Peace & Love

EDIT ON MY ESSAY: 4 hours later, it’s a faint skin scent and I sprayed this probably 12 times. 3 per wrist, 3 on chest, 3 on neck. Buy travel sprays from Amazon and carry with you to refresh every 4 hours. So I learned about this fragrance from Hayley Clough on her channel. I know she's a big fan of Soie Malaquais and it's in her TOP 10 FOR LIFE. If she is saying it's a good ME dupe, I'm going to be comfortable buying this blindly as she has good taste AND it's one of her favorite perfumes. I've never sampled Soie Malaquais. I almost did when I was on Mercari, but people want too much to sample it and along with shipping, it gets a bit wasteful. Also, this perfume is just hard to sample! Dries Van Noten doesn't even have it in stock on their website! So, while I was willing to do a bold, expensive blind buy, I opted for this one first. The notes are definitely not 1:1. This is missing chestnut, cacao, and 'silk'. I'm assuming the almond note was added in lieu to emulate the nuttiness, along with heliotrope to mimic that silky texture. I layered this with Vicious Cacao body lotion to emulate the cacao vibe SM has. It definitely smells niche! It's so interesting how some very common notes put together in a certain way can smell so unique. I get a sweet, powdery quality that's not baby powder, more like a velvety texture of powder. The black current is strongest from the top and it's a juicy, bordering on syrupy black current. The rose and almond together create a very beautiful accord that is floral, sweet and quite nice. The almond is closer to an almond oil fragrance. The bergamot combined with the black current create this fruity, bright, quality that is not a typical fruitiness. This is a refined fruit here intentional to create the dimensions the perfumer wanted to. The vanilla is strong, it's definitely a true, simple vanilla, not a bourbon vanilla or any other type of vanillas they have to use in perfumery. I'm getting strong notes of black current with the bergamot, almond oil with a rose de mai, and a potent heliotrope and vanilla. There is something in this reminiscent of a note in Rosendo Mateu No. 5, that note that almost mimics rubber or motor oil, but it's not offensive here at all, it's actually soft, feminine, and here it creates a unique profile that smells niche, not weird which is how I found it in Babycat and No. 5. I quite like this! Well done, Lattafa! Projection is great, longevity is great. This is a ME perfume I can get behind and will actually wear. The perfume oils here are not synthetic or weird, I know EXACTLY what I'm smelling here and that is usually the telltale sign of synthetics-it smells good, but you have NO IDEA what you're actually smelling. This smells like a $250 niche perfume. Even with Vicious Cacao layered underneath, I don't get much of a cocoa vibe. If there's a chestnut note present in SM, I don't get that type of nuttiness from this perfume. I DO get a silky quality, though. It definitely feels soft, cozy, touchable. Very feminine and not something I'd want to smell on my man. I've smelled probably 1,000 perfumes and can't say I've smelled something like this before. $39 USD well spent! Bottle is super basic; it's better looking than Vintage Radio since it doesn't have a stupid radio on the front. This has a scroll that says Peace & Love. It's definitely not the beautiful bottle of Soie Malaquais, but it'll do for now and I'm not mad about it! At least it's not some gawdy, tacky monstrosity. I highly recommend layering this with a cocoa powder lotion or perfume to get the originals effect. I wore this alone, without Vicious Cacao lotion and it wasn't as NEARLY as good. They realllllly need to add a cacao note to get this perfume right. I bought Vicious Cacao on Mercari for $20. SCENT: 9/10 PROJECTION: 9/10 LONGEVITY: 8/10

I thought Peace&Love would be too soft or without much character, but I really like her and she really does smell like her name. It's a perfume that is clean delicate and feminine, one that whispers rather than screams. Which doesn't mean she doesn't project or have a lasting power. She does perform pretty well straight from the bottle and ai git some compliments the first day I wore it. She feels like a fresh soft hug, if that makes sense. Very work friendly, will leave a nice scent trail behind you without overpowering others. When it comes to notes, I definitely get the initial bergamot, but it's fresh and pleasant, not too strong (I'm normally not a fan of bergamot as it can be overwhelming). The stars of this perfume are blackcurrant and almond though which stay prominent throughout the whole wear. They're clean, cosy with a touch of vanilla sweetness. Luckily, I don't get any rose. She can be layered with many fragrances. I love it with Nebras Elixir, it's a pair made in heaven. It works well with Khair Felicity too. I think she's best worn in warmer season, but it would be just fine in winter too. I might layer her with something heavier then, but then it's important not to overpower her delicate nature as she could disappear completely. Now, as much as I enjoy Peace&Love, I think I could get bored of it quickly if I wore it too often, but I rotate my perfumes a lot, so that's not going to be a problem. I'm really glad I've bought it as I don't have a similar perfume in my collection. I don't mind the bottle and it's quite affordable, so ticks all boxes for me. I wouldn't say it's blind buy safe though, it's not going to be everyone's cup of tea.

