Fragrances -Christian Dior - Dolce Vita
sunshine824 10/10/2007 2:33:00 PM
I bought a sample of the Dolce Vita EDT because I've read that it was a chypre and I've been really enjoying most chypres these days. When I first put it on it seems somewhat sweet but very soapy. I was surprised because that isn't what I was expecting. The soapiness passed and then it just settled into a slightly sweet, VERY woody fragrance. I don't get "old lady" and it isn't very sweet. It's probably the most genuinely "woody" scents I've ever smelled. It's lovely for this time of year - autumn. It seems like it would be especially complementary when the leaves turn to vibrant reds & oranges and begin to fall off of the trees. I may keep a bottle of this just to wear it during the fall. Edited to add: If your skin intensifies vanilla like mine does, beware! You will eventually end up smelling like candied wood. Yes. You read right: Candied. Wood. But it still smells good. :-P
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Fragrances -Guerlain - Jardins De Bagatelle
sunshine824 10/10/2007 2:27:00 PM
I'm not much of a "floral" gal. I like chypres, orientals, and musks better. That being said, I bought a sample of Jardins De Bagatelle unsniffed because I've enjoyed most Guerlain scents and how they meld so beautifully on my skin. This one was no different, but it isn't quite "me." It's a very light, fresh floral. I can definitely smell the roses and the violets in it. It's a lovely, feminine, easy to wear, refined floral. But it's kind of boring to me. I could see myself reaching for this on a morning when I just want to smell "nice". It seems as though it would be best suited to a clear, sunny spring day. Especially attending a wedding. I wouldn't buy it again, because I wouldn't want to buy something that's just "ok" to me(even if it *is* Guerlain).
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Fragrances -Guerlain - Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune
sunshine824 10/10/2007 2:21:00 PM
I wish there were a "maybe" option for the "Would you buy this product again?" question. I bought a sample of this because so far I've loved all of the classic Guerlains I've smelled and they've all melded into my skin beautifully. This one is kind of.... Um..... Odd on me. I don't usually go for citrussy scents and had no idea what this was except it was Guerlain so I figured I'd probably like it. It went on very STRONG GRAPEFRUIT! Astringent. I could see it being refreshing on a warm summer morning but it's now beginning to dip into cooler fall temps and the sharp grapefruit isn't as pleasant as it could be. Still, it also has such a unique, definitely unisex undertone of woodiness that I can't stop sniffing it. Normally, anything that is "odd" to me gets thrown out, but this is so unique I can see myself becoming addicted to it simply for how unique it is. The bottle is lovely as well. Not sure if I'll buy this again, Once I get through my generous sample I'll make up my mind. ***Definitely try this before you buy it!!*** It is NOT an "American" version of grapefruit, ie. candy sweet, light & juice-like. It's true to the natural, not always sweet taste of grapefruit with a woody undercurrent.
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Lotions/ Creams -Jergens - Ultra Healing Lotion
sunshine824 10/9/2007 5:02:00 PM
I can't believe I never tried this product before!!! Wait, yes I can. I've used the original Jergens lotion and it did nothing for my dry skin as many drugstore lotions don't. The top 3 until now were: #3-Keri Advanced Moisture #2-Aveeno Creamy Oil(my favorite light moisturizer in summer) and my #1-Palmers Cocoa Butter Lotion. I LOVE what Palmers does for my skin but have a love/hate relationship with the scent. Some days I crave it, others I loathe it and it interferes with my perfume. Now I have a new lotion that bumps Keri out of the 3rd slot and ties Palmers. Jergens Ultra Healing is very moisturizing and took several minutes to soak into my skin but it leaves it soft and moisturized all day. It has a lovely fresh scent that it just right for me - clean, fresh, slightly sweet, soft enough that it doesn't interfere with any fragrance I choose. Actually, I like the smell so much I could see wearing it alone without any perfume. The price is wonderful for such a moisturizing product. It's also easy to find. Will definitely purchase again. Many more times, probably. :-)
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Fragrances -Robert Piguet Fragrances - Fracas
sunshine824 10/7/2007 7:47:00 PM
Ahhhhh Fracas.... I got a sample of the Parfum a few months ago after reading some reviews raving about the Gardenia, Tuberose, Jasmine in it as I love all of these. I dabbed it on and it was just too much: Too STRONG! Too floral! Too direct! Too old! Too, too, too much! I put it away and forgot about it until tonight and after re-reading reviews decided to try it again. Ahhhhhh Fracas.... It's such a beautiful, CLEAN floral! Not clean as in "soapy" clean, but pure floral to me. No POWDER! Which I'm very happy about as I am just sick to death of powders! >:-( Yes, Fracas is strong, but that only emphasizes its quality. A tiny dab will have you smelling wonderfully tropical and lush for hours on end. It's what I thought Estee Lauder's Beyond Paradise *should* have smelled like. If I keep smelling my wrists it will make me feel dizzy, but I can't stop! Others have stated that it would be too strong for warm weather but I imagine it was made for warm weather. Where else do tropical flowers bloom except in the hot, humid tropics? It should be applied sparingly no matter what the temperature, but it is a lovely, feminine true floral. I doubt I'll ever make it through my little parfum sample, but if I ever do, I would definitely purchase again! :-) Edited to add: I too smell the "buttery" note, but it isn't regular butter to me. It's ghee - clarified butter used by many Indians for cooking and some use it in their hair(sometimes). This only adds to the exoticness of this fragrance. I can picture a beautiful woman in India who has just oiled her hair with ghee and now has some Jasmine or Gardenias adorning a long, thick braid. Lovely. :-)
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Fragrances -Christian Dior - Dior Addict EDP
sunshine824 10/3/2007 1:54:00 PM
WHOOOIE!!! This stuff is SWEEEEEEEET!!! It's like concentrated vanilla! I guess that's lovely if that's what you want, but it gives me a headache. It's also very long lasting. I don't want to take away too many lippies because it seems to be a good quality product, just not for me.
