Taste of Kiss

Afnan-Modest Deux Pour Femme is slowly, but surely creeping to the number one position of my collection. With over 120 fragrances and many (already sampled) wishlisters on top of that, this is saying something. Modest II is often called "the more elegant" version of Lancôme La Nuit Trésor, though I think it's a tad less polarising since it misses the incense note and has a few more sweets in its pyramid. Having said that, they're definitely very, very close in vibe (and I love both). Why am I babbling about a Middle Eastern perfumes when this is about La Rive Taste of Kiss? Well, ToK is said to be a dupe for the La Nuit, but it's almost a 100% copy of the Afnan fragrance! My new batch of La Rive goodies arrived late this afternoon and around 8pm I couldn't hold it anymore... despite having promised myself to let the poor perfumies rest from their heavy travels - La Rive fragrances notoriously stink, literally and figuratively, if they've bounced from stock room to truck to post office to delivery van to home. Just like my V.A.E EDP's I usually let them sit for a few weeks. Sometimes after a spray or 2 in the air, sometimes not even opening it. But my Angel dupe test called La Rive River of Love had been such a surprisingly good...eh...surprise on its 1st try with less than 24hrs of rest that I couldn't help myself. I wanted to know if ToK was any good. After all, it is sold in several stores (ranging from €6.99 to €8.99, with 11,- and 15 euro giftsets including deodorants or showergels too) for very little whereas Modest Deux Pour Femme is much harder to find and costs, at its cheapest, around €32,-. Now, I might have a pretty extensive collection, but that's all build up from severely discounted fragrances/Middle Eastern perfumes/dupe houses/old stock sellers/2nd hand purchases, with several travel size bottles thrown in the mix. Your girl needs to watch the euros - and I can only buy in rather special moments*. Getting the same, glorious addictive smell from Taste of Kiss, even though the bottle hasn't rested yet (I know it'll get stronger) makes me really happy. The pretty perfume bottle - La Rive actually has cute packaging! - contains a dark juice that creates a scent on your skin reminiscent of both colour and packaging: it's a red fruit chocolaty gem of an opening that flows into a mix of thick vanilla, a hint of patchouli (very lightly) with some luscious caramel and a slight flower note. The strawberry note that's so strong from the opening to the heart (I actually get a mixture of red fruits, the strawberry but also some forest fruits) loses most of its strength in the dry down but a soft touch remains. Also important: there was zero alcohol in the opening. Cheapies can have huge clouds in the opening in the beginning, sometimes even keeping that a bit. Taste of Kiss just offers yummy perfume. The dry down, the end result on my skin, differs from both the Lancôme and the Afnan fragrance, whereas the 1st hour was pretty much identical save from minor details. Both are stronger and deeper, with the Lancome more sensual and more chocolate-incens-y and the Afnan much fruitier. However, to my surprise the longevity is pretty much identical and if you consider the difference in price tag that's rather bizarre. My skin is very dry and due to meds also very acidic. That influences performance very negatively on all accounts. I would also like to repeat that this fragrance hasn't gotten the treatment I give all my purchases normally: rest and recuperation, meaning a spray and some maceration in a dark, cool environment. I'll edit if big changes occur in a month or so. Taste of Kiss' first spray on my hand lasted a good 5 hours in the current Dutch soft winter weather ( which means it belongs to my Top 10 best performers at the moment - counting its scent siblings as one - together with La Rive River of Love, Ysl Libre, Zara Golden Decade, Zara Violet Blossom, Armaf Club de Nuit Intense, Ard Al Zaafaran Romancea, JPG La Belle Le Parfum, Lattafa Khamrah and Police Shock-In-Scent. Though temperature, treatment & hormones have a tendency to scr*w with this list). However, after the first jubilant minutes ToK seems to lose a lot of 'mojo' and while the process from opening to dry down remains on decent scent level, it does become a skin scent very quickly afterwards. As said, it'll stay long on your skin then, but you'll need to get your nose close to the source. As a result projection and sillage are sadly below average: rather intimate. Slightly contradictory, but maybe S and P are harder to test than (L)ongevity based on one spray. I'll update this too once the juice has "cooked" a bit more. Despite the fact Taste of Kiss hasn't the strongest projection from the looks of it, and its fragrance twinnies are a bit better, I can't imagine that this La Rive won't be a staple on my dresser/cupboard shelves. I have much more expensive fragrances that perform worse (equal S/P, but less L), not to mention the fact that I simply really love the smell - such a lovely mature gourmand! Sexy, sensual with a hint of playfulness (if the fruits come through on your skin). I think it'll perform best in autumn and winter, being too heavy for warm weather. I do think - if you're the type - this could easily be worn during the day, leisure or even office, but I'm also sure many a woman/ man will label this "date night material". It can be both, but yeah: it would be on the forefront of my mind when choosing a date fragrance. Another point in its favour is the fact I have high hopes for its strength. As in, maturing to a heavier, stronger projecting perfume in the coming weeks. Case in point: My Eternal Kiss was a weak blegh of a mess and I thought it would be a 'round archive' purchase. Three weeks later it was a honey-orangeblossom bomb that I now use frequently alone, or as a layer with Zara's Rich/Warm/Addictive and any other perfume that smells wonderful with an extra honey note. The River of Love (RoL) didn't give me any honey on first try. Now 2 days later I do get an obvious honey accord in the opening and more fruit as well, making it more well rounded and stronger too. Long story short: Taste of Kiss is worth every single penny. While I've not tested my now rather extensive La Rive collection in total (I got 12, with 10 new ones this week) I consider Taste of Kiss currently the top fragrance of the brand, together with RoL. Eternal Kiss is good too, but a tad too one note - ish. I honestly wonder how they're able to create such good Edp's for such a low price! Makes you wonder how much £€$¥ the designer & niche brands are actually making off of us - but that's a different discussion;). I'm going to use this particular La Rive to my hearts content and will most likely get a new one - preferably a set with showergel or something - once this one is finished, especially as long as I stay obsessed with the scent profile. I'm even thinking of mailing the brand to ask if they have plans to discontinue/reformulate so I'll know when/if to get backups. If you like La Nuit Tresor or Modest Deux Pour Femme, or at least know you like this scent profile/ the notes together then Taste of Kiss is a safe and happy blind buy. It's a very nice fragrance with decent longevity too (projection TBD later after extensive testing) and for those with a mostly empty bank account after primary living deductions it's an excellent way to smell expensive on a very small budget. EDIT: March 24th 2023. Unlike many of its La Rive siblings Taste of Kiss didn't significantly change after it sat on my vanity for a while. The quality is similar. Longevity still good, unless it's really cold, with a relatively intimate projection and sillage. The praline note is strongest, the fruity notes have diminished a tad. No alcohol cloud. I'm now over half of the bottle and unless I find a better cheap dupe of TLN (it certainly isn't a clone, but it has similar vibe) I'll add another bottle to my collection come next Fall. (* I'm rather ill, which can mean medical food at times. That's reimbursed, saving me a bit of grocery money. The deal I made with myself, is that these €€ are allowed - when possible- to go to fun things, like social events once I'm 'better', or to f.e. perfume, giving a positive swing to it all.)

