La Mome by Pierre Balmain

Freesia, May Rose, Pink Pepper.
Damask Rose, Raspberry, Violet, Myrrh.
Amber, Musk, Iris, Opoponax.

This particular sample was sent to me ( along with a boatload of others ) courtesy of my good friend and co-blogger sherapop. In spite of La Mome leaning very feminine, I found it a very nice scent after numerous wearings. I'd also like to take the time to thank sherapop for her generosity and for her contributions, not only here, but on the Parfumo site as well.

The most interesting thing I found once I looked at the accords was the version of Opoponax utilized here. It comes into play within 5 minutes or so and steers La Mome into Oriental territory. Subtly balsamic and evolving an incremental vanilla aroma, it transforms this fragrance into a floriental.

The opening is a very pleasant and velvety mixture of rose, an interpretation of sweet fruit and hints of spice. To me, the fruit note gives the suggestion of sherbert, but I like it ! You, of course, may interpret the opening a completely different way than I.

The rose rendition is very good. It's not exactly moist, but it's not dry and dusty either. It falls somewhere in the middle and is up front, but never boisterous. The spice and fruit accents are successful and together make for an enjoyable salutation.

As you can see, there are manifold floral components contributing, but La Mome is about rose and ambery vanilla. The tuning of this fragrance is better than I expected and it took a few wearings to appreciate it. I like that the rose and oriental notes were brought forth while the other players add an unceremonious depth to the totality of La Mome. It keeps the fragrance streamlined, yet full bodied.

The base and drydown realize a bit more balsamic vanilla lifting up what is now a transparent rose. The spice aspect has all but dissipated by this stage. La Mome is now a full fledged, simplistic  floriental and a pretty nice one at that.

This is one of those perfumes that, regardless of its price point one way or the other, has me continually sniffing the location I applied it. That's usually a sign that I like it......unless I continue to smell it out of sheer amazement because it's awful and I'm incredulous.

Not to worry here however. La Mome may be economical, but it's an easy, comfortable wear that smells very nice while you go about your business. Sillage is rather good and longevity is approximately 5 hours on my skin. Thumbs up from Aromi for La Mome and also for the nose who made this (Guillaume Flavigny ).