Fragrance Reviews by sherrie11

I have a roller ball decant of Coco Mlle edp. I used to dislike this fragrance on my skin - I thought it was too sharp and the patchouli was overwhelming. But recently, for whatever chemistry reasons, it is working very well for me. My skin is bringing out a sweet-musky-vanilla quality in it, and the patchouli is actually quite subtle. I LOVE the orangey/citrussy top notes. I think Coco Mademoiselle is better in warm weather than cold. Warmth and humidity bring out a mellower spicy sweetness in this fragrance and smooth away the sharper edges. Liking this very much.

I'm revisiting Giorgio after twenty or so years, and I'm loving it. It is a white floral/aldehydic/fruity/chypre bombshell fragrance, and yes of course you must apply sparingly or else asphyxiate everyone within a thirty foot radius. Nevertheless, this is a stunning fragrance. I think it stands the test of time, whatever your pleasant or unpleasant associations may be. Giorgio is feminine, warm, sweet, elegant, and very nicely composed. Nobody wears it anymore, so I feel like I'm safe to wear it again. I don't care if it smells "old lady" (which I'm beginning to think = chypre), I like it.

I just received a sample of Pursuit that I requested so long ago I forgot all about it. I really like it. It starts out a bit strong and harsh, sort of typical men's cologne type scent, but it soon dries down into a sweet, warm, spicy/woodsy fragrance, but not heavy, quite light, actually, pleasant and skin-scenty. Not bad at all. I wish my husband liked it but he doesn't. :-/

I selled White Diamonds on my sister-in-law a while back and I had to ask her what she was wearing, it was so nice. Very floral-chypre to my nose, which is a type of fragrance I like. I just saw some bottles at Marshalls. I'm tempted to go back for one. But I don't know, I've got enough right now - would I wear it often enough to give it precious drawer space? Probably not. Nice frag, though, imho. It depends on individual chemistry, of course. Many people loathe this stuff - but I think it smells nice. No fragrance smells good when it's hosed on.

I smelled Tresor recently on one of my professors - or rather, I didn't know what she was wearing until I asked her. Her response, Tresor, blew me away. I remember Tresor from years ago, but I don't remember it smelling like THAT! Sweet, warm, honeyed, and incredibly enticing. Like a musky mead. I tested some at a Lancome counter the other day, and I like it on me, too. I suppose my chemistry has changed, but I like it much better now than I did when I was younger. It was the edp. Huge thumbs up and it will be my next purchase. Not cheap smelling to this nose at all, but a lovely and sexy frag.

There are several BBW Cherry Blossom scents. I have the pink one that's just called "Cherry Blossom" in shower gel, body lotion & body spray. I smell cinnamon, mimosa, some very sweet maraschino cherry and sandalwood. I like it, but the sandalwood becomes very strong on me, which also happened with BBW's Warm Vanilla Sugar. My skin seems to grab onto sandalwood and won't let go. I wish the other notes would last as long. I like trying the various BBW stuff, though, especially the shower gels. They're fun. A cheap thrill. :-)

I didn't care for Eternity in the 80's, but once in a blue moon I'll smell it on someone and think, "how lovely!". It's nice that few people wear it anymore - helps me make a less biased assessment if I'm not smelling it everywhere I go. Eternity is a nice fragrance on the right person. I like it. :-)

The only problem I have with Blv Notte is the galanga, which I've found out is ginger. I knew there had to be ginger in there! For some reason, ginger goes all strong and man-cologne'ish on me - it takes over. But the drydown is soft and very nice. It lingers softly on the skin for hours, and it smells refined, nicely composed, articulate. The dark chocolate is just a touch, not overbearing or tooth achingly sweet. It's a nice fragrance, and I'm glad I tried a sample, but I won't be buying a bottle. I can't do the galanga.

I bought Amazing by Bill Blass a couple of years ago. I think I paid $20 for the edt and body powder in a gift set. I actually bought it on impulse because I fell in love with the bottle. But I also like the fragrance - a soft green floral, one of my favorite fragrance families. It's not very long lasting. A spritz of it is nice after a shower. Now that I've talked myself into it, I'll wear some today. :-) So why don't I wear this more often? I guess because it's just not all that "Amazing", merely a pleasant & innocuous green floral. Which is fine.

