La African Drummer

*No Judgement Zone* I was at the fragrance swap and someone insisted I try this. I sd no thank you. She persisted anyway. I didn't like the bottle I had no interest in trying. It was like the same way someone trys to encourage you to taste a new food but you refuse. Well, the lady ignored me. She made me a decant and put it in my hand. Oh-emm-gee! She sd she paid $40 but this smells like it was $200. I HAD to order my first Lataafa, bc baybee....this African Drummer was drumming the beat to my soul. Great performance, great projection, and good price point....20 out of 10! 🪘

This fragrance is a love for me. It's absolutely delicious, creamy and inviting and comforting. Now you have to love florals because the Jasmine is like a real Jasmine flower. It's heavy on. Jasmine. If you want a beautiful, sophisticated, creamy tropical coconut floral scent, this is your girl. The coconut in here is like young coconut meat. That sweetness is not sweet like candy. The projection is amazing when I first wore it and that was on the first day that I got it so it hadn't even set yet. My husband was like wow you smell absolutely sexy and delicious.

(I'll preface this by saying that I absolutely cannot be trusted when it comes to coconut notes when not in a solinote fragrance. If you add florals into the mix my nose completely misses any coconut. So, I don't smell it here. But my husband said "you smell like holidays!" so, I'm guessing some may pick up on this.) La African Drummer is an intoxicating, syrupy white floral that really comes alive in the heat. I wore this nearly every day in a hot country. Very floral, intense and heady. It's SEXY. It projects and it performs. You WILL be noticed!

This was a hate at frist spray. But wait...I gave it a second, a third, a fourth chance and aaaaah, I ended up loving it. It's so fresh and clean. It's perfect for summer and even mornings when most fragrances smell like 'too much' for me. It gives the vibes of clean wet hair and holidays. It's lovely, and take it from someone that is not a massive fan of coconut. It's not a gourmand coconut but some coconut water with flowers and I agree it's on the Terracotta kinda fragrance. Love it.

Very nice scent but I have to say I love Lattafa. They did it again with this beauty. Coconut opening with musk. Then the orange flower and tiare blossoms comes trough. Really makes me think of a African drummer. In a very beautiful way. À very warm and flowery scent there is something tropical about it. I can see me wearing this in the summer. It needs some maceration I think. I hope it stays a long time on my skin. Will update for the longevity.

I am totally hooked about this fragrance. Its a bit sweet, much to my nose oriental, also soft or tender, I have been looking for a great Oriental Floral for a some time already without finding it. This one is different enough to be for me an Oriental beauty. Yes, it is not fresh but it is like how a Northern woman could imagine warm oriental night with sweetness exotic smells. I do absolutely adore this scent. Give it a try. <3

This perfume is so so beautiful. It’s loud and long lasting. I’ve seen nothing but mixed reviews everywhere so I didn’t blind buy. Went to a store and picked it up and it smelled so expensive. I love this one. If you like the type of jasmine used in valentino Donna born in roma intense, then you’ll like this fragrance too. It’s heavy on the jasmine, ylang ylang, musk and vanilla. It’s a love for me 🥰🥰🥰🥰

This is a very sweet, pretty fragrance that projects. Loud white florals and a sunscreen kinda vibe that I usually don’t like, but it works here, I think it’s gorgeous. My husband, however, hates it. If this perfume was a person, he’d fist fight it. That kind of hate! Oh well, I’ll call this perfume my secret lover and wear it when he’s not around.

This is fragrance is NUCLEAR. I’ve layered it once with another fragrance and La African Drummer is all I smelled. My fiancée just wore it to class today and she said it filled the whole classroom and the teacher even mentioned the “sweet” smell. 1 to 2 sprays is all you need for this fragrance to last 6-8 hours.

Let me just say I love her. I got this as a dupe for Lust for Sun JHAG and she is a star. It did start off a little sharp but I have put her away for several months and now shes smooth as silk. I have JHAG lust for sun and the side by side is very nice. I would def buy this again.

