Fragrance Reviews by maggie

Very nice. It is still available as eau de toilette (bee bottle like Apres L'Ondee). Lovely, soft, grown-up.

Hmm. Not a classic vanilla; it's dry, even some sharpness to it. Not sure if it's a keeper, but i'm considering it. Nice option.

Amazing how a scent can be over 100 years old and so wearable. Fresh, floral with a "shocking" dose of musk. Very nice indeed.

Boy do i lurve this; luscious, elegant, dries down softly animale. what's not to like?

Totally agree with calchic on eau legere. it was a very nice surprise, esp. the drydown. light yet sexy. waiting to compare to original...

Here's the great thing about Calypso. Mimosa stands alone, but Ambre, as Gardenia are as close, equal or better than many scents out there. Can't afford
Creed's Angelique? Try this. Gardenia can match Fracas. Just my observation.

An extraordinary scent, exquistely feminine and superior to No.5. I found a tiny original on ebay (God Bless). Bravo to LLP securing the formula.

I have had this scent in my stable since it first came out- pawned it off Mom. I don't wear it often, but- it's there. Maybe that's the definition of a signature scent.

Very sexy and wearable.

I got prime samples of this along with Joy. Both are still top rank quality. This is Patou's sexy perfume, quietly, refined. Woodsy, soft, mossy, fern-like. Really impressive. I'd much rather wear something that will make a man mutter "what the hell was that?" and want to invistigate further rather than get the Tex Avery response ;).

Here is, as seen in all foregoing reviews, the rub. Perfume is a highly personal matter. What smells delicious on one, smells like vingar on another. Here is what I can say about Joy.

I've sniffed and spritzed this before at some mid-level retail stores. No magic. Recently I got a set of samples which were either from Neiman Marcus or directly from Paris. Night and day.

The Joy EDT was rosy, soft, ultra-feminine. High quality. What I expected from No.5 and sorely missed. It does not scream sex. I found it warm, alluring, soignee.

Ach, where do I begin. This is so lovely and ladylike and womanly, without being prissy. I was bowled over.

As with the other Miller Harris scents, it does boast a high element of natural essences, therefore somebody who suffers with hayfever may have to do some juggling with it.

Def. loverly tho.

Miller Harris fragrances are def.high quality and of a high degree of natural ingredients, so much so that I'm not sure I'd be able wear them in the summertime.

That said, I found NdT an even higher quality than Fracas (which more than one person described as smelling like bubble-gum). Two, it is heady and strong, so wear with care. Somewhere else it was mentioned women love tuberose scents, while I have yet to meet a man who likes them. give them vanilla and musk and you're it. God bless them :)

I guess this means save this one for lunch with the girls or scare the broads at work :)

Very nice. Fresh, as Lizzie said, but still instantly recognizable as gardenia. Warm, womanly never offensive or trashy. Better than Chanel's (which is still one of their best), because Chanel's is a more complex, finetooled, almost berry-like scent.

Just lovely. Fresh, sweet, flowery feminine, yet not cloying. It may need refreshing during the day, but sometimes that's a good thing. Dolce vita, dolce far niente scent. Can create a nice balance.

Hmm, whilst yet footloose and fancy free-it's always good to note what's available to our feminine arsenal. I adore nahema, but this is nice.

There is truth to the notion certain scents work best with certain body chemistries.

On certain women this is HEAVEN. The rest of us are left to shake our heads in dismay and plain old envy. It never blossoms to the beauty it simply is on these other women.

ps. for a fragrance that is produced on such a huge mass-market scale, it is a masterpiece of quality. Truly.

Not bad. Strict yet flowery but inoffensive. Haven't decided if it's for me but it could be very fitting for the right woman, type Stephane Audran.

Yes, the Eau de Toilette blend of Cristalle is still very lovely and seems to have kept its quality. This is the "good' Chanel.

Please make it stop. An affront of fake fruit and brain cell-eroding chemicals that reminds of nothing human or natural. It made the cat and the man recoil in horror and me run for the soap.

Do yourself a favor. Save your dosh, buy anything from Woolworth's on the shelf and you still wouldn't be cheated. No shame in Tabu, Charlie, Norell, Love's Baby Soft, Intimate, Chantilly et al compared to this disgrace.

At least they don't pretend to be mink.

Oy gewalt. Like a very pretty girl with the personality depth of a paper plate. Pass.

