J'DORE by Christian Dior

 

 

The fragrance was very bright and floral when I first put it on. I would also add that it has a soapy component to it that makes it clean –softens the floral a bit which could be the ivy leaf note. It was beautiful from the very beginning, it smelled like a sophisticated woman that wants and knows she smell fabulous. It is said that the current version of the fragrance is very different than the original that was launched back in 1999. Now, I remember getting a bottle of this fragrance in the early 2000’s for one of my aunts and thinking “this is a good fragrance for an older woman like my aunt. Mature, yet still sexy, this is what this fragrance said to me when I smelled it then. In my 20’s I would not be caught dead wearing it. This version of the scent, is softer, and a lot fresher to me which confirms to me that this fragrance was reformulated. Does the fact that I prefer this version over the original which is more liked in the fragrance community mean that the juice is no good? Absolutely not! This scent is beautiful, is sexy, sophisticated and can take the wearer from day time wear to night time and ready for a night out with a couple of spritz, it is definitely a lot more modern and wearable day to day than the original.

 

Top notes:

Ylang-ylang, essence from the Comoro islands

Middle notes:

Damascena, Rose Essence

Base notes:

Sambac Jasmine Absolute

 

The scent lasted about 8-10 hours on me, the middle notes were decadent and beautifully floral. Again there was nothing obnoxious about the scent at no point during each transition. The dry down was soft and floral at this point. You can still smell the floral notes specifically, but at this point they were light in nature. J'dore is an easy fragrance to wear if you like florals. I say this very specifically because if you do not like floral perfumes, you may not gravitate towards J’dore because although it is a floral clean fragrance, the floral notes are the standout.

A definite classic scent for all times, J’dore will continue to allure many women to its beautiful scent.

 

Alexandra

VIKTOR & ROLF BONBON

 I received a deluxe sample of Viktor & Rolf, Bonbon a few months ago. I immediately opened the very cute bottle and sniffed... I was not very impressed. Months later I decided to give it a go again and try it out, and I will say that this time around I was intrigued.

First let's give the bottle some attention. The bottle is in the shape of a bow, I know, I know, who cares about the packaging-- let's talk about the juice inside. Well if people did not care about the packaging, companies would put the very important juice in a plain bottle and call it a day. But in this case, Victor & Rolf wanted you to take notice. The bow in this bottle designed is said to be an iconic symbol in the brands rich heritage. The fragrance with its bottle design, is supposed to enhance the experience as a bow represents a celebration and the anticipation that comes with unwrapping a present especially for you.

The fragrance is described in the following manner and I quote " BONBON is a timeless sensation inviting a pure and absolute pursuit of pleasure. It is an haute confection that fuels desire through a scent so irresistible, it is nearly edible: a delicious olfactory dessert composed of juicy caramelized fruits, sun drenched flowers and sweet creamy woods that create a delightful self-indulgent experience." Sephora.com.

Let's talk about the juice....

 Notes:

-Top: Tangerine, Blackcurrant, Orange

-Middle: Orange Blossom, Jasmine, Peach

-Base: Guaiac Wood, Cedar wood, Caramel

The first time I wore the fragrance it was very sweet right from first spray. I gave it about five minutes and then I was hooked. Yes, it is very sweet, but it has a depth to it. There is a dimension to the sweetness that is very intoxicating, My mouth was watering.

The fragrance manages to be bright and dark at the same time. The way the top notes (tangerine, orange and blackcurrant) play with eachtoher is addictive, in a good way. The only way I can describe this stage in the fragrance is delicious.

The middle notes did not take too long to make its appearance. Right away I smelled the orange blossom as it transitioned into the middle notes. Unfortunately during this phase of the fragrance is when it starts going south for me. The middle notes are very light on me, I don't smell much of the jasmine.

Orange flower and peach play a bigger role on this stage, however, the jasmine is light in the background trying to make a more memorable performance.

The dry down is soft, very soft after such a powerful entrance. The only note that lingers on me is caramel, Light fruity and caramel. If this gave me a more powerful punch, I can live with that as this scent is very wearable. However, when I wear a fragrance, I want to be able to smell it throughout the day.

Overall the fragrance is nice, it's fun and if you want a fragrance that is fruity, sweet with a very soft hint of floral, give this one a try. That being said, I feel that for the investment you have to make, what this fragrance gives you is not worth the price. As always, Fragrance is a choice we make every day.

Viktor & Rolf Eau De Parfum 1.7oz $115.0, 3oz. $165

Alexandra

MY BURBERRY

 

 

 

 

The first time I wore My Burberry I felt like a sophisticated lady. Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t need a perfume to make me feel sophisticated, beautiful, sexy, etc... but perfumes have that magic about them, they create an illusion that is hard to resist.

The perfumer for My Burberry is French contemporary perfumer Francis Kurkdjian. Francis is a well renown perfumer who has been honored for his work by winning the Prix Francois Coty in 2001. A few of his well-known olfactory masterpieces include; Le Male for Jean Paul Gautier, Narcisso Rodriguez For Her, Aqua Di Palma Iris Nobile and many more beautiful fragrances.

With My Burberry, The iconic Burberry house wanted to capture and I quote " The iconic fragrance inspired by the trench coat. The scent captures the essence of a London garden after the rain." Burberry.com fragrance description.

