d'Annam: Bubble Tea Review

d'annam's recent success has led to a few more releases here and there, and definitely starting to move into the bubble tea/pan asian + gourmand trends that seem to be moving a lot more swiftly lately, my general thoughts on d'Annam are relatively mixed - I've generally enjoyed what they create but I've always had slight issues with how I feel about the scents - especially given the price points. I was interested in trying this, as an Asian gourmand is always going to pique my interest. 

Description - Bubble Tea celebrates Taiwan’s most joyful invention. From sweet milk tea shaken with tapioca pearls to a global phenomenon, this scent captures the drink's complex flavors: roasted black tea, rich brown sugar, creamy milk, and soft, chewy boba. Sweet, comforting, and delicious!

Notes - Black Tea, Whole Milk, Brown Sugar, Tapioca Pearls (Boba)

I'm strangely divided on this scent, but at this point, I think that's my general experience with most d'Annam offerings - on the tester strip, this is absolutely divine on opening and even after dry down. Offering this gorgeous tannic tea and milky sweet milk, it's a beautiful hyperrealistic bubble milk tea, even with a very slight hint of the slighly starchy tapioca. Yet, once again let down by the skin wear test - this one immediately turns strangely floral and almost soapy on my skin, with all of the sugar evaporating (which is very strange as I usually amp sweetness in scents). Although on my skin, past the strange floral quality, there is a touch of an interesting savoury aspect that pulls through that reminded me of the almost starchy rice and taro notes from Taipei (One Day), it's a surprise morphing of the scent that I wouldn't have guessed from the opening or the notes. Similarly on the test strips, while the lovely hyperrealistic bubble tea notes do wear for a decent amount of time, the peek through of an almost sharp, indolic (almost cat pee like) floral note combined with a soured milk screeches over the previously sweet and milky concoction. Perhaps it wasn't meant to be, or d'Annam's DNA just hates my skin, but I'm both disappointed and relived this one didn't work out for me. I would highly recommend checking it out anyway, but I don't think I'll be picking this one up any time soon.