Basenotes - Reviews by pansylady

United States

Showing 1 to 30 of 68.

Tubereuse 2 La Virginale by Histoire de Parfums

I am in love with this fragrance! Tuberose laced with black cherry pipe tobacco- a good unisex fragrance, in my opinion-

18th August, 2011.

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Orange Star by Tauer

This fragrance is intriguing- I smell honeyed incense, rather than any of the notes listed-the longevity is fantastic!

Seems to belong to the same family as Miel de Bois and Alien Liqeuer- deep, throaty, very sensual-

29th July, 2011.

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Eau d'Orange Verte by Hermès

I love citrus notes, and so expected to love this one, but it definitely gave me the impression of a shaving cream scent...

25th July, 2011.

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Fleurs d'Oranger by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

I sampled this fragrance on a sunny February morning in Stockholm, as I was just beginning to recover from a case of winter bronchitis that had me home-bound and unable to smell anything for a few weeks-

Wow, I felt as if I had been given an injection of some kind of feel-good mega-vitamin! The sheer exuberance of this orange blossom powerhouse was definitely what the doctor ordered!

As the cumin notes began to make their presence known, though, I got a bit of a locker-room vibe- incredibly animalic, almost embarassingly so- I was glad that I wasn't in a roomful of strangers or on a crowded Metro...

Having recently tried other orange blossom fragrances by Prada and L'Artisan, Fleurs d'Oranger definitely stood head and shoulders above the other two for power and originality- but this fragrance seems built for seduction rather than for everyday use-

25th July, 2011.

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Violetta de Bosco by I Profumi di Firenze

It seems like many violet dominant scents veer into the directions of cloyingly candy-sweet, woody/dusty/powdery, or synthetic- Fortunately, this is not the case with Violetta di Bosco!

This scent strikes the perfect balance between sweet, green and woody- I love it!

26th January, 2011.

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Fracas by Robert Piguet

White flower heaven- sweet miracle of love, at last I've found you...!

Don't mind me- I'm excited! This is the first fragrance that is older than me that makes me wax rhapsodically!

It is a floral paradox- despite being incredibly potent and longlasting, and a sillage-meister to boot, it is as sweet and traditionally feminine as a valentine heart with a doily behind it, but is sophisticated as well-

I don't get the femme fatale of the nighttime vibe from this one, as many others do- I think Fracas has a clean and soapy quality, making it just fine for the day light hours- there's a spearmint vibe in the top notes, and then a floral soapiness that reminds me so much of Oscar-

I can not get over just how potent this is- I have a 1 cc vial, and have used less than a fifth of it so far, and have gotten two full days of pleasure from this-

8th October, 2010.

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After My Own Heart by Ineke

This scent makes me think of those sunny fall days following a rainy period when the spring flowers are tricked into thinking that it;'s time to bloom again-

After My Own Heart skips the top notes on me, as sun-warmed lilac immediately grabs the steering wheel- then the ambery base notes start to take over, and it's a tug of war between the spring heart notes and the autumnal base notes, until fall finally takes hold...

25th September, 2010. (Last Edited: 3rd October, 2010.)

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Olène by Diptyque

This scent immediately made me feel nostalgic- and after an hour or so, I determined which olfactory memory from childhood was being triggered- Camay soap!

As a child, I was so fascinated by the pretty pastel soap with the cameo image of a lady's head in profile- and I thought that it smelled heavenly, too- still do...

This scent is incredibly long-lasting!

19th September, 2010.

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Poême by Lancôme

This is a very powerful orange blossom scent- it reminds me quite a bit of Serge Lutens's Fleurs d'Oranger-

It is so potent that I smelled it 24 hours later, after having showered and applied a different fragrance- wow!

29th August, 2010.

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Eaudemoiselle by Givenchy

This fragrance definitely has an interesting rose-y vintage vibe in the early and mid phases- but strangely enough, it morphed into something citrus/green and modern a la Chanel Chance eau Fraiche in the bottom notes- I prefered the early and mid phases of this one.

27th July, 2010. (Last Edited: 4th September, 2010.)

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Osmanthus by Keiko Mecheri

This scent left me with the impression of a sun warmed plum blossom, rather than osmanthus. It was pleasant enough, but I agree that the true osmanthus scent was not captured here.

24th July, 2010. (Last Edited: 3rd October, 2010.)

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SummerbyKenzo by Kenzo

After an initial blast of alcohol, white flower sweetness underscored by smoky musk-

28th June, 2010.

