To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Meens022JeomiWogkig – :
Beautiful, creamy, beach vibes! I initially get coconut suntan lotion (like others have said) mixed with Johnson’s baby oil fragrance, and then a pretty gardenia starts to bloom. Unfortunately it does not last long on me, and ends up fading into a weird dry down that reminds me of TF’s Orchid Soleil… in a bad way.
reka1972 – :
A sweet, pretty little thing. A white, creamy floral, very simple and likeable. Starts off very creamy, turns a bit salty and a tad artificial as it dries down – others have mentioned a “suntan lotion” vibe and I have to agree. Reminds me a bit of Madonna’s Truth or Dare, but made with higher quality ingredients. Nothing complex or challenging but a fun summer fragrance.
mzj917intitytek – :
At first I didn’t care for this, but only because it is not what I was expecting or hoping it would be- grounded more with lily of the valley than it is. But, my daughter liked it so I decided to keep it (I buy and sell a lot of fragrances online) and use it, and it has definitely grown on me. It begins smelling like suntan lotion- like a zinc-y coconut. But it quickly evolves into this really lovely floral, a true floral bouquet, like you have stopped at the market to put your nose into a bouquet type of floral, not a synthetic or loud bouquet, very realistic. The Gardenia, Orchid, Vanilla, and LOTV all harmonize in a very balanced way, one isn’t trying to compete against the other. Like they all work together symbiotically.
Also, this lasts for hours! On me, it lasts about 8-10 hours before I feel like it smells weak. I am very impressed with this little rollerball! The longevity compares much to Kuumba LOTV- which is saying a lot! So happy I bought this, got a good price too on PoshMark!
Dispsopsy – :
I think this would be a lovely “summery” fragrance for a gray winter day. . . the coconut suntan lotion note is really evocative while the powdery gardenia keeps it from going to piña colada body lotion. The monster sillage makes it a bit much for hot weather, but I can definitely see reaching for this when I’m tired of wood and spice this Christmas and just want to be in the tropics for a bit.
mishail84 – :
I really like this. I love floral scents, but they are usually high-pitched and sharp on my skin, and not very flowery. I can actually wear this one and smell the sweet white flowers! But it is warm and creamy, not citrusy or bright, which makes it very wearable on me. The powdery note must be what tones down the usual sharpness of the floral notes, but it stays in the background and behaves.
Although it is a tropical scent, it makes a great winter scent on me. I think it would be too strong and become heavy in the heat of summer.
It stays pretty much the same from the time I apply it to the time it wears off. The oil is strong, and a little is plenty. I can see this becoming gross if overapplied.
андрей-ильч – :
I’m back with a P.S. to my first review.
Prone to impulsiveness as I can be, I purchased the perfume oil when a gift certificate came my way, even though I originally tested the EDP. The oil was cheaper and I didn’t have an oil in my collection yet, so I went for it. Testing them side by side, here’s what I found…
EDP: Lighter and creamier, as to be expected from a lower concentration of oil. I have a much harder time detecting lily-of-the-valley in this. It lasts about 5-6 hours on me, not projecting much if at all towards the end.
Oil: This is greener than the EDP, with a more prominent lily-of-the-valley note. At first that disappointed me a bit, but it fades into the drydown. When the EDP is winding down, this is just getting started. It’s not as pleasant to sniff up close as the EDP, but it wafts a gorgeous, creamy gardenia for a good foot even 6 hours into wear.
Both of these seem to come alive in the heat. Wearing them outdoors in nearly 90 degree weather is a very different experience than wearing them indoors. Not to sound cheesy, but that’s when they bloom into something beautiful.
Now, if we could just get two separate entries for the database…
vitek821 – :
Monyette Paris is a creamy, sweet gardenia. “Moon Over Miami” comes to mind when I sniff this. It triggers scenes of exotic, breezy and romantic nights looking out over the ocean in my mind. There are well-tailored women walking about wearing red lipstick and gardenias in their hair. Thankfully, I don’t get any coconut from this on my skin.
I agree with the review below that it has a suntan lotion vibe, but it smells luscious and retro, not cheap.
Persey777 – :
This is a fun little perfume oil, almost cliche in its sarong-adorned, margarita-sipping charm.
On my skin it is 100% suntan lotion from the ’80s with no other notes: no coconut, incense, or florals.
It’s a perfect mood perfume for when you want to feel like you are on a tropical vacation. It’s the olfactory equivalent of The Love Boat with a dose of Gilligan’s Island thrown in.
*Note: it’s very pleasant and natural-smelling when applied lightly, but if you put on too much, it will take on a headache-inducing synthetic quality.
Linka – :
I received a sample of the EDP (NOT the oil) from Luckyscent. Normally, I have a personal rule of waiting 5-10 seconds before smelling a fragrance to let the alcohol get out of the way first but the blast of nail polish remover-like odor hurt the insides of my nose even when my wrist was as far away from my face as it could be!