(Half a thumbs-up on the fragrance, and a full thumbs-up on bottle design)

I didn't expect to like Chance because I don't really like any of the Chanels after No. 19 (which I love). I can't do Coco, Allure, Coco Mlle. I figured this was yet another Chanel that I won't get. First sniff...yep, same family. Then...after a little time...I really liked Chance. Patchouli doesn't love me, but the patchouli in this dries down to a soft warm whisper. Chance can be soft and sexy if you give it a "chance". :-) I like it.

Overwhelmingly spicy and clove-like on me. The spiciness is so pronounced that I don't detect any other note but rose, and it just becomes more annoying as time passes. I wanted to like it, but it was a scrubber for me.

Tovah sent me a decant of Songes a while back, and I get exactly the same overwhelming chemically note of rubber tire. So weird because people rave over this stuff. On me Songes is noxious. This is the first AG I've tried that I really dislike.

I tested Diorissimo edt today again after I don't know how many years. I was practically swooning with delight. What a lovely, lovely fragrance! It just smells like true quality. My goodness, I had forgotten what a quality fragrance actually smells like. The jasmine in it is gorgeous and first rate. I had been thinking lately that jasmine is not my friend. Not true! I can wear this jasmine beautifully. Diorissimo is now on my Christmas wish list. I'm so pleased to have found a scent that makes me feel excited to own a bottle again! :-)

I wore Sunflowers back in the 90's and I'm sort of in the mood to wear it again. I think it's rather a nice fragrance, yes go easy on it as Calchic says. I guess people OD'ed on it and that's why so many people hate it now. I used to get compliments on it, however. RuffDawg's not the only one who thinks it's a unisex scent. My boyfriend at that time was always borrowing my Sunflowers (and L'eau d'Issey, too)!!

I enjoy most of the Dior fragrances. J'Adore is a very *nice* fragrance but it doesn't knock my socks off. Maybe that's a good thing - there's always room in my wardrobe for a *nice* generic fragrance to wear to a funeral or christening or something. (!!) "Generic" is too extreme, though. J'Adore is not quite generic, but it's not special with a capital "S", though I do like it. I love the bottle.

I think Alien is absolutely brilliant. I wasn't too sure at first, but it has grown on me. It's very potent, bold, long lasting, with a lot of sillage (which is not usually my type of perfume, I'm rather reserved), and you could suffocate people in small spaces if you wear too much, but it's one of those perfumes that have a definite positive effect on my mood and attitude. I feel very independent when I wear Alien, and comfortable in my own skin. There is a combination of aloofness and warm coziness that works some kind of magic on me. There is a lot of subtlety in there, if you give it a chance. I can see why people might dislike it, but I wear it to please myself. I love the purple bottle, too.

I used to wear this one a lot. Mint in a fragrance always attracts me. But this isn't a cool scent, it's warm and cuddly and lasted a long time on me. The tonka, I suppose, is what made it seem vanillic, just short of gourmand. Though someone did tell me once that I smelled like a cookie when I was wearing this, so it's somewhat sweetish. I stopped using it because I grew tired of it and felt like concentrating on other types of fragrances. But it's a nice one. Just not what I'm into right now.

I used to wear Liz Clairborne in the 80's. I had received a gift set that had a mini of the parfum with it, and that was very nice parfum - fruity, almost chypre'ish, and quite delicious. I'm not sure what happened to my old bottle of edt (it was the red triangle). It was a very pleasant fruity-floral scent. I don't like the newer Liz Clairborne scents. Just this one.

I wore a sample of this a couple of times and liked it alot. It's a soft, clean floral, a type of scent that seems to work well on me. I wish it lasted longer, but this is a great everyday fragrance. Clean, sweet, skin scent on me. I may even ask Santa for a bottle.

Not bitter, sweet, or nasty on me. Just boring.

I was one of those who wore Anais Anais in my 20's. I liked it at the time - I was a girly girl who wore a lot of fresh florals and had romantic tastes. Now that I'm in my 40's I will have to revisit Anais Anais to see if it's true that it's not as innocent as it seems, as mentioned below. I've read references elsewhere to its leather note, which I don't recall.

