La Dame aux Camelias - Night Cologne

To me, the fragrance opens with a powdered rose with hints of orange and orange blossom. I also detect a hint of lychee, which isn't listed. The powder is very pleasant and not "old lady-like". The fragrance goes on into a sweet rose-musk, with the fruits and powdery fading into the background. The rose is sensual and non-aggressive. The musk is warm and clean. The development is minimal and overall the scent is quite simplistic. Since this perfume is named after the Dumas (fils) novel (and part of the jardins d'ecrivains line up) there is no way I'm not gonna talk about this scent in relation to the source material (and the Verdi opera because I'm an opera nerd). I think this scent would work quite well with the character of Marguerite/Violetta. The scent is sexy, sensual, and feminine in a classy and sophisticated way. Her sexiness shines in her lavish structured gown with layers of silk and lace, not a leather mini skirt and stilettos. She is a high class courtesan entertaining the best of the Parisian society, not a lady of the night who pulls her dress up for half a penny against the wall of an alleyway after a night of gin and bar fights. This is also a very intimate scent that I can easily associate with her retreat to the province with her lover, wearing a white silk nightgown lying idly on a soft bed all day in a luxurious mansion, whispering sweet nothings. The only thing that's a bit lacklustre is that I wish there is a little bit of dirtiness. If you're familiar with the novel you would know that the camélias on her signifies whether she is on her period to provide sexual service. And women on their periods usually have a very faint smell on them. Perhaps I also want a little hint of sex, because she is a sexual being. Or maybe something a bit darker or melancholic to reflect the languorous nature of tuberculosis, which she suffered. This fragrance is the facade of the woman she presents to the public rather than her truest self - a fallen woman yearning for love and not money, who is slowing dying from tuberculosis. And I'm ok with that. It is advertised as a night cologne and I can definitely see why. This scent makes me want to go back to bed, wrapped in weighted blankets and the scent. It'll be perfect for being in bed with a lover (or alone pretending to have a lover in bed). But rather than saying this is exclusive for nighttime, I think it is better to say this scent is a cologne for romance and physical intimacy. This scent flirts with its presence with murmuring seduction. In addition to sensuality, it makes me feel feminine and beautiful and "lady-like". It's also calming and serene. I swear and curse a lot, but wearing this scent somehow suppresses my tendency to do so.

Before I write a review, I'll tell you what the scales above show. No one "has" this perfume right now, though 5 people voted. 3 females users +25 have each voted "love", "like" and "dislike", but left no reviews, didn't vote in the other categories. Have they sampled "La Dame", I wonder? It's a hard-to-find fragrance. I obtained my carded 2ml sample by writing in french to the Parisian company with a specific request. A male user -25 has voted "like" and also "spring" and "day". I'm inclined to think that he has tried 'La Dame', because if a male were to wear it in earnest - he would typically have a limited time in which to do so, for it is intensely floral upon immediate application. 'La Dame' is the only perfume for women offered by Jardin d'Ecrivains; perhaps this male user tried this by mistake because it said "cologne", or for a lark. Update: 'Gigi' is the other perfume for women by JD'E! I've now voted: like, spring, summer, fall, night. I've also voted for the notes. No doubt that "La Dame" is for the nighttime, in my mind. Personally, I wouldn't wear something like this during the daytime, it feels very emotional to me and therefore risque. It begins more flirtatiously than any other perfume I've tried... An illicit, adult flirtation by a woman who is giving all of her heart away, including what's leftover of the innocent, girlish parts. *All* the hopes, dreams and cares she's ever had are suspended in midair during the time of just this kiss. One kiss, and much more. The top notes of this perfume smell like they could be the heart of a perfume - bountiful camelias, colourful rose and attractive juniper - only they are flying, vaulted. If I were a man, and a woman left this scent on my bedsheets, I would sigh for hours, never leaving the room, intoxicated, for the beauty of it, and of her. I'd never forget it. This isn't "love" for me because I'm not as comfortable with musk drydowns as most people and perfumeheads. This musk, though, is on par with Chanel's musk. "La Dame" is the second Jardins D'Ecrivains scent I've tried, and the quality is excellent. They behave beautifully. I really do sense an ascension in the top notes, while the base is deep. I feel the aura and the scent lift above me, even moreso in 'La Dame'. And so, in a way, it reminds me of lying on a bed, and before the man bends to reach my skin, I'm already touching him; emotionally, mentally he is wrapped up in perfume.

