Muse de Rochas

Delicious. A pervasive, yet very subtle banana/mango note overlays white florals and a kind of warm skin scent. Not at all a pungent fragrance, but a very personal one. Very different to most fragrances around on the market at the moment. It's not loud, but has a strange, hypnotic quality. The bottle, incidentally, looks much nicer in real life than the photos - it has a metallic cap and slightly luminescent glass, like the original Lumiere fragrance, for anyone who remember that one.

Delicate, feminine, fruity, sweet, soft, powdery, smooth, waxy, resinous, soapy. SorceressOfTheDark has pretty much said it all in her review & I agree wholeheartedly. I was initially drawn to this when I saw the review noting a similar "DNA" to Cacharel's Noa. I like Noa for its soft simplicity, so the idea of a similar scent with slightly different notes is an enticing & very tempting prospect, however I don't really find much similarity between them. Noa is floral & musky. To my nose Muse de Rochas is fruity & powdery. As this really is a delicate scent; surprisingly starting off quite brash, fresh and fruity, then quickly (within half an hour) settling to a soft, smooth, subtly spiced, effervescent, resinous, powdery finish, I'd have too hard a time trying to describe it accurately in a review. Somebody else mentioned that this is like two perfumes in one & I'm inclined to agree. I will say that it's in the style of Prada Candy, Infusion D'Iris & Valentino's Rock n Dreams, with a touch of Daisy by Marc Jacobs. It's certainly of the same ilk as these other scents. The peach, musk, cinnamon & myrrh from Rock n Dreams with the benzoin, musk, iris, violet & rose of Candy or Infusion D'Iris. The green, waxy consistency of the violet leaf in Daisy seems present here. Daisy, which I'm not much of a fan of, somehow manages to smell of sweet banana without actually having any banana in the notes. (Due to the combination of buttery gardenia, sweet strawberry & violet leaf?) In Muse de Rochas, the opening is all about the banana leaf, mango, peach & cinnamon, with a subtle, herby touch of bergamot coming in soon after, with "washing powder" orange blossom powdering my nose in a soft caress. This first half an hour makes me feel like I'm wrapped in powdery pink bubblegum, and then MAGIC happens. The sandalwood and cinnamon here are quite slight but work wonders with the powdery, waxy banana leaf and peach/mango combo. They add some spice where it's needed. The dry down is where I'm sure there's myrrh, working well with the musk, banana leaf, vanilla and sandalwood. It sits extremely close to the skin in the final stages and as others have said - it's extremely hard to smell on yourself at this point, but if I sniff very close to my wrists it surprises me & I catch soft hints of it for a good few hours, so it does stand the test of time, albeit subtly so - lasting, at tops, for around 4 hours. Gentle, simple, understated. Sadly I find none of the narcissus here, but I have a soft spot for this scent, so I don't really mind. This is definitely one of those "my skin but better" scents, like the remnants of a fruity soap or fruity shampoo. Not really my style, but enjoyable nonetheless. I bought a bottle for my mother.

I agree this is a frustrating scent to review, as it has so many notes, yet the scent is light, and flat. Could have been so much more than what it is really. Nonetheless it smells nice, but goes away so fast, so no sense in buying it . I am kind of dissatisfied with that one. No sense of direction in that scent, no top notes , or middle or base, don't know who came up with such a lousy creation under the Rochas name!?

I find this to be very bland with little sillage. I cannot discern any specific notes. I've sampled for about 5 days. Not purchase worthy for my wardrobe.

Beautiful. I normally prefer bolder scents with at least a moderate projection. This is a gorgeous exception. The opening is interesting, fresh and green, most likely the banana leaf. The dry down is just stunning. It wears very close to the skin, musky, but it doesn't come across as weak at all. I get quite a bit of the cinnamon, vanilla, and sandalwood. The floral notes are very soft and the fruit is delicate, barely there, not overpowering or candy-like at all. Everything about this perfume is soft, subtle, and understated... the complete opposite of most of my favorites but it works. I'm very happy to have Muse de Rochas in my collection.