L'Eau Papier

L'eau Papier has become an unexpected favourite of mine. When it was released, as a huge fan of Diptyque, I was strangely not attracted to it. I read reviews suggesting smells of paper and ink. And sesame. I crinkled my nose and thought who would want to smell of sesame? Not me! I went to the shop where I buy my Diptyques and the sales assistants all told me it's "very very weak", as in they were not impressed. All odds were against L'eau Papier and I. But one day I reached for a bottle and tried it,.. and was surprised. It didn't make me think of ink, nor of paper that day for that matter. I simply thought it was beautiful and comforting. I came back a few times for a few more tries, and ended up purchasing a bottle. Now that I own it and have had time wear it properly, I can properly emit my thoughts... And I swallow my previous prejudiced thoughts, because apparently yes I am enjoying smelling like sesame. I find L'eau Papier a complex and surprising perfume. It is complex not just because it develops throughout the day, but on myself it will develop randomly in one direction or another, or smell different according to maybe my mood or the weather or whatever. That also makes it surprising. Sometimes it can resemble the smell of paper, but in a very specific way. I saw a video where someone ripped a piece of paper, a thicker sheet, the type that would be used for a fancy wedding invitation, demonstrating the paper smell. That ripped textured smell is the paper smell I get. I guess that is the musks, woods and mimosa part. Sometimes I smell a spicy pepper smell, which when I see the notes I have no idea where that comes from. Sometimes I smell steamed rice, or steamed rice with sesame. Other times I smell something similar to Asian rice based desserts, slightly sweet. Considering I usually am not a fan of gourmand perfumes, it is surprising that I adore all these rice smells. (Though the fact that I'm half Asian and grew up with my mum always steaming rice may have something to do with it). Whatever the case, and whatever the smell L'eau Papier is giving me, I always find it beautiful. With regards to its "weakness", yes it is a gentle scent. It's gentle but present and lingers for hours. It's gentle like a comforting warm hug. And that's fine. I personally enjoy wearing perfume for myself, not for others. So if it's gentle but I perceive it and it relaxes me and makes me feel somewhat creative, sometimes that's just what I need, and that is perfect.

I really like this scent. I was expecting something completely different, more papery, but I smell what I think it's the mimosa very loudly. Initially I thought it was a bit tuberose, but I corrected myself, but definitely white flower. In the middle I caught something reminiscent of paper, but quite lightly. In the base, I feel still a sharpness of the flowers, and no musk yet. Settles close to the skin, but on me, when I sniff it's a bit sharp. UPDATE LONG WEAR: Suddenly the sesame is very prominent, and it settled beautifully musky, almost lactonic on my skin. I read someone say they wanted to bite their arm off, and I felt the same way. Delicious. Suddenly one of my favorite scents in life. I guess for some noses it can be a little poignant. If you wanna have a bottle without paying the high price, you can try two Brazilian perfumery houses that do a great job mimicking L'eau Papier: 1- Ohana Kameala- Le papier: this is the exact same scent. It's round, had all of the edges wrapped together into a flowy, beautiful fragrance. It has layers, depth. The closest and best in the market, but they only sell 30ml bottles for this one. 2- Le botanic- Paper plans: this is still similar, but it has a note in the opening that reminds me of an old wardrobe (to me). It does go away after a while, so you have to push through. Plus it has less sesame, which leaves the spotlight to a more poignant note that is more common in some male fragrances. It's an ok scent, but way more destabilized than the Ohana version. But to be fair, it is a very difficult perfume to mimick. I did a blind test with some people in my circle: My mother in law thinks it doesn't smell like a woman's perfume, she wasn't a fan. My mom thinks its nice, she really got the Gohan rice note, and my boyfriend described as: cardamom, like walking though a museum, cold, clean, artsy.

Really beautiful! I’m not sure where the comparison to Another 13 or Glossier You (GY) is coming from though. I think L’eau Papier (LP) is completely different. I have Another 13 and it smells a lot more sharp and metallic, whereas LP smells soft and subdued. The florals in LP also smell a lot more “yellow” and buttery than the florals in GY, which smell more cool and powdery. I can see the similarity in the dry down of GY and LP - though LP is not as sweet as GY and dries down to a more creamy, buttery skin scent. I’m not getting a lot of wood (which my skin tends to pick up on a lot). I personally barely get the rice notes after the first ten seconds of wear, but it does seem to add a certain almost lactonic depth and keep LP from being too floral. Honestly I would describe this as a sunny, creamy, buttery floral with a musky, lactonic floral dry down. I usually become pretty nose-blind to most scents after an hour or two but I can still smell LP on my skin and clothes and it’s been 5 hours now. It’s definitely a light, delicate scent, not overpowering but still powerful. I love it!

This fragrance is something you kinda have to smell for yourself, but I'll tell you how it went for me — the initial spray made my nose wrinkle. It smelled like black pepper and white rice. Who wants to smell like this? I meandered around the store, then left. On the way home, I smelled my wrist. Then again. Then four more times. By the time I pulled into my driveway, I was thinking, "Maybe I should go back and get a bottle." Make no mistake, this is 100% a skin scent. If you wear it solo, I wouldn't expect anyone to smell it on you unless they're giving you a hug, or some equally close-quartered activity. But that kinda serves its purpose, because this scent is so sexy to me — and not in a vanilla, Victoria's Secret way. It smells like you've been lounging on expensive, soft bedding reading a book. It truly is "my skin but better." Personally, I currently wear this every day. Most days, I layer it with something else, because that's kind of what (I think) it's made for. It's so unique, so for that reason, I think it's worth the money even being a skin scent.

Warm, inoffensive, milky. A hint of musk that reminds you of someone's skin. The base notes are the same as White Rice by D'annam if you have ever tried it. Cotton, grain, dull milk and steamed rice. But this has a sharper top note than White Rice, less powdery and more bright, floral, soapier. It makes you smell familiar. It makes you smell like someone with open arms and an open heart. It is unique and a little mysterious. Like you stepped too close to someone with whom you intended to keep a professional distance, accidentally knowing an intimate part of their lives, like how their shampoo smells or the softness of the hairs on the back of their neck. Yes I recommend this perfume and I think it is safe as a blind buy. Just get a little sample as it is quite a particular scent. But for most, I believe you will like it.