Tendre Madeleine Les Senteurs Gourmandes for women and men

Smells waaayyy better than Lira, this one doesn't have that urine-like jasmine note 🤪 it's gone after a few minutes though 😭

Lemon air freshener in the first 10 seconds, then goes to a cinnamon bun quickly. No thanks

I loved L by Lolita so much so searching for a dupe or a similar scent I bought this
Tested it on my skin : it opens up really spicy, strong cinnamon then citrusy, bergamote and orange. It dries down smelling like gingerbread or cinnamon/lemon biscuits.
The vanilla then englobes the spices and soften up the scent, after a few minutes it's really similar to L so I'm happy to rediscover the scent that I loved so much!
Overall it smells nostalgic and spicy a gourmand that isn't too sweet, spicy lemony and creamy, and if you liked L by Lolita I think this is a good dupe

Pleasant, nothing more.
A distant accent of Madeleine (with lots of imagination).
Versatile, for every day.

Guys, I’m starting doubting fragrantica reviews :(
This smell is cheap and reminds me of pink sugar with a bit of masculine notes. Not pleasant no madeleines or bakery scent at all. Really disappointed ☹️ I wouldn’t spray that one even in the toilette…

The start of the show is vanillin, the aromachemical that is added to vanilla sugar. Longevity is extremely long, the aroma even survives washing.

I wanted to find a dupe for Xerjoff Lira, but this is not it. It is very nice, a light and fluffy edible vanilla, but the depth of Lira is unparalleled.

In itself it is a very agreeable fragrance, good quality for a very low price.

This smells like L Lempicka. A beautiful gourmand, citrusy cake. Less potent than l but wonderful for the price.

@jule9 is this the same speculoos that has a cookie butter in trader joe's? that stuff is crack and I will have to end up trying this fragrance.

There's this Belgian cookie, "Speculoos", it's like digestive biscuit but made with spices like cinammon, nutmeg etc. etc. It tastes like Christmas... sugary spicy goodness. This is exactly what this perfume smells like.

At first sniff it smells like a citronella bug repellent. But it dries down kinda quickly to a sweet lemony scent and also cinnamon which to me is quite prominent.

Have yet to put the longevity to the test; but for around 25$ I don’t expect beast mode.

It’s quite similar to Lira and should be good for layering.

Just arrived by mail today from Europe. Hard to find in North America. What surprised me is the spicier tea note. It also smells a bit soapy at first. The vanilla gourmand and citrus notes are there too. It is a bit weaker than I expected and you need to spray at least 6 times.

09/11/2023 Edited to add: Sillage is poor but longevity is great. Very long lasting.

I do think that this is very similar to L (Lolita Lempicka) & Love & Crime (Ex Idolo). The initial sweetness of all three mentioned is the same, but the difference is that while L and L&C retain their softly-sweet, marshmallowy drydown, Tendre Madeleine fades into that plus an extra flourish of heavy spices and musk. Some noses might refer to it as "masculine."

This is also cost-effective. At less than $40 it can't be beat.

I have a 15 ml bottle and I like it.
When first spray this it straight up orange spice and dries down to sweet oriental vanilla.
It's slightly mature and cold season appropriate, I think I will use it for layering. I do find very slight resemblance to L, which I miss dearly.

Wearing a decant for the first time today - first blast is definitely orange and vanilla. It smelled a bit like car freshener at first spritz but it toned down quickly.
This does smell like Madeleines, but also like fire or resin. It definitely brings to mind Lattafa Khamrah and Maison Margiela By The Fireplace. It has good longevity and it's a pretty aroma. My boyfriend said it smells really sweet to him.

To this day I unfortunately haven’t tried xerjoff’s lira yet. But I heard that this smells a lot like it. And oh my. It is soo beautiful and enveloping. My mom said it smells like a lemon cake straight out of the oven. It’s so warm and cozy and the longevity is great! Huge compliment getter. I can really recommend this. And it’s quite affordable too!

I agree w/ the reviewer below. Almondy Orange spongecake. I def get a slight cinnamon, I love! I have never smelled Lira, But I do own "L". I like this one better. I see some smell "Lemon" but I smell orange & I am so glad. NatalieN On Youtube

Tendre Madeleine is more than a simple baked "madeleine" (tiny French shell-shaped cake and a term for "one that evokes a memory"), it's an almondy, super-moist sponge cake with orange essence and warm spices, drizzled with vanilla-sugar glaze. A gentle gourmand, wearable anywhere, anytime. This eau de parfum's slight oiliness helps this scent last on my dry skin. So affordable, too, that I can't resist buying a bottle and making this a staple in my collection.✿

Longevity on me: moderate
Scent family: Amber Spicy
Want to purchase!

