L’Essence de L’Engouement

[violetblue]

L'ESSENCE DE L'ENGOUEMENT
French vanilla, pink candies, strawberry sugar, and orange blossom.

This is everything I had wanted and expected Celeste to be! First applied it's all sweet, pink, gentle strawberry sugar (and not fake smelling to me at all)! The orange blossom is fairly strong and has an odd, tiny sourish note but somehow, it works on me and I keep sniffing my wrists. I can detect the vanilla, faint, but it's there. I really like this, and depending on the staying power, I may consider an additional bottle.

[mxtine]

This is delightful! Sour Patch Kid orange-strawberry powdered sugar. Vanilla hiding in the background. I expected this to be more sweet than tart, and while I love how bright and cheerful this is, I'm hoping the vanilla comes out more with some age.

[suki]

In The Bottle: Sweet yummy pink strawberry sugar! Nomnomnom

 

Wet On Skin: Yup. That's strawberry candy alright!

 

Dry Down: Yeah, I see how the vanilla is hiding there. This is like strawberry pixie stix if you ever had those. I'm not usually much for "candy" scents (I like my foodie oils a bit more grown up) but this one is really, really good.

 

In All: Low throw, a sweet daytime scent for you and also a perfect scent for children that want to feel special by wearing "grown up perfume". Glad I got a bottle!

[angelicruin]

This is as good as I knew it would be. It's all sugary strawberry syrup on my skin.

[killerklown]

It starts out pink and candyish and then goes to a slightly sweet, warm musky goodness with a strawberry vanilla backdrop. Delish!

[JasminDreams2010]

I wish this were stronger on the vanilla and sugar, and lighter on the orange blossom, but all in all, it's sweet and light. I'm going to wait and see how this ages- a keeper for now.

[bluerose]

Sweet strawberry with a hint of orange blossom. I wish the strawberry note was just a bit stronger.

 

I was worried about the strawberry note being the same as Pink Lace's (where it gets a bit plasticky) but it's not the same.

[TheIceMaiden]

I get a hint of orange blossom in the beginning, but this is otherwise mostly strawberry candy floss with an extra helping of sugar, and a little vanilla in the drydown. The throw is moderate-to-light and it lasted for a few hours on my skin.

 

This reminds me a bit of Beaver Moon 2010, but much sweeter, or a strawberry cousin to Bloody Mary. I like it, but I'm hoping a little aging will tone down the sugar and bring out the orange blossom and strawberry.

[CapricornSister]

I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised by this one. Sometimes sugar and strawberry notes can smell strange on me. That didn't happen with this!

It is really well balanced. I get an initial blast of strawberry, not too loud though. The vanilla is subtle as well, but gives it a creamy backdrop. The sugar is more apparent on the drydown. It is definitely a scent for when you're feeling girly!

[Antoinette]

Just what I wanted it to be! Strawberry vanilla sugar. Delicious!

[SadariEvenstar]

Pink!

 

 

This is so yummy, I feel like a strawberry sundae!

[Sateki]

This is a delicious-smelling strawberry scent mixed with a tiny hint of vanilla (reminiscent of Celeste). The strawberry itself isn't too sweet, but the sugar and vanilla in the background takes care of that aspect. I smell no orange blossom. Definitely a girly, delicious scent.

[Gateau]

Very pretty strawberry scent. I didn't care for the strawberry note in Kitty, which smelled like artificially flavored candy to me. This is more like the fresh strawberry in Lilith's Tea Party, which smells seedy. Here it mixes with the sugar and vanilla, but strawberry dominates. I don't pick up the orange blossom at all, but maybe it's adding sweetness. It's super pretty and my little boy loves it on me, but I don't think it's "me" enough to need more than a decant. might be a nice one for my niece.

[KittyHawk]

I am truly heartbroken over this scent; I expected to love it and had planned to purchase two bottles unsniffed, something I never do. I initially tested this during shark week, and it was terrible. I thought perhaps my amped hormones were ruining things, so I tried it again today, but sadly with the same results.

 

In the bottle, it's beautiful vanilla-laced strawberry with a bit of bite from the orange blossom--lovely.

 

Wet and upon drydown, it's a disaster. The Lab's/TP's sugar note must be a death note for me (Sprinklecake was also a mess), as it actually stings my nostrils when I try to sniff my arm. The strawberry is there, and it's beautiful, but the sugar ruins everything. After an hour it becomes really dark and evocative of incense, which I don't like at all. If you can carry the sugar note and everything else is an amenable note, go for it. If not, beware. So sad.

[Numanoid]

In the bottle, first sniff, very pink and strawberry...

 

On skin: starts to get a little powdery and tart, but not in a bad way...turns almost a hair floral-y on me, odd!

 

After a few minutes: I get a hint of strawberry and a hint of vanilla...both very faint. This, to me, is a very girly scent...soft and feminine.

[ljaylh]

Oh.. this is such a pretty one! I was concerned that it would be overly sweet and candy-like, but it really isn't. YAY!

 

Like violetblue, I also picked up a sour tone to the orange blossom when I first dabbed it on my skin - but thankfully that went away pretty quickly and then everything else was revealed - the vanilla, the pink candies, the strawberry sugar - all in beautiful balance, all very soft and lovely, all good!

