Barbara Bui (2004)
by Barbara Bui

It's almost a teen cliche: The interesting smart girl acts dumb to try to get people to like her. At its core, Barbara Bui Le Parfum is a very well thought out study in the contrasts and similarities between heliotrope, tobacco leaf, and tonka, all of which share similar papyrus/marzipan/musky undertones. It uses a clever subtle cherry to bring a loukhoum character to the heliotrope, which forms a clever heart with a tea-ish mix of coriander and roses, while a pinch of cedar brings out the papyrus and the rosewood elements of the tobacco leaf. Meanwhile, it dries down to a nice woody tobacco musk similar to Love's True Bluish Light.

But then, like a smart girl who intentionally fails math in a misguided attempt to get boys to like her, Le Parfum then drowns this incredibly clever interplay under a flood of cheap, common-smelling pink pepper and fake amber in a really obvious and sad attempt to pass off a smart composition as just another commonplace smell-alike fruity floral. Doh! I should vote thumbs down, but there's an incredible perfume hiding under that generic mall smell...

2nd January, 2012.

On my skin Barbara Bui Le Parfum opens with the distinct impression of pencil shavings and dries down to a well blended musky amber, heliotrope and incense. While its linear, its also so well crafted that it feels much more expensive than it is. This is a scent that gives the impression of luminous, glowing, clean skin. It does not cling too close to the wearer, on the contrary, I find it has very good projection and have gotten lots of compliments.

Sillage: fantastic, but soft and not in your face.
Longevity: 8 hours on skin, a solid 10 in my hair.
Overall rating and feel: 10/10. This is a grown up clean musk with dash of incense and without any distracting white florals or fruits. Timeless in its simplicity, this is great fragrance for any occasion.

30th October, 2011.

Smells like chemicals, metals and the industrial strength baby powder air freshener they use at work (on my skin). Cannot get it off fast enough :(
Scratching this one off my quest for the perfect heliotrope scent.

11th September, 2011.

Love it. It is very neutral. That's good for me, since I really do not want to smell like fruits and flowers. I know this is discontinued and I had a REALLY hard time finding it. I own 16 bottles of this stuff now and have no regrets!

Everytime I spray this juice, I feel I want to snuggle up in my sheets and take a nap. This is pure heaven. It swoops all over my body as if I had just gotten out of soaking in a warm bath laced with sandalwood oil. Noone is really going to smell your neck and say, "ooooh." It's more of an all over scent, where you can't exactly find out where the smell is coming from, it's just "there."

Ohhhhh.... it is also so nice (in a strange way) that it is didcontinued. Noone else is able to smell like me, even though most of my friends want to. My evil but sweet regenge. It's all mine!

17th June, 2011. (Last Edited: 26th June, 2011.)

Le Parfum is a tease. She opens like a dryer sheet, then baby powder, then ivory soap. When you are about to dismiss her as just another "clean" scent, she becomes a light amber musk, first typical then atypical. She hangs on & asserts herself as a light woody with a bit of incense and leather (birch?).

I'd classify Le Parfum as an skin scent because you could wear it & not offend anyone. It lasts but stays close to the skin. However, Le Parfum is deep and complex enough to keep even the pickiest perfumista interested & enthralled.

The name - THE PARFUM - is perhaps a bit grandiose and over-stated. Regardless, Le Parfum is sample-worthy for most, bottle-worthy for me. Le Parfum is a great choice for those who don't want to smell like flower bombs, 1000 petals, green grasses, or vanilla cupcakes.

The only downside? Some times it feels plasticky - I suspect its the amber note. I bought it blind, and I am glad that I did, however I am not wearing it as much as I would like because of that plastic not. Regardless, it is stil thumbs up from me.

27th March, 2011.

I bought Barbara Bui's Le Parfum blind due to the list of notes and I am glad I did. I find it a warm comfort scent that is a pleasure to wear. This is one of those scents that you sniff and have that ummmm response. Very smooth, warm, spicy (but, not too spicy) and just the right amount of incense and heliotrope sitting on top woods, amber and musk. Too bad it is discontinued. I would recommend you grab a bottle of this while you can.

7th December, 2009.