Fragrance Reviews by AnnaBanana

I've tried several of these Aqua Allegorias, and while they are pleasant and evoke some good vibes, I think that at base they all end up smelling alike. Not that they aren't pretty, but to my nose they seem a little too soapy and cloying.

At first spritz, I smell hay or maybe straw, and yea, even something animal-like (as in, um, bad). And while the farmy first notes give way a little to something like honey, the overall scent is way to down-on-the-farm for my taste. Anyone want to swap :)??

Lovely citrus and floral that is perfectly light for summer. Alas, it doesn't seem to last long on me, though.

On me, smells overly-sweet and one-note, like a cheap drugstore fragrance, or even, alas, worse!

About 10 years ago, a darling coworker of my mom's gave her a LARGE bottle of Magie Noire. This coworker loved to give people gifts, and to bake them incredible Lithuanian pastries. It seemed that everything that she gave was perfectly tailored to the person, and that the gifts took real time, effort, and money. Also, she gave these gifts with joy. Anyway, Mom had never sniffed great fragrance before and she was enchanted with this gift of Magie Noire. Mom calls it "the black bottle" and compares every other fragrance to it, as in, "This is nice, but it's not the black bottle..."
The other day I got some samples of very pricey perfumes in a department store promo. I was amazed that these samples smelled almost identical to room freshener or cheap hairspray. In other words, they couldn't begin to touch "the black bottle." Magie Noire is lovely, rich, rare, and it remains the standard to me. And to Mom :)

Don't remember how I discovered Cinnabar, but took a bottle with me when I went to work in Italy and Greece for two years. Found it utterly comforting in the autumn and winter, a touch of home and home land. I've discovered other lovelier scents since then, but asked for a bottle for Christmas and find that a little goes a long way in invoking that same comfort, loveliness and "home" feeling. Every perfume review says this, I think, but for what it's worth, I repeat the same chestnut: "When I wear this, people say, 'Oooooh, you smell delicious.'"

Pleasant, clean, somewhat fresh but also somewhat "thick" on me. In my opinion, this is a humble scent that is good for the office, but leave a splashier scent for the evenings or special occasions. I've always wanted to try Bijan's fragrances, since I like to support Persian-Americans, and this was a good buy.

Bought this without sniffing for my mom for Christmas. Mom opens the bottle, sprays, and we both grimmace in disappointment. But wait--didn't the other reviewers recommend giving Cabaret a little time to settle before making up our minds? Sure enough, 15 minutes later, the initial salty scent had given way to the sexiest, sweetest, richest fragrance either of us has had sniffed. Cabaret is a keeper!

After much deliberation and the ad nauseaum reading of so many sparkling reviews, I ordered a bottle of this. The reviewers were right: it's deep, feminine, and lasts forever. But there was something bland and almost dark when it lingered on my skin. It's wierd because spicy/oriental scents usually are a shoe-in for me. This had class, longevity, creaminess, but it doesn't "do" anything on my skin. Wildly disappointed and almost feeling a little guilty because its so moderately priced and that bottle! But if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. I'm an oddball here, though, since almost all the reviews I've read about Mauboussin give it an awestruck thumbs-up.

Was intrigued by the name so bought a bottle at a discounter yesterday and love it! I'm disappointed, though, that the lovely scent doesn't linger as I wished it would, and I have the EDP. But when it does, it's rich, pretty, and has me sniffing my wrist (and reapplying) repeatedly!