Reviews of Prada (new) (2004)
by Prada

Smells pleasant enough, but the scent completely disappears on me in about 45 minutes. Very disappointing.

Beautiful and I loved it from first sniff. Not sure why I've never broken down and purchased a bottle for myself. Someday I will.

One of the reasons I like it is that it reminds of an earlier, under-rated gourmand from the early 1990's that has all but disappeared in the wake of Mugler's Angel: TODD OLDHAM. I had a friend who wore Todd Oldham, and I am instantly transported back to 1995 whenever I smell Prada on anyone.

Strong vanilla, amber and patchouli notes. Nice change of pace from all the fruity florals out there.

Simply lovely.

Expensive, tasteful, distinct, and stupendous. Screams quality, taste, and sophistication.

I wish I could be 'man enough' to wear it, but its femininity is quite unforgiving.

I ought to like this as I love real amber. But this has been a great disappointment. The chemical melony introductory top note turns my stomach. The reference to Angel is understandable.. though somehow despite the odds I have some use for Angel. With Prada though that nauseous chemical note continues far too long to be bearable (sometimes introductory tops do have to be endured to get to the delicious... as in Cabochard); then the base notes are too sweet and vague to be interesting. For me, a scrubber. Anyone want to swap?

There's patchouli in here? If so, I may have to rethink the idea that I hate patchouli. Seriously though, I don't smell the patchouli at all. My first thought was, "Vanilla! and Citrus!" Husband's first thought, which he said out loud, was, "You smell like a State Fair!" I had to ask, "How so?" Not in the cow patties, and rancid-oil-barrel-trash-cans way, but in the, "It smells like cotton candy!" way. It makes me think of Pink Sugar by Aquolina -- another vanilla oriental. But I gave away my bottle, so I can't directly compare them. In any case, if one doesn't like vanilla, this would probably be one to avoid.

All I can smell in this is GREEN. Fresh green flower stems, with the flowheads cut off, then as it dries down the floral reapprears, but very softly. I find it really hard to catch any notes in this perfume. And overall I dont think I really like it, it's too green and flowery for me. Might just be my chemistry because it does not have a lot of staying power, either.

Prada makes a clean impression on my skin, and I love that when it comes to woody orientals. If one doas not put too much on, this one even works for every-day-wear. It´s a very, very nice fragance! The problem is that only a little too much becomes horrible on my skin! I have tried for so long to use Prada, but finally I have given it up. But I can wear Prada Infusion d´Iris, who has quite a lot of Prada in the drydown. It will be my Prada in the future!

I'm with those who get the same impression of Prada akin to Coco Mademoiselle. Didn't think of it that way at first, Mademoiselle has more sparkle and vive, but Prada does have this beautiful seductive personality at the base, warm, smooth sweet and irresistible wooded and vanillic base which I wish was more pronounced...parfum please? I hear the Intense version further cancels out the base with an added helping of sugar, so I guess this is as good as it gets!

Now, I must show my true alliance is saying that I prefer Coromandel by Chanel more than Prada. BUT I am much more likely to go through a 50ml Prada than a 200ml Coramandel! I think the Prada is much more wearable and I really love the patchouli note. It is nice and creamy and smells just sweet enough without bashing you over the head with it. Coromandel is a little harder to wear - but I have room for both. Not sure if Prada lasts as well on my skin - and I am trying not to douse myself in frags anymore.
Thumbs up for me!

This fragrance gets right down to business, that is, dispenses quickly with the top and middle notes. The base notes revealed themselves prominently in the first 15 minutes of wearing this. Starts beautifully, like (yes, the reports are true) a softened, rounded, refined Angel and then moves into the more resinous, powdery amber notes; I missed the florals completely. Depending on where you read, some believe this smells too "old" and it does actually remind me a tad of my grandmother. I believe that stems from the powder sensation that comes from the overall amber impression left from the combination of the base note ingredients. In the end, this is soft, powdery amber, elegant and beautiful.

Incidentally, the artistic integrity of the design philosophy of both this and the male Amber (Prada pour Homme) is remarkable... the male version leaves on the skin a saltier, more insensy interpretation of amber after a clean, barber shop soap opening, both both conjur the idea of amber beautifully.

Well hello Coromandel! Prada has the same combination of dry, earthy patchouli and a weirdly 7-up-like topnote. I'm amazed a patchouli scent like this can survive among the fruity florals, and I like it a lot. Coromandel might be a little finer, especially in the drydown which is a little fruity/sweet on the Prada, but Prada is better value. And did it first.