Similar to Lira (definitely not a proper dupe) but a bit rough around the edges, in addition to Lira's DNA it also smells like black tea to me (which I assume is the spicy notes?).

To my nose this is not a copy of Lira. They are certainly similar, but not identical. I own both and I like both, but definitely prefer Lira. Tendre Madeleine has a prominent orange note (slightly zesty) that is accompanied by the actual scent of the sponge cake the fragrance is named after. It is affordable, the scent is pleasant and good for the colder months, performance is good with moderate sillage. It might feel slightly more expensive than it is, but not much more. To sum up Tendre Madeleine is reminiscent of orange cookies with a touch of almond and something slightly spicy in the background. If you don't wish to pay the premium price for Lira, this is a good alternative for the price. In comparison, Lira is more reminiscent of lemon and blood orange cheescake that is creamy, has a dense cookie crust and delicious caramel sauce on top. Much better blended, smoother, rounder, but also much more expensive.

Clearly Lira in a different bottle (95% similar), with much better performance !

Love love love for fall and winter!
Like putting your nose in a basket of madeleine cookies. Very gourmand. I love this house. Their vanillas are all a bit the same, and I’m not crazy for their masculine scents, but Figue Sauvage and this one are on my top scent lists ever. Perfect for Christmas. Projection is not that great and neither is longevity. This is however everything I wanted My Vanilla Garden to be, and a dupe for the Lira.

This is Lira in a different bottle.

Instant love. This is a sugary citrus biscuit in a bottle. Drizzled in creamy vanilla.

Heaven!

Very similar to Lira, just less dense. Tried L de Lolita on my other arm to compare and they are very different I’m afraid, it’s not a dupe for that at ALL. I’ve sadly never found anything that compares to that one.

Very masculine orange on me, very reminescent of What would Love do by Lush but way worse 😅 I don’t like it at all.

Beautiful perfume… orange at the start, then settles to a cosy gourmand that makes you sniff your skin every 5 minutes, love it 😍

Super sharp orange zest in the opening, but give it time. The vanilla comes out to play then u get the true essence of a cake😍

All perfumes by Les Senteurs Gourmandes are quite heavy to me. This one too has a very heavy base. It’s not “tendre” but it certainly is madeleine. It lacks the buttery cookie smell but it does have the orange and orange peel, a bitter note too that it’s very fitting. The vanilla provides a solid base. It’s a very warm winter smell and very fitting for the season. A true gourmand.

Soft, light, vanilla with creamy citrus; not heavy, really good for day time wear in cooler months; after a few minutes, I begin to smell a mild nutty almond scent and then a light clove; this scent remains close to my skin

A bit harsh in the opening, but it quickly dries down into a lovely vanilla and cinnamon- a bit like a bakery! I don't think I'd go anyway near it in the summertime though

At first all I get is a sharp smelling orange, dries down into a vanilla syrup, baked good kind of smell which does actually resemble the scent of a Madeleine cake. However, for me, this fragrance is gone as quickly as it comes. I didn’t find it had any lasting power, projection or sillage.

As all the other offerings from Les Senteurs Gourmandes this fragrance is just o.k. I guess given the price point you can't expect too much from this house. The fragrance accords sound good on paper, but the reality is you are getting a hotch potch of raw ingredients that are just unbalanced. I get hints of what it could be, but unfortunately it never materializes. Also, as in all their other offerings performance is just poor! This fragrance for me leans totally on the feminine side.

My 3 P's
- Projection 4/10
- Performance 4/10
- Price 5/10

I actually made this Fragrantica account just to say how horrible this perfume is...

It could be wonderful. I can see how it has a similar vibe as Lira and from the bottle it does smell like a delicious sticky caramel gourmand... BUT as soon as I spray it on my arm, it becomes an alcoholy leathery cheap male cologne / mouthwater scent covered in headache inducing sugar syrup. It just smells like the cheapest strongest dirtiest liquor candy. Honestly - I don't think I have ever smelled anything so bad in my life...

If anyone has a decant of this that they'd like to sell or swap, please pm me

Very similar to Lira, only this isn’t as dense. The citrus elements are very prominent and when mixed in with the vanilla they give off the smell of a lemon dessert, something like lemon curd. There’s also something ever so bitter in the background, but it’s slight, some may not even notice it :) I like it for bed mostly, but I can see it being beautiful on a warm-ish day, maybe very early Spring. I feel the cold would freeze out this scent as it’s not thick enough. Performance is alright, 4 hours at most.