 

The orange blossom is the most obvious note at first, but as with all the other flavours in this conconction it's soft and dreamy. The vanilla has a hint of creaminess, but it has quite a dry tone which keeps it from being too icecream-ish. I see the comparisons to Celeste in previous reviews, but the vanilla in Celeste was ghastly on me - sour and sharp - so for me, this one is not Celeste-ish at all. The pink candies and strawberry sugar come into play much more after about 15 minutes on my skin, which is how long it took for the orange blossom to fade a little - and unlike some previous BPALs I've tried, the strawberry here is not plastic or artificial - it really does smell like fresh, juicy strawberries. The staying power isn't great, but it does hold its fragrance nicely as it fades.

 

Is this "the intoxication of the first kiss"? Hmm.. I'm not sure - I think it belongs more to a young girl scoring her first smooch in the school playground, rather than to a grown-up woman intoxicated by her first lusty kiss - it's just full of sweetness, fluffy bunnies, young romance, unicorn rides and a kind of innocent girliness. It's the perfect BPAL to wear for sharing a milkshake with your love whilst holding hands under the table outside at the cafe on a sunny day

[Circaea]

Sweet sugared strawberries resting on a cotton candy cloud, at first breath. This is fruity and childlike. As the others have noted, there is a tart or sour note underneath that comes out in a few minutes, reminding me of Sweet Tarts, and it makes my mouth water. It's quite likeable, but I don't see myself reaching for this one. I just can't think of an occasion or mood when it would occur to me that I want to smell like strawberry candy.

 

ETA: the final drydown goes slightly boozy, like Aremata Popea. I don't think I will be wearing this again, unless it mellows with age.

 

Update: Four months later, the sour note (orange blossom?) has mellowed and the cotton candy has blended into a vanilla sweetness that comes off a little more grown up. It's still fruity, fresh and playful, but it has some kind of I-dunno-wut that is reminding me of the Asian blends like Tamamo no Mae, Holiday Moon, Enlightenment of the Courtesan, Lovers in a Ricefield. Maybe it's a ricelike note? Anyway, I have changed my initial ambivalence to flat out love, and I've bought a bottle from a kind forumite.

Edited June 17, 2012 by Circaea

[Andalei]

I was a bit unsure about this because orange blossom tends to make any scent it's involved in smell like Sweettarts on my skin.

 

In the bottle: Juicy, slightly sour strawberries with a hint of sugar.

 

Wet on skin: A battle between sharp orange blossom and sour strawberries.

 

As it dries down this morphed into a orange tea-like scent. A little bit spicy and sadly, no hint of strawberries, vanilla or sugar. This isn't awful, but it's not what I expected at all. I'll let it rest a bit and test again.

[Larinessa]

Fresh from the cold, decant from Fright.

 

In the imp- holy moly, that is sour sweet strawberry pixie stix! Can almost taste the sugar on the tounge.

 

Wet on skin-strawberry sugar, with a background of orange blossom.

 

dry on skin- softened up to a nice mix of strawberry and orange blossom with a underlying veil of sugar and vanilla.

 

I quite like this. But I am going to let the imp settle in from the cold and retest in a day or so. But definate bottle potential.

[OctoberGwen]

This was rather pretty when first applied, smelling of fresh strawberries (which I really don't want to smell like, but is a nice enough fragrance in and of itself.) I could also detect the orange blossom, which I love, and perhaps a bit of creamy vanilla. Pleasant.

 

However, after 15 or 20 minutes it developed a nauseatingly sweet note that I just cannot abide. I had to scrub it off.

 

If you like sugary sweet scents and strawberries, this will be a winner for you!

[Incendiare]

This is definitely strawberry sugar in the vial. Like those strawberry marshmallows covered in pink sugar. It kind of reminds me of the strawberry side of Beaver Moon '10. The scent is on the lighter side, though. As soon as I apply this to my skin, the orange blossom pops out. The florals are getting stronger and stronger, and after just a few minutes, I can hardly detect any strawberry at all. It's not just orange blossom either. I swear there is rose or something in the floral mix. Give it another five minute the strawberry returns to the scene. Interesting. Now there's a balance of strawberry, sugar, and orange blossom. I like it but if I were to get a bottle of this, I'd probably sooner reach for my other strawberry blends.

[Alshneato]

Sweet strawberry candies and powdery orange blossom- surprisingly mature smelling!

[Cheri]

I tried this right out of the mailbox and all I smelled was incense, maybe the orange blossom. So that was about two weeks ago and I tried it a few times since then and it keeps getting better every time I try it. I smell sweet, creamy strawberry now and it's so pretty and girly, but also sexy in an innocent sort of way. It smells like musky strawberries. I'm tempted to get another bottle.

[Gin]

I got a giant box o' goodness from Puddin' today, and I was thrilled to see the goblins sent L'Engouement. In the bottle, it smells like strawberry-vanilla sugar with a little bit of a tart edge. On my skin, it goes a bit incensy, which is weird but not bad. It dries down to a quieter pink scent, still with a bit of tartness that makes me think of pomegranate, and a touch of powdery/incense. I was hoping this would be a screaming strawberry candy scent along the line of Velvet Pink Kitty, and it both is and isn't. I think it's the same strawberry at the core, but where VPK is loud and boozy, L'Engouement is calmer and quieter, like VPK's older sister, or mother. The more I sniff it, the more I love it. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

[zankoku_zen]

Strawberry candy and vanilla sugar.

Really sweet. Sweet, candy, strawberry.