Prada is Angel's softer, gentler cousin...but don't confuse the two. They are not the same. Yes, they have similar ingredients...Patchouli, vanilla, bergamot, orange. Prada has flowers, Angel has none. Angel's Patchouli and berries are biting strong opening notes that do not die off easily. That is not present in Prada, which is blended nicely. Angel comes on strong, Prada is soft and very feminine, light, more innocent. You can wear Prada to the office or on the town. Angel is for night use ONLY, else you may offend people who strongly dislike the very present smell of loud Patchouli. I have worn both and those who intensely hate Angel, compliment Prada. Prada is lovely, and fades to a very soft form of itself, powdery and very feminine with just a hint of Patchouli. I think the Patchouli in Prada is more refined and lighter than that used in Angel. Prada's dry down is almost creamy, light, soft, powdery, intensely feminine. Even though there is a time and place for Angel and I love it, Prada is the winner overall.

I agree totally with Purplebird. The only other comments I can add is that it smells very similar to Chanel's new Coromondel only much less expensive. Another grown up Patchouli frag, but I agree that people should ditch the high street and search for some individuality with nich frags. I do like this enough though to give it a thumbs up.

As TOVAH has shared, I too think my first experience with Prada was tainted! Over the past 6 months or so, I've complimented 2 different people on their fragrance, come to find out; they were wearing Prada! So, I gave it another try and was pleasantly suprised. The blend here is a complete emulsification of earth and flower. Not too sweet, actually a bit dry - but in the softest way. Excellent sillage. Clean presentation, sophisticated too. The bottle accurately represents the contents, which I adore! Classic in the making - for sure!

My girl has this one. I think this is one of the best (relatively) new fragrances. I might not suit everyone but it is well balanced and really sophisticated. The longlivety is impressive.

Interesting, pleasant, and capable of popular appeal. Another of the deep sweet + earthy genre pioneered by the likes of Angel, yet more palatable. Transcends gender barriers, coming across as feminine but introducing people to the notes that create crossover: i.e. those which are palatable to both genders and not limited to either.
In Prada, the tonka, patchouli, sandalwood, and labdanum are major components in both the men's and the women's versions. Women's Prada has mimosa, rose, vanilla, and benzoin, but the flowers are hardly discernible, and the sweetness is derived mostly from the tonka, labdanum, and benzoin The more "feminine" scent of vanilla is buried. And benzoin, while sweet, is hardly gender specific. (Look at what Serge Lutens has done with benzoin his men's fragrances.) The Men's Prada has geranium, leather, myrrh and vetiver, which are some of my favoite notes, despite my gender.
I love the trend toward unisex fragrances, so I am tempted to give Prada a thumbs-up. However, I reserve my excitement for more daring fragrances and selective ingredients.
For example, Etro makes wonderful, magical unisex fragrances. For another example, while Prada boasts of its patchouli (and contains far more than many mainstream fragraces) it is still nothing impressive compared to Santa Maria Novella.
So, while I like it alot, I still give it a neutral and recommend anyone who likes Prada, go try some niche houses. You might be surprised by the world of fragrances out there.

Revised Review: I wrote my original review on Prada over two years ago. It was written after using up a sample of Prada that I had acquired. I now believe that sample was either a fake, or it was polluted somehow. There was a distinct melted-plastic, rotten-almond accord in the drydown that was awful on me; so it was probably not real Prada. [Incidentally, I had a weird sample of Le Baiser du Dragon from the same place, and it had the same gross drydown...] Over the last two years I've complimented about 30 complete strangers who were wearing Prada, and now I have my own bottle. I love it. For me it's the "Shalimar" of its time. It's sexy and alluring, elegant and en vogue. I'll bet Prada will be a classic.

This is up for BEST PERFUME???? Come on now. A copy of lots of others.
Not impressed. Swapped it away.

I am in love. There is nothing better to my nose than a very soft wood. This is such a wonderful scent that I can forgive it for not having almond. It sort of reminds me of Samsara with the wood and vanilla, but instead of being mellowed with jasmine, it is softened with a little rose, orange, & mimosa. I do not sense spiciness, but just a heavenly floral whisper of vanilla and fragrant wood.

Wear this and someone will fall in love every time you walk by.

I don't see how any man could ever pull this one off, no -- this rich, amber-y potion is femininity captured and bottled and sealed.

I can't think of a word aside from perhaps "decadent" to describe this rich, luscious stuff. As with Givenchy's Ysatis, Laroche's Fidgi, Cartier's Must, and Creed's Fleurissimo, I just literally want to go MAD every time I smell this on a woman.

I can't wait to smell Prada for Men now -- I hear it has the same heavy amber basenote.

I don't know why but I love to smell it on my skin every second of the day and I can't get enough of it. I'm surprised to find how much I like Prada, especially because I prefer sweet, light and fresh fragrances. I don't like spicy perfumes ...but it's spicy, seductive, unique, intense but not agressive and I love it! Before I bought it I was sure that I wouldn't like it and now... I can't get enough of it!

When I looked at the notes listed here, I couldn't believe it! Patchouli and Benzoin listed as some of the ingredients. I never thought I'd be writing that I like a perfume with these notes!

