First Love (2006)
by Van Cleef & Arpels

There is an alcohol blast when I first spray – much more than usually happens from other scents. But a floral bouquet quickly takes over… definitely in bouquet form because I can’t quite identify most of the individual notes. I don’t at all get the mandarin note in the opening, but I do get a very nice pepper that adds depth and interest to the florals. Any citrus in the mix is overwhelmed by the florals. In the middle level I get ylang-ylang for sure, and there’s a bit of annoyance in there that is likely the orchid; I can’t identify either the osmanthus or peony, and if the ylang-ylang overwhelms peony, I would say that there is too much ylang-ylang. There’s a definite resinousness… a slight herbaceous resin that likely is the paradise seed listed in the pyramid. The amber and the vanilla from the base stay far in the background and provide a limited sweetness to my nose, and I don’t even suspect any patchouli.

At my first testing of First Love, I found it random and rather unexciting. It was pleasant enough, but it had too strong a trace of synthetics even though I didn’t find the synthetics disagreeable. My opinion of First Love has subsequently improved. The notes have become more mellow to my nose… less ylang-ylangy. I find it nicely put together, with a somewhat strong sillage and good longevity. I give it some respect but there’s nothing about it that I find special.

28th November, 2010.