I agree, First does smell expensive - it's obviously a very "nice" fragrance and there's nothing there to dislike - but it always bored me. I had the edt and lotion, maybe it's better in parfum. No offense to anyone who loves it, and thank goodness we don't all love the same fragrances. I love many that are this type of classic fragrance, but First doesn't excite me.

Yes, as Helg states below, this is a tuberose scent. I think it's rather fresh compared to Fracas (but I have Fracas edp and Gardenia Passion edt, so maybe that's why). There's a note in GP that smells like mildew to me. I don't know if that's the tuberose or something else. I keep a small bottle of it around for old time's sake, I used to wear it a lot. Not so much anymore. I like it, though. It's pleasant stuff.

A friend of mine wears this exclusively. It's so fresh and clean on her, and also smells a little like freesia blossom. I've never worn it myself cause I wouldn't want to start wearing "her" fragrance, but I think it's a charming scent. It's decidedly girly, imo. I can't quite see a man wearing it but whatever floats yer boat. ;-)

The first time I wore Mitsouko all these 19th century Romantic (with a capital "R") images took over my mind. It was truly like a haunting. Strange, potent effect it had on me. I have a bottle of the edt. I rarely wear it, however - it's just not what I reach for on as all-round everyday fragrance, and everyday casual is pretty much what my life is all about. But I am in love with the old world quality of Mitsouko. It's makes me feel nostalgic, but for some other incarnation I think. It's spicy and peachy on me - it's a tough old leathery dried peach that still has in the center the slightest lingering odor of a summer long past, and the mustiness of old books and abandonment, and there's vanilla in there, too, which gives it a bit of lushness to balance the dryness and bring you back. It's just one of the most extraordinary fragrances.

I've fallen in and out of love with Angel over the years. At the moment, I'm in love with it again. I've been wearing just the tiniest dab of the edp lately and have been receiving compliments. Maybe people apply too much and that's why so many hate it - because a little goes a very long way. I guess I'm just in the mood for this again.

I agree that NR for Her (I have the edt in black bottle) can be worn by both men and women. It's a soft fragrance on me and decidedly "feminine" on the one hand because it is just very pretty and elegant, yet there's also a lingering, decidedly "masculine" woodiness and a bit of booziness. So I can see this fragrance going in either direction gender-wise. It's interesting. I don't feel the urge to get dressed up for this fragrance, rather the opposite in fact. It's a fragrance that I would reach for on an occasion when I do not want to be too identifiably dressed up in a frou-frou fragrance. For me, it's more of a casual yet chic scent. Maybe because it is so unisex and versatile. On my skin, it's not overtly sexual and musky, it's just clean smelling and pretty. I like it as a modern alternative to my usual preference for feminine classics. I think I'll reach for it much more this fall than I have over the summer. I'd like it on my husband, too.

Looks like I'm the only one here who likes it. The name is misleading. But I don't pay much attention to dumb advertising campaigns. I will admit I didn't see anything wonderful about Provocative Woman at first spray, but it dried down to something quite pleasant on my skin - warm, soft, cozy, ambery. Not cheap, not grape, not watermelon - nothing like that at all. Not terribly long lasting either, but that's ok. I don't think it's such a bad scent.

I just sampled this (I basically live under a rock) because someone sent me a sample. I never tried it before in dept stores, I suppose, because I don't care much for anise or licorice flavors and I thought that I wouldn't want to smell them in a perfume either. How wrong I was! :-) This is one of the loveliest fragrances I've tried in a long time. On me, it's very long lasting. It smells of anise pastilles and violets and soft musk -- it's so nicely composed. I don't find the anise/licorice at all discordant. I think it adds a note of interest without overwhelming. I'm surprised by how much I love this one. It's now on my wish list.

