Eau Gourmande Marrons Glaces

Horrific in the opening and continues to disgust me in the dry down... Smells like the most awful, dried potpourri. Maybe I got a bad bottle. Either way, I'm not keeping this. I don't know if I have the courage to try anything else from this brand.

This is really not as sweet [on me] as I was expecting it to be. I thought it would be as sweet as my E. Coudray Vanille et Coco, but it's not even close to that gourmand on my skin. I get a spicier tone with this. Not quite as spicy as Pacifica's Mexican Cocoa, but a nice little kick. I can also see where someone would compare this to spiced apples or even that cinnamon apple room spray (minus the strong artificial apples. It's maybe just a hint of something related to it that makes it smell "round"). I'm not a fan of either, but this one is quite nice after the first initial blast. On paper, I can smell something sligtly buttery, and spicy, with a sprinkling of sugar. On me, I don't get any butter, but I definitely get spice, a slight dryness that tickles my nose, and just a touch of sweetness to keep it from being too sharp and bitter. There's a gentle floral note tip-toeing in the background, as if to remind the wearer that this IS perfume and NOT food. However, fortunately for me, the flowers never make a big show of themselves. I'm not sure what sugared chestnuts smell or taste like, so I can't compare. Overall, this is a nice little spice that is fun alone or used for layering. How funny that it doesn't contain ANY spices though. That amber is a sneaky little note.

Talk about a wild ride, when I first applied I got a really watery barbeque sauce, but with a horrid sour edge. In a few moments, the screechy edges changed to a nutty, slightly powdery vanilla with flowery undertones. I got the nutty notes, but it was kinda sappy too, like if you were chewing on a hazelnut leaf stem, and the sweetness got sticky. I understand the candied chestnuts comments. I know what this reminds me of; those super-duper cheap candles you get around Christmas at Odd Lots. There is a softness to it that suggests a nice generic shampoo-ness, but mostly there is a bizarre rendition of something that would be named "Candied Chestnuts" or "Victorian Candy Store" and when you took a chance and pulled off the lid to give it a whiff you'd be puzzled, and wonder if it was named something else if it might make more sense. It's like someone was locked in a room with a bunch of perfume ingredients that had nothing to do with nuts and wasn't allowed to leave until they made a scent that was nutty. This is weird, woody, sweet, and interesting. not my style, but I'm glad I got to try it.

Very sweet! In fact, it is so sweet, that sometimes I wonder why I still have this in my wardrobe. It is not one of those perfumes I like to just pick up occasionally when I'm passing by and sniff the bottle. But I do like the way it wears on me, especially in winter. My friend said I smell like cake (in a good way) which is funny, because when I looked at the official notes, this perfume is apparently made up of mostly flowers)) But what I smell the most is a sweet buttery caramel-vanilla, a little bit heavy at first, but it settles down nicely on me. This is definitely one of those "try before you buy" fragrances.

My decant arrived broken, but with enough juice left to allow me to test it and want more! It's a very beautiful scent. I find in the development, that the Cyclamen is quite dominant. It provides a beautiful freshness and lightweight feel to what is otherwise quite a weighty scent. Overall, the fragrance is warm and comforting, but I feel it is still quite suitable for warmer weather. Not sure if I'd need a bottle, but I can certainly see how some would be really taken by this scent.