I'll start off by saying, this is a review based on the official sample of the Eau de Parfum concentration version. Also, full disclosure, gourmands are not really my usual thing.
So, the sample that I have is just a little vial of the liquid - no rollerball, no applicator, no atomizer. So in applying this I may have overdone it a bit (and some got on the floor). I'd estimate that I used at least .25 to .5 ml of the 2.5ml sample in that initial attempt.
Anyway, the opening for me was actually kind of unpleasant. Just a cacophony of notes, and I couldn't make much of it. Possibly the opening was overpowered with the alcohol of the rum top note? I can't be sure.
But a couple of minutes later once it dried down a bit, it was really beautiful. I mainly got soft woods, (raw) cocoa and a smell that to me smelled just like butter (like, food butter) but which I assume is the orris butter, with a subtle coffee smell underneath. I couldn't pick out any of the other notes specifically, but I imagine they were in there, blended in with the rest. Biggest players here for me were cocoa and BUTTER (like, for food - that's how I perceived it). As odd as it sounds, the butter scent was actually oddly pleasant.
I would describe this fragrance experience as being principally (1) gourmand (cocoa + coffee + butter), as well as (2) creamy (from the butter / orris butter), (3) woody (sandalwood + papyrus), and then also mildly (4) powdery (from the cocoa?). I would say that, contrary to the ratings it has so far, for me it was much more creamy than powdery. I didn't find it to be spicy at all.
For projection/sillage I found it to stay close to the skin. Not a huge amount of projection. But it never disappeared on me. Which brings me to my biggest compliment for this fragrance.
Longevity on me was amazing! I applied the fragrance in the evening, around 9:00pm on my upper arm. I could smell it strongly on my skin (though not so much in the air) for the rest of the night. I went to bed at 11:30pm or so still smelling it. And when I woke up at 8:00am or so, I could still smell it crystal clear on my arm. I'm still smelling it now, though a bit more faintly, at 11:30am. So all I can say about longevity is that it appears to be stellar, even considering that I was using the EDP concentration rather than the extrait.
Bottom line? Though I generally prefer a more assertive fragrance, and I don't love gourmands, this was still really pleasant. I don't think it's full bottle worthy for my personal taste, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to someone who enjoys cocoa in their fragrances. For me, if I received this as a gift, I would use on a cozy indoor days.
