Magda

I love this! Starts with a bright cherry, blackberry and mandarin freshness with a hint of spice from the cinnamon, and a slight amaretto presence that increases later. Well balanced mid of white florals that provide a nice creaminess and keeps the sweetness in check. In the drydown, the smoothness of the amaretto and the balsam become more pronounced. Although this smells nothing like Good Girl Gone Bad, I do get that similar balance of fruits, flowers and sweet base that I enjoy. I will be wearing this a lot this summer and it comes alive in the evening. A hidden gem. Although feminine by description, I think a man can pull this off easily. The booziness of the amaretto and balsam base create a sensual winner. Note: I did tag Good Girl Gone Bad, but just in the dry down. The combination of fruits combine to form an almost "osmanthus-like" note that is to die for! So beautiful with the tuberose and gardenia. A must try, but wait for the dry down!

This perfume is absolutely stunning, and honestly, it’s a little disappointing to see how polarizing it is. Yes, it’s strong. Yes, it leans heavily on cherry, amaretto, and sandalwood but that’s exactly the point. If you already know those notes aren’t for you, you won’t like this. But if you do enjoy them, it’s definitely worth a try. The opening hits with a juicy cherry, fruity without being too sweet. As it settles, soft white florals start to come through, giving it a delicate contrast. The dry down is warm, creamy, and comforting, with almond and sandalwood taking center stage in the final stretch. To me, this smells like a French woman in Paris: cherry lip balm, cigarette in hand, sipping on amaretto with a knowing smirk. That’s the vibe. And I love it.

This is such a beautiful surprise. I am quite prejudiced to not like Lubin perfumes, as they tend to be on a heavier side for me, due to their French heritage. And the first few minutes of this perfume do not sit well with me - it seems like several notes are fighting with each other for their 5 seconds in the sunshine (cherry, amaretto, cinnamon and sandalwood). However, after 4-5 minutes, this disorganised mess turns into a beautiful bright creamy cherry with spicy (cinnamon) sandalwood support (sounds almost the same, but you can really pin point the moment the notes stop fighting with each other). If you are following the cherry perfume trend of 2023, you should add this beauty on your list to try. It’s exquisite (with French accent :) ).

This is incredibly easy to overspray, and very overwhelming if you do so. If you use restraint - I only got a 2mL sample, so restraint is mandatory - this is absolutely beautiful. It's ambery, tuberosey amaretto. Maybe I just don't have a strong idea of what cherries smell like because they don't grow where I live, but there is something addictive in here that I can't identify. I won't get a full bottle YET because I have no need for two tuberose-heavy fragrances in my life, but this is definitely on the list. I would decant into a roller bottle and use sparingly. You could easily layer this with something more caramelly, but I wouldn't because I love who she already is so much.

I found Magda to be a cleaner , delicate floral, not a fruity or almond focused scent. It has a touch medicinal note in opening to me on paper but on skin that was not present and a really pretty, feminine lightly sweet floral scent appeared.

nutty and yummy with a little hint of almond / tuberose / cherry. Gourmand in a grown-up way....on paper does not do it justice. This warms up on skin beautifully. Bit of a hidden gem. seriously why is it not talked about...

Erotic, old lady, unlit cigarette smell

This is mostly "garden of wild tuberoses" to me, with just a hint of fruit. I do not normally care for tuberose forward note, but this is a more natural seeming, sweet and delicate floral aroma. The longer I wear it, the more it pleases me.

I don’t really like cherry notes so I went into this with some trepidation, and I wasn’t surprised. It smells like amaretto mixed with cherry liquor. It’s medicinal and bitter mixed with an artificial sweetness. The only saving grace is the white florals, which soften it a bit. The longevity and sillage are also really poor.

So sweet after about an hour I couldn’t keep going with it. Lovely to open but then just sweet musk

I really do not like this perfume and I don't know why I allowed the lady in the store to sway me to get it... it's not my taste at all! It just smells like a cherry, vanilla, amaretto, sandalwood (which is a note I despise) and amaretto smell. It just smells like some gross, strong, nutty, spicy and syrupy sweet almond, cherry and vanilla liquer splashed all over your dress and you're left with a slightly rank smell the whole night. It's damn strong smelling! I don't recommend it :(

I joined a Lubin sniffing event a couple of weeks ago mainly to check out their classics but discovered Magda in the process. For someone who is not normally drawn to sweet gourmands this is a surprise like. I strongly suspect Magda is not treading new ground in the crowded gourmand territory, but since I am not too familiar with what’s available in the mainstream and niche market today when it comes to gourmands, I’ll just swoon over her fruity-balsamic whimsy anyway, as if it’s the best thing since sliced bread. Magda is rich, sweet, velvety and moreish, a voluptuous blend of red fruits and spicy-balsamic goodness laced with an amaretto note that finally works. I’m always on a lookout for perfumes featuring true, boozy amaretto that would bring out the bitter facets of the almond alongside the sweetness, but have been disappointed with all of my adventures. There’s always too much sugar, powder and vanilla crowding out the bits I’m after. But Magda, I like. She gets the amaretto right, playing up the cherry almond facets of the accord and balancing the sweetness with the smooth and subtly spicy, balsamic base that leans ever so slightly vintage in its sensuos, creamy-dusty character. No, I don’t get a buzz on from the amaretto here, but the cherry-almond is not shy and it stays on into the far drydown instead of fizzling out after an hour to be replaced by uninventive, musky vanilla. As far as I understood at the sampling event, the fragrance is meant to put a spotlight on tuberose, but to me it’s all about the marriage of syrupy blackcurrant and the cherry-amaretto accord. This dark fruit/cherry almond layer provides the main focal point of the composition, with the cinnamon and the restrained and somewhat earthy-smelling floral notes adding a spicier, moodier counterpoint to the syrupy richness that first hits the nose. I personally pick up more gardenia here than anything else floral, a smooth, subtly mushroomy undertow that pulls the gourmand elements away from the gratuitous, saccharine banality and towards something more artful and compelling. The blackcurrant in Magda is not tuned to the grating, high-pitched frequency; even though it features prominently in the ensemble, it speaks in an attractive, low, raspy voice I find quite calming and even a bit motherly. If you, like me, are one of the people who normally perceive blackcurrrant-derived notes as urinous it may be still worth your while to try Magda—I didn’t get any of that here. There's just enough vanilla here to keep the scent pleasantly rounded without actually overshadowing the other, more interesting anchor notes. For me the base is defined by Peru balsam, the pleasant resiny sweetness that blends smoothly with the low-key, custardy sandalwood. A nice gourmand that manages to strike the right balance between happy, dark and sweet. It has a timeless sort of charm to it, a youthful sweetheart with a bit of an old soul.

For me Magda opened like popping a root beer can then quickly shifted to a fruity cherry scent and settled into its white floral sweet vanilla light liquor dry down. Lasts about 4 hours. Not for me. Sad to say I have not found a Lubin to love....yet.

Syrupy sticky sweet with white florals. Not remotely something I want on me. Just too sweet and I amp sweet so much.