La Dompteuse Encagée

I like Beige of Chanel. I sincerely like it. I like it from the top to the bottom. That starts with a very animalistic honey scent, which is the feeling of deep drought when you perceive too much sweetness in honey. This perfume has the same honey nuance of that animalistic, deep burning feeling of the too-much sweetness of Beige. The Beige without Chanel-resque powdery, or less Chanel-resque powdery but more honeyed Beige. or I could say it is more fruitier Beige. Somewhat reminds me of La Vierge de Fer, whose sharp pear scent is emphasized, and Nuit de Cellophane too. or the baby between those two, but with Beige's telegony?

I genuinely cannot comprehend why this one is being denigrated. It may be more tame and simplistic than Serge's more experimental offerings, but there are a handful of fragrances from the export line that are far more palatable and generic than this, yet they receive almost universal praise. To me, this is gorgeous. It's quite linear and easy to grasp, so I'll review it with *relative* brevity. The opening is a blast of bracingly fresh menthol and candied fruity sweetness that smells uncannily like pink/strawberry Mentos without ever veering into gourmand territory as said fruitiness is derived from the florals. The florals here aren't beachy nor redolent of suntan lotion, but instead lush, fleshy and humid, more "exotic"; an amalgamation of white and yellow flowers that are difficult to distinguish. Frangipani, magnolia and some kind of Sambac jasmine-gardenia-tuberose hybrid are most apparent. It's in the same ballpark as fragrances like Beyond Paradise or Moringa, yet stands on its own and isn't redundant despite me owning a plethora of florals. Smells NOTHING like Datura Noir or Fils de Joie (seriously...nothing), IMO. Drydown is dominated by the aforementioned strawberry Mentos with some candied white flowers reminiscent of the smell that emanates from Fracas' atomizer. This exceeded my expectations - I adore it and implore any floral lover not to dismiss this. Test it and decide for yourself!

Why is it a write review and say I love it and a person comes along to tell us how they hate it! Wt Heck!!!

La Dompteuse Encagée is no where near as good as Fils De Joie. Although this is a divine floral, there’s a screechy white floral note here. It reminds me more of Jasmin Grandiflorum Extrait 30 somehow as I get jasmine. The dry-down is more like a jasmine air-freshener. This just doesn’t have the same smooth golden magic as Fils De Joie. Although it’s pretty, I can’t wear this as it gives me a headache.

4/6/23 just received this in the mail today and swoooon. where have i been? review coming soon after wearing a few times. Holy smokes this and Fils de Joie are bonkers-level delicious and sexy florals. True florals and not stewed fruits/resins. Feminine and beautiful. 4/20/23: OK! Coming back after having worn this about 2-3 times. This IS a beautiful floral, that's a bit hard to compare or describe. While there is a frangipane type floral element I don't think it's particularly similar to Chanel Beige or Prada La Femme. It is a very classic and safe floral (nothing stewed or edgy which is often the case with Lutens). This is definitely not a suntan beach vibe at all but more like a classic traditional almost formal floral. When wearing it on skin only, I get a slightly sharp, sweet floral. But when I spray on fabric (and do be careful since the juice is purple), an almond element definitely appears in the later dry down (1-2 hrs in). I absolutely LOVE this hint of almond and plan to figure out how to exaggerate this as much as possible. It kind of reminds me of a crème from L'Occitane or something creamy and almondy I've smelled before in a bath product or lotion. It turns out to be something a bit more unusual given this almondy element (which only appears on fabric), and a slightly sharp floral which gains a tiny bit of spice on skin in the way dry down. I am underwhelmed with it's longevity and projection so I've taken to over-spraying it like an absolute fiend. I bought a 100 mL bottle so do plan to spray about 10 times and also on my clothing. LOVE IT. EDIT: I’m very sorry to say I think the almond note I was getting might have been my my shampoo. After subsequent wearings I’m not sure if the almond note is truly present on me. Sorry, maybe I should delete this…I do still love the florals and this scent overall.