Mmm! Sunshine in a bottle. You must like Jasmine and musk. I’d say best suited for spring and summer. It gives me such a spring break/beachy vibe. Kinda reminds me of discontinued glam jasmine by Michael Kors with added creaminess. The dry down is soft, creamy, elegant. ☀️

A stronger, better performing, more affordable Terracotta by Guerlain. A ylang and jasmine bomb. Absolutely right up my street. Wouldn't say its a safe blind buy unless you love Terracotta and that tropical, heavy yellow floral DNA.

A chewy banana-coconut Starburst, if that flavor existed, complete with the plastic wrapper, summer flowers and musk like salty sea spray and sand. My coconut-hating daughter always compliments me when I wear it. ☺

There is nothing masculine here. Very feminine tender coconut and jasmine but with a good silage and longevity. Good for all seasons.

This is a heady, tropical floral perfume with nuclear performance! I have heard comparisons with Mancera's Coco Vanille and D&G The Only One Intense, but I can assure you, it is neither of those. This is very very close to Juliette has a Gun - Lust for Sun, but much stronger in projection and performance (you can also check the notes listed under each and see that it is almost one for one). What it smells like if you are not familiar with the scent ? A very strong white floral with a tropical feel, backed by a smooth coconut and a sweet base. The fragrance is not sweet, simply nicely rounded with the coconut and the sweetness of the vanilla. I think it needs slight maceration as the first applications for me were too strong and it felt slightly vintage-y - think of 80's powerhouse floral perfumes. The floral note that stands out to me is gardenia (although not listed), followed by jasmine, and these are the two stars of the show.

This smells very close to BORA BORA from Giardini di Toscana. That costs £120 retail this is around £20. I’ve seen poor reviews for this fragrance and I, like so many others on here don’t really like yellow floral notes and my review on fragrantica for Bora Bora highlights that as jasmine heavy fragrances remind me of old ladies. That being said this smells better than Bora Bora as the jasmine is not as dense. I got this in a Lattafa pride set of 5 for £20 as I had no idea at the time that it was so close to Bora Bora. If you like jasmine and yellow floral notes then this is strong and lasts a long time on clothes. I tested on a strip and it lasted days. Everyone has their own taste in fragrances so what someone hates others love.

I purchased this fragrance several months ago, and at first, this fragrance several months ago, and at first I wouldn't say I liked it. I let it sit to macerate for several months, only to revisit it in time for the warmer weather. It's a good springtime scent. It's a creamy coconut floral fragrance that isn't sweet; it's more floral, and I like it. You only need 3 sprays and the price point was good. I have to say that Lataffa is stepping up their game.

This one is what the note breakdown says : florals with coconut. The opening is a blast of fresh coconut, jasmine and flowers. It is not overdone, not screechy and after the opening, it dries down to a really pleasant scent of bright yellow flowers and the coconut tones down. Year round frag that some men could pull off but it is mainly feminine.

Χρειάζεται περίπου 1 μήνα για να ωριμάσει και να στρώσει η μυρωδιά!! Μυρίζει έντονα γιασεμί (ειδικά στην αρχή) και μετά αποκαλύπτονται και οι υπόλοιπες νότες! Μου θυμίζει τη μυρωδιά από τα γιασεμιά που φέρνει το καλοκαιρινό αεράκι στο χωριό! Αν δεν σου αρέσει όμως αυτό το λουλούδι...το άρωμα δεν είναι για εσένα!

This is definitely a beachy scent. Not sunscreen coconut but very fresh coconut meat in the background of fresh yellow florals. Borderlines headachey for me at first but the dry down is very nice. Same vein of Lost in Paradise but not a match. Paris well with other vanillas and sweeter ground and oil perfumes.

If i stuck to the comments, I would have never purchased this. Well I did anyways and I really like it. I get a smooth blend of coconut and ylang ylang. Smells like a tropical body wash. Pairs nicely with Montaigne signature.

