hannkuch

Milky Dragon is a unique and incredibly beautiful fragrance. To me, it embodies naturalness and a feeling of well-being in a bottle. At first, I wasn't sure whether its very alternative, un-perfume-like character would make it a regular everyday choice, but I was soon proved wrong. It feels cohesive, unobtrusive and refined - like the overpriced products at a health food store.

Every time I spray it on, it feels like taking a little stroll:
The door to the health food store opens, and the medicinal, leafy smell of the tea aisle immediately envelops me. As if in a trance, I float over and look at the dried leaves in the transparent bags. Which one should I choose? I settle on an intensely fragrant sage tea and move on.
When I reach the dried fruit, the leafy quality recedes a little and things turn aromatic and fruity - here, too, there's everything the heart could desire. In the end, a packet of juicy dried figs makes it into my shopping basket.
Next, I reach the shelves of breakfast spreads. The organic hazelnut creams are sealed too tightly for me to smell them, but a display of mirabelle jam samples catches my eye. Mmm! It tastes so sunny and fresh that I absolutely want to take a full jar home. Its fragrance blends beautifully with the dried figs already in my basket.
The next corner is a trap: natural cosmetics. They're really far too expensive, but the soapy scent in the air draws me in - and you're allowed to treat yourself now and then! After sniffing around for a while, I decide against the rose hand cream and go for a lovely shower gel with water flowers, which reminds me of Nivea's "Waterlily and Oil" shower gel.
Right, off to the checkout before I spend even more money on lovely things! While the cashier leisurely scans my purchases, I notice a little decorative dragon made of cedarwood on the counter. She tells me her son made it at forest kindergarten and called it "Milky Dragon". Why Milky ... Oh dear, I was supposed to buy fresh milk!
I race back across the whole store to the refrigerated section - only to find that the organic farm milk is sold out. Damn, looks like there's nothing milky about my shopping today after all. But that doesn't make it any less lovely! The sales assistant packs everything into a colorful fabric bag and slips in a sample sachet of a cardamom drink mix by way of compensation. I leave the health food store satisfied.
Once I'm in the car, I take another deep breath from my bag and smell all the lovely scents, a little more muted, but blended together into a beautiful finale to my shopping experience.

Milky Dragon follows a similar progression: from leafy to fruity to slightly aquatic, until it's replaced by the overall aroma of the health food store. Almost everything is there to smell, except for a milky note - some notes stronger than others, but always part of a rounded picture that stays with you from beginning to end. I think it's sooo beautiful!

Actually, Milky Dragon isn't really a "Milky Dragon" at all, but more of a "Herbal & Fruity Spelt-Dörte" - and absolutely lovable all the same!

I spent a long time wondering how to write this review - when you love a fragrance so much, it’s especially hard to put into words. My aim was to do justice to its perfection and subtle yet immense allure, which is almost impossible.
At first glance, the name seems unremarkable - if I hadn’t discovered it through a random Souk sample, it probably would have been overlooked among the other colorful d‘Annam fragrances on my wishlist at the time. But behind that facade lies a powerful sweetness that I just can’t get enough of.

My first impression transported me to Patrick Süskind’s “Perfume: The Story of a Murderer,” the (very brutal, but also fascinating) story of the scent of young women’s skin. I imagined it must have smelled like White Rice: A symbiosis of innocence and seduction, coming home and a deep yearning for more, a gentle touch and a passionate kiss.
It doesn’t smell like perfume in the conventional sense, but like skin (especially female skin) at its very best. One sniff of angel skin in heaven, and then back again.

Yes, yes, I know there are quite a few skin scents with this aim nowadays, but none come close to this one. I detect a distant kinship with the equally beautiful L'Eau Papier Eau de Toilette (rice) and Father Figure (iris root), but taken as a whole, White Rice is creamier, sweeter, rounder - unique.

The very delicately dosed notes are perfectly woven together, so instead of standing out individually, they captivate in combination: Pandan and tonka lend a slightly vanilla-like creaminess without being gourmand. Rice and iris root add a delicate powderiness without being dusty. Jasmine adds a touch of freshness without really unfolding into a floral scent, and musk rounds everything off with a hint of sweet, natural warmth, without ever getting musty.

At some point, I got the feeling that the fragrance reminded me of something else. Not a perfume or a particular person, but something familiar, both cozy and intoxicating. Then it made sense why I, as a crazy cat lady, love White Rice so much: it smells like a cat! Okay, a cat with a touch of flowers and rice cakes, but definitely a cat.
Whenever I sniff it, an image immediately comes to mind: I come home and there she is, the queen of the house, stretching and revealing her warm-from-sleep, half-naked - half-furred, rosy-pink cat belly. One sniff. Ahh! That slightly sweet, animalic, milky kitten skin with its velvety, powdery, cuddly fur. The most beautiful scent in the world, one I could press my nose into for hours! Home, love, closeness, admiration. Nothing will ever replace the original kitten scent or capture it in a perfume - and yet White Rice is the closest I’ve ever smelled to something that comes close to a “Kitten Musk.”