La Dame aux Camelia's opens w/ a bright lemony verbena. I enjoy verbena and I don't think it is used as often as it should be. It has a nice refreshing lemony herbal quality that adds brightness to a fragrance w/out being overpowering like bergamot can sometimes be. Cardamom and orange blossom are there but not as strong as the Verbena. As this perfume goes along it becomes a beautiful May rose w/ a nicely done iris and Camelia. The iris in here is just stunning. This perfume is softly cosmetic, it smells like an expensive lipstick but lipstick combined w/ herbal tones, a soft and distant sweetness of orange blossom, a light dusting of cardamom, and beautiful May roses. At first, they are young tender buds tightly holding on to their scent but as they open, they become slightly animalic w/ a bit of leather undertones w tart berries and as they grow in strength, they become quite powdery and musky. This perfume has a brightness that stays throughout the duration of the perfume. La Dame aux Camelia's is a brilliant combination of many of my favorite elements in a perfume. It is powdery, musky and floral but it has a quality that is often lacking in powdery floral perfumes, it remains very bright and refreshing while still being a powdery lipstick fragrance. Womanly, while remaining a bit youthful, it is really the best of both worlds. Stunning and full bottle worthy. 12/27/22 Searched high and low for this and not a bottle to be found. Why do they discontinue beauties like this? Sad. Edit/6/3/24 finally I have this beauty in my collection. A good friend I met here blind bought a bottle and since it wasn't for her sold it to me. Wearing it today. So happy! Thank you Fragrantica friend!

Hello again, 3 years later! I just dropped by to say that a month ago I was visiting New York City during a summer heatwave. Traveling alone, I had packed light and therefore chosen my travel perfumes (all sample sized) carefully. LDAC was the perfume I decided to wear for the meeting I had in Soho. I was going to meet an artist in his home studio to view his work and discuss collaboration. I wore this because it's elegant and the sillage is polite. Applied lightly, it behaves very well in high heat and in small spaces. I had never met this artist before, and I didn't want to wear something complex like a Guerlain, or stylish like a Chanel. I contemplated wearing Nicolai's Violette in Love because it's well-behaved but thought it might be too immature and flighty. Well, ladies and gentleman. I fell in love. It only took about 4 hours, and I didn't really realize it had happened until I awoke in the middle of the night, bolting upright. Perfume is very important to me. I wear it daily, and it brings me joy. It affects my mood, attitude, and confidence levels. If something significant happens to me, I always remember what perfume I was wearing. I'm not saying that I believe a perfume is magic enough to help you fall in love... but who knows. Maybe some of us need all the help we can get, and anything's worth a try. What I'm saying is that I hope you all find your "La Dame aux Camelias", on a sunny, sweaty, breezy, perfect day in your favourite place on earth, surrounded by inspiring art and a truly wonderful person who sets your heart on fire.

As soon as I applied this, my nose sent me an "old lady" warning because of the sharp soapy initial blast, but it quickly turned into something beautiful. Even reading the term "soapy" in a review is usually enough to make me lose interest in a fragrance, but I'm happy I tried this one. This isn't old ladyish. Instead it's more what a now older woman wore in here youth, in a time long since passed, when she was a young beautiful vixen with more handsome men than she could count. This is a classic style, but instead of being polished and chaste, it's brimming with sexuality. It's soapy heavy powdery florals (the kind I would otherwise steer clear of) balanced out with spicy herbs, and enriched with lots of musk and tonka. It's absolutely beautiful. I'll wear this to bed, when I'm having a romantic picnic, or anytime I want to add +10 to my femininity, but never when i'm cold! This needs warmth to keep those sexy notes alive. I run very cold and need to be careful when I use this. -Sometimes I layer this with Tokyo milk's Honey and The Moon and it's divine. It makes it both younger and sexier since Honey and the Moon turns into a very creamy honey musk on my skin. A very sexy combo