Gave it to my sister as a gift, she likes it alot (not a perfume person) mainly because it just smells like an exotic coconut shampoo. im not that deep into womens perfumes to know better but to me it smells great

On me, this is an indolic jasmine-forward fragrance. The coconut, musk and vanilla are the "supporting players". It comes off as a summery "maneater" type of fragrance.

It makes me feel akin to Momo (Gyaru) from the anime "Peach Girl." Like, I am on the swim team. Smells like I got back from being at the pool/beach for the day.

My wife like it a lot. Sweet feminine fragrance. Remind me when I was a kid my Sister has this kind of smell so it's nostalgic for me.

it's OK, but can later be shifted to a dislike. update: 5 days of wearing and still no bergamot, still retro and much closer to dislike/hate than neutral. Lasts 7h on my skin. Summer/sunscreen vibe detected. Which makes me wonder where to wear it. I mean , yeah- anywhere. But it's like...to the beach? To the office? The opening is strong and I cannot get rid of something pharmacy in it which I cannot detect. It reminds me of a muscle pain relief gel that warms up. - Coconut: don't get any (unless we say sunscreen = coconut) - Bergamot: don't think I get any (well, if to try really REALLY hard I can catch it...or imagine I caught it). - Jasmine- yes. - Ylang-ylang/ musk- ok, so there's something in this fragrance that appears almost at the very start and lasts till the very end. Something very disturbing and brain drilling. It's either ylang-ylang or musk. And this is on the edge of a headache. - Ambroxan- no, I don't get it. I usually do in other fragrances, but not here. - Granny note- yes, it's not on the list, but I can clearly feel it. Huge no for a blind buy. Headache inducing warning.

I had high expectations for this fragrance. I love every note that there's described in here. I was expecting a tropical, fresh, coconuty and fruity fragrance...and it is not it. This, although it's smells tropical, it's heavy and dense. Not suited at all for a warm tropical climate. It's an ambery fragrance and it has a strong scratchy citrus note... but amber is not listed as a note so I don't know where is this heaviness coming from but it is probably from the floral notes. It's a very strange perfume. It will definitely change with the maceration because it's almost like the ingredients are not blended and the musk needs to get airier and the scratchy citrus needs to go. I am not very fond of it currently.

I bought this because of the comments comparing this to The only one Intense... This is a truthful review... It smells nothing like D&G, this is a dry coconut bomb. I'm getting rubber coconuts burning on a campfire with some yellow florals on top lol.... I'm going to try layering it with something pinapple to make it more wearable... on a good note I'm not detecting any oud in the mix and the bottle is beautiful... This purchase made my decision to buy a backup bottle of The Only One Intense because it's getting very hard to find and it's a masterpiece imo. Update: 3 hour dry down the smoky note has turned into a toasted coconut. Definite beach vibes!

It was immediately Yes for me. From the beautiful presentation, the box, the bottle, the little catalogue it came with, to the fragrance itself. Tropical, creamy, coconutty, heartwarming fragrance. It really reminds me of Borabora by GDT. Indeed, there is something in it that makes it somewhat “retro”, something “burnt” so I thought must be tonka but it’s not listed. I don’t mind because that’s what creates interest for me and makes it standout from the likes. And that price is unbeatable of course. I can’t comment much on dry down and longevity but will update my review in the future if I remember to.

Opening is absolutely disgusting: old fashioned sharp indolic yellow floral. But if you’re patient enough and do not scrub it off immediately- you will get the soft creamy coconut. Longevity is fine, projection and silage as well in the first hour or two, but then it dries down to skin scent. My bottle is new - I hope it gets better with age. Not a miss but for now nothing to write home about

Not a fan. No sweetness, too musky which I am not a fan of. Can be annoyingly linear if oversprayed. Just not for me.

Ylang-ylang musk and a hint of jasmine. Synthetic, soapy, fresh and somewhat sharp. Good sillage and longitivity.

