H&M Raconteuse

I recently received a bunch of H&M fragrances that I purchased blind based solely on reviews. When I sprayed this one the first thing I said was "Oh Wow." Those two simple words say a great deal considering my massive fragrance collection from rare, discontinued, niche, designer, and even my own creations. It's really difficult to Wow me nowadays but this really did. It was not at all what I expected and really really beautiful. Intoxicating is a great word. It is so well done and so shocking considering the price tag. I looked up the perfumer and couldn't believe it - Olivier Pescheux! What a true gift this perfume is. If you like tuberose and tiare, you will love this. It also has this "I just stepped in an amazing incense shop" vibe to it that I really love. I am going to buy this up because you never really know when they will stop making this. In fact, I've loved all four of the H&M fragrances I purchased. I am so pleasantly surprised!

If you can imagine what Miss Dior or Coco Mademoiselle would smell like without the patchouli, this would be pretty darn close. The initial spray is all floral, but after just a few minutes the orange, tiara, and vanilla develop into something sweet and inviting. It smells delicious! I do kinda wish there was a stronger base (light musk or a mild sandalwood maybe?) because it’s lacking a little in depth. But even without that clear traditional base note, it’s a great scent that doesn’t smell like it came from a fast fashion store.

Me too; it's gorgeous!! And, for that price, it's a real treasure :D It smells absolutely wonderful on my skin, the bitter orange is the strongest of them, than the neroli and tuberose. Also I think this perfume is perfect for layers and mixing with other scents to strenghtenes them. 10/10

It doesn't contain bird-cherry but it smells like it! My parents had a huge bird-cherry tree when I grew up and this perfume brought back old memories. Amazing perfume, I just wish it did last longer so I could enjoy it more when going out.

Smells really high end for the price, I have small size and my grandma loved it on me, very floral and citrus beautiful summer fragrance 🥰 too bad they don’t sell this where I live but oh well 😬

Another cheekily delicious, naughtily cheap winner from H&M's currently really-much-better-than-you'd expect lineup. I love my white flowers but am much more on the fence about tuberose - I usually only like a quite green, subdued treatment of it, like in Diptyque Do Son: if it gets too sweet and blowsy I can't deal with it. Tuberose is certainly very very present for me in Raconteuse, so I got a bit nervous, but then it goes a different but still very pleasant way - with a sort of dry, papery, woody edge to it - I guess it's all totally artificial, of course, but in fact that very slight rough-raspiness makes it more tolerable to my nose than any smoother, more feminine treatment. You do get the odd waft here and there of something cheaper and TOO synthetic, but overall it's really surprisingly wearable. Orange and white flower elements pretty generic and basic here, nothing to make you sit up and take notice, but just smooth enough. Longevity and projection respectable, not astonishing but solid, especially for the price. So, Raconteuse, tell us a story .... "Once upon a time, there was a budget, mass-market scent which was unexpectedly lovely, and won over some fans in new places. The End."

Straightforward, pretty white floral. You definitely can smell all three of neroli, tuberose and tiare in this, which is nice since it sometimes seems like perfumers list white flowers interchangeably as notes. Citrus, white florals and vanilla certainly isn't a revolutionary composition but it hits the middle of the road really nicely - white florals can get very soapy with citrus, but sweet notes like vanilla can tip them into the cloying, 'dirty' side of things, and this is neither - they all play nicely together, as it should on paper. It feels quite versatile - it's fresh and clean enough to be a classy office fragrance, but I think it's got a quiet sexiness to it that'd work for date nights and such. A good white floral is a really reliable part of any perfume wardrobe, I think, and I can definitely see this becoming a Gen Z essential to fill that gap - an intro to tuberose for people who'd almost definitely get turned off by a more oldschool scent like White Diamonds or Poison.

Classic, white floral/sandalwood fragrance in a similar style as Venti4 Bianco but smoother and slightly sweeter (Venti4 Bianco is quite strong imo). Even though not listed, there's a clear sandalwood and I agree there's also a bit of jasmine. The mix of woodiness, bitter orange and flowers reminds me a bit of lupin which I love. A pretty summer floral with a bit of sweetness. Leaves a pleasant trail and if you like this kind of profile, it's a safe blind buy (discontinued tho).

Such a beautiful surprise. Orange peel, sweetened by the sun. Addictive and very well done. Budget friendly Pescheux’s job. Thank you for us, making such a beautiful and polarizing fragrance affordable.

Weak and not very well blended. It tries, but kinda fails. It ́s not bad bad, just not good. The concoction is more tart than someone would expect from the notes, however the smell is innofensive. I paid 4 or 6 €, which is about right, the original 15€ is not appropriate for this performance.

I got the purse spray of this after being blown away by the depth of scent in store. It reminds me of L'artisan Perfumeur's La Chasse Aux Papillons, with a more rounded profile. I am a cautious fan of tuberose, as I find it can make a fragrance quite heavy handed, overpoowering lighter notes. It's balanced quite well here. On first spritz, I was reminded of balmy summer evenings walking outside on the southern Spanish coast, where night blooming jasmine and orange blossom scent the air. This perfume contains neither of those specific notes but somehow recalls that heady scent for me. Really pleased with this budget purchase.

I find bigaradia’s aromatic edge slightly peppery and there is loads of that on creamy, solar tuberose foundation. That tuberose is merging with some barely noticeable tiare to give almost sunscreen feel, but not quite yet (I usually dislike suntan lotion perfumes, but this one is enjoyable). Appealing creamy warmth from tropical florals makes this perfume summery and carefree, however I enjoy it in transitional weather also, as it opens even more nuanced. Used to be a bargain for its exceptional longevity and more than a moderate sillage.

This is surprisingly nice. The second best fragrance from H&M I've tried after an older fragrance that's not in the database. It smells like jasmine at first, although it's not listed. After half an hour the tuberose becomes very prominent. It's not sickly or cloying, but only a bit sweet and watery fresh at the same time. Kind of old school and oriental, but very girly too. It's feminine, romantic and inoffensive. Intoxicating, but also double-natured.

Ok...gave it 3 good tests...and IMO,to MY nose...this is a "better" Gucci Bloom...gasp...!! I am really liking this a lot....I bought a small purse like spray....but I now have ordered the full bottle....For the price..and the scent....a nice bargain scent that smells great.

This is a nice big tuberose white floral but somehow not annoying like the other 1000 tuberose scents released in the last 10 minutes. The bitter orange is well balanced throughout the composition adding a slightly sour fruity nuance under the clean fresh tuberose.

I tried this today thinking I ought to like it (see my username for my favourite notes) but it didn't do much for me. Quite "sharp" and I couldn't really detect the vanilla.

It reminds me of Gucci bloom but then with an added and very prominent Tiare.