Un Crime Exotique 12.1

Not an exotic crime but a cozy invitation: to take a cup of lovely strong tea and some ginger cookies, in the mellow, warm-orange glow of a kitchen in late autumn festooned with pomanders. Sweet, but CRUCIALLY, not too sweet - there's enough of a herbal, real-plant glint to the tea (the osmanthus and holly contours maybe?) to stop it getting too cute. Sure, the sense associations with Christmas are certainly there, but this has the restraint to not gallop into full-gourmand mode but rather to hang around somewhere a little cooler, more botanical, and un-sugared enough to be classy rather than cloying. For me this ended up in a surprisingly impressive happy place between real dark-smoked-tea spikiness as in Mona di Orio Bohea Boheme, and full-on Christmas/cinnamon bombs like Rousse, Ambre Narguile or Jungle L'Elephant. In fact it was everything I always wanted L'Artisan Tea for Two to be - properly tannic and rich like real dark tea, but NOT oversweetened with sticky honey or too much sugar/vanilla, which ruined T42 on my skin. Not all that far off PG's existing (and very lovely) cinnamon siren Indochine, but the added herbal tangs of the tea and osmanthus make it sparkle even more. Yet Crime Exotique does have a dark undertow of a sort - enough to keep it interesting and upscale - and that's exactly what makes it work for me, despite the overall powdery and rather gentle feel. As with all tea scents, its full glory doesn't last and as it cools, it does lose charisma. Longevity is not-bad for a PG, but that means not-great by a normal yardstick; same with the price - too high if you just want something generically warm and welcoming; yet this is weird enough to be arguably worth it. Basically breaks down into 2-hour blocks: REALLY impressive for the first 2h, just really good up to 4, fading but quirkily intriguing up to 6-7h in on skin. Maybe a little longer on textiles. Still just perceptible (and teasingly gorgeous) right at skin level for a while longer, but you (or someone very lucky) would have to be sniffing hard and very very close up. Ooof. With all the overlap with other stuff I have and already love ... it's a big ask ... but I'm tempted. Very very tempted. Very highly recommend it to others. ETA: went for it, and have zero regrets - and not for the first or last time, I was dead wrong about the longevity - sprayed properly from a bottle, not eked out from a tester, it lasts like a champ (but: the bit where I was not wrong: those herbal notes are precisely what gives it the legs.) It's a keeper - and gets compliments.

Private Collection Un Crime Exotique by Parfumerie Generale This name alone creates a sense of.. Heightened DRAMA..... something will happen or is about to happen and your in the middle of it . Intrigued and lured by its Old Hollywood Film Noire name I ventured to sample it .... "INDOCHINE" might have been a better suited name .... Allow me to set the film up.... The Decadence of the French living in Vietnam and the exploitive evils of Colonialism.... A exotic place all Steamy and Humid! Languorous visits to hidden Mandarin "OPIUM DENS"... All the while you are floating on a "JUNK" on tranquil waters..... When suddenly you are awakened by the rude shots of a gun.... You feel the wetness of liquid on your chest. the OPIUM has dulled your sense of pain .... Is it blood ? NO! The smell of fragrance fills the air ... Your favorite crystal decanter lies on the floor shattered.... You smile ... having cheated death one more time ... you return to your revelry. Then ... Un Crime Exotique would perhaps make a bit more sense. I really like this Spiced Tea Infusion scent. The fragrance is so heady with GINGER and Spice... predominantly Saigon Cinnamon. Perhaps this mysterious sounding ingredient ..called "Osmanthus" which in CHINA is infused with green or black tea leaves, to create a scented tea called guì huā chá (OSMANTHUS TEA) creates the "CRIME EXOTIQUE" in this Potent,Intoxicating and Long Lasting Fragrance.... A 50ml bottle for 100.00 bucks

I found a very heavily discounted bottle at a reputable retailer and blind bought this scent based on the name, the assertions here that this fragrance is very similar to Tobacco Vanille and knowing about the mixed reviews. The longer I have it on my skin on a very hot day, the more I like it. The chai element and a vanilla sandalwood note keeps wafting when I get a smell of myself. Tobacco Vanille? Not so much to my nose. Chai tea vanilla is more like it, I think. Now, add the milky tinged ginger notes from the chai tea to the vanilla and cinnamon notes that are undeniably here as well and you get "gingerbread"-- more the sweeter American style than the spicier Germanic type. For me, these are very comforting smells and I look forward to wearing this scent in fall and winter. Today will be my last time wearing Un Crime Exotique in high temperatures because it just sits too heavily on the skin and radiates too strongly, even in air conditioned rooms, for me to want to wear it in higher temperatures. As for the name, I do not comprehend a connection between it and the scent--there are no more exotic or criminal elements here than in a kitchen where a grandmother is baking holiday treats for her loved ones. So, in spite of the misleading name, I will enjoy this cozy fragrance in the cooler temps. Try this scent on skin and you may find it a comforting fragrance too.

