Au Lait

According to the DSH site (and the perfumer herself) the notes for this WONDERFUL warm sweet creamy gourmand are: warm milk, sweet cream, ambrette seed, buttercream accord, tonka bean, French vanilla & "Special Formula X" . This may just be, off the tip of my nose, the absolute best gourmand scent I have ever had the delicious privilege of sniffing and wearing. My partner, not a "perfume guy", loved this on me and it definitely can help warm up the heart (and the sheets! *winks*) on a cold winter's night! Even creamier than DIESEL Plus Plus Feminine, this lacks the two-dimensional flatness of designer scents and weaves a silken cloak of creamy dreamy wonder all about you!! From its creamy "body" to its (very realistic) buttercream accord and right down to the sweet vanilla, tsmooth nutty tonka and X formula (???!) this is simply divoon!! *sighs,again, after sniffing wrist and fights overwhelming urge not to eat self!* Gourmand lovers (this includes vanilla-heads too) seeking a realistic and artfully crafted gourmand need look no further. Dessert is served... NB: This mini-review (totally off the cuff) was inspired by only a 1/2 a spritz out of the 2,5 ml. sprayer from December's olfactif sampler. I can only imagine the depths of decadence and absolutely edible elan a full wearing would produce! Let it be known, far & wide, that Dawn Spencer Hurwitz is just plain AWESOME!! (That is all. We now return you to our normally scheduled review show...)

Au Lait may be a gourmand, but it is a very pretty, soft focus pastel scent, and is not so coarsely literal that it will make you smell like a baby burp. It is in fact this lack of true to life representation that made me ultimately decide against a full bottle purchase. There is something in the rather persistent musk base of this fragrance that says, "I am a gourmand, as in, a perfume. Don't eat me or you will die." I think that speaks to the quality of the intention behind this scent, since most of us do NOT want to smell like we spilled milk on ourselves, but would love to smell like, "a perfume translation of the idea of _________." Unfortunately, I actually DID want to smell like I spilled milk on myself. Actual milk. I got the sample size for five bucks from DSH, and I highly recommend that anyone interested in this scent do the same, because for you it might be the perfect balance of real and imaginary. My boyfriend said it smelled like dessert, but he also said that it didn't mesh with my personality, even though I own a TON of vanillas. So there you go.

Well, well. When miracles are counted, let this be one--a "gourmand" scent I can actually enjoy. Au Lait is the perfume equivalent of comfort food--more of a vanilla embrace than many other vanillas I have tried. The milk accord lends a puff of baby's breath and keeps the concoction from entering into vanillic candyland--- fatal flaw of so many vanilla scents. This is not a sexy scent to me, probably because I know my man doesn't like vanilla scents, rather, I find it relaxing, comforting--something I will enjoy wearing when he is away on business when I want to crawl under the down comforter in my flannel jammies and while away the time with a good book. Thumb's up, DSH. I may just have to consider a full bottle. ETA: a puff of baby's breath does not equal a burp (at least I do not burp with every breath I take.) It is a metaphor, in this case, indicating the tiny amount of angelic milkiness overwashing the vanilla.

I really and truly cannot say enough wonderful words about Dawn Spencer-Hurwitz! Not only is she an amazing, prolific and talented artist-she is a wonderful warm and lovely human being! I don't usually "layer" perfumes (other than single essences & soliflores etc) BUT today I layered AU LAIT with Dawn's stunning CAFE NOIR!! The result? A most decadent rich thick and full LATTE perfume! *sighs* Give it a try...and if you haven't tried any DSH perfumes yet, I ask you: WHY NOT??! What are you waiting for? I recommend pouring a nice strong cup of dark roast coffee and take a long hard look at her site or page here on Fragrantica database and open yourself up to a world of true perfume wonders!! Smell swell & be well

I bought the Au Lait perfume oil and people, I have completely changed my tune on this one. AU LAIT is HANDS DOWN the most delicious, most natural and beautiful sweet milk perfume I have ever tried in my life! No plastic, nothing bitter, no burnt notes, just hours of gently sweet creaminess. The longevity is excellent! It's unquestionably a holy grail gourmand and so perfect now that the temperature is starting to drop.. Thank you DSH, for ending my quest for the perfect milk perfume. It's a very realistic can of sweetened condensed milk changing to fresh vanilla buttercream frosting. Exactly. This is how the clouds smell in heaven.