Someone recently sent me a sample and I've just tested it once --- but I think *L* is lovely. I don't detect all the notes listed, just the vanilla and musk and a general gourmand yumminess. I didn't apply much so I didn't find it overpowering or too much of a sugary cliche, just mellow, sweet and soft on my skin, and long lasting. Nice! :-)

I've been wearing a decant of this version of Shalimar over the past couple of days and loving it. It's light but surprisingly long lasting on my skin. Lemony & vanilla. I usually like Shalimar eau de cologne or parfum (not so much the edt for some reason). This one is very nice! I will probably purchase it at some point. I can see myself wearing it year round. My husband likes it on me, too.

Another neglected old bottle my husband has from lord knows when. He won't go near it. But I rather like it (I love sampling his fragrances). Sometimes I spray a tiny amount on my wrist just because I'm in the mood for it. I can see how annoying this could be to others, though, if you wore a lot of it. A very small amount is nice because it's potent.

My husband has an old bottle of Antaeus on his dresser that he never wears. It's from before we met. I don't if he never liked it, or liked it once and tired of it, or what -- but I like it and wear it occasionally. It's resiny/woodsy and dry but with some sweetness, though just a touch. The juice is still fresh because it's been in the black opaque bottle all these years. I wish he would wear this one, it's very sexy I think. Even though it's from the 80's I don't think it smells dated. Masculine. Classic.

Try the bath oil, not the edp or edt. It is sooooo much nicer! I never could wear Youth Dew, I think because the patchouli was too strong for me. I can wear patchouli in very small amounts, as in Miss Dior and certain other frags. But Youth Dew is too much for me. Even Angel, which I wear occasionally sometimes bothers me because of the patchouli. Anyway, on another forum posters were raving about how superior Youth Dew bath oil is to the other forms of the fragrance, so I decided to try it, and it's true. I get a vanillic softness mixed with the spices and woodsiness. The bath oil is subtler and closer to the body. You can wear it as perfume, or rub a few drops into shower-damp skin, if you don't want to pour it in your bath. I would hate to see it go down the drain. :-) But it's very affordable, too. A 1 oz. bottle of bath oil is only $22.50, and I think 2 oz. around $30. I highly recommend this version of Youth Dew.

Second Tovah's recommendation. Just sampled Wanderlust, and I think it's lovely. It's a soft, classic-type, ultra feminine scent. It reminds me of the old (Evyan) White Shoulders or L'air du Temps -- not in notes precisely but in type and feel. There's nothing sharp around the edges, it just suffuses you in loveliness.

I also like most of the RL fragrances - they just seem to work well on my skin, and they're affordable. Blue is a fresh, aquatic floral. The bottle is very pretty sitting on my dresser. It is cologne-like in that it is on the light side, but I find it surprisingly long lasting. I'm tired of it now but I have enjoyed it.

I love Grand Amour. I rarely wear it now because I'm always trying new things rather than staying with my tried and true. Sometimes I will wear it for nostalgia's sake. It is a rich, lush, feminine, floral fragrance. To me, it smells like easter lilies, but dries down to a velvety ambery-balsam finish as Helg's notes mention. Yes, it is a little decadent. The hyacinth or lily has that bit of decayed odor beneath the extreme high sweetness of the fully developed blossom. It is a fragrance in full bloom that is just about to turn, which is when it's at its best. For me, Grand Amour is a romantic, evocative fragrance. I used to get quite a few compliments when I wore it. It is quite potent and long lasting. For floral lovers only.

Thank you, Scentemental, for the great review and clarifications! I certainly can't add much to that except to say that I wore Eau d'Hadrien edt (in the "women's" bottle) last summer when it was the only fragrance I owned that I could bear in extreme heat and humidity. I would sleep in it, too. But I also wore it over the winter when I wanted a simple clean fragrance. I wouldn't have tried it except that Nordstrom didn't have Diorella and the SA steered me toward Eau d'Hadrien. Its simplicity is deceptive, as scentemenal noted, the whole is greater than its few parts. The woodsiness is lovely with the lemon.

Eau de Camille is one of my favorite Annick Goutal fragrances. It is cool and green and brambly - green with a slight bitterness, like a crushed living twig, and a floral sweetness. It reminds me of secret places in the woods where I would hide as a child. Love this one.

I wore Dolce Vita around '98 - '99. It was very woody and aromatic on me, which I liked at the time. I liked the bottle, too. I never repurchased - moved on to other things. But it was nice while it lasted.

