Fragrance Reviews by Wordbird

Not as sweet as I'd expect from something with coconut notes, but it's better for that. There's a very definite bitter almond note to start with, among the slightly tropical, slightly fruity, slightly white floral composition. That makes it sound a mish mash and it's not. It's very good and rather unusual. I understand the bitter almond - as well as cutting any sweetness it gives a suspicion of something poisonous. Clever. I like that in a perfume.

Sadly, it doesn't last very long on me. After just a couple of hours I'm now down to a very faint slightly doughy, slightly coconutty, still not sweet skin scent. Not full bottle worthy for me, but I'll enjoy using up the sample and might get a decant one day.

Nope. Sadly, this fails to convince. Perhaps I should just accept that chocolate is not a note for me and move on.

If you're considering buying a bottle blind, I strongly suggest you restrain yourself and try a sample or decant first. It's not a bad fragrance, far from it, but it's not necessarily what you expect. It isn't rich or voluptuous and doesn't last very long on the skin. If that's what you're after, head towards the vanilla department instead.

Powerful - a small spray goes a long way and lasts very well. It does have that slightly strange L'Occitaine base note that I'm not sure if I like.

However, this is rich and simple amber; an uncluttered classic and very affordable.

On me this smells of liniment.
I'm giving it a 'neutral' because I rather like the smell of liniment. But Ralgex is cheaper.

It's lovely. Not as soft and fluffy as the name and advertising implies - it does have some backbone and impressive sillage. It also lasts phenomenally well on the skin and is often still there the following morning. There's a definite crispness and sparkle to the head and heart notes and it clips along like Carrie in her Manolos. There's a sass to it.

I think that's the image to hold when considering this fragrance - don't think of SJP the dancer, fashionista, Broadway actress, Mrs Matthew Broderick... think of Carrie clipping smartly down a sunny New York street in a little bitty dress and high heels, going to meet her girlfriends. It's warm, sparkling, charming and urban; it doesn't put a foot wrong.

Makes a great gift too.

I think there's something wrong with my nose: all I get is a mild smell of perming lotion. Not dreadful though. (Oh dear - I've been smelling too many CDGs if I think perming lotion is an ok perfume.)

Subtle, light, gently floral but with a backbeat to it that raises it above the ordinary. This is eminently wearable.

Interestingly, the opening notes remind me of a ski wax I used to use in the 1980s; lovely!

And interesting sunshine/summertime fragrance that I initially wrote off as just another tropical Azuree Soleil/Bronze Goddess/Miami Glow 'posh suntan oil' kind of scent. But I was too hasty. This is actually a very well put-together fragrance that has a good progression and a very nice base that lasts well. Yes, it has that kind of 'beach skin accord' and a tropical feel, but it doesn't have the synthetic tones I get from the others. And the base is indeed beautiful and very wearable.
I may buy a little bottle.

This is the Guerlain that's allegedly based on tea, but I don't get any.
I think I caught jasmine as it opened, now I have a nice, smooth, rich floral. Quite powerful for an edt.
It's OK but it doesn't make me jump up and down.

Fizzy leather!

This is a leather for a summer's day. It is an exercise in transparency and modernity. I don't have any idea how he has managed to achieve it, but Ellena has stayed true to form and created a sheer, light and effervescent leather that is mesmerisingly beautiful.

If you want full-bodied, animalic, weird, rich or boozy leather, you're better off reaching for something else - there are plenty of fantastic leather fragrances out there. Kelly Caleche has a floral softness that makes it very appealing and wearable, even for non-leatherheads. Well worth a try and a good choice for a gift.

I really wanted to try this fragrance after reading the notes - how delicious they sound! In fact, it's all handled with such admirable restraint that this is not the extraordinary confection I had wondered about.

This is a very well-mannered fragrance that has a lovely sheerness to it and a very pleasant rounded warmth. It's dignified and quietly sensual - I get slight hints of the dark chocolate base note but overall would have thought the base was more ambery and slightly woody.

To me this is a sheer lightly gourmand oriental. It would be a pretty safe gift.

I've just taken possession of my very own bottle of Black, having lusted after it for a couple of years. When I first came to the perfumista world, I tried Black expecting to be shocked and repelled as it's touted as a 'wierd and wonderful' scent, yet I found it very comforting and familiar. The rubber note doesn't spring out too much on my skin (though I like rubbery, tarry smells anyway) and sadly, I don't get any baby powder, or black tea. Instead, I get a nice lingering saddle leather followed by a deep, comforting vanilla. Since I adore both notes, this makes me very happy.

I'd certainly recommend anyone of either sex to try this fragrance - it crops up frequently as a reference and it's an interesting and unique composition. Also, it's widely enough available that you should be able to get to smell it. It's often put in the Men's section of perfumeries, but is very much unisex.

