Tendre Madeleine

This was a very nice surprise. Upon first trying it, I wasn't too excited about it, it was just okay, a little disappointing maybe. After having tried it for a couple days, I keep finding myself coming back to as I fall more and more in love. This is a scent I didn't know I wanted until it really grew on me. It turned out to be a perfect spring perfume. Where I'm from, we eat a lot of oranges and candy during Easter, so I associate spring with the smell of oranges and sweetness. The blend of orange, cinnamon and vanilla is delicious. It immediately starts more citrusy, then the cinnamon becomes more apparent. On me, orange and cinnamon are the most obvious scents, but there is a soft vanilla background that makes it slightly more creamy and full. When the perfume gets to settle a little bit for the orange to tone down, that's where the magic happens for me. I've seen some people say it doesn't last long, but that's not my experience with it. It seems to last between 2-6 hours, but it does come off as an intimate scent. I mean, it seems like an intimate scent TO ME, but I got a comment from a perfume-sensitive friend that she could smell me the moment I entered the room. It also doesn't remind me of any sort of cake or bakery. To my nose, it is like the spring air carrying the smell of juicy and a bit tangy oranges while you're outdoors, and there's an open window somewhere in the distance where someone has recently made something sweet.

A little while ago I received this as a gift from friend I made on this forum. She wanted to cheer me up after our cat had been in a terrible accident and barely survived. Such kindness and generosity really shocks me. Anyway, I had this on my wish list for ages because the notes were too different from L de Lolita to make me confident about their similarity. Bottom line, they're 99% identical. But for me this works better. Much as I like L in theory, something in it makes it difficult to wear. Something adds a metallic sharpness that doesn't go with the rest of the fragrance. TM has ironed that out, which makes it perfect. If I was only reading this review, I would probably consider TM inferior for losing the unusual note. In theory unusual notes could be considered superior. But in reality it's not always the case. TM sends me down memory lane just like L. That's the best possible proof of their similarity. But unlike L, I can enjoy TM without any reservations. Also, despite the name, neither this nor L smell edible. Just inspired by by sweet flavours, which is better than plain sweets for a perfume.

Oh my oh my, I didn’t expect it to smell like this GOOD before I bought it. I live in the states so it’s kinda hard to get my hands on this line, fortunately I found a German seller online that sold these at normal retail prices. ANYWAYS! This one is such an unique gourmand scent! It isn’t just the sweet warm vanilla with some chocolate and almonds blah blah (I love this combo btw, I just have too many of them), but is almost like a diabetes-friendly ginger cookie wrapped in a cinnamon bun dipped in pumpkin and orange juice mesh! It’s delicious but not sugary. I didn’t expect it to smell like this because of the “spicy notes” listed above, like how could I imagine it to be ginger and cinnamon? Also I think the wheat note is why it smells like a holiday bakery. I absolutely love this for its price. Hopefully it’ll help me lose weight too since I won’t be needing to eat the real desserts - I’m already so content just smelling this on myself XD

Here I am, 2 years into my perfume collecting. With our cooler months here and ahead, I felt like a new vanilla perfume Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this range of Laurence Dumont or the Les Senteurs Gourmandies range of unbelievably cheap perfumes that look quite good when I review the line. Some fragrances are getting scores of 4.20 out of 5 amd THAT'S IMPRESSIVE! Of course I had to order 2, one being Tendre Madeleine and the Vanilla violet perfume. I'm excited to see if they're as good as they sound. Could it be possible? For $15/50ml Verdict! Yes it is. I love this gorgeous perfume. Buttery citrus vanilla that makes me sniff my wrists all day. It really is a winner for me and fully recommend it to any vanilla lover. Office safe. This scent will NEVER OFFEND. Another pleasant surprise from this house. Now for a third bottle!

've had my 50ml bottle for a few days now and I've never gone thru the amount of perfume I have with this so quickly It's because I CAN'T STOP spraying it! It's SO SO GOOD! After applying to myself, I spray one or 2 shots into a handkerchief, let it 'flash off' and sniff it when I'm going to sleep! It's really comforting and cozy. Actually, I never knew how good citrus can be when softened with vanilla like it is in Tendre Madeleine. I also bought the body lotion (wggag I never do) and another bottle intended for a gift, I've just bought a 100ml back up bottle because I know I never want to be out of this gorgeous frag. I'm head over heals in love with TM. Give it try! You'll fall in love with her as well. Very safe blind buy. I doubt anyone could be disappointed by this, and I've never written that in any other review.

UPDATE: Bought a bottle. This scent fits the category of perfect for everyday wear or on occasions that call for a soft, pleasant, unobtrusive fragrance rather than overpowering. * * * An eau de parfum launched in the 2020s, Tendre Madeleine goes beyond a simple "madeleine" (tiny French shell-shaped cake and a term for "one that evokes a memory") to a moist, almondy sponge cake with orange essence and warm spices, drizzled with vanilla-sugar glaze. A gentle gourmand, wearable any time or place. The slight oiliness helps it to last on my dry skin. So affordable that I can't resist buying a bottle and making it a staple in my collection.✿ Scent family: Amber Spicy Longevity on me: moderate

Love love love for fall and winter! Like putting your nose in a basket of madeleine cookies. Very gourmand. I love this house. Their vanillas are all a bit the same, and I’m not crazy for their masculine scents, but Figue Sauvage and this one are on my top scent lists ever. Perfect for Christmas. Projection is not that great and neither is longevity. This is however everything I wanted My Vanilla Garden to be, and a dupe for the Lira.