🖤🖤🖤🖤I wore this today for the first time since summer and I got more compliments on it than any perfume that I have worn in a long time and I wear many beautiful perfumes. 💜💜💜💜A guy in the elevator literally told me that I smelled like a goddess. When I got to work my friend ran over to me to ask me what I was wearing. When I went to the ladies room there was a few girls in there and they were like oh my God what do you have on you smell so delicious.🍬 When I got on the bus to get home the bus driver told me that I smelled like a dessert.🍧🍨 What an incredible experience to have this many people compliment me on this inexpensive perfume. I adore this perfume with all my heart 🖤and soul. This is my second review just to let y'all know that I've received so many compliments on this scent these people cannot be wrong. Get you some of this magical scent. It's a tropical🍓strawberry 🍦vanilla toffee 🍮caramel tad bit sweet warm creamy seductive luscious juicy lychee its a decadent masterpiece. I cannot stop sniffing my wrists. And the great thing is about this perfume I get wiffs of it periodically and the smell is buttery bakery decadent. But it's not too sweet of a perfume.🍐 It's just perfect. I am so for joy to have and I've got a few more bottles in case it gets discontinued. It's a very mysterious sexy scent. It is excellent for colder weather. Thank you for reading Merry 🎄 Christmas to you dear one. May Jesus heal you 😊

This is a beautiful perfume that does not smell as cheap as the price I paid for it. I'm very happy with this as an everyday fragrance. The strength and longevity are pretty good, however it never seems to reach the base notes. The first spray is very strong and fruity. I get mostly pear and bergamot. I don't know the other fruit, however it is a strong citrus that comes across. In the middle and throughput most of the fragrance it's a sweet strawberry. It's very lovely and I think I like this phase the best. I also get a rose and some other indiscernible flowers, but it mostly goes gourmand after a while and I get praline and caramel. Patchouli is also there but very much as a side-note. This lasts a long time. The base notes are practically non-existant. If I put my nose to my wrist, I get a very faint woodiness and vanilla. I reapplied 3 times today, so as to get those middle noes again. The third time I decided to add some base to it . I layered with Al Rehab Al Sharqaih And wow! This totally amps up the whole fragrance. It mixes really well. Now the incense is there from the attar and it has turned this one into a bomb of a fragrance, lol. To sum up, this is a beautiful fragrance on it's own for the price point and for wearing on a daily basis. I do not know La Nuit Trésor, so cannot vouch for the similarity. However, if you like sweet gourmandy fragrances, you won't go wrong with this.

If La Rive has any what I'd call "powerhouse perfumes", this is one of them (and I have a fairly well informed informed opinion owning 21 of them, including several of the men's for my husband). For me, it has projection, sillage AND longevity which a lot of the La Rive's just don't have but of course I didn't know that before I bought it, I bought it because of a review from last year referring to it as the "french whore perfume" and that amuses me to no end. My taste varies but I lean towards lighter florals, which this is not, its deep, rich and warm and yes, you could use the word delicious. If I can smell myself for hours afterwards without touching myself with my nose, that's a good perfume and with this one I can. As to whether or not it really smells like La Nuit Tresor... The notes are supposed to match, I own both and bought LNT because I loved this, they are very, very similar to me but I honestly reach for Taste of Kiss far more often. I would totally buy it again if I needed to. 10/10

🖤🖤🖤Good HEAVEN this scent is DIVINE! The black rose is prominent when I first spray it but it changes fast into a scrumptious dessert. Its been on my skin for about 10 minutes and I smell the most beautiful 🍓 strawberry and litchi with creamy yummy vanilla.🍦 Oh my gosh this scent is scrumptious I cant get enough of it. I feel like I am in a cold dark forrest at night surrounded by the warmth of a balmy bonfire 🔥eating real vanilla bean ice cream 🍧🍨🍦with creamy thick, gooey caramel drizzling on top of passionfruit ans tart fresh sweet 🍓 strawberries with praline and I even get a whiff of cocoa from the vanilla orchid so YUMMY T.his is easily going to be one of my signature scents its so bewitchingly mysterious . 🍭 A sweet dessert in a bottle. I am floored how inexpensive this was on ebay. Mmmmm I am in heaven if you have not tried this you should if you like deep warm dark sensual scents.