Fragrances -Coty - Pure Orchid by Halle Berry
CecileCecile 3/25/2010 10:21:00 AM
Pure Orchid from Halle isn't bad - I gave it a try yesterday and enjoyed the first few minutes of the scent, a bright floral with zingy sweetness and a little depth. I particularly enjoyed when the soft yumminess 'blackberry cream' accord made its appearance - this is a scent that isn't terribly original (zingy fruit/cream floral) but I think it has enough of its own signature to lend to a style statement. Unfortunately, after a few minutes one of the floral notes turns on me and ruins the scent, so no sale for me - but I encourage others to give this a spin, as I think this could be a pretty spring scent on someone who can wear it well. 3&1/2.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Kabuki
CecileCecile 3/21/2010 7:29:00 PM
At first it's an intense cherry blast, and then I too get that public-washroom air-freshener scent, but only for a minute. After that, it is a lot like one of those christmas satin-mix hard candies that were pillow-shaped: the long skinny pink one with the red stripes. That is what I get for another hour or two. Unfortunately it was my least favorite candy in the mix. It's not exactly cherry to me, and it's not exactly a bad scent but it doesn't really do anything for me. I will use up the rest, maybe. No sale.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Al-Azif
CecileCecile 3/21/2010 7:20:00 PM
From Al-Azif I got a sweet, hazelnutty amber. It stayed quite the same all the way through, a very comforting and enjoyable scent. There's a similarity to Bois Farine, but I like this scent much better. This oil seems to last a bit longer than most of the other BPAL oils I tried. I would definitely consider getting more of this one since this is the first hazelnut scent that I've really enjoyed wearing. I would actually rate this 4&1/2 because it is very yummy and cozy to me - but not phenomenal.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - The Lion
CecileCecile 3/21/2010 7:02:00 PM
This was a yummy, snuggly warm chai tea scent on me that dried down much faster than I would have liked it to, to a gentle spicy skinscent. This smells very good but the tea phase is too short-lived for me, and the spicy base notes after drydown are nice but barely detectable. I will greatly enjoy using up the imp but don't think I would repurchase. If you think you might enjoy a spicy tea fragrance, The Lion might be worth a try, perhaps it will last a decent while on you.
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Fragrances -Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab - Alice
CecileCecile 3/21/2010 6:53:00 PM
This emanates a gentle milky tea and honey plus a little floral for about an hour, and I enjoy it but it slowly turns weird, like a plasticky band-aid-y smell. That first hour is nice though. I will use up my imp but will not replace. No sale, would definitely recommend giving this one a try though.
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Fragrances -Elizabeth Arden - britney spears CIRCUS FANTASY
CecileCecile 3/18/2010 5:11:00 PM
Circus Fantasy is the least of the line so far, IMO. I sprayed it on and for a brief moment the opening was a bit reminiscent (to me) of the fruity opening of original Fantasy. Over the next few minutes it segued into a sharp and oversimplified citrus paired with some seriously nondescript florals, and began to fade so rapidly that after an hour I had a difficult time detecting it. It seems to me like the result of an unfortunate clash of chemistry, which happens fairly often for me. In spite of today's sampling (and that for Hidden Fantasy, which was only slightly better) I will continue to remain optimistic about the future offerings in the line, sooner or later there's bound to be another killer. I will keep trying them as long as they keep being made - no sale for this one.