Ufff I just got this in the mail, and my first impressions aren't good!!! It smells scratchy, sharp and old-lady-like. I don't get any coconut, just sharp pissy incredibly uncomfortable ylang-ylang. I really wanted a summer tropical-vibes perfume and I have never been dissappointed by Lattafa Pride yet, but this is not good so far. It actually makes me vomit. I had to scrub it off of my wrist (it's strong as hell). I will have faith in it and let it macerate for some time, hopefully by the time summer hits I'll be able to get some smooth coconut out of it.

On my skin, it was a coconut soapy and very synthetic . I was wearing it one time and my husband came home from work and asked me if I spilled vinegar on myself . After that all I smelled was vinegar and creamy synthetic coconut shampoo/conditioner . I had to declutter. I really wanted it to work but that was a huge no. I have this issue with Lattafa’s fragrances , so far I can say I only like two of like 12 I tried . They’re SO synthetic it hurts my nose

I just got this and it smells like bathroom cleaner on my skin... i don’t get much coconut. All I get is a tonne of citrus and sharp jasmine. As it dries down, the scent becomes more pleasant but it still has that lingering disinfectant smell. I tried layering it with yara tous and I think they work together. I’m gonna let it macerate for a while then check back on it.

I couldn’t decide on this when I blind bought this on sale. Smells like ‘clean’ fresh coconut shampoo but also smells like the shampoo that belongs to a grandma? I used it as a room spray but in the end I decluttered as it gave me a headache

I really wanted to like this - coconut, bergamot, jasmine and ylang-yland, what's not to love? - but it's just giving me strong acetone vibes. It is going into the 're-home' pile.

I don't get any tropical vibe, no coconut or ylang, also no musk. Just a lot of jasmine / somewhat pissy smell. Bought a FB but send it back after sampling, disappointing.

Jasmine and cleaning solution. One spray and not good. Like all fragrances that I dislike, this one is beast mode with a single spray. Buyer beware.

Smells like Queen of the Night flower and a dose of coconut milk. Very heady white floral. Not for me

Smells like Tom Ford Soleil Blanc for the first 10min and then smells like a urinal cake.

It’s giving full grandma experience on me.

This perfume is so disgusting to my nose and i tried, oh boy did I try it again and again over about a 6 month period and it never got better. I didn't smell any of the notes. This is one of my worst blind buys out of my 250+ bottles... It was an immediate scrubber and this scent would not wash off! It reminds me of a spicy old-'off' perfume that my grandmother would have in her bathroom for years and years and dust covered the bottle that rested in some old potpourri... I wish everyone that I just got a bad bottle!!

It smells bad. Like i was pissed at the notes vs what I actually received. Those are not the notes. It smells sharp and perfumey. I can’t even detect ANYTHING LISTED EVEN IN THE DRY DOWN. I have Lattafa perfumes. This particular one SUCKS. I can’t tell you how it even smells other than a sharp perfumey scrubber.

Smells like an expired suntan lotion that someone spilled cough syrup on and then rubbed some type of poisonous plant on to. Totally vile. I don’t even know why Lattafa makes this. It’s pungent af, headache inducing, and smells super cheap & awful. Waste of money. Lattafa makes some weird shit man.

Hate is a strong word but genuinely had to scrub it off, it smells like a basic woman's mist, even those smell better.