My mother wore Calandre during the 70's. It was lovely and unusual on her - very green/floral and aldehydic/powdery with a woody base. In retrospect I agree that there was something a bit metallic about it. It was the mix of ultra-modern with the classic prettiness that worked and made it unique.

Here are fragrance notes for Calandre that I found on imaginationperfumery:

FRAGRANCE NOTES - Bergamot, Fresh Rose, Geranium, Hyacinth, Woody and Powdery Base, Musk.

I guess they are correct, but they don't seem very specific. Anyway, if Calandre is unchanged it's a lovely scent. I agree the bottle is great, also Paco Rabanne's Metal bottle is great (similar).

Nordstrom gave me a couple of samples. It smelled rather synthetic and plasticky to me. Made me feel a little queasy.

As a white flower lover, I think this fragrance is perfectly fine. I wore it for a while back in the 90's. It's very girly-girly, fresh and feminine. But I become bored by lily-of-the-valley as a perfume. I prefer it in shower gel or soap, which is refreshing like a spring rain. Actually, I like it best from my back yard in May! :-) Jessica McClintock is sweet and innocent and has that fresh airy muguet scent, what I think of as a young girl's scent. Very spring-like.

I had a mini of this some time in the late 90's and really enjoyed using it up. It was a warm vanilla-woody fragrance. You can still find it online. It would probably be more current now than it was back in the 90's.

Yuck, I had this and gave it away, probably threw it away. It smelled like some old guy's hair tonic!

A nice person sent me a sample of L'Origan, I think it was vintage. Oaf that I am, I couldn't appreciate it. I tried it on my skin but it didn't work for me. It was too strange to my nose. It smelled clovey and medicinal, and very dry. Its powderiness was like the dust of a century. I can see its relation to Mitsouko, actually, rather than L'heure Bleue. I would never wear L'Origan. I can, however, appreciate its strange echoes from the time of Gustav Klimt. It must have been quite avant garde in its day.

Truly not bad at all for a cheapie, but I had to give mine away. The sandalwood predominates on me - I mean total sandalwood that doesn't let up - and it makes me queasy after a while. Still, it's one of the few inexpensive drugstore fragrances that doesn't smell cheesy, imo. There used to be more of them, but most seem have been changed for the worse, alas.

I like Trouble. When I tested it, it reminded me of Allure, but smoother and more mellow, not as harsh to my nose as Allure. And the bottle with the original serpent cap was great. I like scents that have cedar in them, but I didn't detect a heavy hit of cedar (as in Moschino Couture, for example), nor did I get root beer, and I've read that elsewhere, too, that it smells like root beer. I got more of a soft, custardy lemon-vanilla on my skin. I never think to put this on my wish list, however, and I don't know why. It's a very nice fragrance.

I unabashedly love Happy, so I feel I have to defend it somewhat, although I haven't worn it in quite a while. I love the whole Clinique Happy range. My husband, unfortunately, does not care for it. He says it smells ok if you want to go around smelling like a glass of juice. He's not partial to fruity/citric scents anyway. But when I was wearing Happy several years ago I always received compliments on it, especially when layered with the body lotion, which I recall was emollient, so was good on the skin and not just perfumey. The fragrance just seems to work well on me. I found that it actually lasted, and it turned sweet and fresh on my skin. Yes, it's unsophisticated, uncomplicated and lacking mystery. I don't find it totally flat or uninteresting, however. And I don't get the connection to JPG Classique, which I own and wear, but I'd have to do a side-by-side comparison. That's an interesting point tho' and one I will try some day when I'm out gandering about the dept store perfume counters. Anyway, Happy's freshness and simplicity is exactly what I enjoy sometimes. It's sunny and uplifting and puts me in a good mood.

Someone decanted a sample of Etro Ambra for me to try. I don't care for it. I don't hate it, but it's just not my type of scent. It's too mannish for me. I wouldn't recommend it to my husband either. It reminds me of a too sweet incense I used to have years ago. I prefer subtler more complex fragrances, for both women and men.

