Hanae Mori (new / Butterfly) (1995)
by Hanae Mori

Ah, Hanae Mori Butterfly. I'll just admit up front that this was my signature perfume for almost 10 years. I like the EDP or Parfum best - not the EDT. I began wearing it in 1997 or 98, as a 23 year old girl in San Francisco. I carried a Hello Kitty wallet, worked in the videogame industry, dressed in girly little dresses & big motorcycle boots, had a short choppy red haircut and wore butterfly clips in my hair. This scent was PERFECT for me then - it evoked the Japanese-pop-culture-inflected gamine thing I was going for at the time. Now, as a late 30s wife and mother with a more classic style - I feel that I have thoroughly outgrown it - but I still find it charming and adorable.

As for what it smells like - this is a fruity oriental that is quite gourmand in character. Totally girlish and even childlike - and yet somehow it manages to be charming, comforting and a little sensual instead of trashy. (At least I think so - Katie Puckrick calls it "stripper perfume!") It was designed in 1995, when Angel was everywhere and everyone was playing catch up - and it's definitely a sweet, sweet, SWEET gourmand scent that is a distant cousin of perfumes like Angel and (groan, yes, it's true) Pink Sugar - while not smelling exactly like them.

This is essentially a strawberry-almond perfume. The base almond is so sweet that it becomes like marzipan or an almond-paste filled croissant. There is a buttery quality like baked goods. Together, this all gives an impression that's very similar to vanilla bakery + red fruit.

If you have ever been in a Japanese bakery that specializes in French pastry - and they have some of these in San Francisco's Japantown - it smells LIKE THAT.

The opening is HARSH - it has been compared to windex and hairspray by other reviewers, and I don't think they're wrong. It smells synthetic and tart to the point of being astringent. Yuck. Mercifully, this wears off quickly - especially in the EDP and Parfum concentrations, which are far smoother than the EDT and much superior, in my opinion. Top notes are red fruits - raspberry and red currant to begin with - and finally evolving into a strawberry. There's a blended floral heart - I can't put my finger on precisely what - but I think there's a rose that melds with the strawberry, then you get that sweet almond and a slightly woody base.

I find men love this stuff - my husband said I smelled like a "vanilla cookie" when we were young and dating, and a gay male friend once exclaimed "you smell like vanilla witchcraft!" when he went in for a hug. I have had men AND women stop me on the street to ask me what I'm wearing because they want to buy it. So it's got good sillage. It's also incredibly long-lasting - it really does go ALL DAY. So best to go light on the spray.

All in all, a lovely fragrance - but definitely cutesy. This is what Hello Kitty might wear on a date! Charming as all get out - but I think my days of wearing it are sadly over.

17th October, 2011.

Sweet but not too sweet. The strawberry note is lovely and I detect a sweet sugar note. Love it.

23rd September, 2011.

This fragrance distinctly reminds me of the vanilla EDT from The Body Shop with super sweet fruity notes added to it. It also reminds me a lot of the Harajuku Lovers Lil' Angel fragrance. I actually like The Body Shop's vanilla fragrance quite a bit, but I've never been a fan of Lil' Angel. My body chemistry seems to bring out the candied fruit notes like crazy and I find the smell a little too overly sweet. This EDT would have been better (in my opinion) if the fruit notes were more subtle, the way they are in the Body Shop's vanilla EDT. I still don't dislike this scent enough to give it a thumbs down, but it's definitely something that I have to be in right mood for, because it's really not a subtle fragrance. However, I would definitely recommend it to the fans of Lil' Angel, and to anyone who really loves very sweet gourmand fragrances.

8th September, 2011.

For the life of me I can't smell any fruity top notes on this scent. All I get are the spicy vanilliac notes in the base. Which are good, but the more I smell them the more they remind me of another perfume - Dior Addict.

27th May, 2011.

Another generic fruity floral scent. I smell peach for some reason. I don't believe it is listed as a note but it is about all I enjoy in this. Nothing special here.

1st April, 2011. (Last Edited: 4th April, 2011.)

This was an unsniffed purchase for me that worked out beautifully...I absolutely adore this fragrance! When I first sprayed, I thought I detected some chocolate mixed in the the strawberry, but that faded rather quickly and turned into a strawberry/vanilla heart with sandalwood undertones. Very long-lasting, I applied yesterday afternoon and could still smell it on my arm this morning. A very balanced gourmand with just the right amount of fruit.

28th March, 2011.