Parfums De Nicolai • Balkis • Fragrances
(22 reviews)
| Average Rating. | 3.8 |
| Would buy this product again. | 63% |
| Package Quality | 4.3 |
| Price | 4.2 |
| Ingredients | |
*TOP REVIEWER* eurodivas on 4/9/2009 11:53:00 AM more reviews by eurodivas
Age: 36-43 Skin: Acne-prone, Dark, Warm Hair: Brown, Relaxed, Medium Eyes: Brown
I normally do not like very frutty perfumes however this one is more on the fresh side than sweet. Rasberry blended with rose, iris and vanilla makes this fragrance very intoxicating and feminine.
Upon application, the top note can be a bit too sweet however the perfume mellows down quickly. When I first sprayed this on I did not think I would like it because of the heavy fruity explosion: however after it settled the fragrance was softer and quite lovely. I was not able to sample prior to purchase as I can only get this online.
Balkis Notes
raspberry, Turkish rose, black pepper, coffee extract, iris, benzoin, vanilla pods
Eventhough I am enjoying this very much I do not think I will repurchase as there are better perfumes at this price point. I am absolutely in Love with Sacre Bleu and will keep buying other fragrance from this line as they are so lovely.
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*TOP REVIEWER* RavenBeauty on 8/13/2008 5:36:00 PM more reviews by RavenBeauty
Age: 36-43 Skin: Oily, Fair, Cool Hair: Brunette Eyes: Brown
This is lovely. As a rule of thumb, I'm typically not very fond of anything that's fruity or has a rose note in it's orchestra of notes. I saw the description of this perfume at Luckyscent and simply had to try it. This is a Sunday breakfast out on the terrace with fresh raspberry jam and warm scones drenched with honey. The scent of nearby roses is lifted by the winds and carried over as you enjoy your sumptuous repast. The opening notes are never to be fully trusted as this one nearly overwhelmed me and left me disenchanted. As the fragrance warmed to my skin, I was wrapped in a warm sunny patch of ripened raspberries that danced with honey and played with vanilla, but returned fully to sun kissed raspberries and honey where it rested for the duration. This is a gorgeous fragrance and a real departure for me. I'm not sure I would buy a full bottle as I am more partial to vanilla and chocolate based scents. If I can get this on swap, that might be worth doing since I would never wear this often enough to justify buying a bottle. This lovely concoction does tempt me to cross over to the other side but for now, I will enjoy the sample and my dance with this incredibly creamy raspberry scented beauty.
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filippa89 on 5/24/2008 9:17:00 AM more reviews by filippa89
Age: 19-24 Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
I thought I'd hate raspberry notes forever, but this scent changed my mind. Raspberry and cream hit my nose first, with well blended rose. A while later black pepper emerged, then coffee. Iris did not materialise until the final stage to be a pleasant surprise. You can tell lots of thought was put into it when this perfume was made.
I'd have given it a 5 if the drydown were slightly less raspberry-ish (it stays there all the time), but it's already quite amazing. Curious to see how Balkis EdT works now if I can find it!
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*TOP REVIEWER* BasiaS on 5/15/2008 12:42:00 PM more reviews by BasiaS
Age: 25-29 Skin: Combination Hair: Other Eyes: Other
Wow! I'm not a fan of fruity scents, and although I love to eat raspberries I just don't care to smell like them. But the blending in this is so exquisite, so well balanced, that all of a sudden this fruity floral I was quite ready to dismiss turns out to be a sophisticated gourmand fragrance. Balkis is a soft mixture of rose and rasberries tinged with coffee and cream, lightly spiced by a wicked pepper note that really sets this apart from most other fruity-floral blends. It's not too sweet, and the spice-fruit-gourmand mixture is unique and surprising.
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jonquile on 4/24/2008 4:57:00 AM more reviews by jonquile
Age: 44-55 Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown
Lovely! Raspberries and cream but not sickly sweet. The pepper and coffee give depth and a certain mystery. Only had my sample yesterday and I've already ordered a FB. I don't usually like sweet scents but this is special.
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*TOP REVIEWER* tessture on 9/8/2007 6:21:00 PM more reviews by tessture
Age: 36-43 Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium Hair: Brunette Eyes: Brown
A raspberry colored rose sits on a table in a gorgeous little cafe....Okay, I don't actually get much of the coffee scent here, but the raspberry and rose balance so nicely I don't miss it. A wonderful, feminine scent without in any way being girly or missish. It's what Bvlgari Rose Absolute should've been on me and wasn't. (Rose Absolute is so swwweeeettt on me on drydown that it's nearly unbearable.) I have to say I'm liking my florals tempered with bright berry notes. Lovely and light without being invisible.
