La Vie Rêvée

Literally smells like this cold gourmond powered sugar from beginning to end. The comparison of this to Love Don't Be Shy are specifically referring to the DRY DOWN of LDBS 3 hrs+ in. I love this, but I strongly dislike LDBS because the opening is creamy and gives sunblock vibes. I'm attracted to the puffy, fluffy, sweetness of this, but admittedly, this is not a strong scent, nor are others like it such as Mandorlo di Sicilia, MI Fa, and Guimauve. If you are looking for something strong with this cold powdered sugar as the main event, you might like Diptyque Duelle edt, but you would also have to like strong resinous smells. This is not a complex perfume. If you want to smell like a puffy fluffy like cutey pattooti, for it's simplicity, this is still eyes rolling into the back of your head good. It's not a warm cupcakey scent by any means. It smells "cold" and paradoxically comfy. Not cold like mint, green notes, soap, or vintage creme, cold as in powdered sugar without and toastedness, heavyness, or thickness like warmer scents have.

La Vie Rêvée is a fragrance that is sooooo close to Guimauve and may be easier to find on the international market. This fragrance is by Nino Amaddeo. La Vie definitely smells like a marshmallow and I think in that particular aspect it is very similar to Guimauve. What this scent lacks is the herbal notes that gave Guimauve a lot more body. But these herbal notes are not mentioned in the note pyramid for La Vie so I am assuming the nose behind this was strictly trying to portray that puffy and powdery vanilla scent of a marshmallow. How Guimauve differs is that the nose behind this seemed more interested in toying with the “notion” of a marshmallow-scent so as to create a more unique experience, and also to elevate this scent to a gourmet level. This was done through the method of abstraction. Guimauve was made by using seperate components that aren’t typically associated with marshmallows, but then blended in a way that managed to recreate and add complexity to the traditional marshmallow scent profile. Perfume Realm 💙

A beautiful combination of Neroli, Orange Blossom, Marshmallow and Vanilla. I’m guessing by now you have already assumed what this could smell like!, and yep you guessed it. Kilian’s Love Don’t Be Shy. Firstly it’s more than half the price, for double the quantity compared to LDBS. It’s a gorgeous take on that scent. It’s has a slight bitterness. Imagine less Toffee, more Almond and less of the caramelised sweetness. The sweetness is toned down, it’s more the smell of actual sugar blended with the ingredients than an overly synthetic sweetness. It’s how i would imagine an indie house to compose a scent like this. The longevity is phenomenal, even if it’s soft in projection and silage, it still performs way above the average for this scent profile. Most definitely more than Kilian. If you like LDBS and Guimauve this will be right down your street. A gourmand perfect for summer.

I love Orange blossom in fragrance especially when mixed with sweet notes like Marshmallow. I just received this today and spritzed in the bend of my elbow. I initially detected a fresh natural orange blossom. Very floral and clean with hints of neroli. Sweet fluffy vanilla surrounds the orange blossom note then I get a soft musky powdery lipsticky smell. The dry down remains with the lipstick scent, sweet fresh orange blossom, and vanilla marshmallow. This smell is very unique and is worth a try if you love fragrances such as Kilian Love, Dragee, Guimauve de Noel, and mon precieux nectar by Guerlain. Sillage is soft and Longevity seems very good. Thumbs up :)

When I saw that one of the creators of Reminiscence had started a new line, I immediately investigated. Reminiscence is one of my favorite houses and I love Dragee, which La Vie Rêvée is supposed to resemble. Well, resemble it does! If you like Dragee, you'll love LVR. However, the latter is less almond-y and more marshmallow-y. The marshmallow isn't cloying to me and the note seems plucked from another favorite, By Kilian's Love. This perfume is so deliciously chic that I don't mind a bit. LVR instantly rocketed to a spot in my Top 5 favs. I could smell this marshmallow and orange blossom for the rest of my life. I've already ordered another bottle!

I just received this and WOW!! I think this just knocked LDBS out of my top 5 fave fragrances. It’s not as sweet or cloying as LDBS. This is more of a realistic marshmallow scent than LDBS or Guimauve de Noel. I cannot compare to Guimauve by Reminiscence as have never smelled that one but I am very happy with my purchase of La vie revee. This could be worn anytime, anywhere. It’s sweet but not overly so, soft but noticeable (it is quite a bit stronger than Guimauve de Noel - that one is VERY quiet/soft). This was a blind buy for me and highly recommend this fragrance if you like this scent profile - I don’t think you can go wrong with this! 5/5

Bought this for the marshmallow note and it does not disappoint! It smells like a fancy fluffy marshmallow with some orange blossom. It’s a soft comforting fragrance. It was a total blind buy success for me and worth the $30 in duties. Very pleased. This isn’t a dupe but sits in the same circle as “love, don’t be shy”.

I love this. I layer it with my powdery florals like Insolence & Kenzo Flower to satisfy my craving for fluffy sweet violet without breaking down & the bank.

Definitely reminds me of gritti because I I Am free but they have totally different notes.