Personally I love this. The bergamot is the strongest note upon my skin. It combines beautifully with the mimosa and sandalwood amongst other notes. I'm going to try this a second day before I commit to purchasing a full size, but some far I'm impressed. Prada in my opinion is similar to the skin feel of Gucci EDP, but with a lot more spice and sillage. Just lovely!

This is one of THE most beautiful amber scents I've ever smelled.

I always consider myself as an oriental lover cause I love quite a lots of heavy and heady classic orientals such as Chanel Coco, Guerlain Samsara, YSL Opium and even some more latest such as Gucci EDP, Cartier Le Baiser Du Dragon, and many others of these kinds. However, I was not impressed when I tried this one in a department store. It smells rather light and has an elusively sweet hint of orange companied with a seemly complex base note. However, it seems to lack an astonishing power to mesmerize me instantly as many others that I adore. I agree that it does have some sorts of classic charms but overall it is very much like just an excerpt derived from some more complex and dark oriental compositions, which is just not enough for me.

I knew Prada reminded me of another fragrance, Zino by Davidoff.They're both woody and contain bergamont,rose,sandalwood, tonka bean and vanilla.I like both but wish I had discovered this before I bought Prada since the eau de parfum intense cost me 3x as much as Zino. Zino even has more sillage than Prada intense, very agressive. As PaidFor This Name said,"Prada isn't the most inovative fragrance." It's nice.

Love it. Except for the shower gel (cream). The shower gel is simply horrible, literally almost makes me gag. Quit using it completely. The body lotion's ok (although still a bit different from the EDP). The EDP I'm completely addicted to, but - maybe it's just me - find the smaller size better smelling than the larger. I in general tend to stick to the 1.7 oz (or similar) because the larger ones always smell somewhat wrong to me.

I find it a bit deja vu Western Oriental fragrance. However, cannot wait for the male equivalent to arrive.

This fragerance is an embodyment of the fashion house who it is named for...sexy, stylish, uber-trendy, fashion forward, edgy, yet always comfortable...

Enticing, bold, glamorous, and provocative...like a penthouse furnished in purple velvet and black satin where supermodels and movie stars party with producers and buisness empressarios, streams of Cristal flowing, live music, and the most beautiful of the glitterati living it up...this scent teeters on the verge of being unisex, but is just feminine enough to be gracefully pulled back from the brink, and remains exclusive...a bit sweet, a bit spicy, a bit warm, a bit Oriental...but all Prada...

i think prada is sensual and it's so beautiful. it is very ambery and powdery, it's seductive! and yes, it can be unisex, but not for young men like before early 30's. prada does make this perfume for it's right target, but this fragrance on myself smells sexy and powdery and i love it.

This Prada is really changeable! My boy-friend got it as a gift and uses it, for noone really knows, if it's for men or women. And on his skin it smells like a very sophisticated, warm and masculine leather-sandalwood scent with a bit of orris root and a bit tabacco in it. It makes me think of Sean Connery as James Bond or of gentlemen's evenings in old leather-chairs with big cigars and things like that.
On my skin, it smells like a cheap version of Shalimar, while Shalimar smells on my skin like lemon-essence for baking with a bit of cinnamon and too much sugar. I would never wear this, but hope, my friend will continue wearing it.
So never buy it blind for someone else!

Beautiful fragrance! A nice blend of soft warm notes like vanilla and tonka and spicey woods like patchouli and sandalwood. The citrus is also a very nice touch. Easily, in my opinion this could be a unisex fragrance.

I agree, Prada isn’t the most innovative fragrance, but it is certainly better than all the Polo Blue, AdG, and Issey Miyake clones out there. I was surprised that in this market Prada, of all designers, would release a heady, slightly earthy amber fragrance. This is a beautiful and well made fragrance.

Already worn by lots of men, this fragrance is presented in a very stylish heavy, rectangular glass-flacon. It is indeed mainly an amber scent, just like Serpent pointed out, but the beginning smells awfully fruity, at least to me. Also I do find it a tad too girlie for personal wear but I'd love to smell it on my girlfriend. It must be said though, that for such a prestige-couture house this launch is somewhat dissapointingly mundane...

Reviewer Serpent said, "Amber is the star here." I think it's a double billing co-starring patchouli. I like the dry, woody quality, just as I crave tannin-rich, oak-aged wines. But the scent seems incomplete to my palate. I'd like to consume its notes á là carte, removing one or two and adding something else. In other words, I won't be buying any beyond the sample vial I have. Yes, this could be a unisex fragrance.

This is a beautiful scent, not terribly innovative, but warm and comforting. Amber is the star here, and there's a faintly leathery quality to it. Prada is sweet but not cloying, sensual but not trashy. It's just very wearable, highly versatile. I really enjoy it.