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*TOP REVIEWER* robotica77 on 9/9/2006 12:15:00 AM more reviews by robotica77
Age: 25-29 Skin: Oily Hair: Black Eyes: Hazel
How lovely. It is like a mature fruity scent, not like one of those cheap body sprays that most teens use these days. Balkis notes: raspberry, Turkish rose, black pepper, coffee extract, iris, benzoin, vanilla pods. Although it has raspberry, the rose offsets it and makes it beautiful. I get a hint of black pepper and coffee, but the iris, benzoin and vanilla comes through if I inhale deeply (you must do this with all fragrances). I've always thought raspberry and rose would make a good combination and now my theory is correct. The bottle is very pretty too in an expensive way. My only fault with this perfume is with the much hated benzoin.
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*TOP REVIEWER* veruska on 6/19/2006 7:02:00 AM more reviews by veruska
Age: 30-35 Skin: Combination Hair: Brunette Eyes: Green
when i first applied this i was in heaven . i like red fruit scents so it really appealed on me.then i was really surprised to find the most delicious coffee notei've evr encountered.and then just in 30sec everything was caboommm!gone.the most unpleasant magic act on my perfume world
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*TOP REVIEWER* ECMac25 on 2/1/2006 10:54:00 AM more reviews by ECMac25
Age: 25-29 Skin: Normal, Medium, Warm Hair: Black, Straight, Medium Eyes: Black
I was expecting this to be a kind of Hanae Mori floral & fruits fragrance. It is sweet, and perhaps the most girly of all the Nicolai fragrances, but there's still an underlying heaviness of musk that overpowers anything cute about this scent. I think of posh ladies in their Sunday best sharing a breakfast of sweet rolls and fruit flavored jams and jellies. I find the scent pretty, but a little out of my league.
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*TOP REVIEWER* Ivirginia on 9/15/2005 5:31:00 PM more reviews by Ivirginia
Age: 25-29 Skin: Combination Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown
This is lovely! warm, woody, and a tiny bit sweet! perhaps a note of Honey in there! I also detect a tiny bit of musk. This is a sexy scent, my only complain it has lil sillage, other than that..I'd say it's FBW!
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*TOP REVIEWER* Maller on 8/31/2005 10:00:00 PM more reviews by Maller
Age: Unknown Skin: Other Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown
Reading that this was a raspberry fragrance didn't exactly light a fire under me to try it. I like raspberry, but the raspberry prominent fragrances I've tried have all left me yawning and bored in the end (Nina Ricci's Belles de Ricci Acidulee, Ungaro Apparition, Micallef's Printemps, Fabulous by Jan Moran, etc.). Balkis does not. I'm wide awake, smiling, happily in love. A sweet, juicy, intense raspberry jam infused with rose and vanilla. It's a rich, very smooth superbly composed, scent with no trace of the unfortunate *twangy* note sometimes found in fruit dominant scents. Patricia de Nicolai has captured the essence of an outdoors summer brunch - you can almost taste the juiciness of this scent, smell the roses growing beside the table, see the blue sky and sunshine. This goes right into the category of fragrances that automatically make me smile.
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*TOP REVIEWER* cristaline on 4/20/2005 8:28:00 PM more reviews by cristaline
Age: 19-24 Skin: Normal, Fair Hair: Brunette Eyes: Brown
Balkis is a sophisticated sweet fragrance. Opening with a raspberry note that has the concentrated sweetness of a liqueur, after 1 hour, it manages to sustain this intense sweetness. Hours later, the discreetly powdery accord of rose and iris emerges to cut the blatantly sweet top and to help round out the composition. The base notes of benzoin and warm vanilla add depth and interestingly, instead of mellowing out the reigning raspberry note, they give new life to it. Although I appreciate the precise blending here, I find Balkis simply too sweet from its liqueur beginning to its vanillic end.
