Barbara Bui (2004)
by Barbara Bui

There was a bit of a buzz with this scent and how people really liked the incense in this fragrance. Looking at the notes, I thought it would be a gender neutral type of fragrance. Finding a bottle for cheap online, I bought it blind.

I found it slightly out of my league of tastes. Many say that the incense is the center of attention in this fragrance, but not so with my skin chemistry. The opening is pleasant, with a burst of incense and...uh-oh, a very pronounced note of powdery heliotrope. I thought it would've been subdued. At this point it really reminded me of Kenzo Flower Parfum.

The incense note relaxed significantly, or rather disappeared, and was replaced by musk and very sweet ambery notes.

The drydown is very vanillic on me, very gourmand. It reminded me of sticky and melted vanilla ice cream all over my fingers.

Many call this a skin scent, but to me it is a very noticeable sweet, musky, and gourmand fragrance. It projects a lot on me.

I would call this a pretty and sensual scent. I think it smells a bit fun loving and womanly. I blame my skin chemistry for this. Sweet, floral, and musky notes fly off my skin to create a cloud around me. My skin amplifies this kind of stuff.

The fragrance is simple enough to be layered with other scents, to create an oriental feel to dry, woody, or green fragrances, so it's not a total loss for me.

For those who like vanilla type fragrances with a pronounced incense note, try Roberto Cavalli's Oro. I LOVE IT, and the incense lasts right to the drydown!

What other florientals dream of being. I love this fragrance. Someone else said it is "well blended". Well the composition is seamless and so complementary. The musk is not dark, and the slight powder is not talc, but rather the incense. I am surprised at how much I liked the thin veil of cedar throughout too. It is just sweet enough, and has the warmth of a lowlit fireplace. I want to wear this for a special evening in w/ the right guy. It melts into my skin. I think this would be my signature if it didnt feel too special for the use of everyday!

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the Barbara Bui Perfume as I am not typically a fan of "resinous/incense" fragrances. I didn't get those notes at all but then, I don't know that I have ever smelled resin or proper incense for that matter. I would describe the Barbara Bui Perfume as a light, well blended musky skin scent that also has notes of coconut, vanilla, milk, cinnamon and amber that lasts the right amount of time on my skin and is never overpowering. Of all that I have smelled in this genre, I think Barbara Bui Perfume comes closest in style to Cristiano Fissore's Cashmere for Women and to a lesser degree, Sonoma Scent Studio's Opal.

Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court: spices, incense, jasmine, heliotrope, white musk, sandalwood, cedar and amber.

Since there are no other reviews on this lovely fragrance I feel I must write one. I bought Barbara Bui blind ( the shame of it !) but I don't regret it at all. Reading the fragrance notes I just knew I would love it and it would work with my skin chemistry. It starts out as a soft spicey floral, none of the notes are overpowering. Just when you think it is going to mellow to nothing it develops into a warm, spicey incensey fragrance. Again it is not overpowering very balanced and never harsh. It reminds me alot of Sonia Rykiel Woman but is much more comlex and spicier. Apparently this fragrance has been discontinued but I was lucky enough to find a full bottle on ebay for a very reasonable price.