Sérénade aux Fraises

I received this as a lovely bonus sample when I purchased a sample bundle off Mercari. I was not expecting my favorite of all of the samples to be the one I had never purchased or intended to receive. This is such an amazing, flirty, jammy, strawberry perfume. If you love gourmand/sweet scents that are more jammy/boozy/mature, then you will ADORE Serenade. The strawberry and rose come out in a burst that fills your nose! It's sweet but light, not too cloying. The violet leaf and passionfruit help too balance and prevent the scent from being too sweet. The plum joins towards the transition to the middle, and that's where fleeting whiffs of the rose becomes more prominent. The musk starts to peek out during the heart phase of this lovely fragrance, and yet the strawberry manages to stay consistent throughout this fragrance in a way that really surprises me! The drydown is a lovely finish of sweet, medicinal oud, sandalwood, and vanilla. The strawberry and plum softly whispering in the background, still there and still tangible. I cannot wait to get my hands on this incredible scent once Kyse restocks.

Doesn’t smell what the notes represent to be honest. Lots of people recommend this as an alternative to Burberry Her or for those looking for something that represents a strawberry milkshake. It doesn’t qualify as an option for neither. I like Serenade honestly, but I sold my bottle because it was just okay and I only keep Loves in my fragrance collection. If you are familiar with washing your hair with the original Herbal Essences, then step out of the shower and your hair keeps the scent for hours.. That is Serenade bottled up. It is not particularly strawberry dominant to me, it’s just fruity and fresh and clean and I think this could be really popular with the young crowd if it gained in popularity. So when you see those creamy, vanilla notes listed, don’t fall for it. One that is berries and whipped cream and spoonfuls of sugar is Signorina Misteriosa. Serenade is fruity and light. Unless you like the idea of a fragrance that smells like Herbal Essences lingering in your hair after a shower, I suggest a 2 mL sample first.

Just getting my second 6ml sample bottle of this, I went thru my last one in less than 3 weeks which says a lot since it’s very strong (to me) in both silage, projection and even longevity. You have to not let yourself take a deep sniff of this until around the 10 minute mark, and that is where the magic begins. It’s extremely strawberry forward for a good hour or so then deepens and smooths itself out to a creamy and dreamy little dessert. I’ve tried about 3/4 of the Kyse catalog and I’ve grown to like and even love a good portion of my samples. If you love gourmands try these: Delizia di Marshmallow - my absolute #1 from this house and probably #3 overall of all my other fragrances (designer, niche and so on) Praline Au Caramel - supposed to closely mirror Sol De Janeiro Bum Bum Cream original, and it does but good lord it is so much richer, sweeter and longer lasting BonBon A La Vanille - Extrait strength grown up gourmand of rich vanilla with just enough sweet and savory

Sotd: Kyse Strawberry Serenade. A collaboration with fragrance reviewer Joseph Sagona. Sagona lends his successful main stream focus to this fruity floral gourmand entry from Kyse. SS opens up with a big, ripe strawberry and a fresh dewey violet leaf for freshness. The violet leaf keeps Serenade from veering into a strawberry shampoo cliche. Soon a big dollop of sweet cream adds richness and hard to detect plum adds depth. The Moroccan rose signals the heart as the Tahitian Vanilla lends an exotic gourmand edge. The warm musk and black oud in the drydown brings an unexpected surprise and sensuality to SS. A very on trend fragrance at the moment, reminding me of the popular 70s strawberry fragrance 'Babe' by Faberge. A lot of us secretly long for a strawberry fragrance that does not descend into teenybopper strawberry shortcake dolls. Strawberry Serenade is sexy, playful, and bound to revamp an evil villanesses reputation.

Primarily strawberry, but the other notes are still detectable. This house does gourmands like no other. When I first smelled it, I thought it smelled like a strawberry soda, almost effervescent. I'm currently stuck on Kyse's Delizia de Marshmallow as my personal fragrance. However, I'm putting this one on tissue paper, then putting the tissue paper in my desk drawers at work so whenever I open my drawer I get a whiff. Anything to make my day at the office more luxurious and pleasant! I don't usually layer fragrances, but this one layers REALLY well with chocolate scents. But then again, who doesn't love strawberries and chocolate... Right now I'm stuck on vanilla for personal fragrance (I go in cycles) but I like this enough, I will probably order it in the foaming bath soap.