Unconditional Love (2009)
by Philosophy

For those in search of sweet laundry scents—you must be out there somewhere, else houses would cease producing and marketers promoting them—Philosophy UNCONDITIONAL LOVE is a much better choice than FALLING IN LOVE, as it opens and remains a sweet laundry scent. I find this composition much more likeable, although I do think that its name is a bit of an exaggeration. My own concept of unconditional love probably was decisively molded by my father—a civil engineer—who was famous in our family when I was growing up for spouting a variety of aphorisms such as “You could be replaced by a machine.” Many of these pronouncements appear to have been meant facetiously, but one of them bears directly on the topic at hand: “I may not always like you, but I'll always love you.” This is a clear expression of unconditional love: no matter what you do, I will still love you. Very similar, it seems to me, to the relation which must obtain between the persons I see out walking their dogs on frosty quasi-Antarctic nights in the darkest depths of winter in Boston. There they are, dutifully bending down to scoop up the poop of their beloved pooch without complaining or any indication that such a task is beneath them—though of course it is, down on the ground at the level of their feet! Yes, they could be at home snuggled under down comforters, but, no, these pet owners are out picking up steaming turds off glacial sidewalks. It's really a sight to behold and a clear sign to me that the only possible relation that could obtain between the owners and their dogs is unconditional love. But I digress.

Although I do like a good citrus scent now and then, I'm not much for the fruity-floral genre, including the subcategory of berry perfumes, but UNCONDITIONAL LOVE is a perfectly wearable one and definitely more likeable and sturdy than FALLING IN LOVE, which perhaps appropriately somewhat falls apart. I would say that UNCONDITIONAL LOVE compares favorably to the Trish McEvoy blackberry fragrances and also Victoria's Secret VELVET AMBER BLACKBERRY. Yes, there are now a number of decent berry perfumes available, so there's no need to settle for anything but the best, for what they are. Different wearers will appreciate different features of these various fruity scents, but in the end I think that it's fair to say that berry lovers have cause to rejoice.

8th July, 2011.

Effervescent blackcurrant. It's nice... if you simply want to wear a nice smell and you like smelling fruity. Once you get past the alchohol it's pleasant, relatively unassuming, warm and very fruity Like a good quality air freshener.

17th November, 2009.

I really like this scent as a lotion. Falling in Love is a bit deeper than this. UL seems like a summertime version: black currants, white flowers, and a vanilla musk drydown. This is as "clean" smelling as I get. The children really like it, which is nice because I work with children but don't want to smell like one myself. Unassuming but lovely.

2nd July, 2009.

I really like this scent as a lotion. Falling in Love is a bit deeper than this. UL seems like a summertime version: black currants, white flowers, and a vanilla musk drydown. This is as "clean" smelling as I get. The children really like it, which is nice because I work with children but don't want to smell like one myself. Unassuming but lovely.

2nd July, 2009.

Smells like more of the same "Falling in Love".

12nd May, 2009.