I have to eat my words about this one. When I first tried Peace & Love, it came across as quite sharp to my nose. I even looked for layering combinations because I felt it needed something creamier to soften it. Instead of giving up on it, I tucked it away and let it mature for about nine months. What a transformation. Now, the opening is bright with just the right touch of citrus. It’s fresh without being piercing, and it effortlessly leads into the most beautiful drydown. Strangely enough, I hardly perceive the florals individually—they’re so well blended that they simply add elegance and body to the fragrance rather than announcing themselves. The real magic happens on my skin. I get the most addictive sweet, creamy almond wrapped in soft vanilla, heliotrope, and creamy sandalwood. It’s smooth, velvety, subtly powdery, and incredibly comforting without ever becoming overly sweet. The creaminess is absolutely delicious. The scent bubble is gorgeous. It’s not loud or overwhelming; it creates an elegant aura that feels polished, feminine, and effortlessly luxurious. This smells far more expensive than its price suggests and genuinely gives me the impression of wearing a niche fragrance. Most importantly, I cannot stop smelling my skin. It’s one of those perfumes that keeps pulling my wrist back to my nose because it’s simply that addictive. If a fragrance makes me crave smelling myself all day, that’s the highest compliment I can give it. This has gone from being a fragrance I almost overlooked to one that is now completely backup-bottle worthy. Patience truly paid off.

After spending countless hours watching perfume content creators and reading reviews, I finally bought my first Lattafa fragrance! I chose one that doesn’t have much hype, but I couldn’t be happier with it. I’ve never tried Soie Malaquais, but this perfume smells amazing. I first purchased a decant while testing a few Lattafa perfumes, and this one made a lasting impression. I wore each one to the gym, testing them in the harshest conditions, and this was the only one that earned me so many compliments. The dry-down is incredible, turning into something sweet and nutty on my skin. I especially love the powdery vanilla-almond combination! It just smells so good. ❤️ The projection is balanced, not overpowering, but it still announces your presence in a soft, glowing, mysterious way. Some of my gym buddies kept asking me what I was wearing, and a few even said I seemed kinder because of this scent. Even while sweating heavily at the gym, this fragrance still smelled amazing. 💪🏻 To me, this is unisex but leans slightly feminine. If you prefer more masculine scents, you might not enjoy it. And if you’re not into powdery notes, this will definitely turn you off. It’s also a bit polarizing; not linear, but complex, which some people may not fully appreciate. Personally, it works beautifully with my skin. On the other hand, some of Lattafa’s more hyped releases weren’t for me. Fragrances like Liquid Brun and Honor & Glory felt too screechy and generic. That’s why I always recommend trying samples or decants first before committing to a full bottle.

This is an exact, 1:1 dupe for Dries Van Noten Soie Malaquais. I went through a 10 ml dabber bottle of the real thing (it took many months), so I know the OG scent pretty well. As soon as I smelled Peace & Love, the recognition was instant. It's an exact match, an exact replica. Don't listen to those saying, "Oh, it's only 80% of the way there." Maybe, maybe if you compared them side by side you would sense a very very slight difference, but honestly this is the best dupe for any perfume I've smelled. There's a Middle Eastern fragrance boutique in my city that mostly sells dupe brands, so I have tried dozens and dozens and dozens of them. (Honestly, I've probably tried over a hundred at this point since I go there often and wear test frequently, and they consistently rotate out their stock and testers as they sell out of the ones they have.) And honestly, although this may offend people, I have to say that most of the Middle Eastern dupes I've smelled do not come adequately close to the original to be considered a real 1:1 replacement. This is different. If I owned Peace & Love, I would never ever consider buying Soie Malaquais again, that's how close they are. I will say, though, that Peace & Love is stronger than Soie Malaquais. It lasts longer and projects more. So if you don't like "beast mode" powerhouse fragrances, that's something to consider. Otherwise, I truly can't fathom why anyone would spend their money on the original when this dupe is in every way its equal for 10% of the cost. Ten percent! Save your money, buy Peace & Love.