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Avoir – :
Smells so unique. a soft purple flower scent mixed with fresh ocean breeze.
Rozalyeva – :
One of the most unoffensive fragrances I know. It makes me think about Japan and tea ceremonies, waterlilies in ponds in the morning.
Грец – :
I love this perfume, and it’s the only kind that my husband really love’s on me as well, and when I realize that Yves Rocher stopped selling it, I was so bummed I usually buy a bottle about every 6 months because that’s how long the full size bottle last’s me cause I only us it occasionally, but really they need to bring it back, they had a great price for, compared to amazon who sell it for over $100.
Enadamahneaby – :
ouch, sharp.
I really wanted to like this, the notes sound absolutely divine on paper.
does not play well with my chemistry.
mitser – :
This is exactly the sort of fragrance I dislike the most: green apple (when in heck did women start to want to smell like those icky lollipops?) top notes, calone-ic (colonic?!)aquatic ones, and who knew that water lilies had any smell other than rotting vegetables? Perfumers have concocted maybe hundreds of these ‘fumes in the past 15 years and in the end, regardless of their price and marketing, they all seem pretty much the same to me.
wraiku – :
I can distinctly smell apple, roses and musk on my skin. Everything else is mild and adds on to affect. I was really hoping to smell jasmine but it’s not distinct. I like it but not love it. It’s refreshing and pretty though…
crizis11 – :
A delicate scent with a musky base and floral opening. The floral notes are soft, rounded and aqueous, but on me at least I would not consider this an aquatic. I get a little peach, but the apple is not discernible on me. This is an unusually fresh and refreshing floral, unique in that there is no citrus. Instead, a soapy LOTV combines with an ethereal water lily to create a subtly fresh floral accord that gains some depth with a mildly narcotic smelling jasmine.
Nice woody, musky dry down. This is a skin scent on me, and lasts 4-6 hours max. Nonetheless, I feel it is well named, as it is a delicate and ephemeral floral.
Komandos1 – :
Very aquatic, lots of water lilies and green leaves and gentle rain on my skin.
I was kinda “meh” about Ming Shu Fleur Rare but then I was out the other night with two friends and wearing this. I thought it had already worn off because I could not smell it but they were both raving about how fantastic I smelled.
The bottle is pretty, a blue glass temple with a water lily carved into the bottom. But I find the stopper plug annoying… it makes this hard to apply. A sprayer would be better.
гера – :
The scent was a present when I was a schoolgirl. It smelled of sweets on me, with a touch of aquatic notes, they weren’t foregrounding, but rather worked as background for the sweets. I liked it.
pinisiwn – :
I can’t believe that some other marvelous fragrances from Yves Rocher have been discontinued over the years and this one is still on the shelves…It’s a soft and harmless fragrance, but as nearly 99% of floral-aquatic fragrances, I find it utterly flat and boring, too similar to many other drugstore fragrances that use to be popular among teenagers and young women.
radoman2005 – :
Its a “pretty” smell… light and soft. Nice for day wear !
caalexx – :
My mother gave me a bottle of Ming Shu Fleur Rare perfume quite a few years back. I love the smell of it and received tons of compliments when wearing it. People said it was a refreshing and delightful smell. I agree with them. Unfortunately I can not find it anywhere and it is a little upsetting for me since it is basically the only perfume I wear.
grimnn – :
This is by far the only fragrance – out of the hundreds I have happenend to sniff in life – that has a strange calming and therapeutic effect on me! It is serenity and peace of mind in a bottle!! I know, the composition is probably rather average, and it may smell a little too cheap at times, but it has one note – a surging fresh oozing, but not at all alcohol-like note – that wakes up a buddhist monk in me! I immediately get an urge to distance myself from everybody and everything, go up somewhere high up into the mountains overlooking an ocean, breath in a steam of a freshly made cup of jasmine tea and feel eternity unravelling. No matter in what circumstances I smell it – it brings me right back into this picture and I feel incredibly tranquil. I wore a deodorant once as I explored Ireland’s landscapes, all of which were so raw and powerfull, and I believe this couldn’t have been a better scent for soul-searching when outdoors somewhere strikingly beautiful like the irish west coast! I got a bottle of EDP for a better staying power, and I am anticipating the moment when I will be taking my hubby back to IE to show him around the paradise on earth that it is. The notes that I could sniff right away were water lily, lily of the valley, jasmine, probably cedar and a little vetiver, all of which blend into a ” humid aroma of a seawind from faraway lands” impression. The staying power of the EDP is very good – i can smell it 4 hours later and it doen’t loose the refreshing quality even then. The perfume does develop, but it’s not the phoenix kind, it rather stays true to itself rather than evolve into something unexpected. Perfect for hot days in spring or summer and whenever one feels in need of recharging the batteries. I love it and will be purchasing exclusively for travelling/holiday.
aCeR1k_93 – :
I have a vintage bottle of it. Top notes are certainly Lily-of-the-valley and Water Lily. Very Aqueous and mysterious. Cool and floral. The cool note isn’t like the ones, today. It’s quite complex and high quality.
