Dries Van Noten par Frédéric Malle Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle 2013

Dries Van Noten opens with a sweet, almost creamy saffron spiced gaiac wood and cashmeran accord. As the scent enters the heart stage the saffron-laced cashmeran remains, now joined by subtle sweet sandalwood while clove spice adds depth. As the fragrance enters the dry-down stage the cashmeran recedes giving way to vanilla and tonka bean base that comes off as syrupy sweet. Projection is above average and longevity is good at 10-12 hours on skin.

Dries Van Noten's allure is supposed to be the use of real Mysore sandalwood, but while it is present I doubt there is a lot of it in here. The real star is the cashmeran that gives the fragrance a somewhat soft musky and woody vibe, while the vanilla in the base sweetens things quite a bit, maybe veering into "too sweet" territory. And there you have it, Dries Van Noten really is a sweet, lightly spiced bakery gourmand when it comes down to it. Nothing really stands out as unique or distinctive, instead falling into the "well-done, but been there, done that" bucket. I definitely like the fragrance despite the gourmand genre not being one of my favorites, but find its fairly generic nature a very hard sell at its relatively lofty price tag of $185 for 50ml or $265 for 100ml. Price aside, Dries Van Noten does smell good and earns 3 to 3.5 stars out of 5. Maybe those that love sweet bakery-like gourmand fragrances will find it more appealing than I.