I think it’s a safe blind buy for someone who enjoys caramel as a note, or even for citrus lovers looking for a ‘sweet’ to wear in cooler weather. I just wish this fragrance was just a tiny bit thicker, it’d have gone straight to my favourites shelf

I like Tendre Madeleine a lot once it's had a little time to dry down. In the opening, I find it to be a little too much: I can see where it's going with the Madeleine theme from the start, but it's kind of missing the "tendre" part at this stage - too heavy on the cinnamon, and while the blast of citrus is nicely reminiscent of the real thing, it kind of clashes with the intense spiciness of that opening part.

Once the cinammon calms down a little and the vanilla note starts creeping in, it's a different story: while it never reaches the airiness I hoped for with the name "Tendre madeleine", it does become quite delicious very soon. The spicy part of the note list remains prominent throughout, and there's a subtly woody vibe in there somewhere as well, which keeps the scent from going totally edibly gourmand despite the abundance of bakery notes. So I smell like a piece of cake without REALLY smelling like a piece of cake, if you know what I mean - perfect, espcially now that it's fall and getting colder. And it easily sticks around all day! It could be great for christmas as well, although I personally associate that more with dried fruits and slightly different spices than the ones used here.

I'm not sure if I'll ever need more of this than my little decant - I like it a lot, but I have enough cosy mild-spicy almost-gourmand fragrances in my collection to last me a lifetime of autumns already. I'm very glad to have that small amount to enjoy from time to time, though!

A little while ago I received this as a gift from friend I made on this forum. She wanted to cheer me up after our cat had been in a terrible accident and barely survived. Such kindness and generosity really shocks me.

Anyway, I had this on my wish list for ages because the notes were too different from L de Lolita to make me confident about their similarity.
Bottom line, they're 99% identical. But for me this works better. Much as I like L in theory, something in it makes it difficult to wear. Something adds a metallic sharpness that doesn't go with the rest of the fragrance.

TM has ironed that out, which makes it perfect. If I was only reading this review, I would probably consider TM inferior for losing the unusual note. In theory unusual notes could be considered superior. But in reality it's not always the case.
TM sends me down memory lane just like L. That's the best possible proof of their similarity. But unlike L, I can enjoy TM without any reservations.
Also, despite the name, neither this nor L smell edible. Just inspired by by sweet flavours, which is better than plain sweets for a perfume.

This perfume exists under 2 listings - this one and under :Tendre Madeleine Laurence Dumont for women.
Same perfume - differente text and less notes on the other listing.

This was a real journey for me.

First spray, almost aggressive, domineering, slightly headachey cologne. Harsh, almost clashing notes. Not a hate, because I could smell the potential for something delicious and there was something intriguing going on. It was very masculine. What I assume are the spice notes with the orange clean-citrus made it seem like it just was far too masculine for me. No vanilla, a slight sweetness which didn't temper the sheer spicy manliness. Have I made a terrible mistake?

Dry down - less abrasive and loud, still quite a citrus-spice cologne thing happening, but the vanilla was starting to shine and it was... I kind of thought I could wear it in an androgynous way, despite being unapologetically girly-girl and not having an andro-chic bone in my body. Warming to it, still not sure.

After about 15 minutes, I realised that something smelled...delicious. Oh my god, it's me. Especially wafting from afar, this is really, really nice. It's a nice middle ground too - it's not super unique or complex at all, really, but it's also not a simple, plain straight vanilla / vanilla cake either. It's warm and sweet and as someone who loves gourmands and vanilla, this is a lovely vanilla with little extra bits that (rare for a perfume, even with my tastes) actually started making me feel a little bit hungry. It's not childish, I can't claim it's super sophisticated, but I think it's a reasonably 'adult' scent, with a little cuddly, warm edge. The smell straight from where you applied it can still be a little harsh until it's faded down a bit, but it's good - the smell when it wafts is so good.

Things to consider though: This is a strictly autumn / winter scent. Even I, seasoned vanilla fiend, wouldn't touch this once it gets warm. And I think you really do need to love sweetness and vanilla to like this - this is not a starter's vanilla, or something for someone who is not sure about vanilla or who has had a bad experience with it. But with a company name like Les Senteurs Gourmandes, what do you expect?

A solid 'like' that could, as things get colder, become a 'love'. Maybe.