Yes, it is like Love Don't Be Shy, but it has a much more pronounced marshmallow note and it has more neroli. In general I am not a fan of neroli, though I do like orange blossom if it is not too soapy, but the marshmallow in this helps balance out the neroli in this fragrance. If you want a bit more marshmallow, check this one out, because the marshmallow note is quite unmistakable, esp in the drydown. If you want more neroli you will get it in the opening for sure, too. I bought a decant and I'm not sure if I'll spring a fb because I already have LDBS. They are not duplicates, but they are close enough, and it will depend on if I start to crave the more intense marshmallow note in this one. I am testing in winter now and perhaps I need to test in warmer weather. Like LDBS, I do not think of this as a winter perfume. This would definitely be a warmer weather fragrance for me, because although it is very sweet and gourmand there is a lightness to it and it does not have my heavier spices and dark vanillas that I wear in winter. I also think of it as a day fragrance because it is quite sweet and somewhat young (not juvenile, but not really sophisticated, either) smelling.

This is nice and I would enjoy seeing more perfumes like this on the market. It’s very different than I imagined based on the notes and other reviews. I would not describe this as a sweet fragrance, and I don’t find this similar to Love Don’t be Shy. It’s very herbal and a little soapy. I don’t smell the marshmallow directly, it seems to be reflected in the perfume indirectly as a soft and powdery quality. One criticism I have is that the deep drydown has that recognizable designer white musk accord. The vanilla in here is better quality than a designer fragrance but I wouldn’t describe it as a super high quality vanilla either. Overall the aroma of this is very comforting, it almost doesn’t really even smell like a perfume, it’s more like some kind of nondescript fancy bath product or like smelling a luxurious boutique.

Smells EXACTLY like Guimauve Reminiscence. So glad I purchased a sample first because for the price difference, I’d just stick with Guimauve. It smells like marshmallow and oranges. I don’t get a LDBS vibe but I can see the comparisons. Also, to me, this is a close cousin to Sintra, but Sintra is more subtle and sophisticated. La Vie Revee is almost linear. Still a great fragrance, just don’t know if I’m going to spend the $100+ or not... my favorites notes is marshmallow so I just might for the hell of it lol!

For the sweet lovers, marshmallow and neroli are the stars of the fragrance. Same vibe of Sintra of Memo or Love of Kilian, but less expensive! Very feminine and comforting, more for fall and winter. The sillage and longevity are very good. Very feminine to my opinion. 8/10 for fall and winter My favorite of the brand

Almost identical to Guivmauve & with a hint of Dragee by Reminiscence. Powdery confectioner's sugar dusted on home made marshmallows.

So, I am in search again of a comforting, cozy-blanket, fluffy but not overly-gourmand, vanilla marshmallow type fragrance. It was suggested I try La Vie Revee. Was also told this EdP is somewhat reminiscent of the original By Kilian "Love Don't Be Shy," which I recall liking many moons back. Initial impressions and straight out-of-the-gate, I would say I am not a huge fan of this fragrance. As others have noted, this EdP opens with very prominent and very strong neroli, mandarin orange and lemon notes (citrus), which I find overwhelming and rather overpowering. About 20-30 minutes in and once the fragrance develops, I detect a very sweet, very dry, extremely powdery note that includes some (almost) sharp, white florals (orange blossom, I suppose). On my skin, the middle development almost smells bitter green, which is (likely) the orange blossom working with the many citrus notes. At one point, I smell like the inside of an orange peel. Eventually and with some time, the fragrance lands as a very dry, powdery, slightly bitter, white floral. I don't know why but I keep getting a Jean Nate vibe...not good. Longevity seems okay; silage is moderate. Unfortunately, I fail to detect much marshmallow, any cream, or much sweetness with this fragrance. Disappointingly, this perfume is just not unique enough to warrant a full bottle purchase. Sadly, this is a hard pass.

I own this one for a while now so I had the chance to try it multiple times in different climates and every time I come to same conclusion: it smels exactly like a calendula balm. Nothing more! It also kind of smells cheap, well I guess because calenula is cheap smelling. If I squint my eyes I could see why it’s compared with ldbs but this is by far the worst interpretation of love I’ve tried so far.

Okay, so I wanted to get this because they said it smells like Love Don't Be Shy, but it does not, like at all. Also, it starts out smelling not great, kind of flowery (neroli) and bitter, but it dries down to something completely different and lovely. It's very almond forward, I LOVE it. It dries down a little powdery, but not baby powdery or mature powdery. It's a both creamy and powdery almond, very feminine, but businesswoman-like. I think this would be a great work scent if you are not that into fresh scents for work. It's very smooth, the color beige comes to mind.

Reminds me of Love Don't Be Shy, but a bit more mature, not as cloying sweet, just sweet enough. I also think this has similar vibes to Carner Tardes for the sweet powder thing going on. Not to say one's a dupe for another, but they're sister scents.

This smells like the inside of a temple. The neroli note makes it fresh enough to wear in the hot weather. It is powdery, reminds me of sandalwood, and of the white marble floors in a temple. A bit soapy as well. It’s soo pretty!

To me this smells like the love child of LDBS and Serge Lutens Datura Noir. It doesn’t have a crazy amount of projection but makes a nice little scent bubble around you for around 5 hours before fading away.