Notorious (2008)
by Ralph Lauren

Upon first sniffing Notorious, I smell lemony-black currant, which is soon replaced by the chocolate note. The floral notes dance around in the background but never fully announce their arrival. After the initial blast of fruity-chocolate notes recedes, all I smell is a slightly raunchy patchouli for the duration of the 2-3 hours that this scent lasts. It is a notch above the rest of the mainstream plethora, but the dry down isn't as seamless as it could be. Perhaps it will grow on me as my nose grows more accustomed to the arrangement of notes , as is often the case.

Edit** I stand corrected,once again.Several weeks prior to posting above review I had sprayed this scent on my hand at least 5 or 6 times, and was put off by it every time.As I wrote, I was smelling it intermittently, and as the fragrance developed on my skin, it lost that raunchy edge that it has always had. It was replaced with a mixture of patchouli and chocolate. I guess it's possible that the dry down just smelled confused to me before. This is a pleasant scent that should be revisited if one doesn't like it the first time. Perfume truly is the gift that keeps on giving.

16th November, 2011.

I actually quite enjoy Notorious and I cannot understand why so many people dislike it.

To me, this fragrance isn't overly spicy nor flowery. It's a little fruity and sweet, but not in a cheap kind of a way. Notorious smells expensive and is really quite classy.

Black currant, bergamot and peony are the most dominant notes when applied to the skin. This fragrance makes me feel very elegant and feminine, I really don't sense any hints masculinity within this scent.

The lasting power and sillage are both pretty powerful which makes this fragrance worth the money.

I think that Notorious would make a wonderful Autumn/Spring fragrance because it is so cheerful and pretty. It just makes me think of beautiful, sunny, cloudless days.

I actually think that Notorious smells a little like Coco Mademoiselle, however I much prefer Notorious.

4th June, 2011.

smelled great from a magazine. when i tested it it smelled horrible. how could this be 4 stars?

20th August, 2010.

On my skin this smells like mothballs, cleaning product and a faint whiff of Arden's 80's powerhouse-ness then fades away. There is a close-to-skin remnant an hour later but barely. I feel this needs more mature skin than mine.

For me, sillage was non-existent and poor longevity.

28th July, 2010.

I sniffed this at a local discount store recently and i have to say the actual juice smells very different from the magazine ad, which had a distinctive licoracey-mintyness to it.

On my skin, peony and vanilla dominated. It smelled sophisticated and slightly distinctive but safe - not "notorious" at all. A forties siren would never wear such an agreeable perfume.

12nd July, 2010.

Like many of Ralph Lauren's fragrances, NOTORIOUS opens boldly - a little fizzy, boozy but deep fruit accord bursting forth with the very first spritz. But just as quickly it becomes all sweet and powdery, turning densely woodsy like a hybrid of Flower By Kenzo and Trussardi Inside Men. And despite having 'chocolate' listed as a note, I can't smell any. To my nose Notorious feels more an oriental than a gourmand, and it wears comfortably like a unisex fragrance. But 'Angel' this is not, its lack of tenacity finally giving away its less than stellar pedigree to end a somewhat enjoyable ride after a mere 3 hours.

22nd December, 2009.