I really love this line - the quality ratio is just amazing though I should say I live in Canada and it’s actually expensive to get here. I’ve seen a few reviews of this line stating that these can retail for as low as 20 euros but with shipping here in Canada it will cost around $65 to $80 canadian dollars ($50-60 USD). I think it may have been available at lower prices a while back but they’re harder to find now and prices have gone up - I certainly never saw any listings for 20 euros anywhere when I looked unless it is the 15ml travel sizes.

In any case though - I think that this line is really something special. I grew up eating Madeleines so I absolutely had to try this! Tendre Madeleine (TM) is often touted as the best product from this line and I can see why although it’s not the one I personally like best it’s very well made, different and interesting and offers better lasting power than some other offerings though I should probably just go ahead and admit that lasting power and sillage don’t strike me as the forte here... I still think these perfumes are very much worth the buy though. To me they just smell luxurious and the quality price ratio is very apparent to me.

For me this opens with a strong orange note seconded by cinnamon with a hint of nutmeg spiced almond with some lovely supporting vanilla. the natural citrus opening fades quite quickly though - it’s mainly sweet orange essential oil with - I would say - a hint of supporting something maybe green mandarin EO or bergamot EO) anyways - the citrus oils are very obviously natural because of the scent and the way they behave in the evolution of the fragrance. Citrus essential oils are notoriously volatile but they smell so much better than synthetic citrus notes. They make a dramatic entrance but they fairly quickly become a whisper of citrus and in this second phase the cinnamon spiced almond note becomes more prominent with its supporting structure of lovely vanilla and slight suggestion of baked goods and a tastefully executed musk that doesn’t steal the show. I do wish all of these lasted longer but this one has a bit more projection than the pure vanilla scents but it is by no means a strong fragrance - sillage would be a few feet for the first few 2 -3 hours then skin scent.

It’s a lovely and warm scent - i think it is most reminiscent of Little Madeleine cakes in the drydown. Given the inspiration one would think this pulled very feminine but I would say it’s a unisex scent. It may be that this is partly because there are more mainstream men’s fragrances with prominent true almond note than women’s fragrances but I also think it’s because despite the dessert inspiration and the sweet notes the fragrance itself is not overly sweet. The notes are very true and each one is very distinctive and easy to pick out here. Some raw materials and natural isolates have gone into this that much is very obvious. It’s really enjoyable and distinctive.!

In the last weeks, I tried Tendre Madeleine, Xerjoff Lira and Sylvaine Delacourte Valkyrie, all of the same scent family (similar to L de Lolita Lempicka). At first I thought Tendre Madeleine could easily keep up with the more expensive fragrances, and now I still like it better than Valkyrie, but if I had to choose, I would splurge for Lira. Why? Because I tried them both on the same day and Tendre Madeleine smelled a bit rough and less well-blended in comparison.
TM has a strong lemon opening. Then it becomes sweet like a cinnamon sprinkled pastry, really fun, with milky, bready and sticky caramelized aspects. Not complex, just yummy. What ruins the yumminess for me is a rubbery note that seems to emerge only sometimes. I tested my sample four times on my arms, two times I got that dreaded rubber notes, two times I didn‘t. Maybe the fragrance just doesn‘t mingle perfectly with my skin, I don‘t know, but I feel I have to mention this.

Overall this is a nice scent, especially for the price, but it‘s not perfect. If you have a chance, try it thoroughly before commiting to a bottle. If you really love gourmands, definitely try Lira, too... It‘s like Tendre Madeleine‘s elder sibling with better looks AND personality. But if you only need a cheap cinnamon-gourmand fix, I guess Tendre Madeleine will do the job just fine.

An oriental gourmand that smells exactly like vanilla cake batter with a spritz of lemon. I like it but it doesn’t capture my interest long term. There are more interesting vanilla gourmands in the fragrance world. I’ll happily use my sample though. In the U.S. we pay at least double the price for this scent, and that’s unfortunate.

This is interesting! I got it because I love vanilla as a note, and how multifaceted it can be. I already have a 'grown up', slightly spicy/fruity vanilla (Le Male and Jaguar Classic Gold), and I wanted to try a more foodie one as they can be cozy and comforting.

This is a pretty gourmand one! It projects softly at arm's length for about 45-60 minutes and then and becomes a skin scent(ish); but that skin scent lasts a really long time - a good 8 hours on clothes. Impressive for such a soft scent.

It opens with a prominent slightly cinammony/spicy orange note, and smells strongly of orange cake for the first 15-20 minutes, with the vanilla and almond playing second fiddle. It then settles down to a slightly-stronger-than-completely-skin-scent, cozy and rounded baking vanilla scent. The sweetness is balanced out with the bitter almond's almost Play Doh-ish quality, so once the orange note is gone, it doesn't necessarily smell that much like a cookie or cake anymore.

