like it for long. I was pleased that the matcha note lasts only a short amount of time and then, to me, becomes a lovely light powdery floral on the drydown. I think the dry down would be a crowd pleaser. If you're wanting something that will smell like matcha all day - this probably isn't what you're looking for. However, I really enjoyed the whole experience of this perfume.