Fragrance Reviews

Fragrance Reviews by illyria

Showing all 16 reviews

Cayman Winds by Crabtree & Evelyn

I agree with tvlampboy.
A boring citrus, rather pointless. It might be ok used as a room spray, though.
25 June 2008

Song de Chine by Crabtree & Evelyn

This is very soapy. Soap and tea. Not a good combination, for me anyway.
25 June 2008

Om by B Never Too Busy Be Beautiful

Karma's sweeter cousin. Overwhelming as a perfume, but the home incense was nice.
18 June 2008

Love by B Never Too Busy Be Beautiful

It's supposed to smell like apple pie.
To me this is acrid. The top notes shriek 'synthetic green apple' and they don't blend well with the clove-y rest of it.
I had the soap in my bathroom, but I threw it away because the whole place smelled of it and it made me sneeze.
18 June 2008

Ladyboy by B Never Too Busy Be Beautiful

Banana and violet - yikes!
This is not for me.
18 June 2008

Assassin by B Never Too Busy Be Beautiful

A strong green scent, with an earthy base. Takes no prisoners!

I think it's been discontinued, though.
18 June 2008

Keep It Fluffy by B Never Too Busy Be Beautiful

Does anybody remember the Cosmetics To Go scent Himalaya? I have that, and I have Keep It Fluffy, and as far as I can tell they are the same juice.
I say 'as far as I can tell', because I'm no expert, and obviously the Himalaya is an old bottle (though it hasn't turned).

Keep It Fluffy is a warm powdery musk, a little too sweet for me on most days, but my girlier friends like it. I wear it as a comfort scent in winter, when I like to wear it to bed, with warm pyjamas and a good book.
18 June 2008

The Spirit of Moonflower by Body Shop

I like cucumber notes too, but this one is too cloying for me. I do have a small bottle, but when I want cucumber I generally reach for the Fresh one or my old Keihls Cucumber oil instead.
02 June 2008

Special Edition Crisp Cotton by Body Shop

If this is what I think it is (I have a bottle somewhere), the 'cotton fresh from the dryer' note it uses has now been appropriated by Sure deoderants!
It's one of those synthetic notes which is discovered, then everyone makes scent with it, then it's in deoderants and cleaning products and shampoos and... well, you get it - everywhere! Rather like what happened to Green Apple in the 70's, if anyone can remember that far back.
This does really smell like sheets straight from the dryer, it even smells warm, somehow. Not unpleasant, if you want to smell like laundry.
02 June 2008

Sandalwood by Body Shop

I would disagree with pandabear25 - even in the bottle, Woody Sandalwood (I assume it's the same scent) is not at all sharp. It's heavy and sweet, with a lot of cinnamon in with the sandalwood. Quite cloying for me, but lovers of those two notes may like it better.
It's not discontinued as far as I know.
02 June 2008

Roma by Body Shop

This was produced when the Body Shop seemed to be making oils which copied popular big-name scents. They didn't ever say that was what they were doing, but all the same...
Anyhow, Roma was a 'dead ringer' for Paris. The opening notes were very Paris. I can't recall what the drydown was like.
Another scent they produced at the time was L'Aird, which was very like L'air du Temps. I still have that one. And Juba was very like Prescriptive's Calyx.
Of their current crop, I find Cinnamon Spice to be rather like Angel and it's imitators, and the Neroli & Jasmine reminds me strongly of a designer scent. I can't quite put my finger on which one, though.
02 June 2008

Karma by Lush

I can't stand the edt - it's throat-manglingly harsh, and you can't get rid of it! It's the reason you can always tell when there is a Lush shop nearby.
But having said that, the solid perfume version is miles better. It seems to skip over the initial harshness a lot more quickly, and it is warmer. I actually wear it, when I could never wear the other one.
23 May 2008

Winter 1972 by CB I Hate Perfume

This starts with a blast of cold, sinus-scouring 'earthiness' - like a cross between powdered household cleanser and the sneeze-inducing result of opening a package of forgotten, uber-mouldy bread. It certainly gave me an impression of winter, though
I disliked this top note so much that I almost scrubbed. But I decided to give it a chance.
Soon enough, the blast faded to a murmur, and a warm middle note came out to play. I have no idea what it is - I don't know too many notes - but it's lovely. Not foody, more floral, but not indolic. I can't place it. It's a comforting, close to the skin scent. It was worth my braving the opening 'blast' to get to it.
I only have a small sample of this - if I try it a few more times, I may even decide it's bottle-worthy.
30 April 2008

Gardenia by Demeter Fragrance Library

This starts with a very buttery note - so buttery it surprised me. Later that disappears, replaced by a beautiful warm floral drydown which seems to stay the same until (in common with most Demeter scents) it fades, rather too quickly for me.

Most scents with Gardenia in the name blast the back of my throat, but this does not. I like it a lot - that I have to also spray it a lot more often is no great hardship, as the bottle is handbag-sized anyway!
23 April 2008

Lavender Moss by Aftelier

Lavender Moss was one of the Aftelier solid fragrances. It is the only one of the Aftelier solid perfumes I have tried which has much sillage and lasting power. (My favourite, Boronia, disappears on me almost immediately... *sad*).

LM has an unmistakable 'BO-ness' to it. It is deep and dark and naughty. I've heard perfumes with this effect described as having ''skank' - well, this one definitely has it! But it's a sexy skank. A person smelling this on your skin could never be sure whether they were smelling perfume, or you. Some people love that, me included. But it's not for the faint-hearted!
23 April 2008

Tolu by Ormonde Jayne

This reminds me strongly of Dune. It's nicer and far more complex than Dune, but still, the resemblance is unmistakable to me.
It's another good Ormonde scent, but I'm giving it a neutral rating because I dislike Dune so much! See, I used to work next to a woman who drenched herself in the stuff. She would even spritz at her desk when I was eating my lunch right next to her. Dune-flavoured sandwiches... mmmm... ;-)
Sadly, that memory lingers, so Tolu is wasted on me... but if you like a warm, long-lasting, complex amber, this may suit you.
23 April 2008
 
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