Renee Carmine

Beautiful bottle, beautiful name (hey, I'm biased), with a very pretty jasmine-plus-yellow-florals juice. This is my first day of a full wear, but I already know that it lasts a very long time on paper and fabric from an earlier test. There is something about Renee Carmine that reminds me of Tharwah ever so slightly (the jasmine and woody aromachemicals and musks in the base), which means that it might remind some people of YSL Libre Intense, but Renee Carmine isn't a dupe for Tharwah the way that Tharwah is a dupe for Libre Intense. It's just in the same family--perhaps she's the shy and elegant cousin of Tharwah, the one whose appeal isn't as immediately obvious but whose lovely features and graceful manner shine through. The jasmine sambac note in Renee is very much in the "grape soda" territory at first, but it calms down quickly. I do think this might account for all the Alien upvotes in the "reminds me of" section. Renee is nowhere near as aggressive as Alien, which is a perfume I have struggled to enjoy even as I admire it. In fact, most of the time that I put on Alien these days, I regret it--I might feel differently if I had another formulation, but all I have is the sad L'Oréal iteration, not the original Mugler, so don't fight me, Alien fans. I would love to try Tilia someday to see whether Renee Carmine is an impression of or even an improvement on that perfume, which has long intriguted me anyway because I'm a huge linden fan. I have a little-leaf linden in my front yard, and in that brief period every spring when it blossoms, you'll find me huffing the branches like Dennis Hopper in Blue Velvet. I noticed, of course, that the notes breakdown for Renee seem to lack the linden note, which disappointed me, but damned if I don't smell it anyway. I'm wondering if Maison Alhambra just omitted the note from the official list to ward off a lawsuit or something, or if they actually didn't include the note. I think I smell it, but this could be the perfume version of the placebo effect, the power of suggestion. It seems as if linden SHOULD be in the beautiful yellow haze of yellow florals, and lo!, it is. I know the bottle matters less than almost any other aspect of a fragrance, but man oh man is this a good one. Not only is it highly functional, of obvious quality and weight, it is just so PRETTY and not in the campy, over-the-top way of some of my other beloved Middle Eastern darlings (I'm looking at youuuuuuuuu, Lattafa!). This is a perfume with which I am very happy to share a name--it's almost like having a monogrammed bottle ready made. I have to admit that I blind bought this perfume on the basis of good reviews and THAT NAME, so you can imagine my relief that I like it. And now I can go back to my no-buy in 2026 plans and hope that Maison Alhambra doesn't put out a perfume called Saller in the interim.

Renee Carmine is super close to Tilia. I tested a 10 ml sample of Tilia for a few days before ordering Renee Carmine to compare, and for me, the resemblance is so strong that I can’t justify paying full niche price for the original. At this price point, I can spray generously and enjoy it without holding back. It captures that same clean-laundry-meets-floral feel -fresh, bright, happy 😊 . The heliotrope adds a soft, powdery ness and there’s a creaminess to the dry-down that feels balanced on my skin, it keeps drawing me in and making me want to keep sniffing. Performance is impressive: strong, long-lasting, especially on clothes, where it lingers. In hot weather, it’s been my effortless daily choice and easy to wear. I’ve already got a back-up bottle .

I have not try Tilia yet, but it feels good to know that it is considered a dupe to a niche one. Renee perfume is a great scent by itself. Super soft, musky, kind of soapy, very gentle on the flowers. It does not project big time, more of a skin scent for sure. Nothing grunny, nothing cheap, though. On the contrary, I feel posh by wearing this and it suits better younger women and girls. Office scent and people pleasing. Buy by all means, very good deal, safe blind buy. I LOVE it, I want to gatekeep this, I mean I love it that much... Update: compliment getter alert 🚨

Woooow! I never smelled ”Tilia” before so I cant compare them to each other but this is a top notch, superb and unique scent! I was so surprised by how a 20€ perfume could be so PERFECT! This is feminine class in a bottle. It’s mature, modern, ”airy” and fresh. A very safe blind buy. Maison Alhambras best production this far (I have over 30 of MAH scents). The only ”bad” thing about it, is that It doesnt last so long on the skin as I would love to. I will not complain though, the price compensate for that 😆. I’ll give ”Renée Carmine” a STRONG 9,5/10!

I'm surprised. I'm testing Tilia on one hand and Renee on the other. There's definitely differences in the opening. Initial spray from renee is a lot of alcohol, after a minute it settles in to a sweet yellow floral with a hint of metallic note. Tilia however it's more airy and opens with yellow florals and a green scent. Renee is beautiful and if you enjoy yellow florals and sweet scents you'll enjoy this one. Tilia is more airy and nuanced, while Renee is sharp and sweet. They are very similar in the dry down.

I find this underwhelming. I never smelled Tilia. It has a similar vibe to Valaya, that gentle airiness, but it's waaaay apart from Fleur Narcotique's performance, I can detect some similarities if I really look for them but this is just so light and not so fruity/sharp. It's in the laundry detergent category, it also reminds me of the sort of glue smell on old-school stamp collection folders. When I first smelled it, it instantly reminded me of Yaqeen from Asdaaf, if you tried it - this is very similar.