I was surprised when I first tried Cinema because I was expecting something with a bit more personality from YSL, especially given the name and dramatic bottle. The fragrance itself was anti-climactic. But after I gave it a try I liked it. It's soft, very wearable, and there isn't much by YSL that I dislike anyway. It's almondy on me, and faint and clean. I'm giving it a thumbs up because while it's not my favorite YSL it's still a lovely fragrance. I was waffling between Cinema and the new Burberry in the gold plaid bottle at Christmas for my mother, and I ended up buying the Burberry because it had more of a punch. She would have been bored by Cinema. Cinema is easily eclipsed by more forceful fragrances, and my mother likes to make a statement with her fragrance. This is one for those who like a subtle, soft fragrance. If I owned this I would probably wear it anytime as an everyday all-purpose go-anywhere fragrance. I can't see how anybody in the immediate vicinity could take offense to it.

I was gifted with Chamade when I was fourteen or fifteen (in the 70's). It was the cologne strength that came in the round Guerlain splash bottle with the pointy cap. I didn't appreciate it at the time, it was too sophisticated for me, too green, too formal. I was into Love's musky jasmine and teenager scents. Years later, I revisited Chamade and appreciated it better. Then, some time after that, I bought it the parfum in the upside down heart shaped bottle. I thought the parfum was boring, it was too heavy - as in too weighty and closed in, not airy enough - it just didn't do anything for me, but maybe I'm still too unsophisticated for the parfum. I prefer the crisp and green airiness of the lighter formulation with the spiciness that comes through.

Thumb way up on this. This is one of my favorite men's fragrances. As a female, I find this fragrance sooo seductive and sexy. I bought some for my husband several years ago and wish I could persuade him to wear it more often, but I think the initial citrus just doesn't attract him. When he does occasionally wear it, I say, "What is that incredible scent you have on?" It turns so wonderful with his chemistry that I don't recognize it. He's actually more of an oriental guy, wore Obsession when I met him, and now reaches for Jaipur most often. Still...this one is perfect for him. Sexy but classy, and in the right dosage (meaning just a bit) -- devastating!

I love the fresh smell of Eau Sauvage. I bought a bottle for my husband as a Christmas stocking stuffer. He hasn't worn it yet so I don't know whether he likes it. Maybe he will find it more agreeable this summer. I don't agree with Scenteur7 about its bitterness - I find it rather mellow - but everybody's take is different obviously. I know both sexes wear it, but on drydown it's still a tad too mannish to completely agree with my chemistry. I prefer Diorella, Eau Sauvage's twin sister, for myself.

My mother was given this fragrance when it came out but she didn't like it. I remember it as a dry, spicy, chypre/oriental-type fragrance. I loved it and sprayed my dolls with it. To my (probably somewhat) faulty recollection, it smelled like what I would now identify as Aromatics Elixir/Cinnabar/Azuree and something else, I don't know what. If that helps anyone who is thinking of purchasing this vintage fragrance on ebay or elsewhere. :-)

Another lovely old friend wrecked. The new version is horrible. The old White Shoulders made by Evyan, who've been out of business for years now (White Shoulders is made by some other company now), was absolutely gorgeous. It was a signature fragrance for me. The new White Shoulders is a sad disappointment. I've had to move on.

p.s. Evyan's "Most Precious" was very nice back in the day, too, and similar to White Shoulders. I understand Long Lost Perfumes makes a version of it, but I haven't tried it.

Many years ago I wore L'air du Temps pretty much exclusively, in all of its formulations. It was my signature scent - before I became this fragrance lunatic that had to experience multitudinous fragrances. I received compliments on L'air du Temps just about everywhere I went. It suited my chemistry to a "T" and dried down soft, lovely, slightly musky, spicy and floral. Can't quite describe the scent but it was haunting. I understand the formula has been tweaked, so I'm afraid to revisit my old love. I'd rather have fond memories than see another old love ruined for me.