So whenever I miss my kittens, I reach for my cat scent in a bottle to bring me back to that feeling of comfort. It works beautifully not just on skin, but on clothes too, and lasts surprisingly long. You can spray it at home to feel cozy, or wear it out to turn heads. It’s especially fantastic as a layering base (a tip: hard to beat with Gris Charnel Eau de Parfum or Thé Matcha 26)!

White Rice, which I also like to call “White Cat,” is an underrated masterpiece and remains my great love at first purr.. I mean sniff (: Maybe heaven really does smell like a cat!

The first time I sprayed this fragrance, a memory immediately came to mind: Remember when milk alternatives became popular a few years ago and you tried them all? Soy, oat, rice… and of course almond. Since you wanted to be healthy, naturally you chose the unsweetened version. I still remember naively thinking that this one must taste sweet too, and being accordingly disappointed when that dry, slightly bitter taste hit me. These days, I quite like it.
I had a similar experience at first with Celestial Object: pure, dry almond milk, photorealistic, you could practically smell the ‘healthy’ in it. Not bad at all, but my first thought was: Hmm, maybe a little boring, very dusty and powdery. I hadn’t counted on the drydown. That, in next to no time, made me want this fragrance more than anything.

The almond milk becomes increasingly creamy, almost lactonic (somewhat reminiscent of Bianco Latte). Then comes a perfectly balanced, sweet caramelized quince, which gives the whole thing its special touch. According to the fragrance pyramid, it’s actually supposed to be in the top note, but I only pick it up in the heart and/or base. Towards the end, the quince almost takes center stage and the almond milk fades into the background, making it really fruity. Since this is Liis, fortunately it’s not synthetic or overpoweringly fruity, but very delicate & cuddly. As an overall impression, you could imagine a wholesome tart: a dry, crumbly base made from almond flour and slivered almonds, topped with homemade quince jelly and, to finish, a generous dollop of creamy whipped cream. That’s Celestial Object! But of course made with organic pastry dough and organic quinces, and cream from Alpine cows, naturally.

Whatever it is, this fragrance has definitely done something to me. I keep reaching for this sample, which I initially rated as rather boring. Ah yes, niche fragrances and the art of transformation … I don’t think I’ll be able to get rid of this one anytime soon. Almond milk, healthy quince tart or heavenly object? It’s hard to say.

So, I’ve decided to write the first review for this beautiful fragrance. After trying almost all the fragrances in the d’Annam range (and there isn’t really one I think is bad), the much-underrated Spring Festival is one of my top 3 picks. There’s something special about it that’s absolutely addictive.

It’s fresh without being a classic freshie. Sweet and berry-like, but by no means synthetically tart. Slightly bitter, but not too bitter. And somehow it’s soft, too (thanks to the plum blossom?), but not soapy. A perfectly balanced blend.

The fragrance most of all brings to mind a sweet-and-tart drink: a mix of Wildberry Lillet, Aperol and grapefruit soda. The berries are similar to rosehips or cranberries - so a ‘cranberry Lillet’ would come closest. Or perhaps red berry iced tea with citrus? Ultimately, it has that certain something that’s hard to capture with a comparison. What I love so incredibly much about it is its authentic, unobtrusive naturalness compared to other ‘Aperol’ fragrances.

Interestingly, opinions on which season it suits seem to differ here, probably because of the season people associate with this kind of berry. You can certainly wear Spring Festival all year round. Personally, its delicious, drink-like freshness makes it most suited to warm weather!

If this is what the Chinese Spring Festival smells like, then I’d love to go there myself sometime soon! (:

I have long wondered what it is - because I actually love how flowers smell. Whether in the meadow, on the table, in the store ... fresh, gentle & sensual. But no perfume has been able to capture that until now. Whether trivial soapy or squeaky sweet - I simply couldn't connect with floral scents.
I thought so, until I tested Eau Mohéli. And completely rethought my understanding of scent categories.

Because ... it simply smells dreamy! I really fell in love. And I agree with the previous review that it is grossly underrated.
The whole thing smells less like perfume and more like real flowers. Very naturally fresh:

I am lying in a meadow, sun rays on my skin in the warm grass. A lot of slimy dandelions surround me, coloring body parts and clothes, leaving an intensely yellow scent. Whoops, it goes up my nose, Achoo! A beetle crawls over my legs. Birds are chirping in the distance. A distant hint of citrus reaches me from a forgotten lemon slice in the grass. I could stay here forever, life is beautiful!

So whenever I long for that feeling, I wear Eau Mohéli. I close my eyes and I'm right back there!
It is, despite being an EdT, quite long-lasting and noticeable, yet not too intrusive. Suitable for everyday wear, for work or outings of any kind.
My sample is almost empty - so I urgently need a larger bottle or the flacon!

Eau Mohéli is simply a wonderful, dreamy & naturally sweet scent for the warmer days that I can recommend to everyone (: