Minaudière Oud

I really wanted to love Minaudière Oud. The scent itself is just as I expected from reading the notes--a lovely oud and jammy rose, with a hint of orchid and plum underneath, which makes for an intoxicating combo. Sadly, the longevity on my skin is non-existent. I tested it on the inside of my elbow, where I have the best luck with all fragrances, and not even this could sustain it. The true scent is revealed within the first minute of spritzing, but after only ten minutes of wear, it begins to die down and fade away on my skin. It becomes barely a whisper of a skin scent, which in itself, only lasts an hour on me. I am normally okay with re-applying fragrances, but not every 10 minutes. Minaudière Oud, a fleeting beauty. If you're looking for a similar fragrance that is BEAST MODE material, I suggest Juicy Couture's Majestic Woods, Montale's Intense Cafe and Lancome's La Nuit Tresor.

I just got my bottle of the JL Minaudiere Oud. I expect my opinion will change after this sits on the shelf for 3-4 months. Lieber perfumes always improve with time and getting some air into the bottle. Right now it's a safe, sort of boring meh for me. I was expecting a loud, bold, sensous sort of oudy-smokey frag, only to be used for date night and evening events. This is instead a light, lovely, totally daytime and office appropriate Spring/Summer scent. My first thought is it reminds me of a berry custard, or berries and cream. That would be the plum, but somehow it reminds me of blackberries, though not tart, rather creamy and velvety smooth. I don't usually enjoy berry scents, but this one is very subtle and mature. I get a slight rose as this warms on the skin. Sweet, but barely sweetened. It does get a bit smokier the longer it's worn, but not campfire smokey, it's a whisp of a smoke fume on a gentle breeze. I expect once this one rests on my shelf a few months, the powdery and smoky aspects may become more pronounced. It is pleasant, inoffensive, different than the slightly masculine, heavy, boozy, tobacco-rich frags, sultry dry leathers and the dated chypres I adore, but I'm not mad at it. Berry is perfect for Summer, so I'm going to call this one a Summer scent for now. It's a nice daily wear that won't gas anybody into oblivion.

I had a 5 ml decant of Minaudiere Oud by Judith Leiber. Of all notes, I can clearly smell raspberry, rose, black pepper, vanilla orchid with a prominent oud accord. Moderate projection, but good longevity on my skin (6-7 hours). It's a heavy and sweet scent, good for autumn and winter. I personally do not like this perfume.