I was extremely eager to try La Dame aux Camelias. First, because the homonym book is one of my favourites and second because I really liked the concept that stays at the bottom of this house's creations. But then, how could I describe the mixed up feelings that La Dame aux Camelias awakened in me? Oh, I know! I must ask you if you ever been in love? Well, not just a transient love, but the one that makes your heart beat so fast, that for a moment the world around you dissipates in thousands and thousands of colors, and your heart runs towards them and back again inside you to beat even faster. Have you ever been so in love that you have lost yourself in the arms of your loved one, absorbing his perfume by every pore, sharing in those moments, just the two of you, all the secrets of the Universe? And the way you feel when your loved one is drawing sketches of his thoughts on your forehead and you gave them life so they can fly away... That's how La Dame aux Camelias is. Like an intimate moment shared by you two. It is a sensual perfume, erotic, in wich the musk note is the queen, dominating with dignity the flowers which stay open, almost indecent, challenging you to embrace them, absorbe their perfume, feel their soft petals. The verbena note gives a fresh, sour touch to the composition, perhaps for reminding you of the tiny bit of lucidity and rationality contained in the game of love, but shortly the bouquet consiting of violets, orange flowers and roses surrounds the composition like a heavy velvet drape and La Dame aux Camelias is now dense, powdery and slightly dry. The perfume remains the same from now, until the end, adorning my skin with memories.

I got a 1.5 ml sample from the manufacturer at my local perfume shop. I find the sillage starts at arm length and shrinks after a couple of hours to within about six inches for the rest of the drydown. I can still smell it after nine hours. The cardamom and Neroli dominate the top notes. The musk, iris, and rose come out within half an hour, and then it moves on to a long period that's mostly musk and iris. The musk is soft, powdery, and a little sweet. I also get a leather accord, similar to the musk in lavande ombre and Violette sucre from Aux pays de la fleur l'orange. I agree with evesoho. There _is_ something a little naughty/sexy about the way the musk mixes with the cardamom and tonka bean. I don't find it so overt I would worry about wearing it outside the house-it just doesn't project that far. I suspect it will change a lot with the weather. Today it was cool and dry (high around 76 Fahrenheit). When I wear it in substantially different weather I'll report back.

I bought a little decant online because I was dying to try it. La dame aux camélias is my favorite book :) I can really smell the roses on my skin. a lot. Which to me, is a great thing. I know it is not in the notes, but I somehow smell violets ... It is definitely flowery, very feminine ... It is powerful, like I expected it to be :) It is sexy, womanly... something a courtisane would definitely have worn... I love it. Will put it to the test of wearing it and see what comments I get...

I just don't understand why I like this! I'm not supposed to! Thing is, I'm not a big fan of roses, I can't stand iris in bigger doses, orange blossom isn't my thing either or powdery fragrances. Yet I cannot stop smelling my wrist. Weird :) Guess I'll need to buy a bottle to find out...

Anyone has a sample or bottle to swap, sell?

I found this on ebay a year ago and now it seems it's gone! They aren't selling it anymore. What a shame. This is a gorgeous romantic floral fragrance. I love the old fashioned antique looking atomizer. This is meant to smell like a camellia flower but you guys know that camellias have no fragrance right? I grew up around flowers and gardens in Charleston South Carolina and Savannah Georgia and the camellia flower looks so gorgeous and similar to a rose but they have NO FRAGRANCE. Fortunately this perfume does have a fragrance. Camellia is a rose scent in perfume. So this is mostly a big romantic rose. La Dame opens with verbena, very realistic very aromatic. It's spicy with cardamom ginger but very sweet as well. The rose like I said is the real star but other flowers that appear are orange blossom and iris. Whenever iris shows up along with rose normally the fragrance turns powdery. I didn't get powder out of this one although for a moment it did seem like it would turn to powder. It's more sweet than it is powdery and does feel like a luxurious fragrance to have at your house and keep for very special occasions. It looks great in my vanity dresser table. I put it right next to Agent Provocateur because I feel both fragrances are similar in their womanly seductive floweriness. The scent lasts and lasts for hours and hours. I recommend it as both a day time and evening scent although the reviewer before me did suggest that it's more of an evening perfume. I would agree but it has some really sweet touches that fit the day time but it would be a day time formal scent. I can wear this on romantic dates. I can wear this on gigs when I perform and sing in front of audiences at weddings and private parties dressed in my best evening gowns. I always get compliments. Yeah it does make me smell older but so what. Older doesn't mean bad. It just means you have good taste. Elegant, romantic, sophisticated and very sweet. It makes me think of beautiful singers from a bygone age. It smells like something you'd detect on Dita von Teese when she's in 1930's vintage fashions. It smells like something an opera singer would wear as well. Just heavenly, beautiful rose perfume.

