Sunflowers (1993)
by Elizabeth Arden

LOL! Wow, sorry if somebody thinks I have no taste or hopelessly downmarket sensibilities or something, but I like this scent a lot, and suspect I'd still like it if I could afford much pricier stuff. I do know what a lot of the expensive juice smells like; some I love and a lot just bores me. This, though, is different, and special. Fragrance is extremely seasonal to me as an herbalist and wildcrafter, and this smells to me of late summer and early fall, my favorite time of the year. That may be because to me it smells recognizably of the scented sunflower varieties that grow wild or near-wild here, and of rudbeckia and solidago and the dried cones of echinacea, zinnia and feverfew. The smell of slow, dusty sunlight crossing a September field. To each h/er own, but this is one I'll want even after I win the lottery. ;-)

20th October, 2011.

Sometimes the most memorable scents are also the cheapest, they remind us of a time in our lives when this was the best we could buy. For some they bring back memories of happy times, youth bright sunny days. For me it was a gift from hubby, with a newborn and a 2 year old it was all we could afford. Was it the greatest scent out there, probably not,was it the greatest scent for some at the time definately. Will I wear it again maybe, will I sniff it and be flood with wonderful memories, always.

24th October, 2010.

Awful, cheap and very artificial floral. So strong, acrid and chemical. It smells like urine to me. People with no taste spray this on liberally and it LASTS.

19th August, 2010.

I buy almost half of my fragrances blind, Sunflowers being an example of such. The reviews here and other places spoke of a strong nostalgic attachment to this perfume, which only reminded me of my most nostalgic scent, Clinque Happy (I now hate it). So I was wary in buying a small sample of Sunflowers as a summer scent which I own few of. I was more than pleasantly surprised. This scent is mature yet youthful, bursting with soft flowers and just enough muskiness to give it depth. To me, it's like an Estée Lauder scent, (my 50+ yr old mother's favorite perfume maker) mixed with the memories of when Clinique Happy made me drool. A great summer (the season for reminiscing) perfume indeed.

8th April, 2010.

This is an ok perfume, but inappropriate in these depressing times. If you love sunflowers and intimately know the sensation of brushing faces with one, you will notice this product doesn't afford the same fragrance or high, either. I don't like the marketing of this product, it's so 1990's when times were nice and I could get a career, or so I thought. Now I find the overly happy, contrived bottled design very depressing, like a big, phony smile as an interviewer excuses me from his office saying nice to meet you. I can just picture the other bottle design sketches in marketing. 'And this one is shaped like a sunflower seed! The colors need to parallel the orange Imac, because that's hot right now! Orange is the new red!' Who cares about your idea for a bottle? It's a fragrance. Put it in a clean mayonaise jar. It's about the essence, you know? Not your cheesy, perfect, bottle idea that is subtly shaped like a sunflower seed. Thanks, Elizabeth, for putting so much money into designers who think of bottles and not actually recapturing one of natures most beautiful scents.

8th January, 2010.

Once innovative and inspiring, now tired and overdone. The Calone/Helional overdose was very much of its time and made this memorable. However, this can me smelled miles away and is totally unpresentable. I'm totally over the 90's.

18th September, 2009.