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Fragrances -Estee Lauder - Beyond Paradise
sunshine824 10/3/2007 1:51:00 PM
This is such a nice, crisp, clean floral. It's not very sweet at all. Not a hint of vanilla to be found. I think I smelled a bit of gardenia? Maybe a little jasmine? Not sure about the notes, but more than anything it's light and clean. I can see this being more for warmer months as it's very light and clean which could translate as being too "cool" for colder months. It's also amazingly long lasting and doesn't turn into something foul on me. Would repurchase.
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Fragrances -Philosophy - Pure Grace
sunshine824 9/25/2007 2:19:00 PM
In my search for a HG "soapy" fragrance I ordered Pure Grace from Macy's unsniffed. * Soapy? Not to my nose. More like Fabric Softener. It's ok. It's clean, a little sweet. Not the soapy, just out of the shower fragrance I was looking for. * Now that I think about it, it smells almost *exactly* like this fabric refresher that used to be made by Clorox. It didn't smell like bleach, it smelled like fabric softener and I preferred it over Febreeze which has a weird, chemical, artificial smell to it. It also smells a *little* like Dolce & Gabbana's Sicily before it turns into banana musk on me. It starts off a little like Caress soap, but then changes. It smells a little like that - before the change. * It's ok. Wouldn't purchase again. J. Lo's Glow is half the price, lasts longer and is closer to the "soapy" smell I'm looking for. ETA: I took off another lippie because I can't stop sneezing when I wear this and I have NO allergies or this type of problem with any other fragrance.
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Fragrances -Clinique - Happy
sunshine824 9/25/2007 1:32:00 PM
I am SO disappointed in Happy! I've only smelled the strips in magazines and had it sprayed on test strips. I've never tried it on my skin, but I always LOVED the "Happy" bright, uplifting citrus scent and *thought* that it stayed that way throughout. * * WRONG!!! * * The first beautiful "Happy" blast is deceptive because after 10 seconds, those citrus notes are totally GONE and in it's place is a horrible, harsh, masculine, chemical smell! I wouldn't even know what to compare it to as most men's colognes(even the cheap ones) smell better than this. :-( Why? Why? I gave *1* lippied for that first citrus blast. The rest of the fragrance smelled like garbage on me. ETA: If you want citrus, even the cheap canned spray "Malibu Musk" that you can get in the drugstore is better. It *stays* citrus.
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Fragrances -Dolce & Gabbana - Feminine
sunshine824 9/25/2007 1:28:00 PM
I have D&G Sicily and while it was "ok" the transformation it did from Caress soap to banana musk kind of scared me away from trying any more of Dolce & Gabbana's fragrances. Until now. * D&G Feminine starts off a slightly sweet, warm, clean, musk. It reminded me of summertime, but wasn't so light that it couldn't be year round. As it dried down it became more powdery. While I"m not a big fan of "powder" this was lovely, feminine, and sweet(but not too sweet). As I walked down the street I could smell something lovely and realized it was the D&G Feminine that I sprayed on earlier. A few hours later and it is still a warm, clean, sweet, slightly powdery musk. Will definitely purchase as it seems to be easy to wear year round. * If you like Heavenly from VS you may like this as it seems similar but a little sweeter and stronger. I took off one lippie because it only comes in EDT. and they usually don't last very well on me. But this one is doing pretty good. ***** Upping this to 5 lippies. It's very longlasting and so nicely balanced that I feel I can wear this year round. And the price is very reasonable(at a perfume store got a 3.4 oz for $40).