I purchased this back in September. I sprayed out the nozzle, replaced the cap, and have let it sit. It's now March, so this fragrance has been able to oxidize/macerate (depending on your side of the fence) for six months. The Result: There is no screechiness. The entire effect is buttery rich, almost gourmand. Picture a glorious white wedding cake sitting on the dais of a beachfront resort, created for a tropical getaway ceremony. The cake is a buttery golden yellow covered in expansive waves of rich coconut buttercream and adorned with large blooms of tiare flowers, tuberose, and jasmine. Balmy breezes from the sea glide over the party throughout the reception, carrying soft bits of the sugary tropical floral dessert. This is definitely a hot weather fragrance and I can tell that it will bloom in the heat. It smells amazing and is very niche-quality. Niche-quality for less than $30? I must be exaggerating, right? Not at all. Traditionally, for a maker of any good to make a profit, they're either going to charge you a premium for their time, efforts (manufacturing and marketing), and ingredients, OR they're going to use more inferior ingredients and/or compromise in the area of skill. ME frags have blown the industry wide open because they have upended this accepted trade-off and instead created a new one that, if you can get with it, will result in being able to buy some fantastic quality frags for much less. ME frags don't compromise ingredients or skill, but the trade-off is in time and marketing. In terms of time? In order to be profitable, ME frag makers push their frags out the door quickly, which means the traditional aging of the perfume happens in the coziness of your home, rather than being done by the maker before sending it your way. Considering this, I have learned not to buy the new hotness perfume right when it is released. For instance, I have my eye on Paris Corner's version of Kayali Boujee Marshmallow, but I'll wait. I have also learned to think ahead---I now buy my ME spring/ summer frags in fall/winter and vice versa. I also don't take the first sniff upon opening too seriously because it will change over time. The general sweet spot seems to be 3-4 months. For those who are upset by this, perhaps ME frags are not for you, and that is okay. After all, they could start aging it for you, hire a marketing team, and invest in fancy advertisements and focus groups to create stunning bottles...but then they'd have to charge you more—considerably more because the frag is worth it when you compare it to all of the designer drags on the market and many of the niches.

Heady, tropical white floral, like an Extreme Intense Elixir version of Jovan Island Gardenia. Absolutely my favorite type of scent. Going to let this rest a month and revisit around the summer solstice...could be a fantastic summer scent! White florals without tuberose, definitely get the ylang ylang. Love it already but expect it to improve. EDIT: What is going on with the "This perfume reminds me of" section? I can see the similarity with Lust for Sun, Soleil Blanc (but I prefer LAD), Vanilla Coco 21 (but LAD is much more floral), and even The Only One EDP intense, sort of. Haven't got my nose on A Chant for the Nymph or the Yves Rocher perfume. BUT...the rest of the Reminds Me Of scents have nothing to do with LAD. They seem to be there only because of their names. Come on, people, some of us actually rely on the Reminds Me Of section because we are making blind buys or don't trust our own appraisal. Don't add junk references just to be cute. It's puerile. But at least on Fragrantica we have the right to post anything without censorship! Even if it's silly! That is why I love this site. AXE deodorants? Seriously? Oh my goodness, grow up. I disagree but love that here you still have the right to post whatever you think!

Hmm...I wonder how much of the unnecessarily negative reviews are due to conscious or subconscious biases toward the imagery on the front of the bottle and the name especially in these times when such biases have become accepted and normalized once again because history repeats itself. The only way to know would be to do a blind test. It is interesting to note that I have been on this board for 13 years now and I have not seen other perfumes trashed to the extent of the vitriol directed toward this perfume, including some that were indeed designed to be "vile" such as Secretions Magnifique. Real World Fact: It's a tiare, jasmine sambac, and white musk combo heavy on the ambroxan with a hint of coconut. No more, no less. It's not niche level, but it's not horrendous either. It's $22 on most perfume retail sites. Very much plug and play. It's truly not deserving of all of the polarizing opinon and hatred....but again...we will never know what leads to such a strong sentiment from quite a few...because a basic coconut/tropical white floral surely is not the cause.

Edit it's growing on me a lot. It's super simple, almost soapy white floral with a hint of sweetness but it's growing on me loads in this heat. It's much lighter and less dense than Qaed Al Fursan. I just wish the opening lasted longer. This smelled like Qaed Al Fursan Unlimited at first spray, just with more bergamot. I could smell the coconut, but then the jasmine came out strong and the coconut faded quickly and they smelled nothing alike. It's got a very strong jasmine note. It's pretty much just jasmine, musk and a citrus top note. I was given it as a gift, I like it and will use it up over the summer, it's definitely a hot weather only scent for me. Too summery and fresh for winter. It'll pair well with lots of other things though so I will definitely get some good use out of it in this hot weather. It might need to be left until next summer though because there's a very strong alcohol blast and not much perfume, so I think it needs to mature.