Mainstream Monday – Sniffing a Popular Perfume
Oh, flankers¹! Do we love to hate them or hate to love them? I think in most instances, flankers are completely unwarranted². Why crowd the shelves with slight variations of the same theme? Or even worse, why make a perfume that suggests that it’s related to its epic namesake and instead give us some generic pink pepper floral? When it comes to flankers in Perfume World, many of us have very impassioned feelings towards these “scent sequels”.
Personally, I avoid flankers unless someone convinces me otherwise. Most flankers are a waste of my precious time and limited perfume-skin-space. About a year after Lancôme Trésor in Love was launched and I was still reviewing on Youtube, this perfume was suggested to me more than once. Honestly, I avoided it because my love of the original Trésor was so grand. I had no interest in trying a variation of a perfume that I already thought was perfect. As I was going through samples, I came across a deluxe sample of this flanker and finally, after all these years, I’m trying it.
Trésor in Love opens as sour fruits and a radiant white musk. The pear is prominent which could go into borderline “shampoo” territory if you actually remember what life was like in the 90’s. On me, it’s not “shampoo-ish” but adds more of a fresh wateriness. The rest of the wear is a non-descript fruity-floral with a powdery softness. Somewhere in the heart, I start to see traces of In Love’s lineage. It’s a powdery, peachy rose/iris that is a theme of the original Trésor. However, this heart is sheer and more like “loosely inspired by” Trésor than it is a “modern interpretation” or even a “watered down” Trésor. The dry-down always throws me off because it reminds me of the top. It’s like the fragrance goes full circle. The base is a salty, sun-bleached cedar with tangy citrus. And oddly, this reminds me of Juliette Has a Gun Not a Perfume because it’s a modern amber with a gauze-like diffusion.
Trésor in Love is a nice inoffensive fruity-floral that I’m sure appeals to people that don’t like perfumes that smell perfume-y. It’s a good fragrance and I enjoyed wearing it, especially in the summer heat. My complaints come from a place of being what you could call a “Jaded Perfumista”. I’ve sniffed a lot of stuff and this fragrance doesn’t really stand out to me. It reminds me of a many perfumes launched around the same time that are like an abstract fruity-floral with clean, synth ambers. This isn’t bad. It just feels modern which will eventually feel “dated” because so many brands are doing or have copied this theme. I’m always looking for perfumes that seem exceptional or at least are an interesting extension to a brand. I don’t think Trésor in Love adds anything to Lancôme’s brand. My other complaint is that it’s a flanker and I like the original. I wasn’t looking for a “more modern” version. I just wanted Trésor circa 1993 back into my life. I wish brands would just launch entirely new names instead of riding off of old names.
Notes listed include nectarine, bergamot, peach, sour pear, Turkish rose, jasmine and cedar. Launched in 2010. PERFUMERS – Dominique Ropion and Veronique Nyberg
Give Trésor in Love a try if you like subtle fresh scents or fruity-florals. Or perfumes like Marc Jacobs Daisy, Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh, Tocca Simone, Chanel Chance eau Tendre, Burberry Body, By Kilian Forbidden Games, Banana Republic Wildbloom Rouge and/or any of the Lancôme Trésor flankers. It’s a good fragrance for close spaces or if you want to smell good but not draw much attention to your perfume.
Trésor in Love has below average projection and average longevity. It does this weird thing where I don’t notice it but I know it’s projecting because people will comment on it (this is the magic of modern aromachemicals).
Trésor in Love is available in three sizes (1 – 3.4 oz) for $57-$83 at Nordstrom.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Abstract fruity-floral with pears, peaches and powdery florals. It’s not a bad fragrance. If I had a bottle, I’d probably wear it sometimes. However, it just seems like your average flanker. It’s not like the original and here to please a newer audience while blatantly ignoring the folks that made the band wealthy enough to even think about making a flanker.
¹What the heck is a flanker? Check this post out on Bois de Jasmin.
²But, there are some flankers that I really like! I should do a post of those.
Want more reviews? Try…
Basenotes – Member reviews
Fragrantica – Member reviews
Hey Victoria,
Agree with all the above but I have gone through a few 5ml decants of Tresor Midnight Rose. He He he. Still can’t bring myself to buy a bottle but I crave it when it’s gone.
Portia xxx
I haven’t tried that one because like I said, I have a grudge against flankers. Saying that, I have some that I really like! Next time I’m at the department store, I’ll give Midnight Rose a sniff. I can’t resist anything rose-y 🙂