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Fragrances -Victoria's Secret - Very Sexy for Her
sunshine824 9/21/2007 12:22:00 PM
"Very Sexy" definitely lives up to its name! It's a clean, musky, "sexy skin" type of scent. It takes some of my favorite parts of "Heavenly"(the sexy warm musk) and adds a little cleanliness to it without adding too much sweetness. - Vanilla just EXPLODES on my skin and I always end up smelling like a bakery if I wear anything with a discernable vanilla note. This is just plain sexy & feminine!
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Fragrances -Victoria's Secret - Strawberries and Champagne Spray
sunshine824 9/21/2007 12:15:00 PM
Strawberries & Champagne is a nice, fruity scent from VS that isn't too "fruit punch." Most of their Garden Collection smells like different variations on fruit punch to me. Now, that's not a *bad* thing, just not as interesting to me. I have the lotion, body wash, and edt. which lasts pretty long. It's deep enough that you could wear it any time of the year. My other faves are Pear Glace(year round) and Love Spell & Pure Seduction during the warmer months. Edited to add: The body spray is "cleaner" and less "champagne" like than the edt. The spray smells more like strawberry shampoo while the edt is sweeter, heavier on the strawberry and the champagne.
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Fragrances -Tabu - Tabu by Dana cologne splash
sunshine824 9/20/2007 6:22:00 PM
I bought some last year on a whim and while still in the bottle, unless you know how wonderful it smells, you'll think it's ghastly. I sprayed it on knowing what I was in store for: Oranges & spice leading the way for sweet, smooth honey and amber. Just beautiful. And amazingly long lasting for a cologne! * This is such a beautiful, SENSUAL classic scent. If you want to smell like candy or water, this is NOT the one for you. But if you want to smell like a beautiful, SEXUAL woman this is it! And I agree with all the reviewers who called this a "man magnet" perfume. It truly is. * *The women who are only interested in smelling like candy & water will never know what it's like to have men from 18-40(the ages of the men who've approached me) turn around in the middle of the sidewalk and run to catch up with you with *THAT* look on their face asking what fragrance you're wearing or saying that they just HAD to meet you! ;-)*
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Fragrances -Estee Lauder - Pleasures
sunshine824 9/20/2007 12:53:00 PM
Smells like *PICTURES* of flowers. Not real flowers. Even dried, dead flowers have a *small* amount of natural, living sweetness to them. And to my nose there's no sweetness there at ALL! Like Estee Lauder somehow managed to package the scent of flowers but remove all the sweetness. Now, I'm not big on "fruity florals" or "gourmands" so it's not like I feel fragrance needs to smell like vanilla to get some lippies out of me. But this just smells artificial and cold. If you like 'Pleasures' but it's too dry, serious, or just plain "dead" to your nose, Lancome's 'Miracle' is somewhat similar, but has a little bit of sweetness to it and is a little softer. P.S. I feel like the dull gray *CAP* of the bottle represents the whole perfume perfectly - cold, dry & hard enough to *almost* be metallic, but lacking anything to make it truly "shine" and lacking the warmth to change the dull(not silver) grey into gold.
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Fragrances -Lancome - Miracle
sunshine824 9/20/2007 12:35:00 PM
I sniffed 'Miracle' at a perfume counter before and it was "ok." Not too strong or too soft. Not too sweet or too bitter & spicy. Not too anything. It didn't "grab me" so I didn't sniff it again or buy it. * Today I was in CVS and saw a 1oz bottle of the EDP on a clearance table for $10. I figured I'd go on and get it. * It starts off very dry & peppery. It was kind of harsh and smelled like a cheap perfume that is mostly alcohol, cheap florals, & pepper. After a few minutes it began to soften and some sweetness came in to temper the pepperiness. I've been wearing it for a couple of hours now and it is just a very light, soft, sweet floral. Very easy to wear, non-descript. Nothing really stands out about it except for how simple and "nice" it is. Clean, slightly sweet. Ageless. It reminds me a bit of 'Pleasures' by EL, except it isn't as *dry* and "serious." It's a little more playful and feminine. * The bottle & juice inside perfectly represent the scent: Pale pink sheer juice(the softness & sweetness) & a rectangular bottle which is slightly rounded(it's ladylike - not little girly & not too mature either). * I'm glad that I bought it, but wouldn't pay full price for it. Great for office, school, everyday running errands, etc.
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