Luckily that initial blast lasted less than 10 seconds and completely vanished and I was quickly left with a very soliflore gardenia without any vanilla, lily-of-the-valley or vanilla orchid in sight. It is a good gardenia in my opinion because it is quiet. I’ve been shrieked at by very loud gardenias in many other perfumes and beauty products so I appreciate the modesty and calmness.
It is a bit soapy as well. (Not soapy as in it smells like plain normal soap but soapy as in I can see a gardenia scented soap smelling exactly like this.)
After a few minutes, the fragrance softens and becomes creamier and (very slightly) sweeter and you can smell the muguet(less so)/orchid(more so) tiptoe in and join the gardenia.
About 20-30 minutes later, I notice my wrist smelling sweeter and the orchid becoming more prominent.
I feel like maybe it was a bad idea to try this one out for the first time on a cold November day, it would probably be much more enjoyable to wear when it’s hot and humid.
ETA – 4/16/15
I can’t believe I’m doig this but here we go: It’s a warm and sunny day and as I was trying to figure out which perfume to wear today, I sorted through my box filled with samples and pulled this out and decided to give it another go. I applied generously with intent to hurry up and finish the vial soon so I can get rid of it so let’s estimate that between both wrists and both back-of-hands theres about 10-12 droplets on me.
I was able to feel a suntan-lotiony scent with my wrists very far from me which grew into a warmer and more luxurious tropical beach gardenia feeling. It evokes imagery of dark tanned skin, a white sundress billowing in the wind, a wide brimmed hat, a lazy day spent relaxing or possibly bicycling to take in the beautiful scenery, a cool breeze to break the heat. Sugarless iced tea (not the scent of it but the idea of it.)
The soapy thing and the nail polish thing from my last review aren’t here this time. Today this is suntan lotion + gardenia and I like it! I could ALMOST compare it to Elle L’aime (Lolita Lempicka.)
Just goes to show how important it is to test perfumes multiple times and under different weather conditions.
Vitasha29 – :
This is a creamy Gardenia with just a touch of vanilla and lily-of-the-valley. Unlike many other reviewers I didn’t get any coconut from this. It does definitely have a tropical, beachy air to it that would make it perfect for hot weather The scent remained the same from start to finish which lasted only about an hour unfortunately .Sillage was low which is to be expected for a oil.
buba181 – :
I was excited that this resembled one of my current favorites (MDCI Un Coer en Mai)and thought this would be a less expensive substitute. It went on as a beautiful fresh white floral and was gone within 2 hours. So for me, although it is beautiful, its lack of longevity does not make it worthwhile.
superelectrik – :
Hi Monyette! I love you! But why do your flowers last only a single hour on me? 🙁
If you are wealthy enough to douse yourself with this every hour on the clock, I encourage you to try it. It has an almost kitschy vibe to it, perfect for a tropical vacation or lounging on a boat in the summer, I imagine. Because sometimes, a girl just wants to wear bright colors that will pulse happily in the hot sun, big tacky sunglasses, bronzed skin, and super-white teeth gleaming with a smile.
dum71 – :
I am by no means a fragrance expert, but I do know what I like. I love the scent of the fresh gardenias I grow in my garden, as well vanilla and lilies. To me, it seemed I should love this fragrance. When I received it, I immediately wondered what I was thinking when I ordered it! I do smell the gardenia and vanilla, but it just smells old and musty to me. It is very unpleasant with my body chemistry, as well. I will have to keep looking for a gardenia based fragrance that works for me.
unilogin – :
I was hoping for a nice gardenia note on me but that’s not happenin’ with Monyette Paris.
***WARNING***
I do not recommend buying Monyette unsniffed, untested or otherwise untried!
This fragrance has a chameleon-like quality. The first time I tried it, it was horrendous. Way too sweet-incensey on me. On another day, it was endurable; still not a favorite, but I didn’t have to scrub it off.
I don’t know if there is such a thing as “bad chemestry days” (kinda like bad hair days); but, if there are, they cannot be foretold. TRY BEFORE YOU BUY THIS ONE! 🙂
HApallanue – :
I love gardenia and this smelled very creamy and feminine when first applied. The lasting power was all day, but unfortunately the creamy gardenia and subtle lily of the valley smells only lasted a few hours. The rest of the drydown was something I can only describe as “dusty butter”. For that reason I am not interested in a full bottle.
Doc Elly’s review hits it right on the head.