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Fragrances -Lacoste - Love of Pink
CecileCecile 3/10/2010 5:41:00 PM
Love of Pink is a harsh floral-pink scent. I am having a hard time distinguishing the notes, it's like they are all just mixed together. It's a lily and sweet pea and peony type scent on me and it almost seems green, it has a 'snap' to it. I thought it might be a stronger Touch of Pink, and it is, but it is also more dense and faceted but the facets are harsh. Later into the drydown I get a weak hint of vanilla. It doesn't exactly turn on me, but I don't like it very much. It lasts a few hours. I doubt I would recommend. No sale.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -Juicy Couture - Viva La Juicy
CecileCecile 3/10/2010 5:30:00 PM
I gave Viva La Juicy a shot mainly out of curiosity. As soon as I sprayed it on, it gave me a distinct impression of one of the Gaultier scents - which was a red flag for me, because I've yet to encounter a Gaultier that does not sour on my skin. Predictably, this soured also. Smelled very run-of-the-mill fruity floral in the ten seconds before it turned, not bad... but not particularly great. I believe the correct term is 'meh'. The real fans of Juicy will snap this one up. No sale.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Hang Ten for Her
CecileCecile 3/7/2010 6:20:00 PM
Got a sample of Hang Ten with a fragrance purchase. What it smells like to me at first is Hyacinth, Grape Jell-o and Hairspray. Then it becomes raspberry hairspray. Pass this one by. No sale, off to scrub.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - mat; by Masaki Matsushima
CecileCecile 3/7/2010 6:14:00 PM
Retried this long-forgotten sample today, wondering why I never bothered to review it. Upon sampling I discovered a light, bright and almost lemony floral, a teensy bit sweet. It does not do a thing for me personally, not in any way. Too sunny for me. No sale.
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Fragrances -Guerlain - Winter Delice
CecileCecile 3/7/2010 6:05:00 PM
I'd wanted to try this for ages and finally got around to getting a sample. I was hoping for winter wonderland but instead got cheap pine aftershave. Pretty gross. Must be my chemistry. No sale for this one.
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Fragrances -Unlisted Brand - Faith Hill
CecileCecile 3/5/2010 8:48:00 PM
I liked the cute bottle and decided to try it out, and finally having done so it does not seem to me as though a lot of work went into developing Faith Hills scent, and/or the ingredients were less than ideal. On the other hand, imagine how dispiriting it would be, to be in total creative control of a fragrance yet have such poor ingredients to work with. This is the creation of a frustrated nose perhaps. It's a very basic pale floral that smells beyond generic (sort of chemically fresh) and fades fast. I did not enjoy it very much but somebody somewhere might love it. No sale, on to the next one.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Fragrances -J. Lo - Blue Glow
CecileCecile 3/1/2010 5:24:00 PM
Yet another addition to the Glow family, Blue Glow is advertised to be a fruity-floral with a marine twist: Notes (note listings varied from source to source): Valencia oranges, mangosteen and cranberry blossoms; Water lily, vintage rose, vanilla orchid and aquatic accords; Cedar, sandalwood, mahogany, moss and tonka. What I got upon application was a citrus-spiked mango lightened up with a touch of sheer blossoms on a modern and very up-front woody base, it didn't really have a noticeable marine accent to me at all. It's not sugary sweet and the fruit is medium-bodied. It has a similar feel to Light Blue/Shanghai Butterfly and would possibly appeal to fans of either of those, or to anyone who digs the fruity/woody thing. I almost passed it by because at first I thought it was the tester for Davidoff Cool Water Wave Woman, they look very similar. I think that this is actually one of the better Glow releases (most of them don't work on me anyway) and I would not completely rule out a future purchase, but it would have to wait until I see it on clearance because I don't think this scent is worth nearly what they are asking for it at retail. I'd give it a 3&1/2.
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Fragrances -The Body Shop - Perfume Oil - Vanilla
CecileCecile 2/20/2010 11:49:00 AM
I absolutely love the coconut oil and thought I might give the vanilla one more try. (I can't say for certain that I've smelled the original formulation, though I can see that it has a definite cult status.) I didn't think the newer formulation was particularly great in the past but - have they changed it again? - now I think this vanilla oil is just awful - it quickly becomes the scent of a vanilla candle, a cheap one at that. I definitely don't recall it being quite this bad. No sale, pass it by.
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Fragrances -Rochas - Poupée
CecileCecile 2/20/2010 11:30:00 AM
Found an opened box of Poupee at Winners, it was on sale for $13, I think. I totally forgot what it was all about and curiosity made me try it. The bright orange flocked cap was an unexpected and off-putting touch. I've always disliked "velvet" flocking on plastic and wish that it would go away forever. Anyway I sprayed some of the juice on and got a lightly sugared, very obvious gardenia. I am not at all a gardenia lover, so there was no sale to be had.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No