It reminds me of infused oils.
Sillage: Moderate
Longevity: Moderate to long lasting
Ming Shu fluer rare is a scent for a beautiful women of any age.
slekt – :
Reminds me of Avon’s Haiku sunset.
Fresh clean scent.
Алла Фрилинг – :
I remember I had a miniature but I didn’t like it. The fragrance was too watery fresh, kind of oriental aquatic. Ming Shu is a strong fragrance, I remember I always got tired of it after few hours of wearing it (too strong and too much monotony). I remember the fragrance quite clearly and I think I wouldn’t like it nowadays too because it’s too sharp.
liaplegrienue – :
Really one of my favorite perfumes. Certainly in my top five. For Deydria answer, no it’s not discontinued. I am awaiting my order from Yves Rocher. I did come in the mail last week. In addition, I would be so sad if it’s discontinued. It smell so good. It has a little something zen and magical. I feel calm when I wear it. Bizarre but true. 🙂
skisuraArorry – :
This product seems to be discontinued? either way I see the newer versions of it sold in stores and their scent is nothing like this one.
I felt this one was very similar to Alfred Sung’s Shi, so unless I’m the only one who thinks this, if you like that one you should like this one as well. It goes with all seasons and is very watery and classy.
The bottle looks great but the smaller one is quite uncomfortable as you have to pull it to open in which some cases may cause it to spill if not careful.
esopsygeape – :
Beautiful aquatic floral, like walking beside a gentle stream with water lilies…but then said stream dried up out of nowhere. This lasted all of 15 minutes on me, then disappeared in a poof of cedar. Pity, it was nice while it lasted, and I’m glad I was given a bottle rather than purchasing it myself.
Galiko – :
This used to be my signature fragrance until about 7-8 years ago. Very floral-aquatic, and slightly oriental, like Eau D’Isssey. I ended up getting
bored by it and gave the bottle to a friend.
othentofe – :
Very fresh, modern, light and tender : I like this fragrance. I was a young woman when I get it and it was perfect. Now I’m 32 and I think it’s perfect for summer. Lasts all day.
ha_bibiii – :
As I noted in my review of Ming Shu L’Eau de Toilette (EDT of Fleur d’Aube), this scent (at least when I started collecting and ordering YR) was available in perfume, EDT and EDP…this review is for the EDT (I believe the picture above is the 30 ml perfume)
Notes from YR catalog (2006):
TOP: marine notes, peach
HEART: water lily
BASE: cedar and musk
This is one of the first YR scents I ever owned, and I still love it! It has a fresh opening like a slowly flowing stream in the woods, along with a slightly fruity (but not overly sweet) scent. This has a very soft watery floral feel to it, but is not (as others have noted) too aquatic or calone-y. The company actually classified it as an aquatic floral. This is a very peaceful and contemplative perfume. It makes you feel relaxed and at peace, calm and centered. As the heart develops the lotus/water lily note becomes more and more floral, and slightly more feminine. There is musk in the drydown that joins the water lily note, but not that much cedar. There is a warm woody dryness there, but not the aromatic cedar of storage chests or leaves/needles. All things considered: this is quite nice and very much an hommage to the crystalline floral beauty of Chinese water lilies on the river Mosuo (as quoted in YR ads).
Sillage: good
Longevity: very good
Overall: 4/5
As a big fan of lotuses and water lilies in general, I really enjoy this scent; the “exotic” bottles (of both the perfume and body products) and most of all the peaceful feeling it gives. I had the perfume version, but it was a bit more intense and a little too floral and sharper than this wonderful EDT…
mirij1976 – :
so beautiful. This is the first fume that introduced me to Yves Rocher. I must say in my opinion this a more pleasurable scent than the new edp. it’s a lightly floral transparent equatic.
as far as comparisons go.. the new edp is alot sweeter and you can really detect the sandalwood/vanilla drydown (never tried the new edt). If you like ethereal, crystal clear equatic florals this is a nice choice.
rvd947speagoessenda – :
Blast from the past!
