Meringue Magique

Pleasantly surprised. A beautiful balsamic liqueur-like vibe in this perfume. It does not smell to me like Orange Vanilla Twist of BBW, which I have and love and which smells to me like orange sandwich cookies and it's a light super sweet scent, not balsamic or heavy, no floral notes there. Meringue Magique is not a light scent, it is heavier, but not sickly sweet to me either, and it is not linear on me. Starts off sweet like orange and mandarin, the citrus combo at the opening is gorgeous, not like plain orange in my face, far from being artificial. The opening is very reminiscent of the European Jaffa orange chocolate cake-cookies (we loved these as kids in Europe and now I find them occasionally at Aldi stateside). Very aromatic and balsamic, so balsamic sweet like liqueur from praline, like chocolate orange liqueur as if there is rum in it , along with the orange-chocolate smell. It develops into a milder, less "drunk" milky smooth, sugary, chocolatey scent like cooked-in-sugar orange peels with whipped cream and chocolate syrup - the praline is intense no joke. It is like the orange chocolatey version of Devotion. The whipped cream makes it slightly lactonic and smooth with the gardenia adding a heady floral touch that's subtle and makes it perfumey. The first 20 mins it smells more like liqueur to me, very "drunk" and balsamic and that's my favorite part and then it smells more like a comforting dessert, but NOT in an artificial or juvenile way. It is a beautiful perfume. Based on some mediocre reviews that held me from buying it, I expected it to be like a mist's scent, juvenile or artificial or like a crude bakery scent like Latte D'or which is pretty crude cuz the ginger is in my face smelling like ginger cookies or ginger tea with spice overload, okay, but not much of a perfume scent for me and it does not last at all. Dessert or bakery scents are not my favorite perfume scents, usually preferably as mists, but this one really elevates itself into a sophisticated, sexy gourmand perfume due to the strong balsamic aspect and the gardenia. Also it does last on me (just like Lait de Coco, another favorite). The gardenia is not too intense, but it's there and it's vital, it adds freshness and its own intoxicating element, really takes this scent to the next level, so it's not sickly sweet and nauseating, as sometimes sweet orange scents tend to make me nauseous, I recall B.U Tease Orange as a teen used to make me dizzy. Even BBW's Vanilla Orange Twist can make me dizzy at times, even tho I like it too. It's not the case with this one at all for me. It smells expensive on me. Again perfume and scents are so personal, but for me this is a gem!!!

To me this smells like a photo realistic orange, and who doesn't love an orange? Definitely going to layer with this because the vanilla in this is not that strong, So I will definitely layer with vanillas or with a nice musk or with a tropical fragrance. This is a very versatile fragrance for layering! It brings out the mad scientist in me! 😄

This is so pretty! It smells like creamsicle but isn't overly sweet or cloying. I only wish it lasted longer, but for the price I don't mind having to reapply.

This Is definitely a tootsie roll... Not for me.

There's something just a bit weird in this to me! Like this... bitter spiciness that never dissipates. I definitely don't hate this perfume, but that note is just off-putting to me and really takes away from the gourmand aspect. If I want to smell like an orange dessert, I'd reach for Orange Cream Pop from Demeter instead. This one isn't as lactonic as I hoped for, or as orangey-- honestly I have trouble describing it at all, thanks to that random spiciness. As an orange lover I had to try it, but I wont be keeping it.