INSTANT love at first sniff. This had been on my 'want' list for so long, and all the anticipation was worth it! Admittedly, the reason I love this fragrance so much is that it's 100% reminiscent of an Arts & Crafts store like Michael's at fall/Christmastime. It is all cinnamon, vanilla, gingerbread and tea. Simultaneously a little bit gourmand, a little bit spicy, slightly milky and warm, and a little bit potpourri. Very warm, cozy, inviting, and comforting. Definitely potent, probably not very practical for every day wear - but will that stop me? Nope! The longevity is several hours - Spice clings to my skin very well, so on me, this fragrance is at least a 10 hour wear. Sillage is also pretty huge, I was impressed. Many 'tea' scents are very close to the skin. If you love the holidays and fall beverages, check this out.

And I'm left breathless, i have thing for these kinds of scents and I just can't get enough of them. After I first saw the notes I knew I'm going to be completely in love and yes I am. There is everything I love - anise, tea, cinnamon and vanilla. After I applied it I got the most amazing cinnamon which reminded me of home baked cookies, scent wise, the opening was very similar to Sacrebleu by Parfums d'Nicolai. Anyhow, then I started to get sweet tea with a bit of syrupy osmanthus, but just a tiny bit and it faded away rather quickly, yay for that as I'm not so fond of syrupy scents. The next thing that arrived on my wrist was dark and smoky sandalwood. Sexy, alluring, comforting. It has it all, simply lovely.

People were not kidding when they say this is photorealistic chai tea! If you want to know exactly what this smells like before buying, go to the local grocery store, buy a box of bigelow vanilla chai, open it, stick your face into the box and breathe deeply. I absolutely love it. One thing to note for anyone arriving here looking for a Tea For Two replacement (like I was)- this isn’t it, but it is lovely. For me, tea for two was like a fresh southern sweet tea with a little bit of spice, and this is a sweet spicebomb (in a fantastic way, I promise). Both incredible scents but not even close to similar enough to be a substitution, in my opinion.

I get an almost exact replica of Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille with this. I compared them side by side and it's uncanny how close they are. Price is much better too! Although while longevity is actually very good, projection isn't massive like with TV. It's quite nice and I'd get it if I didn't already have TV. Edit: I ended up getting this! The scent is quite similar as I said - delicious and addictive - but the performance is moderate-strong rather than completely overpowering (vintage TV) or disappointingly weak (recent batches of TV). It's much more amenable to layering too because of this. Tobacco Vanille perfected!

A Cinnamon bun, yes, and definitely gourmand, yes, but it's so much more...gingerbread gives it that sort of baked goods/pastry feeling, but there's also a hint of tea, anise, and chai...I would buy a bottle if I could find one! I only get tiny tiny whiffs of Holly & Osmanthus as it dries. Sandalwood comes out in the base, but I don't usually notice it much. Not very similar to Tea for Two, IMO, and no tobacco like Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille. I get why people think they're similar since they're both spicy-sweet vanilla, but I still think they are different enough to have both.

Exquisite straight out of the bottle. Spicy, warm, creamy vanilla to open, and on my skin settles down to a warm chai tea, cinnamon and gingerbread. There is a hint of honey on the dry down but it isn't sweet but mellow and baked-in. This is the perfect scent for fresh walks in crisp winter air. It's cold outside, but your scent is a reminder of sweetness and warmth. It's complex enough to be interesting but comforting, cosy, and not sexy at all (which can sometimes be the most sexy).

Huge crush! The opening is dominated by anise, but in just a few seconds, the perfume transforms into a warm and enveloping sweetness. This Crime Exotique is simply a vanilla chai, enriched with a generous spoonful of honey, or even a rich gingerbread fresh from the oven. The honey, which envelops the entire composition, is superb, incredibly creamy, not at all synthetic; I could eat it! The only crime here is to give in to the temptation of this comforting sweetness.

opens with warm and dry anise, smells like a hot cup of chai, but super sweet. The gingerbread note in here is pretty prominent and it’s a fun one. It smells spiced, bready, sweet, and comforting with a hint of apricot adjacent fruitiness coming from the osmanthus. The dry down a dry, powdery and softly sweet tea like scent. It has remnants of all the spices from before and smells slightly like a chai latte.