Nattpraniny – :
I got a small sample of this from The Posh Peasant as part of her California Dreamin’ set. It was perfect for my recent trip to Mexico. It’s a lovely tropical flowers scent that has a feel good vibe. Some scents make me anxious, but this was very calming. A great vacation perfume.
proletarka – :
I smell more tuberose than gardenia in MONYETTE PARIS, but there is also a coconut aspect to this tuberose-centric perfume. I am reminded of both JUICY COUTURE and Serge Lutens DATURA NOIR. MONYETTE seems like a cross between the two…
I would describe this as a “thick” tuberose composition, meaning fairly dense and impenetrable. There are not a lot of layers or complexity here. The medium is oil, so that may be contributing to the opacity of the perfume, as I have often noticed that carrier oils tend to drag everything down into a single linear layer.
MONYETTE PARIS is worth sniffing if you like slightly tropical tuberose presentations, but it does not seem very extraordinary to me. I picked up a sample from a niche emporium on the strength of the raves I had heard, but I’m not convinced that this is better than JUICY COUTURE, although I do find it more wearable than DATURA NOIR.
Of the various sweet tuberose perfumes I’ve tried, GUERLAIN MAHORA is by far the best of the bunch.
monolitleha – :
A light and pretty, girly fragrance with a near instant smack of coconut that lasts for a few minutes, then becoming a creamy gardenia. On me this was not at all a heavy scent, but soft and smoother than Kai. It has good sillage and an excellent longevity.
hahaha166545 – :
To me this smelled of honeysuckle in pure extract form. Once I read it was composed of gardenia and lily of the valley I began to recognize them for their own individual elements but before that the combination of the creamy and dank gardenia with light flitting lily created a note strikingly similar to honeysuckle on me.
Xeroxjgcbw – :
I found this pleasant and Summery but not too heavy, despite the very strong Gardenia. It’s a bit one-dimensional for me, though, so unless you really love Gardenia you may be disappointed. Nice enough but really over-hyped and ultimately nothing at all special.
medvedev1991 – :
Not knowing anything about this EdP, I was surprised to find that it has an intense coconut smell at first, a lot like a floral-scented suntan oil or lotion. Then I smell indolic and slightly camphorous white flowers, maybe tuberose, maybe a plastic gardenia. Then it dries down to smell just like the functional scent in one of the many “coconut”-based lotions that are out there in the form of skin care products. All of these lotions have a similar mix of generic white florals, buttery vanilla, a synthetic plastic-oily almost rancid smell, and coconut.
To me there is nothing original or compelling about Monyette. In fact, it’s a little off-putting with its strong, very synthetic, lotion-like sillage. Longevity is moderate, about 5-6 hours. There are far better coconut scents out there, there are far better gardenia scents out there, so I don’t get what all the hype is about.
Wollwerine – :
I tried the oil and it smelled like a pleasant baby wipe or suntan lotion. Just a subtle creamy gardenia. A toiletry you would want to use but nothing special enough to use a perfume. Try Kai, bigger gardenia scent and longer lasting. This left me underwhelmed.
pouskin_89 – :
This is a beautiful breath of balmy air… When I tested this fragrance, it was in frigid January, and imagine my delight when gardenia, tuberose, and a creamy whiff of coconut hit me! After a few minuites it settled down, and I was given a steady sense of a white orchid, warm air, and old school suntan lotion…? I do not like the faint, sharp, almost oily/metallic hint I’m getting, but it’s not enough to spoil this lovely fragrance. Lasting power was about average on me, I used the oil. It’s a sunny temporary get away to fresh coconut milk with an orchid in the glass! And I’m definitely going to have to try it in the summer!
Fire345 – :
(for the EDP) This does smell different than the oil and, in my opinion, is much much better. (My husband doesn’t like the oil but he loves the edp.) This is a creamy and sexy blend of sultry lily of the valley, creamy tuberose, and has light undertones of dry and woody nag champa. This also smells like it is offset by vanilla, thereby making it a comfort scent on cold days and a sexy scent on warm days!!
mehanik93 – :
It’s a delicate and gentle composition that leaves an impression of refreshment and airiness.As elusivek said it screams spring,except from gardenia and lily of the valley,I can smell silk tree blossom which brings to my mind spring time..
stray – :
A stunning creamy floral coconutty perfume. I really love this. It is very well constructed. I wore a sample today and lots of people said they loved it. I have ordered a full bottle 🙂
edit: unfortunately too heady and buttery for me now
urtura – :
This fragrance is barely a whisper on me-
It’s a bit hard to describe, because it’s so evanescent- but in a nutshell, I would call it a “creamy green” fragrance- it makes me think of barely- ripened coconuts!
I would like it much more if it had stronger presence and better potency-
but 2 hours after I applied 1 cc, I couldn’t smell it at all!
AttaftLit – :
This is fairly linear on me. Only a few detectable notes to my nose. I get an overpoweringly sweet note, gorgeous lily of the valley and something deeper (can’t place it).
The only thing that changes about this as time goes on, is that it keeps getting sweeter. It’s really a shame because I love the way the lily of the valley is done in this.