Gorgeous yellow floral that showcases the creamy side of jasmine. I do get a slight hay/ broom/ earthiness note here. The ambroxan pairs with the florals in a gentle and elevated way. This smells FAR above its $40 price point. Similarities to Tilia- I’d say coming close to 90%. This works well in the high heat of summer. My sun dress, sprayed yesterday is still holding strong to the scent. It’s got a lovely sillage and just smells expensive. 8.5/10 coming close to 9/10.

This is a lovely fragrance to wear in spring and summer for those who love the spiky, citrusy aspects of orange blossom and neroli. It is fresh, elegant, crisp and clean, with a little warmth that comes from the amber or even the georgewood. Unisex in my opinion, longevity is great for a freshie, but sillage is on the weak side. You are getting way more than you paid for, that’s for sure. I am in love with this.

This is gorgeous from start to finish❤️

It's a simple white floral, not heavy imo. I didn't try Tilia but if what I get here is most of what there is to it, I wouldn't pay niche price for Tilia. For what it is, Renee Carmine is very nice. It's easy to wear and enjoyable. Nothing groundbreaking, this scent profile was done in the 80s a million times. Lasts on skin for about 5 hours, who could ask for anything more. It's already hot and humid where I am but this didn't get cloying or anything. I wouldn't classify this as a freshie, I don't get any soapiness either. It's more like a nice thin floral veil. There's some light woodiness in the drydown which gives this a nice twist but nothing new. That's a useful nice-to-have not a must have.

Comparing this and Tilia one on each wrist. RC opens, as expected, with an alcohol blast that last a few seconds. After the perfume settles both smell quite similar, being Tilia more sweet, with the honeyed scent of the linden, and RC more fresh. RC has less projection and sits closer to the skin, which is not rare taking into account how beast mode Tilia is. I prefer Tilia because I can sense more nuances on it, but Carmine is quite nice and for a fraction of the price. They are not 1:1, but definitely are siblings, maybe 80% similar. I do not need both, so I will let Carmine go. But for those who are in a budget I recommend picking this one.

It’s so close! No, this is not quite Tilia... it needs the linden (aka lime blossom) note to achieve that distinction. But it’s pretty darn close, and until I can afford a bottle of Tilia I’m grateful to have found this gorgeous, affordable fragrance. Thank you, Maison Alhambra, for producing another beauty!

Smells like purple lux soap. It's 80% close to tilia, but more feminine leaning. I like it for spring. I'll wear it.

Tilia-esque for sure. A bit different in the opening, but mid and drydown will scratch the itch.

I’ve never tried whatever this is a dupe for; I bought it for the constellation of notes, all of which I love. It’s still new, so may evolve as the bottle settles. It’s also cool autumn in North America, and this may be more of a spring or summer scent. It’s a cool, dewy, fresh floral - so cool there’s almost a mint or wintergreen under-note. It vaguely reminds me of Cinema - I think based on the orange blossom - but there’s no incense, only sweet florals. I wish the woody notes and vetiver were more prominent, this scent needs a bit of grounding; it’s a spring breeze blowing thru fresh laundry. The jasmine and orange blossom are not prominently unique, only reading as light non-lily florals. I don’t get the almond-powder-doll-vanilla of the heliotrope which makes me sad as that’s a huge favorite of mine. I’m only just getting familiar with ambroxan and see it’s rather divisive, and I understand why; if someone took the organic amber note and made a robot version, it would smell like this. It’s invading my nostrils and invading my perception of the other notes. I hope it mellows as the bottle ages. For all its sweet, light floral-ness of this, it could definitely be headache inducing or overwhelming, one spray is enough. It lasts 4 hours or so then is barely there. It’s a one spritz walk-through floral, nice to smell fresh, pure and inoffensive. Nice.

Bought this as a sample to compare to Tilia and its dupes, and frankly I'd suggest getting Floral by Max Philip instead if you'd like a dupe after all. However, this fragrance is also kinda interesting on its own. So as many have pointed out already, this lacks the sweet yet subtle accord of realistic linden, blooming with pollen. Sure, it makes the fragrance more unisex, fresh and clean - but also a completely different scent after all. On me, it also smells extremely soapy, so I'd describe it as a squeaky-clean scent of jasmine and orange blossom bar of soap, not actual flowers. While the original is very fitting for springtime, this seems like a better option for hot summers. Not bad, but also not exactly what I expected.

I can see where after it dries down it’s fresh and pretty but upon first squirt the jasmine combined with the orange blossom really do come across as something vintage (80s or early 90s) in a cheap way...and not cheap body spray, I’m talking aunty in a full face of makeup at church kinda cheap

If you don’t like soapy scents, stay away from this. I do like this. To me it smells like very airy and cold orange blossom soap. Or it smells a little like laundry being dried outside 🫧🧼🌼

A light soapy orange blossom. I don’t know how I feel about it. It is nice. 🤷🏻♀️

I bought it first, before smelling Tilia. Was not the best idea. It is too heavy and sweet, to me definitely not a freshie. Expected something different, so I gifted it. Later I smelled Tilia. Totally different. Many notes of it are nonexistent in this perfume. Lacks its depth. But I will never buy Tilia either, because it smells exactly like a diffuser that our host used in her toilet in Marseilles 20 years ago. 🤷🏻♀️