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Miracle by Lancôme

Amber, amber, amber, from top to bottom- and reminds me a great deal of one of the most popular shampoos of the 70s- "Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific!" Somehow, it doesn't match the pink color of the fluid at all, to me- it's much more of a golden scent-
If you love amber or the smell of GYHST you will definitely like this-

Staying power is good- but these notes don't agree with me-

28th June, 2010.

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Eau du Ciel by Annick Goutal

On me, Eau de Ciel manifests as an orange blossom scent with green, slightly pungent top notes that quickly give way to a soapy sweetness-

This is, by far, one of the more potent Annick Goutal scents- I put on less than half of a ml yesterday afternoon, smelled it all evening, and even picked up hints of it this morning!

Pleasant and appealing, like a walk through a sunny field full of clover and wildflowers!

28th June, 2010.

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Miel de Bois by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

This fragrance is seductive and innocent at the same time- the combination of honey, wood, and animalic notes makes me imagine a sexy milkmaid in a Thomas Hardy setting who smells of bee hives, meadows, and a roll in the hay!

15th June, 2010.

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Après L'ondée by Guerlain

This fragrance certainly brings a high level of expectation, with so many rhapsodic reviews... I have just begun to explore it's depths, so these are first impressions:

I'm initially put off by the sharp top notes- but there's something oddly appealing about the slightly medicinal (calamine lotion) yet somehow warm vanilla/violet mid and basenotes-

It's funny, but I have picked up this calamine lotion vibe from a few other scents- La Chasse aux Papillons by L'Artisan, Today by Avon, and L'Heure Bleue- I wish I could identify the source...

19th May, 2010.

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Absynthe by Christian Lacroix

Absynthe is an intriguing fragrance... a paradox of warm and shimmery cool notes.

The top notes are decided unisex in nature- sharp, green, and citrusy- but it develops into a very warm and woody floral- and I agree with Nebraska, the longevity is quite good.

9th May, 2010.

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Rouge by Christian Lacroix

Very nice fragrance- I love the warm citrus opening, as well as its floral development- and I thought I didn't like peony fragrances! This one proves me wrong...

9th May, 2010.

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Versace by Versace

I just smelled this for the first time a few weeks ago and my first thought was "mmmm...grapes!" On checking the notes, I was amused at seeing that wisteria is listed as one of the top notes- I had always thought that wisteria smelled like grapes, but wondered if it was attributed to visually associating grapes with the purple dangling clusters on the wisteria bush- now I'm thinking there is more to it than that!

This is a very enjoyable fragrance that I can imagine wearing for any occasion, in any season...

9th May, 2010.

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Today by Avon

A very appealing orange blossom fragrance, in my book- suitable for day or evening, any kind of weather- a real winner for Avon!

9th May, 2010.

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Julia by Téo Cabanel

As soon as I opened the bottle, I knew this was going to be trouble... sure enough- the fruit notes in this fragrance somehow managed to smell sour and fermented at the same time- really disappointing

11th February, 2010.

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La Chasse Aux Papillons by L'Artisan Parfumeur

I got an odd reaction with this scent on my skin- about an hour or two after application, it smelled like calamine lotion to me! I get a similar experience with L'Heure Bleue- must be a chemistry thing. It's not appalling, but it is strange-

11th February, 2010.

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Eau de Givenchy by Givenchy

Spearmint, muguet, jasmine, moss- the notes sounded so fresh to me- but what I got instead was stale and uninspiring, unfortunately- the overwhelming scent impression that I got was "wet hay".

11th February, 2010.

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Aimez-Moi by Caron

The first few times I smelled Aimez-Moi, my nose recoiled a bit at the harsh anise notes, which seemed medicinal to me- I was intrigued, though, and ordered a sample- and each time I wore it, I fell deeper and deeper in love with it's velvety violet heart. Some of the notes are cool, but there is a warm blanket component to it as well- utterly beguiling!

11th February, 2010.

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Infusion de Fleur d'Oranger by Prada

oops- my review of fleur d'oranger belongs here instead-
the infusion is somewhat bland, not much staying power- disappointing

4th December, 2009.

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Waikiki Pikake by Pacifica

The scent of the soap was absolutely glorious, and I think it had tiny bits of rose petals in it, too- haven't tried the spray cologne

4th December, 2009.

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Malibu Lemon Blossom by Pacifica

i only had the body butter and soap- but can speak highly of this scent- it has earthy but subtle dimensions beyond citrus which raises it above the level of lemon drops, in my opinion- I would definitely buy it again

4th December, 2009.

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Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker

Lots of sharp points here, but alluringly feminine all the same- I really enjoyed this one and would buy it again- and the bottle is nice to have around, too- piquant and energizing, yet not "in your face" about it-

4th December, 2009.

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