Laurence Dumont Tendre Madeleine: Perfume Review

"I raised to my lips a spoonful of the cake . . . a shudder ran through my whole body and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary changes that were taking place." Marcel Proust, Remembrance of Things Past It doesn't take the strongest taste or smell to stir memories. Nor does it take the most complicated one to delight us. Time and time again, I realize that the best things in life are the most simple; petite madeleines are among such things and so are sweet little scents in Laurence Dumont's Gourmandes collection. Like in food criticism, where, I imagine, it is easier to talk about a complicated haute cuisine creation, describing layers and intricacies of its taste, so in writing about perfume: I talked at length about various complex Lutens fragrances, but I am stumped by an enjoyable straightforwardness of a Dumont. Tendre Madeleine is a soft, delicately sweet vanilla with hints of almond and cinnamon. It starts that way and it does not change. That's it, done with the review. When faced with fragrances like Tendre Madeleine, it is easier to talk in images and emotions: it makes me feel cozy, safe, pleased with the world. It's watching an "aunt dip a little madeleine in the boiling infusion"...it's being cuddled in the arms of someone who won't let anything happen to you...it's cuddling someone small and helpless...it's simple pleasures. Available at lushoasis.com, $59.00 for 100ml. Image source, Tuki on flickr.com.