La Traviata Perfume La Dame Aux Camelias (Lady of the Camellias) was a play by Dumas which inspired Verdi to compose the romantic opera La Traviata, which today is still beloved as one of the most romantic operas ever made. When I heard that there was a Dame Aux Camelias fragrance from the niche indie line Jardin D'Ecrivains (Garden of Authors) I had to have it. This is very expensive so you get what you pay for. It's sold as a "night cologne" but it's their way of suggesting it's an evening perfume or formal wear evening fragrance. This is totally a fragrance to wear to the opera, to the theater, ballet, or symphony. It's also an evening party perfume, but for formal wear, a ball gown or evening gown. It's beautiful. It contains some of my favorite flowers in fragrances: iris, rose and camellia. The camellia is of coures the dominant accord but it blends well with the heady rose and the iris. I never thought I'd see a fragrance that has all three flowers in it. The opening notes are spicy as it has cardamom ginger. The base notes and the dry down is woodsy with juniper. It's musky too. This is a rich, luxurious romantic fragrance for women who love to dress up as often as they can. It suits me so perfectly. I would not say it's "mature" or old lady ish. It's simply very lady like, polite, elegant and romantic. It wears like something out of the 19th century or 1900 to 1914 period. It's Victorian Edwardian in it's beauty. I really loved it and the price was worth it. But now I ha ve to cut back as I've been spending a lot on fragrances for 2015. I need to have some money left for fragrances in 2016.

I bought a sample of this perfume after seeing a picture of it and falling in love with the bottle. I was hoping that the scent would live up to the beautiful name and packaging, and it does! I requested a bottle of it for Christmas, and it is absolutely lovely. It doesn't last very long, unfortunately, but I don't mind too much because it comes with 8 oz.! I didn't know anyone made perfumes in so large a size. Unfortunately I'm not very good about distinguishing individual notes in a perfume, unless they are scents I am very familiar with. In this particular fragrance, the scents really blend together, and nothing really stands out to me. It does smell quite powdery and musky when I first put it on, and gradually becomes sweeter and softer. I almost always get headaches from perfumes, and this one does not do that to me. It is also described as a "cologne de nuit" but I think it works just fine as a day-time fragrance as well. It is very unique and romantic, I have never tried any other perfume like it.

It's a nice scent. Gorgeous presentation. HOWEVER: the bulb pump is not air-tight, at least not on mine. I hadn't touched this in months, as I was waiting for warmer weather to wear it, and this weekend I noticed that I was down A QUARTER OF A BOTTLE. Note: I only ever spritzed it on a couple of times. The perfume had been steadily evaporating. So if you get a bottle, it's probably best to store it with the screw-cap on, maybe even decant it into a smaller atomizer, because as pretty as the bulb pump is, you don't want to lose 25% of your bottle like I did. :(

I had a strong reaction to the chemicals in this one. My throat got tight and my sinuses started to hurt. Scrubbing was the only option. In the five minutes I got to spend with it, this struck me as a synthetic jammy rose type of thing along the lines of Tauer's Une Rose Vermeille.

This opens with a lot of orange blossom on my skin, but, amazingly, the drydown smells like Frederic Malle's Lipstick Rose! It's really incredible. This is a lovely, intimate scent. Definitely a hidden gem!

This perfume is very chic but it's not for me. It's very musky and gives off the old lady vibe. However for those that love musk It's definitely a must try.

Just FYI, Beautyhabit has carried this line for awhile now.