Notorious (2008)
by Ralph Lauren

a sales lady in a department store walked by and i got of whiff of overly sweet berries and stale cheap chocolate.
"excuse me," i asked the lady with a smile," but what fragrance are you wearing?"
"notorious" she replied "would you like a sample?"
i accepted, thanked her and gave it away to the first taker.

Notorious has a wonderfully perverse begining-- a cloying (in an interesting way), slightly rubbery fruity-rose accord freshened with Coca-Cola aldehydes. Reminiscent of Angel, in feeling as much as smell, a similar good-humored decadence. It quiets down to a fresher, more conventional middle, and then--nothing! This one seems to disappear on me after half an hour. Begins with a bang, and then peters out. Too bad, but while it lasts, it's far more intriguing than most of the stuff on the market.

This scent has mixed personalities on me-sometimes it is a bit cloying and I do not care for it, but other times it smells great. I do reach for Notorious from time to time, but before I spray, I always wonder "how is it going to smell on me today?" The scent is very warm and bold and has a soft woodsy base to it. I do not smell any fruity or sweet notes in this one at all. It is a complex scent that is different from other perfumes on the market. I would say that this could even pass as a unisex scent. IMO, this is a woodsy/ floral that is somewhat grown up. Notorious is not your typical teen/ younger girls fragrance, I think it would suit an older, mature woman better.

Lauren’s Notorious opens with a weird, pinched, sour accord that ought to be repellent but instead manages to fascinate. It’s a bit like a freeway crackup: awful, but you just can’t keep from staring. I think this opening is the result of a bright, synthetic fruity note (black currant?) in concert with a savory, almost fungal accent that’s vaguely suggestive of decomposition. I know – it sounds great, doesn’t it!

Notorious sweetens and deepens progressively until a attains a dark, boozy, syrupy texture that would not be out of place in a liqueur. The odd fungal accent persists in the background, at once preventing Notorious from smelling too “edible” and separating it from the mass of sweet fruity florals that crowd the shelves behind the women’s perfume counters these days.

I have to say I’m disappointed that Notorious sheds much of its decadent, boozy character after the first hour of wear, thereby exposing a more conventional powdery floral-oriental structure. If it held on to its more perverse attributes for longer, I might consider Notorious a minor masterpiece. As it is the scent’s development is profoundly anticlimactic. A letdown then, but still better than the usual junk.

I like Notorious. To me, it's a quiet, modern version of Youth Dew - really retro in style but not quite so cola-bottle-esque. Soft in character, with a pleasant dry woodsy base. It's definitely a grown-ups fragrance, and probably not for a girl in her 20s unless she is wise beyond her years.

As Zibeline has so aptly noted, this Notorious is retro in feel (and presentation - the bottle is the cat's pajamas!) as a lovely cool and woody floral. What I love most about this elixir is it's wearability. While there are plenty of scents with distinct notes and bold characters, Notorious is one that begs to be recognized up close. It's beauty draws you closer...I find it compelling!