It is with a heavy heart that I report this classic fragrance turns to a powerful and repellent hairspray smell on my skin. It had to be scrubbed off.
I must add the caveat that oakmoss is a note that I just can't get to work for me and that is the culprit here.

On my skin this opened with whisky. A good single malt whisky. I checked with my husband and he agreed. Then I got the wood of the cask. Finally I was left with a smooth lemon.

It was very nice, very unisex and very unusual without being outre or unwearable.
It's not for me, but I wouldn't be unhappy if a sales assistant sprayed me with this as I walked through a department store.

Ah, a fragrance that lives up to the hype.
I didn't get any candyfloss (cotton candy) but I got the animals - the tigers, the horses, the dung, the fur and sweet hay. Fantastic. Not a perfume to wear to church, but all the more wonderful for that.
I wish Santa would bring me a large bottle.

Being British, this fragrance wasn't anywhere on my radar when I was young. I've only ever heard of it here on Basenotes but had to try it from all these reviews.

It is indeed as cheap as chips and very easy to get hold of. But that's where the jokes end. This is lovely stuff. If it had a name like Armani or Prada on it, was in a glitzy bottle and backed by luxe ads with sulky supermodels pouting in black and white it would be called a classic and have a luxe price tag.

It's spicy and ambery, smoky and insencey, warm and woody with a little sliver of floral something in there to sweeten it. It's smooth and very very wearable and reminds me slightly of Opium.

If you're going to take a punt on a blind buy, this is so cheap you can afford to go for it. If you're an oriental lover, you won't be sorry.

This smells exactly like the skin on the back of my little girl's neck. Gentle, soft, warm, a little sweet, innocent and beautiful.

Gentle, serene and rosy; I love to wear this fragrance when travelling as it calms me down. It's lovely in summer as well - it has enough complexity to count as a 'real' perfume, but feels simple.

I get roses and perhaps other flowers, not too sweet, with a background murmur of woods to support and give some longevity. Definitely feminine.

A really beautiful fragrance that makes a good gift.

This is not a 'serious' scent. And that, I am discovering, is no bad thing.

You know that effortlessly cool, laid-back Jack Johnson (musician) surfy kind of guy? This is him in a bottle. It's about sunshine and picnics and letting your hair blow in the wind. It's happy and it smells of holidays and good things. You might like to wear it to the office if you need to remind yourself to be a little less uptight, but you'd probably prefer it on the weekend.

I like it very much, despite initially being concerned about the idea of a coconut note (memories of sickly teenage perfume oils). The lime in the opening balances the coconut and keeps it mouthwatering rather than sweet or cloying. It dries down into an elegant warm blend that doesn't scream 'tanning oil'. It's very much unisex, though faint-hearted chaps might be scared by the coconut. Don't let it put you off. Courage mes braves!

I can well imagine a man wearing this. Not all men; judging from the reviews here, it seems to be a touch too sweet or light for some, but that might be down to skin chemistry as much as personal preference. I'd certainly like to smell this on a chap.

I absolutely love this perfume and am fascinated by it. I find it has an envigorating herbal opening and then opens up on the skin with a resinous green warmth that very much reminds me of plants in a hot, sunny and rocky garden. I don't know how JC Ellena does it.

I lusted after this fragrance for its fig note, as I've become a fig fiend this summer. But this fragrance brings the fig in as a character actor, not the ham that steals the show. I do find it sheer and therefore not as long-lasting as something ambery or oriental. But that's the nature of perfumery isn't it? And it means you can enjoy another spritz a few hours later and go back to the beginning of the garden. Lovely!

I have an unpleasant in-law who I plan to give this to just so that at family gatherings when she looks down her nose at me I will be able to think "but you smell of WEE!"
I know I am not mature.

Very poor name though. And not a particularly inspiring fragrance, but not actively unpleasant.

I picked up small bottles of this and the Eau Ressourcante in Duty Free while traveling on business and they seem to have lived in my handbag ever since.

This is a great clean, fresh, fairly simple citrus fragrance with a woody base that does indeed seem to help wake me up and keep me going.

It's also lovely in hot weather, when citrus perfumes are really put to the test. This one retains its poise: the woods stop the citrus from being over-sharp without adding any sweetness and the composition stays smelling 'natural' and never cloys.

It makes a great gift, especially for hard-to-buy for ladies, from business-like supermums to tomboy sisters-in-law!

I so want to like Cabochard, I so want to be the kind of woman who can wear Cabochard. But on me it packs a reeking wallop of (I'm sorry, I'm sorry!) old lady.

But I love Bandit and Tabac Blonde, so I'm hoping that I've got a dicky bottle. I'll try it again sometime at a perfume counter just to be absolutely sure.

