Balade à Paris Café à Saint-Germain

Pear, caramel and Raspberry - sooo goood!!!!!

gourmand heaven. soft, creamy and sweet.

This smells a lot like Soiree Rooftop, only a greener, fresher version of it – not a surprise, considering that Soiree Rooftop is supposed to be a dupe for Black Opium, while Café à Saint-Germain – for Black Opium Illicit Green, judging by the notes at least. It’s very pleasant, with just the right balance of warm and cool, just enough spiciness and sweetness (more sweet than spicy), soft and light. I like it better than Soiree Rooftop, at least for spring and summer. This is one of the few fragrances with a coffee note where I can actually detect coffee – and it smells delicious paired with caramel. I also feel fig leaf and pear quite pronouncedly, with cedar, musk, and vanilla leaving a faint soft residue after 5-6 hours. Nice pick-me-up scent for mild weather, suitable for the office, lunch date, or grabbing a coffee with friends. A bit dreamy, a bit zesty. My favorite of the three “Balades”.

Not a fresh perfume to my nose rather a creamy gourmand. The fig is the fruit, fig, not aromatic leaves and the whole affair is nectary, like a ripe sweet pear, or a liqueur of cafe-creme-caramel and fruit. It's not a sugar blast, but it is sweet. For 5 USD, it might suprise some as an unexpectedly convincing perfume, unless they are fans of the brand and know it can bring it for under 10 bucks rather often. I've directly compared it to Illicit Green Opium YSL. They are similar, though the YSL has a smoother, more sophisticated blend and Saint-Germain is brighter, fruitier and more cheerful. Illicit Green lasts longer, too, and is lovely in the dry down. And costs 20x more than Café à Saint-Germain. I like this bargain commodity. A fragrance for Indian Summer or sunny autumn days.

Lovely soft sweet pear! Smells heavenly, alas lasts one hour or so, a little better performance on clothes. It has been my to-go bed perfume, after a nice shower, to feel fuzzy and fall asleep in the sweetest pear vanilla juice. I’m not sure I’d repurchase it because, even if the price is very low, there are even better choices in the price range.