All perfumes by Les Senteurs Gourmandes are quite heavy to me. This one too has a very heavy base. It’s not “tendre” but it certainly is madeleine. It lacks the buttery cookie smell but it does have the orange and orange peel, a bitter note too that it’s very fitting. The vanilla provides a solid base. It’s a very warm winter smell and very fitting for the season. A true gourmand.

Very similar to Lira. Right now I have lira on one arm and TM on the other. TM is a little more cinnamon/ spice forward. lira has more lemon and powdery aspects. I like lira a liiiitle more because I love the powder and lemon, but those notes are subtle and at the heart of it these fragrances are like 85-90% similar. TM is fantastic and im so happy to have it in my collection.

Just arrived by mail today from Europe. Hard to find in North America. What surprised me is the spicier tea note. It also smells a bit soapy at first. The vanilla gourmand and citrus notes are there too. It is a bit weaker than I expected and you need to spray at least 6 times. 09/11/2023 Edited to add: Sillage is poor but longevity is great. Very long lasting.

To this day I unfortunately haven’t tried xerjoff’s lira yet. But I heard that this smells a lot like it. And oh my. It is soo beautiful and enveloping. My mom said it smells like a lemon cake straight out of the oven. It’s so warm and cozy and the longevity is great! Huge compliment getter. I can really recommend this. And it’s quite affordable too!

Instant love. This is a sugary citrus biscuit in a bottle. Drizzled in creamy vanilla. Heaven! Very similar to Lira, just less dense. Tried L de Lolita on my other arm to compare and they are very different I’m afraid, it’s not a dupe for that at ALL. I’ve sadly never found anything that compares to that one.

I love Lira, and wasn't impressed with this the first time I tried it, but today I was in the mood for a more toned Lira and decided to give this another go. It shares the same cozy lemon vanilla, but sits much closer to the skin, suits me perfectly today :)

A bit harsh in the opening, but it quickly dries down into a lovely vanilla and cinnamon- a bit like a bakery! I don't think I'd go anyway near it in the summertime though

Beautiful perfume... orange at the start, then settles to a cosy gourmand that makes you sniff your skin every 5 minutes, love it 😍

This smells like L Lempicka. A beautiful gourmand, citrusy cake. Less potent than l but wonderful for the price.

What a terrific fragrance, this is what i was expecting from Akro Bake !!! I regret the lack of longevity

Clearly Lira in a different bottle (95% similar), with much better performance !

This was a real journey for me. First spray, almost aggressive, domineering, slightly headachey cologne. Harsh, almost clashing notes. Not a hate, because I could smell the potential for something delicious and there was something intriguing going on. It was very masculine. What I assume are the spice notes with the orange clean-citrus made it seem like it just was far too masculine for me. No vanilla, a slight sweetness which didn't temper the sheer spicy manliness. Have I made a terrible mistake? Dry down - less abrasive and loud, still quite a citrus-spice cologne thing happening, but the vanilla was starting to shine and it was... I kind of thought I could wear it in an androgynous way, despite being unapologetically girly-girl and not having an andro-chic bone in my body. Warming to it, still not sure. After about 15 minutes, I realised that something smelled...delicious. Oh my god, it's me. Especially wafting from afar, this is really, really nice. It's a nice middle ground too - it's not super unique or complex at all, really, but it's also not a simple, plain straight vanilla / vanilla cake either. It's warm and sweet and as someone who loves gourmands and vanilla, this is a lovely vanilla with little extra bits that (rare for a perfume, even with my tastes) actually started making me feel a little bit hungry. It's not childish, I can't claim it's super sophisticated, but I think it's a reasonably 'adult' scent, with a little cuddly, warm edge. The smell straight from where you applied it can still be a little harsh until it's faded down a bit, but it's good - the smell when it wafts is so good. Things to consider though: This is a strictly autumn / winter scent. Even I, seasoned vanilla fiend, wouldn't touch this once it gets warm. And I think you really do need to love sweetness and vanilla to like this - this is not a starter's vanilla, or something for someone who is not sure about vanilla or who has had a bad experience with it. But with a company name like Les Senteurs Gourmandes, what do you expect? A solid 'like' that could, as things get colder, become a 'love'. Maybe.

I like Tendre Madeleine a lot once it's had a little time to dry down. In the opening, I find it to be a little too much: I can see where it's going with the Madeleine theme from the start, but it's kind of missing the "tendre" part at this stage - too heavy on the cinnamon, and while the blast of citrus is nicely reminiscent of the real thing, it kind of clashes with the intense spiciness of that opening part. Once the cinammon calms down a little and the vanilla note starts creeping in, it's a different story: while it never reaches the airiness I hoped for with the name "Tendre madeleine", it does become quite delicious very soon. The spicy part of the note list remains prominent throughout, and there's a subtly woody vibe in there somewhere as well, which keeps the scent from going totally edibly gourmand despite the abundance of bakery notes. So I smell like a piece of cake without REALLY smelling like a piece of cake, if you know what I mean - perfect, espcially now that it's fall and getting colder. And it easily sticks around all day! It could be great for christmas as well, although I personally associate that more with dried fruits and slightly different spices than the ones used here. I'm not sure if I'll ever need more of this than my little decant - I like it a lot, but I have enough cosy mild-spicy almost-gourmand fragrances in my collection to last me a lifetime of autumns already. I'm very glad to have that small amount to enjoy from time to time, though!