It's hard to believe anyone could dislike this scent, given it's name that gives a reasonably good preview of what you're getting. It's milk, yes it's perfume so you can't eat it. And it's heartbreakingly beautiful. I would bathe in this stuff if I could afford to. It's probably not totally suitable for work perhaps as it might make you want to curl up and take a nap. But this is just divine. So smooth and creamy, no plastic or burnt notes, just sweet goodness. A gourmand lovers dream. Definitely one of my top 5 perfumes out of the 400 or so I've had or tried.

Au lait sure isn't for everyone. To me it definitely smells darker and more mysterious than just "milky". Somehow the strongest association that Au Lait gives me are the Wherther's Original candies with a pinch of a boiled (over?) milk note, musk and lipstick. For those who don't know the candies - they are caramel flavoured. If you expected a more gourmand caramel flavour in Prada Candy you might consider to try this out. Au lait is more realistic, sweeter and a tad less musky smelling. I like them both.

This perfume smells like sweet, milky/creamy vanilla. It is soft, sweet and comforting. I can see why people may think it smells like breast milk or formula. It is very pleasant and smooth. I tried to put off purchasing a full bottle by trying Fresh Cream by Philosophy (because it is cheaper and easier to get) and although it smells similar, Au Lait is more natural, lasts much longer and is stronger over all. Straight to the top of my favourites.

Pretty straight-forward slightly sweet milk scent. I've definitely smelled this exact same scent in another fragrance, but I can't recall which. Which is to say, it's not unique or ground-breaking, but it is very well-done. Very smooth and pleasant and inoffensive. Also very light--this is one you would wear for yourself since I don't think it's strong enough for anyone around you to pick up and, even if they did smell it, I don't think it would be recognized as a fragrance. For me personally, it's nothing to get excited about but, judging by some of the older reviews, it really strikes a chord for people who want a subtle, simple gourmand.

This is a light, fluffy, sweet scent that is more whipped cream than milk to my nose. I have tried "au lait" fragrances that have literally nauseated me with their syrup-like heaviness, but this is completely fun to wear. This is absolutely, completely a "dessert" vanilla, in the best way possible. It's along the lines of Philosophy Fresh Cream, but anyone with a nose can smell the difference in the high quality of DSH ingredients. If you like Fresh Cream...you WANT Au Lait. Fans of Love's True Bluish Light, Sage Machado Pearl, Perfect Veil, All That Matters...you WANT Au Lait. Trust me!

A nice milk scent, not so much about vanilla. Chabaud's au lait fragrances are softer and sweeter.

Working my way through Dawn's vanillas. My preference in lactonic notes tends towards rich and fatty, but Au Lait reads as more airy and well, skim. I get whiff of powdered sugar; just enough to suggest dessert. A pleasant, light, inoffensive skin scent. I wish I got more than this; overall it's just not that interesting on my skin. It is a nice, more naturalistic alternative to scents like Fresh Cream, as another reviewer said below.

A close to skin vanilla scent; but, something in there smells 'yeasty' to me, like bread dough that is rising. Not a bad scent, but not what I personally want to smell like.

A very light airy, slightly creamy vanilla. This takes several minutes to warm up on my skin, but when it does it’s a sweet pleasant milky vanilla. That is all. It’s very very intimate on me and I have to smell directly where I dabbed it. So far this is my least favorite DSH perfume, but I’m also not a huge fan of lactonic vanillas either.

I bought this when she had 15 percent off for the holiday. It is very comforting and non offensive. I love it. Very different from mainstream scents. It is sort of like a sweet vanilla milky steamer, which is a coffee shop drink of sweet milk and vanilla.

As @darksome mentioned, I also pick up a boiled over milk scent that isn't at all unpleasant, I actually think it adds depth to this type of scent. I quite enjoy this gourmand, especially this time of year in the PNW

Very soft milky vanilla that makes me think of newborn baby breath. I know that sounds weird but I promise it's quite comforting.