MAISON MATAHA
EVASION BONBON

2025

strawberry candy
caramel
chamallow

ylang-ylang
jasmine

vanilla
musk

‘Evasion Bonbon is that candy that takes you right back to childhood, the one that makes you smile as soon as you smell it. From the very first notes, a sweet, melting wave envelops you, like a comforting candy that melts delicately in your mouth. Powerful, indulgent and gentle, it transports you to simple, happy memories. A perfect escape, full of tenderness, like a sweet treat you can’t help but love.’ – Maison Mataha

Continuing the 2024/2025 strawberry trend, Evasion Bonbon adds nothing new or elevated to this style; if anything, it’s one of the weaker options on the market.

What I miss in a lot of the strawberry openings is acidity. With Evasion Bonbon, there is acidity, but not that of citrus or florals, but of slightly sour gummy candy. Banana is not listed and maybe it’s because I tried several banana-strawberry combinations lately, but I definitely was reminded of that artificial banana candy in the opening of Evasion Bonbon. More wearable than The House Of Oud L’Explicite in that regards, but almost equally as ‘plastic’ smelling and not as good as Jusbox Sisters B4 Misters.

Another recent somewhat comparable strawberry is Juliette Has A Gun Miami Shake, which fell completely apart as it dries down in my opinion. In the case of Evasion Bonbon, the drydown isn’t less pleasant, it’s actually the better part of the wear, but it’s faint and airy. Almost hard to detect after the first hour or two (or I go noseblind quickly to the probably mostly synthetic ingredients).

Either way, this is not my style, but even for a quirky, light-hearted candy gourmand, it’s one of the lesser fragrances available and at the price point, it’s borderline offensive.