It ends out being a floral gourmand on me. I see that most people wear it in the summer but it really says spring to me. It also doesn’t really last that long on me (thankful for that!)
bbbmmmiiiccc – :
This reminds me of the bath oil that used to come in beads. The beads would melt in the warmth of the water. This is not for me.
levinigor – :
Not for me. I think it smells kinda like dog shampoo at the drydown. I don’t get coconut or even vanilla and was really expecting more sweetness after reading previous reviews. I do get the incense and slight powder which is nice but not enough to lift this one up to the like category. This is the second fragrance I’ve tried by Christian Brando and I’ve been disapointed both times since the hype (or notes) seemed to promise so much while the actual fragrances just didn’t work for me.
ensobolev – :
what a lovely surprise this was, i got a whole heap of samples of different perfume based on the notes(some hard to get ones) this was one of them. i had already tried kai and tried to really like it but it was just a little overpowering and although this reminds me of it,its much more suttle, its more of a creamy gardenia, a summers night. in my opinion its a bit ‘oily smelling’ for the day, but for the evening it would be perfect. not a winter scent, even though the vanilla warms it up a bit its still a summery smell for me, my 2 young sons just loved it(i suppose you could call it a comforting scent) but i am definately considering a bottle.
viktor-osa – :
After the creamy sweet old-fashioned candy shop smell opening, Monyette Paris is quite linear, it settles and becomes cute, creamy, creamy gardenia dancing with the vanilla sweetness. Every now and then, the lily-of-the-valley comes and says ‘hi’.
It should be a nice perfume to wear if you love intoxicating good quality ingrediants, and love something that’s loud but not the teenager-pop-princess-pink-sugar kinda loud, and has a good projection.
However, personally, the only thing puts me off is that I find it too tropical and somehow the creamy sweetness can be mistaken as coconut.
Anyways, it’s an interesting perfume to try on.
ian9 – :
Monyette is a bit more “tropical” than I usually wear, but it’s a very nice scent for Spring and Summer. Smells very fresh, slightly sweet, and very youthful and energetic.
Some fellow Fragranticans recommended this one to me as it supposedly contains Nag Champa. There’s just a touch of my beloved Nag Champa hiding in there. I get a whiff of it now and then, but I mostly pick up the white tropical flowers. I think I’ll give Violet Lily’s suggestion of pairing it with a drop of Nag Champa a try.
I’m not a big fan of Gardenia (not nuts about Kai, for example), but the sharpness of gardenia is softened and sweetened here by the vanilla. It’s wearable immediately, but I like it best about two hours in, when some of those florals have faded a bit.
Very pretty fragrance overall.
kofic – :
I tried the edp, which was just lovely. I am not a fan of white florals, but this one blew me away. It’s a very powerful fragrance of white flowers but somehow creamy. It’s almost edible. Just simply, elegantly lovely
shved_37 – :
This is a sexy, creamy gardenia. Intoxicating… It lasts at least 8 hours on me, and I catch whiffs of it on myself throughout the day. So on me at least, it has great lasting power. I don’t get coconut in this at all, the whole tropical theme to the fragrance makes me think of coconuts in passing maybe, but I don’t get the smell of them in it- though I adore coconut. This is not pure or fresh gardenia though, if you want that go to Kai (which is a bit too straightforward for me).
uozkgotugff – :
MmmMMM! This is just gorgeous! I feel as though I am surrounded by a gardenia bush. A bit heady at first, but it soon softens into a wonderful gardenia, tinged with the French Muguet du bois and Nag Champa. I’m not really sure what French Muguet smells like but I can just smell the Nag Champa, and they seem to make this fragrance the lovely thing that it is. And that thing is a totally gorgeous, lush and creamy gardenia. It doesn’t smell like coconut or suntan oil to me, though it does smell hot summer night sexy…I barely made it half-way through the sample before I’d ordered the full 1/8oz roll-on from Luckyscent!!
PS: I find this quite similar to Kai, which I also have a sample of. Kai is lovely, though too green for me to begin with. Though it ends up smelling very similar to Monyette, except not as creamy and does not last anywhere near as long on me.
PPS: Discovered that a tiny dab of Dragonfly Blue Nag Champa underneath Monyette makes it last much longer on me! At first the Nag Champa overpowers the Monyette, but soon the gardenia comes into full bloom and it’s just lovely!
djmagix – :
One of my true favorites. Creamy, lucious, perfection in a bottle.
Towelie – :
Tropical beach in daytime, salty turquoise sea, nice swimmingsuit and colourful sarong on, sand getting stuck in heavily oiled skin and fruit punch in hand, lot’s of laughing, this is how I imagine this scent.
It reminds me much of suntanlotion, not so sophisticated, but sunny and strong. It’s all about gardenia, creamy and heavy. If Serge Lutens Datura Noir is dramatic tropical night, adult, full on promises, this is young people having fun day on a beach.