Madam Lou

[Lycanthrope]

Truly a lady loved by many: white almond-tinted musk and heady orchid with cedarwood, vanilla orchid, ylang ylang, Chinese peony, and honey.

Sweet, sticky, cyanidic almond right off the bat, but this swerves away from the pure almond very quickly with a mid-note rise of the florals in a very subdued way. Lace under a fluffy white gown? The florals are very exotic - and this is probably what I am getting now as the almond is segueing into the background - oh, and there's the honey, but it's like honey rubbed into a cedar chest, since I can get the hint of cedarwood. The cedarwood though is... kind of buttery, since I can also get even with the light exotic florals the kiss of almond. This really reminds me of a less WISTERIA'D Cordelia, which is one of my favorites. This may be more sweet and soft, lightly floral due to the honey and the peony/orchid. I do get some ylang ylang but to be fair most of Beth's ylang blends on me I have a blind spot for picking it right out. This is the one I bought a few bottles of right at the table. I think I will like them a lot, since even with all the sweet and floral notes, I read this is a woodsy foody, which sounds weird, but is very unique. I like unique! I really get the 'Colorado Bordello' feel from this, probably the cedarwood talking. Over time, this has gotten more honey-ish, and the cedarwood has retreated. I think the orchid is also rising, since this is reading as 'O' in familiarity.

[theseagrows]

this starts off with almond, vanilla orchid and ylang ylang. the ylang is the strongest note on me, but it tends to do that i think in general, or maybe i just amp white florals a lot. this is a nice creamy ylang with that vanilla orchid, so pretty. a little bit later the orchid and cedarwood come through but the cedar does not overwhelm thankfully. jeez i love a creamy ylang ylang so i am really enjoying this. it seems like a perfect heady summer scent, but creamy enough to not overwhelm. the orchid keeps blooming, balancing out with the YY and it gets even better, becoming fairly equally balanced between the two, with the honey that has finally bloomed in the most lovely way on my skin.

 

oh my i want to bathe in this, seriously. i wish i had a hair gloss/bath oil/shower gel/anything! it would be wonderful in those forms, especially on warm summer evenings. i am so glad i got a bottle of this.

[zankoku_zen]

So for me, Madam Lou is heady cedarwood, honey and hints of florals. I don't get a ton of almond from this, but rather a muskiness with an edge of the bright almond on wet. In general though, this is dominated by woods, musk, and honey. It's a grown up honey blend. Good throw and good wear length.

[ellebelle]

The first wet blast is ALMOND, which I find is typical of all of the scents that contain this note. It almost immediately settles down into a very ... grown up smelling perfume. I get the wisps of the florals and definitely a slight woody edge from the cedar wood into a musky floral.

 

Alas, the final dry down is honey heavy, and the honey blends tend to smell slightly sour on my skin. Almost no wear length either. It's beautiful, so I might try it in a scent locket.

[Aviatrix]

This starts out very almondy, but rather light at the same time. There is definitely a light muskiness underneath as well.

As it dries down, a LOT of the cedarwood comes out and almost drowns out the floral aspects, but I am still getting a sharp kind of floral, probably the peony as that tends to go sharp on me. I am not getting much in the way of honey.

Overall I find it very lovely, but I especially like the earlier stages before it becomes so sharp.

[milo]

I love the labs almond note, so I was all over this one. The almond is present in the bottle, and on my skin for a brief couple of minutes. It then turns to an acrid floral. I hope aging strengthens the almond note. Tres disappointed.

[Little Bird]

I don't really get any almond, honey or sweetness from this. It's a sharp, white musky, perfumey, white floral orchid. Actually makes me think of sharp tuberose.

[torischroeder9]

In the bottle: Yes, almond, but also something musky, something floral, and something honey-sweet.

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's a cacophony of notes. I get, in whiffs, distinct almond, cedar, peony, and something that's almost cherry. As it dries, I get musky, heady orchid. There's a hint of almond, and maybe the cedar is providing additional grounding, and maybe the other florals are rounding out the scent, but the orchid is really the main player at this stage. As it develops, the florals come out stronger, with both almond and honey lending a sticky, almond-tinged sweetness. I'm not sure I love it.    

 

For me, this is showcasing floral orchid with notes that would make it deeper and richer. Unfortunately, almond and cedar are not notes that typically work well on me -- and they're not working well on me here -- so I suspect the intention is not having the desired effect on my skin.