Someone very kindly sent me a sample of this a a long time ago. I honestly didn't see what the big deal was about. It's a sweet, thick floral. Lately, though, after revisiting my little decant, I've decided that I love this fragrance. It really does make me feel sexy and boudoir'ish in my private domain here -- like I should be sitting here at the computer in marabou mules and sexy lingerie (rather than the jeans, socks & pseudo-birkenstocks I'm really wearing, lol!). I'm addicted to the sweeties lately -- what is that ultra-sweet note, the viburnum? It weaves through the composition like a vine. I hope it smells as good ON me as it does TO me.

What a blast from the past! My mom received Chaz in a gift bag back in the 70's when she went to some party. I started wearing it because I thought it smelled nice, but I can't for the life of me remember what it actually smelled like. It's been a million years since then. Was it the male equivalent of Charlie? I wore that, too. I would love to be able to sample it somewhere, just for the memories it would evoke. I wish I knew Italian, so I could understand Mark's review. :-)

I agree with FroFro in that Miss Dior Cherie is more chic than sensual. I love it, it does have a sweet candy quality and the strawberry note is charming I think, but the drydown is elegant. It's a classy fragrance in my opinion not just a candy bomb. I really like it and it's on my wish list for this summer.

Oops, I made a mistake buying this one without trying it first. I tried it three times. At first I thought I might like it better in the summer when drier scents seem to suit. But I don't think I will ever like it. Each time I try it I try to give it time to develop, but then I have to scrub it off. It makes me feel nauseated. Very few fragrances affect me in such a way. I've never met a Guerlain I couldn't at least stomach, even if it wasn't for me. This one smells like a mix of lavender, iodine and baby powder. The lavender part is nice. I love lavender. I'm not wild about the baby powder but it's not horrible. The iodine -- is godawful. I don't know what the "iodine" is, that's just my name for whatever it is. Oh well.

Inexpensive musk oils are one of my guilty little pleasures. I feel like I have to sneak them because when I was a teenager my parents couldn't stand my musk oil perfume and said I smelled like a cheap tart, etc. So I still have that tarty association with them, notwithstanding all the trendiness of musk again and the very many "nice" musks that are available now. I wear the cheapies just for myself when the mood strikes me. I bought Alyssa Ashley musk oil a while ago, and I swear I can't even smell anything at all. When I was a kid they used to say that you can't smell musk on yourself but others can -- maybe this is one of those cases. I like to smell my own perfume.

Fracas is one of my top ten favorites. It's not bombshell at all on me, not siren, not diva, not any of that, though I do find it intoxicating and breathtaking. Of the tuberoses I've tried, this one is my favorite so far. The notes all hang together nicely on me, is the only way I can explain it. It dries down quite fresh and clean on my skin. I receive compliments when I wear it - and from close up, not from across the room, lol! :-) It works well with my chemistry.

I agree that 273 is very 80's. Yes, it's quite potent and heady, but it has some warmth to it, too, with a warm woodiness (sandalwood?) on the bottom. I don't often wear mine, I prefer other heady scents to this one. But it's not bad at all in small amounts.

This was another impulse bargain buy at Marshalls. I'm reserving judgment until summer because I might like it better in hot weather. Right now, it smells very syrupy, tropical, a bit coconutty too. Just at odds with cold weather here in the north. I don't know...I might wind up liking it. It might be a little too cheesy, though. We'll see.

Lulu Guinness is very pretty, nothing at all wrong with it, but after wearing it a few times I found myself bored by it. I'm a floral lover, maybe even a fanatic, but this one just isn't all that distinctive on me. It's just eh, rather bland. Life is too short to wear fragrances you aren't gaga over.

I bought a bottle of Too Much several years ago at Marshall's. I suppose it bombed sales-wise, ergo the bargain bin. I like it. Too Much is very similar to the first Champs Elysees (which I've also worn and liked) but it's different in that it's more effervescent, and to my nose it isn't greener but rather fruitier (tart) than CE. It's sunnier. It lasts a long time on me, too.

It doesn't remind me of L'eau d'Issey but it does remind me a bit of Tommy Girl, though nicer than TG I think. I detect a little fresh mint in it, which I enjoy. It's citrussy on top and dries down fresh and clean on me. It's an inoffensive fresh after-shower fragrance. Doesn't last long. Not a bombshell and obviously wasn't intended to be. I own a small bottle of it. It's pleasant enough.