Shanghai Butterfly (2006)
by Nanette Lepore

Ok, first of all, this has to be one of the worst bottles I have ever seen. SO CHEESEY. So. Late. 90’s. In the worst way. That sort of retro-girly-cosmo cartoon aesthetic that looks oh so dated now. But I sniffed, and liked. I don’t love it, but I feel the reviews I found when I was browsing the internets for other people’s opinions about this scent and in the perfume bibles were a little harsh. Ok, it smells a bit like D & G Light Blue. So what—is that a crime? If emulation is so bad, most perfumers should be locked up by now.
It’s nothing special, but it is certainly wearable. It is a straightforward fruity floral scent, good for a girly spring mood. It’s like carrying around a fruitbowl filled with apples, oranges, and lemons, which some fairy magicked so that the boughs of fruit blossoms were still on it. The sillage is not great, but, again, not terrible either. It’s something I imagine donning for a casual spring dinner al fresco with friends. If you want to smell like you just chopped up a fruit salad in a flower-filled kitchen, or maybe a bit like a gin and St. Germain cocktail, this will do the trick. It doesn’t strike my nose as particularly synthetic smelling, a comment I saw pop up fairly regularly in other reviews. It smells clean, naïve, and girly. No complexity or intrigue. You could give it to a 13 year old girl and it would suit her just fine, I am sure. A good spring/Summer scent.

8th April, 2010.

Citrus, a bit of apple, a bit of carnation for spice, jasmine and lily of the valley background… nice opening but I smelled it before: Light Blue. I agree with takemyhusbandplz on this. The two fragrances are quite the identical especially in the top notes. Shanghai Butterfly moves toward lily of the valley and misses the green bamboo note that is in the heart of Light Blue, so there’s a variation there. The drydown has the biggest change: Shanghai Butterfly doesn’t last anywhere near as long. I voted Light Blue a thumb’s up but certainly not this one.

28th August, 2009.

I like the smell of this, similar to Light Blue, yes, but not as strong and without the impact. I had Light Blue a few years ago and loved it. I put this on and the smell is so faint. I'm pretty sure people can't smell anything on me. I will try to put this up for market when that wardrobe option becomes available.

29th April, 2009.

Oh man... this is just D & G Light Blue but with no character or personality whatsoever.

18th April, 2009.

This reminds me of the Victoria Secret's Sexy Dare body spray I got for Christmas. It was VERY fruity on my skin. I thought it was okay when I smelled it at the fragrance counter, but once I sprayed it on, all I could smell was orange juice.

18th January, 2009.

I totally agree with takemyhusbandplz.

This is a lighter "Light Blue" with an ever so slightly darker base that has half the longevity of D&G.

5th December, 2008.