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

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.

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.

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.