L'Autre Eau de Toilette

I like the cumin note. It’s the kind of lingering scent I want to smell when I’m out clubbing or just want to feel daring while out and about in the cold, damp nights of San Francisco. Cumin or caraway doesn't smell like terrible body odor to me. I mean, I get it; cumin in certain contexts CAN smell like bad BO, but I don’t think cumin and caraway always smell like acrid, unwashed bodies. In certain situations, cumin smells like sharp, earthy wood. Try rubbing a cumin seed between your thumb and index finger, then smell your skin 15 minutes later—it’s that specific woody smell. Caraway, on the other hand, just smells like fresh chai tea to me (without the milk). The caraway in L'Autre lingers in the dry down—that’s the way it was supposed to be, right? The note is mild and rounded, not sharp at all. Pair that caraway with cardamom and it’s straight-up chai. Maybe it’s just me, but it dries down to something lactonic, like a very faint milky scent. If you dial the lactonic note in Patchouli Magnetik down to a 1, then throw in pandan leaves, pepper, clove(?), cumin, and cardamom, that’s L'Autre on my skin. I’m wearing L'Autre in the humid heat of Manila tonight. Boy, the fragrance dries down fast here. That sucks. I want this scent to last longer, but the combination of tropical humidity and my body heat tames this EDT quickly. The citrus top notes came and went too quickly, but at least the caraway/cardamom spice stayed behind. I’m layering L'Autre on my left forearm with Commodity Moss+ in the crook of the same arm. It's a good combo; I might stick to this. Update: three hours later Warm spices are still there. Caraway and cardamom are still around, fainter, but they are there. But something new showed up: pencil shavings!

L'Autre is a close sibling to Eau d'Hermes. Both with a healthy dose of cumin and spice with a very pronounced "arm pit" vibe. It's hard to define this composition as it is not distinguished by certain types of flowers or woods. Nevertheless, it is a smell - a very distinctive smell. Most stores carrying the Diptyque range tend to exlude this from the lineup. It's easy to understand why. After all, it's not designed to please everyone. Judging by the comments here, opinions are certainly divided - just as intended! I intially ordered a small sample to try and was instantly overwhelmed by the allusion of man sweat and asian (particularly Indian) cooking. It is very audacious to formulate something like this, bottle it and sell it. But that is the whole point of L'Autre. It will never be copied by the likes of Arden, P&G and Coty because it's not necessarily pleasant to the nose. But it got my attention and I simply can't stop sniffing my wrists!! I love it enough to buy a 100ml bottle. So there you have it. Let the stink begin!

Stunning spicy fragrance. It's quite linear, but very well crafted: basically cardamom and a bunch of spices (cant spot them individually), with a dominant caraway. Support of a hint of chocolatey patchouli (and possibly vanilla also) in the base is noticeable (no worries, just a hint). Possibly also a hint of incense. Take Eau d'Hermes, tone done a bit the citruses, amp up the spices at full volume, and swap the leather with a very subtle patch/incense combo. Make it a bit more full bodied/less airy, and here you go! It cannot bypass my beloved Eau d'Hermes, but still, it's beautiful. That said, more than Eau d'Hermes, I would say that it is even closer to Houbigant Cologne Intense. In any cases, not a real discovery in terms of scent profile for me, it is a beautiful variation on Eau d'Hermes, that will probably be loved by any fan of EdH. Mild/warm days, 30+

199) Avant-Avant-Garde The opening is a bouquet of tangy and aromatic verbena, reminiscent of lemongrass by his rosy lemony facet, combining with a spicy mixture of black pepper, cardamom, caraway, cumin and nutmeg with a stinging dry and complex effect. Sandalwood, patchouli and incense come soften and take over from these spices, with a woody accord, hot and creamy. With Diptych we always travel a bit in a imaginary and unreal lands filled with amazing smells, destabilizing and not easy to adopt at the first shot. Only Comme des Garçons today would dare leave such a perfume (and I still even prefer Dyptique's creations), so I bless them for having created, with 30 years in advance, references like this to assert that sometimes it takes time to learn to love.

Oh my, it shouldn't work, but it's incredible. A massive blast of sweaty spices and cleaning product citrus assaults the senses, before rapidly giving way to a creamy blend of citrus and spices. It's soft and tender after the first 5 minutes, like a raging toddler who's suddenly calmed down. There's no base to speak of, so the journey is remarkably short for something so loud at first, but this lends itself to layering, and if it stayed like the opening for too long it would be oppressive. I've just layered this with ample soaky sprays of the heavily discontinued Fate Woman (a moment of behaving like I have the ability to shit out bank notes), and I'm in heaven. Update: it's Jean Marie Farina but maxed up to 1000!

Oh hi there cumin! As such, a touch "sweaty," but actually cleaner and fresher than other perfumes I've tried that went heavy on the cumin-skank. This is more a full spice rack, and the dirtiness bears some resemblance to actual dirt in the fresh air (oh hi there patchouli!) rather than unwashed humanity--on me, anyhow. I think I might actually really like this, at least for my "earth goddess" days. It might be your kind of thing if you, like me, enjoy lingering at the spice rack and sticking your nose into one vial of herbs or spices after another just for the pleasure of their scents. Incidentally, I'm on the side that says it vanishes fast rather than lingers all day. Odd. Must be a chemistry issue.