As the other reviewers have mentioned, a very faithful woodsmoke smell. On a par with the Miller Harris roomspray for realism, if not better. As suggested by some other reviewers, I'd be interested to see her extend into room sprays, candles etc.

I got definite whiffs of cedar and tobacco; lots of smoke, drying down into ashes. In fact, I must admit to getting a touch of ashtrays, but that might just be the ex-smoker in me.

I found this very dry, too dry perhaps. In the end I sweetened it with a dab of Ava Luxe's 'Milk', which worked nicely.

I concur with all the other reviews: condensed milk and comfort.

Not to be splashed on all over, but rather nice to put a spot of on your wrist before bed in flannel PJs with a hot water bottle and a good book. I tried it in summer, perhaps it would be better in the winter. I think it might wear well with a big woolly jumper or a cashmere scarf.

The thing that would put me off buying a bottle is that I found it very sweet. I think it might well be appreciated by young girls - and I'd certainly be much happier buying this for my daughter or goddaughters than something from a 'sleb' famous only for going bonkers, exposing themselves or being named after a hotel.

See, on me this is a sillage monster and it has more than a twang of Davidoff's Cool Water (woman) to it. I got melons as the top note. And it has a powerful tenacity.
Not my cup of lapsang souchong at all.

Oh lord I love this stuff! I spent most of last summer practically bathing in the EDT ( it was an unusually hot, Mediterranean summer). Since its now May again, I've just splashed out on a bottle of EDP and I'm not regretting it.

I can understand wearing this at any time of year, but for me, the strong, clean opening blast of lavender and lemon means summertime to me. I think it would be great on a man as the lavender is herbal and fresh rather than floral or sweet. As other reviewers have commented, it dries down into a warm skin scent. I can't smell the civet but I can only assume I like it because there's nothing about this fragrance that I can even vaguely fault.

From the story of its association with Shalimar, I didn't know if I'd like Jicky because I find Shalimar doesn't quite chime for me (I'm a Vol de Nuit person if that explains anything). But I find this perfume simply addictive. Even though I have an embarassingly large wardrobe, this is one I reach for when in doubt - in fact in summer it often takes a real effort for me to choose something else to wear.

I highly recommend trying a decant, if only for the historic significance.

Oh dear. There's something in this that just doesn't work on me. Ah well, we can't have everything.

I was dreading smelling this one of the Tesco Finest fragrances because I expected it to be a straightforward, blah citrus scent. There are so many variants of the orange/lemon/lime/bergamot cologne that I thought it would be a cheap version of something like Eau Dynamisante. How wrong I was! It's actually a very nice, fresh but warm citrus that lasts well.

Like the other scents in the range, there is a certain synthetic edge, but I don't find it off-putting. It fades with the top notes, leaving an impressively warm vetiver drydown that is more complex than I expected.

All in all a great summer fragrance to splash on all over - and one that men should certainly try as it's absolutely unisex.

A straightforward attempt to copy Jo Malone's Red Roses that's not half bad. I've never smelled the JM original but considering this as a fragrance in its own right I find it very pleasant. It's not cloying - the great fear with rose scents - and it's pleasantly fresh. I get a slightly synthetic edge, but didn't expect to be transported to Grasse's May Rose beds for a fiver.

It's eminently suitable for teenagers or maiden aunts - nothing scary or musky here - and I should think it perfect for office wear or as a summertime fragrance to spalsh on with abandon. I'm certainly going to get myself the candle to see how it performs, as it smells very nice in the jar.

I would say this is great value for money and well worth a try. It would make a great gift.

Being a saddo I bought all 4 of the Tesco frags and this is my least favourite of them. Having said that, for a fiver it's much more complex than you'd expect. And to be fair, a swanky room fragrance costs more than a fiver, so even if you don't like this on your skin it's not a complete loss.

It's a nicely put-together warm oriental, that lasts well and does what you'd expect it to. It's not earth-shattering, let's be honest. But if you're on a limited budget it's worth trying. I think the accompanying bath and body products might be well worth a try and the candle smells very good.

I understand why the descriptions on the Malle website call this delicate delight an 'Eau Chaud' - a warm water. It's a light fragrance - as light as a snowflake and as white as a winter sky - but it is soft, warm and sweet as a baby's skin.

It would suit a young woman or teenager; if you have enough money to splash out on a Malle as a gift for a daughter or niece they would be very lucky to get this.

It's sweet and soft but not cloying and not overtly floral or gourmand - there's no vanilla or other edible notes.

I find it much warmer and less synthetic smelling than Demeter's Snow (not a comment on the chemical composition, just trying to decribe Snow) and less overtly floral than Philosophy's Baby Grace. It has rather more in common with Pure Grace, I would say, though again it feels less synthetic than Pure Grace. It's an absolutely lovely perfume that lasts well, lying close to the skin and gently radiating class.

