New to the Lancome counter and the last word in pretty, La Vie est Belle L’eau EDT (50ml for R865) is a soft, slightly sweet and very feminine fragrance.

Something about it reminds me a bit of Victor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb but with a lot less sugar and nearly as potent. While V&R yells ‘Hey sexy!’ and wears bright fuchsia lippie, La Vie est Belle L’eau sports a juicy-looking baby pink chubby stick while blowing you a kiss.

Officially, the notes include magnolia essence, iris, white flowers absolute, patchouli essence, sugar, praline, almond and vanilla. To my nose, however, I pick up a little bit of magnolia and a lot of musky, sugary patchouli. Hearing that, you might suspect this scent could be a little too sweet – cloying, even – and possibly step into Thierry Mugler Angel territory but it doesn’t. It’s also not too young-smelling, which is often the case with light, gourmand florals. Another thing I appreciate? There’s very little powder in the mix, if any. Many of Lancome’s scents have powdery notes, including the original La Vie est Belle, but I can’t pick up a drop of that in L’eau.

Being lighter and ‘fresher’ than the original, this is supposed to be ideal to wear in warmer weather but, due to it’s soft, cosy gourmand nature, I reckon this is a perfect autumn/winter scent. In all, a total keeper.

Love, love

Leigh