I found some “leftovers” in a bottle I got when I was a teenager. I just had to spray a bit on my wrist. The blue liquid turned yellow, and it has become lighter than I remember (the alcohol must have evaporated or something), but the scent didn’t go off.
It’s a nice, unoffensive and girly floral aquatic. Tender, light, clean.
I’m not a fan of aquatic scents, but this one doesn’t give me a headache like others do.
Although it might leave someone indifferent, I can’t even imagine how this scent could bother someone or get on someone’s nerves. It would be perfect for days where you don’t want any particular perfume, but still want to smell nice.
I guess I just found my “new” go-to scent!
silver99 – :
Ming Shu is a lighter less cloyish sibling to Alfred Sung’s Shi. the opening starts with green sour apple
but in a few seconds a musky interlude
makes it’s presence peach i don’t notice it. waterlilies drifts silently
in the backround and the drydown of rain soaked woods ends this quiet fragrance unfortunly this does not last
on me.
an occidental revisionist of the far east in a bottle nice yes but it sells
short i’ll stick to Shi Instend.
saw1972 – :
i wish my whole house could smell like this lovely clean ‘water’
ispok – :
I love this one, especially dabbing it on the wrists. It lasts really long and does not stain clothes. It is one of my favorites by Yves rocher.
mugik – :
Very flat very dull . Dont liker this aquatic one.
Xeroxgchfz – :
Ah! Ming Shu! My mother gave me a bottle of this years ago when she was an YR skin care product junkie and ended up with a sample bottle that didn’t suit her. Apparently, I’ve had a bottle of this hanging around for years—when I rediscovered it a month or so ago, it seemed off and I tossed it.
Today I discovered an atomizer in my desk drawer filled with something—I bravely spritzed and recognized this scent. About 10 minutes after a quick trip to the hallway water fountain, a male colleague of mine wandered into my office to find out who smelled so wonderful. I guess even though the scent seemed off, it maintained something enchanting for a romantic, sensitive, rather dreamy 30-year old male. My girlfriend, who hates floral aquatics, commented quite favorably on it as well.
I really loved this fragrance when I first had it and wore it religiously—but then went through a no-perfume stage owing to a co-worker’s allergies. Now that I “found” it again, I realize that its no longer available on the YR website, which now offers two other versions.
I liked the original notes—especially the apple and peach—which I found less fruity than many of the more recent scents out there today—and I remember the cedar as well.
I just received a sample of the Fluer de l’Aube version (which smells different, but also wonderful) and I will order the plain Ming Shu, which I assume is a reformulation of the 1997 version and see how they compare.
al1500 – :
Sharp a bit cheap and too much jasmine, still I liked a small drop on my wrist when I was younger.
zsp – :
A flat floral-aquatic. Very similar to Jesus del Pozo’s Halloween. A agree with Marianne, it’s a tad cheap-smelling. It’s not offensive but not interesting either. Duh…
kenny26 – :
floral-aquatic, floral-transparent, floral fresh;
crystal as a water drop, integrated with the gentleness of a smell of water flower ming shu, growing on a river Mosuo.
it’s scent was reconstructed with the ‘head space’ method.
For young, active women, who want to accentuate their modernity and still girly charm.
persik – :
Ming Shu is a lovely fragrance – floral aquatic is how YR describes it. It is a clear and clean fragrance, with flower petals floating down a crystal clear stream. I find the scent lasts fairly well on me, but I have a couple minis on hand to take with me when I wear it, just in case I need a touch-up!
Ming Shu Fleur Rare used to be available in both EdT and EdP (I know because I have some of the EdP stashed away), but I think they are only selling the EdT right now because of the Fleur de la Aube version.
zl999 – :
I disagree it doesn’t smell cheap!!! I find this smell very refreshing and clean. As almost all Yves Rocher floral fragrances it goes away within an hour. I suppose when speaking of staying power tommy_girl referred to Ming Shu Fleur d’Aube because it’s EDP and a bit stronger than Fleur Rare which is EDT.
Naley-naley – :
at least it’s the best perfume by yves rocher.but it’s not soft and it doesn’t remove at least for 9 hours!so that will make you nervous.but acceptable for cold weather.
Fedotikov_AV – :
Crystal clear, but one-sided and a bit cheap.