La Dandy

I've always wanted to try Dolce Vita by Dior but it's far too expensive! I somehow came across this 55CAD for 100mL so I blind bought it not really knowing what to expect. 1 spray, I get hit with something spicy and familiar but I'm not sure which note is dominating the rest. Then slowly the peach shows up, it's not a juicy succulent peach but like a preserved/dry fruit. I notice the cinnamon mixed with either cloves or cardamom is starting to appear. My mom walked into the room for a second and said "oh something smells really good in here!" I showed her my wrist and she goes "up close it's too much but from the other side of the room it smells SO nice!" It shifts from the peach to cinnamon concoction, I was hoping for the ylang ylang but I can't seem to find it. Closer to the dry down, I'm getting the tobacco and tolu balsam which reminds me of Filles en Aiguilles by Serge Lutens. Not saying this smells like FeA but it does have some similarities with the balsamic-dried fruit thing. I don't do gourmands nor peachy frags, but I don't find this to be too sweet or overwhelming! I'm really happy with this purchase! This is so lovely, like pure Autumn in a bottle!

Ive found a new love. Yes, its peachy but its also spicey which stops it smelling too mainstream. It starts off sweet with the honey yet this eases off quite quickly as the cloves, cinnamon and ylang ylang take over. There is definitely a similarity with YSL Dolce Vita. Lovers of gourmands will love this. Further along its progress the tolu balsam, benzoin, tonka bean and tobacco come into their own. Moderate sillage and the same for longevity. I think I managed to extend the longevity by spraying over grape seed oil.

I blind bought this based on the notes and spent the time before it arrived worrying I had made a mistake. I am usually right about blind buys, but have never spent £55.00 on a perfume I have never even tried and which has so few reviews. I was hoping for a spicey gourmand with a yummy dry down, but fearing an old-fashioned, unwearable floral based on the original date of the first formulation and the reviews of the male counterpart. I am a 20 year old female and the name just caught me...I love Vivienne Westwood bags, New Romantic music and the rococo..in my mind that was enough to justify buying a fragrance which would make me feel (if not just for the title) like a female dandy-highwayman (ala Adam Ant/Dick Turpin). Luckily, I was not dissapointed when the package arrived. This fragrance opens with a sweet yet delicate blend of florals, dominated by one in particular. I find this the most dull part of the fragrance because it is a little too conservative for my taste. However soon the sweet florals are overshadowed by a spicey peachy/cinnamon blast, reminiscent of jarred fruits or spicey jam. After a while the spices are joined by a dark tobacco scent, accompanied by a slight bitter-sweet note, probably the combination of sweet benzoin and the bitter honey. The dry down is interesting to say the least. Overall I love this fragrance. It is a little tame considering the name but is still remarkable and unconventional. It runs along the same lines as L'artisan's Tea for Two, only less smokey. And Chinatown Bond no 9 but not as sweet or diverse in its floral and fruit notes. Very impressed. 8/10

"La Dandy" was magnificent from the start, I love peaches and here they dominate the perfume so wonderfully that it was truly hard to resist sniffing myself all the damn time. The case with "La Dandy" is not only the peach though, I dislike it in overly fruity perfumes, but this was not the case - peach in "La Dandy" is like a spicy sweet peach jam, there is cinnamon and there is this wonderful buttery ylang ylang. The most enjoyable thing was though the one that lasted for mere 30 minutes - the whole perfume appeared very crisp and tart for me, I figure it was from the spices. I also got a healthy dose of jasmine. . Unfortunately it does not last as long as I'd hope for, 5 hours the whole scent, but the part that I loved so much faded in 1,5 hours. What was left for the rest of the journey with this scent? Mostly peach, honey and jasmine. I don't mind the mix, but here it seemed a bit too bland and in all honesty - too sweet, as the spices had faded, there was nothing left to balance the sweetness out. Silage was fairly good, for the first hours it was even heavy, but then settled to a very elegant and moderate whif every now and then.

What a strange and interesting scent! It's really full of twist and wit! It starts fresh and slightly flowery, but it soon becomes one of the most complex, elegant and modern gourmand. I'm not fond of gourmand fragrances, but this one made an exception. It's something I could easily sport around on my whimsical mood days :-) Edit: I still like it and found very elegant with wit, but I think that the previous version Femme de Dandy (discontinued) was more interesting and more plummy.