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*TOP REVIEWER* KelseyP on 4/19/2005 8:27:00 PM more reviews by KelseyP
Age: 25-29 Skin: Normal, Fair-Medium, Cool Hair: Blond, Straight, Medium Eyes: Blue
Gorgeous, stunning, and undeniably a Patricia de Nicolai. This is very similar in tone to FM's Lipstick Rose, although more smoothe and refined to my nose. I get the sweetness of sun ripened raspberry, the iris and a slight touch of rose. The overall impression to me of the iris and rose combination is remarkably close to violet. My father described this scent as "Very Dainty" and I think that is a wonderful description. In this, I am a refined lady in tiny lace gloves.
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KarenR on 4/17/2005 9:42:00 PM more reviews by KarenR
Age: 36-43 Skin: Combination, Fair Hair: Brown Eyes: Brown
I bought a decant of Balkis a couple of days ago, and I had high hopes based on the description and my love of other Patricia de Nicolai creations. I had hoped for something like raspberry-scented Ungaro Apparition on a base of creamy Vanille Tonka (which, by the way, is an absolutely yummy combination), but instead, I am overwhelmed by the powdery iris. There is also a sharp note that I can't identify. Balkis is not terribly long-lasting, and it does smell softer in dry-down. I will probably use up my decant, but won't be buying more. I would describe this scent as suitable for an evening out, but not an office scent.
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*TOP REVIEWER* dreamstorm on 4/2/2005 6:54:00 PM more reviews by dreamstorm
Age: 19-24 Skin: Normal Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
Very pretty!! Sweet juicy, sticky raspberries, tart lemon and the fresh delicate greenness of wet berry leaves and the barest hint of sunny warm vanilla. A gorgeous, refined summer scent that evokes all the memories of rambling though the berry patch on a warm, happy summer's day.
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*TOP REVIEWER* smellslikeleaves on 3/4/2005 10:49:00 PM more reviews by smellslikeleaves
Age: 25-29 Skin: Combination Hair: Black Eyes: Brown
Whoa momma. Y'all warned me, but this is VERY sweet. I smelled raspberry straight away, and other than rose, powdery iris, and a hint of vanilla, not much else in the drydown. It's actually quite reminiscent of KM's Damascena (my favorite rose fragrance), but lacks the fresh, sparkling quality which makes Damascena so special. And thus, I'll give this round to Ms. Mecheri. When it comes to jasmine-rose-monoi (aka Juste un Reve), though, Ms.Nicolai still reigns supreme!
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*TOP REVIEWER* roseamber on 5/8/2004 6:42:00 PM more reviews by roseamber
Age: 36-43 Skin: Dry Hair: Red Eyes: Green
A very pretty but incredibly sweet raspberry-rose. Initially, the fragrance is seductive, warm, and pleasant, but after some time it becomes, as others have stated, syrup-sweet, and then it disappears.
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*TOP REVIEWER* jaxphotogirl on 1/24/2004 6:39:00 PM more reviews by jaxphotogirl
Age: 25-29 Skin: Sensitive, Fair Hair: Red Eyes: Brown
"Syrupy" is the best way to describe this, as others have said. Fruit Loops syrup. Very sweet, very fruity, and dare I say it... it smells cheap. The dry down was no better. I got no vanilla, no spices, no hint of anything fresh.
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*TOP REVIEWER* Liv24 on 1/2/2004 9:50:00 PM more reviews by Liv24
Age: Unknown Skin: Normal Hair: Brunette Eyes: Brown
Balkis is a sophisticated sweet fragrance. Opening with a raspberry note that has the concentrated sweetness of a liqueur, after 1 hour, it manages to sustain this intense sweetness. Hours later, the discreetly powdery accord of rose and iris emerges to cut the blatantly sweet top and to help round out the composition. The base notes of benzoin and warm vanilla add depth and interestingly, instead of mellowing out the reigning raspberry note, they give new life to it. Although I appreciate the precise blending here, I find Balkis simply too sweet from its liqueur beginning to its vanillic end.
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*TOP REVIEWER* kyttikat on 11/23/2003 9:37:00 AM more reviews by kyttikat
Age: 19-24 Skin: Other Hair: Other Eyes: Other
jennyb's description of this fragrance pretty much nails it. This perfume is the best fruity scent I've had the pleasure of trying. Most fruity scents come off as simple or common (Trish #9, Polo sport, various CSP fruits) or have too many flowery notes in them for me to enjoy the fruit (Creed Spring Flower) With Balkis, you can definitely smell a realistic raspberry, but it's backed up by a sophisticated cast of other notes. I was a little iffy on it when I first wore it (I was afraid it dried down a little powdery) but repeated testings leave me loving it more and more.