 

Notes:

- Top: sweet pea, bergamot.

- Middle: geranium, golden quince, freesia.

- Base: patchouli, damask, centifolia roses.

 

At first the scent enveloped me in a bright very floral blanket. It is a strong floral, one you cannot miss, however the beauty of this fragrance is that it manages to stay fresh and clean at the same time. The note that stands out to me is the sweet pea with its floral sweet scent, the bergamot keeps the floral note fresh. The sweetness does not last very long on me, the fragrance very smoothly transcends into the floral notes that geranium can entice you with,  which is the strongest note on me. Freesia takes over for the bergamot and keeps the fragrance clean but at this point gives it that powdery note that balances out the geranium. The golden quince keeps the fragrance light, bright with a hint of fruits, but most importantly it keeps the fragrance modern. The dry down for me was all about roses, soft, and feminine. After about 8-9 hours of wear the perfume was still able to scent my body beautifully and with compliments from my significant other. Any fragrance that can do that after so many hours of wear, is a winner on my book.

After all is said and done, You need to have a light hand with this fragrance, if not, it can be one that can overwhelm you and those around you. That being said, it is still soft and  feminine when applied with a light hand.

I personally love this fragrance. It is one that I feel can be worn both in the office, daytime wear, night time or a special occasion. It would make a great wedding scent if you wanted to capture romance in a bottle, this is it. It will do well in all of those areas and moments in life because it really those transcend and can morph with the woman. My Burberry is a fragrance that is powerful enough to take you back to the days where a perfume wore the woman, but in this case, the woman wears the fragrance beautifully.

 

For me this fragrance is a definite must, if you want to have a perfume that can only enhance the woman you want to be on any given day.

 

Retail Price:

My Burberry Eau De Parfum - 1.0oz - $72.0, 1.6oz - $96.0, 3oz - $125.0 via Sephora.com

LADY GAGA FAME PERFUME REVIEW

In this day and age celebrities, their image and their brand are pretty much everywhere you go. They are no longer just a singer, actor, they are a brand.


Of course, with every brand comes the need to have products in just about anything you can think of, including a fragrance. Celebrity perfumes over all have not really given us outstanding, amazing and innovative fragrances. They almost always fall under two categories, on the simpler side of the categories. I am talking about the sweet and flirty or fruity floral. Lady Gaga with Fame did not disappoint us. Over all I think Fame is a nice, easy to wear fragrance. It is a non complicated fragrance, one you will get a lot of use of because it can be worn anywhere.

Back when reports came out that Lady Gaga was interested in having her own fragrance it was said that she wanted a fragrance that had notes of blood and semen. Of course when the reports came out people were a bit shocked to say the least, but expected because at this point anything from Lady Gaga was pretty much expected. Of course the perfume does not include notes of blood and semen, instead it includes a medley of notes that can be categorized as very common in celebrity fragrances these days, with a touch of interesting with the belladonna note.

Lady Gaga was quoted saying that she wanted the fragrance to smell like a very expensive hooker. Now, I don’t know what an expensive hooker smells like, but I know that they can do a lot better and wear more interesting notes if they go with something like Lady Vengeance by Juliet has a gun which is a sweet, seductive and sexy with notes of rose, patchouli and vanilla or even the classic Chanel No. 5 which gives us that hint of sophistication, sensuality and clean notes that makes it smell like an expensive boudoir.

Let’s talk Fame by Lady Gaga, the notes include, “"tears of belladonna, crushed heart of tiger orchidea with a black veil of incense, pulverized apricot and the combinative essences of saffron and honey drops”. If it’s one thing, the notes description makes it sounds more interesting than it really is. Fame is a good fruity floral. I would say it’s definitely a step up from the normal fruity floral you get with your main stream celebrity fragrance. Fame really did set out to be a good perfume that can translate in many places and times during the season. And it does this well.

On me fame initially really smells a bit like grape juice. I was quite disappointed with it. Eventually the fragrance starts to get a bit more interesting with the floral sweet, caramel like notes coming in. Its soft yet heady if that makes any sense. I have worn in on warm days and on cool days and it has worked fine on both temperatures. Sometimes the notes change a bit on me and I smell more of the fruity notes, and sometimes the floral sweet notes play at my nose. Coty has expressed that they used innovative technology with Fame “push pull technology” which makes the notes highlight aspects of each other not taking into account which one is more important than the other. It is not a bad fragrance by any means. It’s actually decent. The staying power was what impressed me the most about the fragrance. I smelled it on me pretty much all day. Five hours into a work day and it was still going strong but I felt that it was not offensive for the work place. The fragrance by no means is as innovative as I think Gaga and Coty wanted it to be. The fact that they used black perfume that sprays clear as their marketing gimmick did not make the perfume any more appealing. To me, the interest in the black liquid spraying clear last about as long as it took for the liquid to hit my skin.

Do I recommend Fame? Yes, if you are looking for an inexpensive fruity floral that is not as main stream as the rest of the bunch, and gives you a bit of some darkness with the belladonna note, give this one a try.

Until next time, continue to live an amazing, beautiful fragrant life!!

Alexandra