A huge thumbs up from someone who is usually a stick-in-the-mud oriental or citrus gal. (Though I've also been swept off my feet by Malle's Iris Poudre.)

Let's be honest here; this is a blatant wannabe Jo Malone Wild Fig and Cassis. And you know what? I don't care. I bought a bottle because I love that fig note and didn't have any in my wardrobe. I can't tell you how it compares to the Malone version, but I like this one very much. It's figgy and has a nice richness and a bit of complexity to it, which I assume is the cassis and almond. It lasts well and holds its figginess.
Ticks all the boxes for me and cost a fiver. Can't say fairer than that for something to splash on heartily in the summer.

Vile!
Like so many others, I expected something extrordinary and delicious from this fragrance, especially after Luca Turin raved about it as a new classic. But oh my word, was I surprised.

On me it split into two distinct and simultaneous halves; a sweet, super-girly top with an undertone of hairy-chested seventies super-butch aftershave. Remarkable, for sure, but not in the way I'd anticipated. Boy did I regret spraying it on my wrist. It certainly has staying power.

As with all fragrances, if you like it, and it works on you, fabulous. But unless you're an Angel lover, if the lady on the makeup counter is spraying it around, be very careful!

A stunning scent on the paper strip - remarkably fresh and clean, with a note of new-mown grass, it's warm and natural enough not to smell like airfreshener or fabric softener, as so many 'clean' fragrances seem to.

Sadly, it didn't work on my skin, losing its unique freshness and becoming a nice but fairly ordinary aquatic floral fuzz. What a shame. Not a bad fragrance, indeed a very nice one if this type of scent is your style. but whatever your style this is well worth a sniff on a paper strip.

Oh this is huge! A great big, white, flouncy, bosomy, woman's scent that screams "tahiti". A knockout for women like me, who don't like traditional florals. The frangipani in it is absolutely delicious and yes, tropical.

I suspect it would be an excellent 'formal ball' perfume, as it's very warm and approachable without being as deliberately sexy as many 'evening' fragrances. Personally, I've alternated between this and Jicky all this summer, worn it everywhere to do everything and loved it.

Thankfully it seems to be showing up on ebay quite a lot, so I'm stockpiling it in case it isn't brought back by Guerlain.
A whopping great thumbs up.

To my inexperienced nose this is a classically hairy-chested masculine fragrance. The notes and movement of this fragrance are better described by other, more knowledgeable Basenotes members. I've worn it, but it smelt somehow 'wrong' on me. However, when I sprayed my frightfully butch, perfume-resistant hubby, suddenly it made sense. It's very sexy on a man in an old-fashioned, slightly seventies, way. If you're a woman, by all means try it, but also try the classics: Tabac Blond, Bandit and Poivre.

I'm not sure if it's the same as your father's, but I am never without the soap, showergel and eau de cologne from Mont St Michel. I like the 'original amber' fragrance. I buy it in the supermarket in France when I visit - can't get it in the UK, but in France it's a cheap and cheerful chainstore brand from the Swartzkopf stable. I love it and find it smells fresh but still complex on me; great in the summer.

I have no idea how those bods at Demeter do it, but they're terribly clever. To me this perfume smells of cold. Doesn't feel cold, just smells cold. As a life-long skier, I wouldn't necessarily say this smells EXACTLY like snow (though feel free to contradict me), but it does have a thunderstormy crackle that feels right. Interestingly, I find it's good to wear in the summer.

Another fabulously good fragrance from Guerlain's 'back catalogue'. Full of character but easier to wear than L'Heure Bleue, this seems to lie close to the skin and radiate gently, rather than bashing bystanders over the head as more modern 'sexy' perfumes seem to. For me, this is sexy like the Hepburn girls (Kate and Audrey) were sexy; incidentally and as a by-product of personality. It certainly doesn't try too hard and I find it immensely satisfying and comforting to wear.

Strange, wonderful and very grown-up. This is a fabulous discovery. Get a decant or a sample and try it. It is utterly unlike the modern watery vanilla/ sweet things smells you get in all the department stores. It has character, which is no bad thing in a bland world.

This is a very grown-up ladylike scent, that lasts well and is just utterly wonderful. It smells like an adult woman: not harsh, not weak, not flowery or blousy, not kick-ass, not mumsy, not girlish; womanly. This smells like you know how to walk in high heels, you wear red lipstick if you want to and aren't afraid to carry a £200 handbag, even if you're actually wearing jeans and flip flops. Being able to wear this perfume is one of the (few) benefits of reaching 40.

Beautifully gentle and soft, this fragrance seems to disappear into my skin and leave the faintest warm scent.