I love this scent. I guess I can see how some people might think it smells like armpits and Indian food but it does not smell bad to me... definitely a human note to it but quite pleasant and maybe a hint of fine Indian cuisine. It starts with a light fresh spiced citrus accord and immediately follows with a spicy, peppery cumin middle note.. very exotic! The peppery note then gives way to a very sensual and smooth cedar note. The dry down is a spicy peppery cedar and patchouli finish that I find enchanting.. reminds me of a dimly lit cedar walled room full of nice wood furniture in the 1970’s... I believe this may be my new favorite!!

I’m not sure if it’s been reformulated, but I find more similarities to Lemon Sorbet by Etro, especially in the drydown, than anything else. After that, it leans towards Equipage by Hermes. These three scents could be placed along a spectrum within the genre: L'Autre on the far left, Lemon Sorbet in the middle-left, and Equipage on the far right. I don’t think it has much in common with Eau D'Hermes , unless that has been reformulated recently. It’s also far from Houbigant Cologne , which I’d place somewhere between Nuit Étoilée by Annick Goutal and Estroverso by Nobile 1942. Sampled in April 2021 in a Diptyque boutique.

When I first tried it I had to wash my hand. One year later, I bought a full bottle. This perfume has so many spices, with both fresh and warm parts. The human-like notes may at first be off putting, yet that is all due to the way we perceive smells. In fact it is very comforting, reassuring, calming. And wild at the same time. This perfume should have become a niche sensation and favorite, because it is both daring and absolutely beautiful. It’s actually both animalic and grounding. It provides a kind of human essence that is attractive, the smell of a lover. It should be, if it’s not already, a cult classic.

This is absolutely great! ...and crazy. A bold, yet refined fragrance. The wild opening with strong spices (caraway above all) and citrus tones down in a matter of minutes. The citric part disappears almost entirely while the spices linger on, and are joined by an elegant, smooth patchouli providing a fan-ta-stic heart and drydown. It is VERY unique and VERY pleasant.

some very mixed reviews for this one I personally love it. It stays so well on my skin. I think its a bit risky but definatley not a stink love it but one spray keeps the doctor away all day long powerful stuff

Unbelievably sexy, sensual!! Strong woody note + sweaty male armpit.

Wow this fragrance is certainly out there. Immediately the caraway is present from the very start. The cardamom is also noticeable and the nutmeg too reminding me of the smell of a pestle and mortar that has just ground freshly roasted spice perhaps in the process of creating fresh curry from scratch. There is a certain spice market vibe to it, perhaps in an open bazaar in the middle east, little sweetness in the base, rather a dense woody patchouli to further add dryness and density to the potent opening. Personally I find it a bit too culinary to wear, the caraway makes it slightly uncomfortable for me to wear out, but ultimately it may be one of the truest spice fragrance I have seen so far, if you want to capture that warm desert spice feel it probably doesn't get any better.

Diptyque L'Autre is a straightforward concoction of all spices, of which cumin and caraway are the most perceptible. I do understand the association of cumin with the smell of armpit, but L'Autre smells to me more like sharp spices than dirty armpits. The fragrance is intense, but the sillage is moderate at best, and the longevity is around 9 hours. L'Autre is no doubt a bold fragrance based on spices. However, it stays linear on me, which is quite tiring after a few hours. I personally would prefer pairing spices with some other ingredients, such as dried fruits in Serge Lutens Arabie or Parfum d'Empire Aziyadé, or something weirdly herbal like in Comme des Garçons.

L'Autre is like walking through a spice market in Jodhpurs, a Temple in Bangkok or a garden in Delhi. It is a perfume I wore to travel through South Asia and I still use to remind me of magic places. It is an unique fragrance of spices and incense which smells like benzoin and woodsy spice on my skin. It is extremely original, so you will either love it or hate it. Personally I love it.

very animalic. smoky and spicy. even though i don't like this, the spice accords do actually smell like a sweaty person here. cumin fragrances of this type usually don't always achieve successfully

Opened up with explosive caraway and pepper. The projection cut down to skin scent all too soon. The scent is of body odor of someone who eats spicy food on a regular basis. It can be quite offensive if you dislike this kind of scent. Definitely not safe blind buying choice.

I think it takes a lot of guts to wear this and not feel self-conscious. I don't think it stinks per se, but it does smell like arm pits that have not been recently washed. It's funny, because I just reviewed another one of Diptyque's fragrance, Olene, which I felt smelled like someone has just showered with a bar of floral soap. What opposites! Even though this is something I want nothing to do with ever again, and Olene I could be persuaded to wear if I had nothing else on hand, my feeling is that L'Autre may the better made perfume. It's not the only perfume with this unconventional smell, but it's the only one I've encountered that is so bold as to feature it. Please do not blind buy this, because this is not something you can just pass along to your mom or sister if you don't like it.

A lighter and softly floral take on “eau de peau at the gym the morning after you ate Indian food.” Cumin in the pungent, unwashed manner of Le Labo Rose 31. Do not blind buy this, and even if you like it yourself, consider that many people you walk by while wearing it may think you have a hygiene issue. And for the love of everything holy, please don’t wear this on an airplane or a train. You may be asked to depart before your final destination.

I am so sorry to anyone who enjoys and wears this for this review! It's hyperrealistic, for sure. But I mean, in the way a hairy man would smell after a round of boxing, having eaten copious amounts of pungent indian curry earlier in the day! This perfume warrants its place as a museum piece, perhaps, but if anyone wears this in my life...well it's either my friendship or the perfume. Nope nope nope so much nope.