Harajuku Lovers - Lil' Angel (2008)
by Gwen Stefani

There was no doubt about it, when I first smelt this fragrance I knew there was a note of pineapple in there somewhere.

Pineapple is quite possibly my least favourite note since it doesn't blend well with my skin chemistry and usually makes me nauseous.

Lil' Angel reeks of pineapple. Strong, sharp, juicy and headache inducing.

This fragrance reminds me so much of YSL's Baby Doll, it is almost like a complete replica. While the scent is quite fresh and for some, (who enjoy the smell of fresh pineapple), quite appealing, I can't seem to warm towards this fragrance even though I have tried.

Lil' Angel unfortunately was my least favourite out of the Harajuku Lovers series.

4th June, 2011.

Almost sickeningly sweet. Young sugary fruity lacking all forms of sophistication but I still like it when i want to step outside of my usual wardrobe. There is a reason it comes in such a small bottle, you will never use anything more. Marketed for girls but not at all priced for the little girls who would be wearing it.

11th October, 2009.

Definitely not for a perfumista, but not bad for a perfumista's 10-year-old niece. It's fruit candy all the way (Jolly Rogers and lollipops) but pleasant, well-constructed, and inoffensive enough for a mainstream fruity floral.

21st May, 2009.

This fragrance is hilarious! Smells like berries right off the bat, and hangs on to the candy and sugar until the drydown. I have to give it credit for the sheer ballsiness of creating something so unironic and upfront about its, uh, cuteness. I have no idea who would wear this apart from 14-year-olds, but I'm sure it'll find a larger market within those obsessed with kawaii-culture and all things Gwen.

5th February, 2009.

I tried this out after taking a look at the bottle in my local Superdrug - very cute Momiji-style bottles that are childlike in a cool Japanese way; definitely more me than the staid Chanel bottle. However, the frag was a disappointment. On first spray it smelt like a big jumble of notes with no separation - I thought I could smell crisp apple in there once it dried down a little, but the notes above say not. Then it started to smell very generic - reminiscent of Escada's Tropical Punch, a very young, sugary, fruity fragrance. After a couple of hours I got the distinct smell of Strepsils. Just not for me. It might be very nice for a teenager, but the cost of this makes me wonder who it's for - £12.95 for 10ml in Superdrug makes it more expensive than my YSL Cinema.

Cute bottle, though.

29th January, 2009.