A lovely and cozy smell, perfect for rainy Sundays spent inside with a blanket and a good book. I would've liked it to be a little stronger, though. My nose is weaker than most, however, so I think most people would interpret this as 'soft' and not 'borderline too soft' like I do. I wouldn't repurchase as I like 'em a bit stronger, but I'll enjoy this bottle.

Oh my oh my, I didn’t expect it to smell like this GOOD before I bought it. I live in the states so it’s kinda hard to get my hands on this line, fortunately I found a German seller online that sold these at normal retail prices.

ANYWAYS! This one is such an unique gourmand scent! It isn’t just the sweet warm vanilla with some chocolate and almonds blah blah (I love this combo btw, I just have too many of them), but is almost like a diabetes-friendly ginger cookie wrapped in a cinnamon bun dipped in pumpkin and orange juice mesh! It’s delicious but not sugary. I didn’t expect it to smell like this because of the “spicy notes” listed above, like how could I imagine it to be ginger and cinnamon? Also I think the wheat note is why it smells like a holiday bakery.

I absolutely love this for its price. Hopefully it’ll help me lose weight too since I won’t be needing to eat the real desserts - I’m already so content just smelling this on myself XD

There are more reviews (including mine) for this fragrance under Laurence Dumont brand. Not sure when Les Senteurs Gourmandes became a separate brand? This used to just be a line under the Laurence Dumont umbrella.

My old 2016 review:
This is yummy, vanilla, slightly citrus, and uni-sex but leaning slightly masculine on me. Love it! It's perfect for any occasion and lasts 5-6 hours. I had a sample of Dame Black Flower Mexican Vanilla that I brought on vacation to New Zealand and I thought had a very similar unisex vanilla vibe to Tendre Madeleine. I think the Dame Vanilla was more complex overall so I may get that one if I ever use this bottle up.

very vanilla baked good and gourmand in the top then the orange shone through but this lasted for a blink of an eye; the final drydown is vanilla sugar aka marshmallow

Nope. Wish I didn’t follow the reviews. Absolutely hated it. It wasn’t what I was looking for. Luckily I only got 30ml one. It literally smells like orange sponge cake. I smell “sticky” if that makes sense. Thank goodness it doesn’t last long and disappears within minutes on me. I am genuinely beginning to think that whenever I see a high rating for likes I should run the other way or look elsewhere. It’s a shallow fragrance in my opinion, made of top notes that don’t last... don’t understand why it keeps popping up as a highly popular gourmand scent. I won’t bother breaking it down. The search for a gourmand continues.

Beautiful oriental spicy gourman. Can't get enough of these types of scents!

've had my 50ml bottle for a few days now and I've never gone thru the amount of perfume I have with this so quickly
It's because I CAN'T STOP spraying it! It's SO SO GOOD! After applying to myself, I spray one or 2 shots into a handkerchief, let it 'flash off' and sniff it when I'm going to sleep! It's really comforting and cozy. Actually, I never knew how good citrus can be when softened with vanilla like it is in Tendre Madeleine.
I also bought the body lotion (wggag I never do) and another bottle intended for a gift, I've just bought a 100ml back up bottle because I know I never want to be out of this gorgeous frag.

I'm head over heals in love with TM.
Give it try! You'll fall in love with her as well. Very safe blind buy.

I doubt anyone could be disappointed by this, and I've never written that in any other review.

Here I am, 2 years into my perfume collecting. With our cooler months here and ahead, I felt like a new vanilla perfume
Imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this range of Laurence Dumont or the Les Senteurs Gourmandies range of unbelievably cheap perfumes that look quite good when I review the line. Some fragrances are getting scores of 4.20 out of 5 amd THAT'S IMPRESSIVE!
Of course I had to order 2, one being Tendre Madeleine and the Vanilla violet perfume. I'm excited to see if they're as good as they sound. Could it be possible? For $15/50ml

Verdict! Yes it is. I love this gorgeous perfume. Buttery citrus vanilla that makes me sniff my wrists all day.
It really is a winner for me and fully recommend it to any vanilla lover. Office safe. This scent will NEVER OFFEND.
Another pleasant surprise from this house. Now for a third bottle!

This perfume has two different listings - It is also found under Laurence Dumont.
But that is the founder of Les Senteurs Gourmandes - so Fragantica you can take one avay. The perfumecompany is called Les Senteurs Gourmand so guess this would be the right listing.