D'Annam: First Impressions

Recently, niche perfume boutique Libertine has decided to stock D'annam, a Vietnamese fragrance house. While the actual brand itself has come under some criticism for various issues, I do appreciate some of the more openly Asian inspired notes and profiles. 

While I picked up a discovery set directly from the house a while ago, being able to try some of their newer releases from their China collection directly in store was a treat, and being able to try testers without the haunting reminder of how much it all cost (plus shipping) and some great customer service (shout out to the sales team at the Chatswood boutique!), definitely helped me get a better idea of the house's offerings with some informed input from the staff. 

Overall - I've not quite come to fall in love with D'annam yet, but they're always piquing my curiosity and I love that they do come out with loved Asian inspired scents. I've long been waxing poetic about how much I want more Asian inspired gourmands, and seeing new brands flourish and bring these to life is absolutely everything I've ever wanted, and I hope to see more. 

Mooncake  - Golden Syrup, Salted Egg Yolk, Mung Bean, Lotus Seed, Honey, Vanilla

For me, I have a very deep love for mooncakes, and this one doesn't quite scratch the itch. Having reviewed Lava Mooncake (Floroma) a while ago, it was a little bit of a let down, and this is, not quite it. While I feel like there's novelty in the sweetness of this scent, I don't read any of the salted egg yolk or the mung bean, or the lotus seed paste, rather, it's more of a honey vanilla biscuit scent, and if you had said this was more of a vanilla wafer scent, I would absolutely believe you. I think this one needs to go back in the workshop to be reformulated, it's just so far from what it should be and I'd rather they literally have called this 'lava mooncake' because at least the custard here makes sense. It was much richer and much sweeter than I would have imagined for a scent for mooncake, and while it isn't bad per se, this definitely feels mildly misnamed. 

Vietnamese Coffee - Roasted Coffee, Condensed Milk, Dark Chocolate, Tonka Bean, Amber

I've heard a lot of press about this scent and I think my only feeling about this is - yeah it's fine. I've tried a lot of coffee blends from indie houses, and this one feels like one of a million - perhaps more notably, a sort of more roasted coffee version of French Quarter Coffee with Jelly Filled Beignets (Moonalisa). While the Moonalisa version is a lovely chocolate mocha affair, this traces many of the same steps in a more intense, savoury and coffee forward way, but it's not at all what I associate with the intense sweetness of Vietnamese coffee at all. I think as a coffee shop scent, the amber lends itself to a more dark, woody resinous profile with the dark coffee, but as someone who's not a huge dark/savoury gourmand lover, this certainly perked up my nose, but isn't one I'd purchase for myself. 

Pomelo Oolong - Oolong Tea, Pomelo, Osmanthus, Porcelain, White Musk

Another contender for the tea scents - the Oolong Tea here actually is very evocative of a lovely tea scent but again, reminds me a lot of Osmanthus Tea (One Day). While I do enjoy this, and the white musk isn't at all overpowering, and wears very nicely on my skin (keeps the floral yet astringent freshness of the tea), the pomelo is actually quite absent and doesn't at all read as citrus forward at all. While I think it's a very simple tea solinote, I don't think this one warrants any particular notes - it's a straight forward tea note which you can actually find in a lot of places (especially since the popularity of tea inspired blends, like Chasing Scents, have absolutely doubled), so while I enjoyed this, it's not enough for me to pick up.  

Mango Sticky Rice - Ripe Mango, Sticky Rice, Coconut Milk

I think this is definitely the softest scent from the D'annam rice line up - I wasn't able to love White Rice due to the strength of the orris in the blend, but here, it's rather tempered with the brightness of the mango and the sweetness of the rice peeking through more than the floral moments. I liked this one - but with it's fleeting wear time and soft life, I would probably recommend the Journal take on this scent, actually punchy fruit notes with a rich rice coming in that doesn't fade quite as fast.