To me this smells like a steaming mug of spiced apple cider with a cinnamon stick floating in it, really wonderful. Dries down to a mellow warm vanilla, with a hint of the floral and sandalwood coming through, lightly dusted with sugar. Sweet but not saccharine. Subtle and comforting. I'll be pulling this sample out again come autumn/winter.

The osmanthus is key here. It brings fruitiness and a lift to the spicy sandalwood profile. In the end I get a really nice cinnamon and ginger tea scent. I was seeking a good chai perfume but this is unexpected and interesting in its’ own right. 3 out of 5.

Slightly more tasty and Christmas appropriate version (while the second one feels like autumn more) of Tea for two L'Artisan. ;) The latter I adore, so it goes without saying I love Un Crime Exotique too. Already on my wish list. EDIT: on my shelf yet :)

This offering from Parfumerie Generale reminds me very much of drinking a steaming-hot cup of apple cider on a cold winter's day. The cinnamon, anise and gingerbread bring a sweet, aromatic spiciness to the fragrance right from the beginning. The spices feel as though they have been stirred into a hot mug of tea or cider, providing a warm and comforting sensation. The vanilla is not especially apparent - this isn't a thick or creamy vanillic number - though I expect it adds to the overall sweetness and warmth. Un Crime Exotique is a delicious scent, though it's simpler and lighter overall than what I prefer in this type of fragrance. Personally I enjoy the combination of sweetness and spice in a more substantial oriental composition like Hermes Ambre Narguile, or even Parfumerie Generale's Indochine, which has a woodier base anchoring the sweet/spicy notes.

Now i have a bottle of this and I really like it very much indeed -for the two weeks of the year that its appropriate to wear it. Why only two weeks? Because it smells exactly, and I mean exactly, of Christmas pudding, on fire, bathed in a seriously good overproof Rum -probably Lemon Hart 151 if you want to get into specifics. For this reason its also the most inappropriately named perfume i've encountered. Bloody good name though. Completely squandered in this capacity of course.. Other reviewers have accurately described it as a novelty fragrance. But nonetheless i have a bottle, because its rich, smooth, delicious and lovely and when i break it out every Christmas it will be just the right thing for the holiday season. Nom nom nom...

All honey and nothing else. I got a sample a while ago, looking for a chai latte gourmand. I gave it to my mum quickly cuz it wasen't that at all and forgot about it. Fastforward a year and I revisit it when I am at her place. I just remember not liking it much, nothing about the notes a side from it containing spices. All I got its sweet, dusty honeycombe. I was 100% sure I am gonna finde honey listed in the notes, but nothing. I can actualy smell nothing of the notes listed here. Mabye a touch of milky ness. Like milke with honey. It stays close to skin but lasts for 10hrs plus. So top for that. If I ever want a nice linear honey gourmand I will remember it. But I wanted a chai latte.

I agree with Pinnacos - it's nice, it's gourmand, but it's the smell of festive candles in winter. At first a big whack of cinnamon and star anise then it dries down gradually to a spicy warm gingerbread. A novelty scent for winter, lovely after the initial blast, but not a serious personal grooming item, is it? I walked along thinking "I smell like pot-pourri - a Christmas candle - or room scent." The osmanthus is struggling against the cinnamon, to be honest. Having said all that, it's cheerful. Required wear for all Santa's elves and maybe the reindeer as well :)

If you love the smell of those cinnamon-scented pine cones at Christmas, you'll love this! I rather enjoy cinnamon perfumes and seem to have gravitated towards them in my scented journeys, but this one is STRONG. If you can wait out the first hour+ of cinnamon Christmas potpourri, you will be rewarded with a smoky-sweet drydown deliciously reminiscent of fresh baked gingerbread with homemade frosting or more specifically, hot out the oven pfefernusse cookies.

On my skin, much vanilla and cinnamon. The gingerbread brings a delicious gourmand nuance, and at the base, with less attention but without ceasing to appear, a incense light vibe and aroma of hot tea those use creamy milk, used in place of water, spectacular. Exceptional aroma, delicious. Longevity very good and Sillage moderate/good. Ps: Sorry about my english.