Putrid. Should be renamed "Appalling". A vulgar, noxious cloud that seems to be the choice of females who already draw enough attention to themselves by their unpleasant nature (clawing, materialistic, shallow and predictably difficult and demanding towards all lesser mortals) and make themselves only appreciated by their abscence. Like this insult to Mlle. Chnel's philosphy 'Luxe is simplicity". Next!

I do concur with jon remy. something's been happening to the Chanel fragrances. The recent batches have smelled different, watered-down and cheap. Worrisome.

this is great. and it's true, it doesn't smell like GARDENIA. Classy.

Lucky No.5 had Marilyn to tote it and now the impossibly romantic Luhrman commercial with Nicole Kidman. Chanel was above all- a top showwoman. Gifted designer.

This scent is, however difficult to wear and overrated. Cold. Unsexy. Sorry.

Yup. definetely filthy. I was about 14 when this came out. My mother had gotten a tiny card vial as a sample and left it aside, uninterested. I sniffed it once, blushed up over my ears and slunk away, as if I had been caught reading a dirty book. Oh my virgin senses. Careful where you wear it.

I've come to like this very much. I'm too delicate looking to pull off a full-blow oriental without coming across like Thumbelina wanting to be Verushka. :)

The note top notes are indeed voluminous, but I must say not cheap-smelling. The delight of this scent is the warm, luscious dry-down, indeed Mata Hari like- but regular-cat size, not a snarling panther :)

I tried all four of Chantecaille's scents, namely Wisteria, Tiare, Frangipane and Le Jasmin. First of, much better quality than expected.

The first (Wisteria) was too musty for my taste, Tiare was watery (not unpleasant, but not me), Frangipane very good, but also not something I could relate to.

Le Jasmin was, however, just right. A delight. Discreet yet sexy. I'd wear it all year round, but esp. good in the warmer weather.

A really great outdoor or run about town scent. Casual, but not too citrusy, still feminine. Thats the thing with the Hermès scents. Always feminine, but not like a "poule" or blowsy.

The "weakest" of the four scents I'e tried. Still better than many others out there. A soft, fruity top dries down quickly, it doersn't last long, but if you have experienced New York on a typical summer's day- that's about all you can take. Feminine, sweet, light.

First of all. I must say I've tried four different Hermès scents and I am most struck by the high level of quality from all of them, this in the edt versions. I cannot say the same from most names of the same stature (sad, but true).

This is almost exactely what I want, except I'm a bit sensitive to a rose element, which lingers here. It reminds me of Nahema-which I also love, it's just,but for the roses, again.

Still, highly recommended. Rouge is a bit heavy, but of real class and quality. Super.

A great, sharp, green-leather crack of a perfume, with flowers mixed in (wasn't an old advert for this a leather-gloved hand holding a bouquet of wildflowers? Brilliant.)

I saw a picture once of Germaine Cellier (the creator) and she looked exactely like the type of woman who would wear it best. Elegant, with a smirk. I'm guessing the parfum is slightly softer. The EDT I tried had just too much of a burn in the top note, so I can't wear it every day. Little goes a loooong way.

This is QUALITY. A gorgeous, sensuous perfume, definetly for winter. This is the reason I noticed "Coco" was slipping in quality, I think AE must have been the inspiration. To my nose they are so close they are distinhuished by little else but quality.

Very pricey, but I would spend it unblinkingly if I had it/ when I have it to spare. My sample vials are little treasures.

A constant, I will always have a bottle of this. It's something I wear for myself, men usually don't go "Ah-woo-woo-woo" when I wear it- it's too ladylike. Very Nina Foch.

Coco I have worn regularly since the age of 16. To my dismay and real sadness I discovered the quality is slipping. Don't think it was an off-bottle. Whatever reason, I put it on and felt the persistent, awful tickle grow in my throat and nose that you get with... I can't even say it. Weep a little weep, with hope around the edges.

My brother said this smelled like "wet dog ass", which almost made me cry. I love this scent and I don't care.
Most Guerlains are easily recognizable, this is not. The top notes are a bit "confectionary", but the base is warm and sexy. Also, I never quite understood why people say it's a wistful scent. Take the little test on the Guerlain site and it pops up under the emotion/mood "happy" or "smile" (sourire).

To me, it's not an "after the rain" scent with a Puccini-esque -level of gray, dank misery before sunshiney days to come. It is an "Anglophile" scent, its image the lushness of a Gainsborough painting. Happy, no?

This is a classic example of what the French call "soignee". Refind, womanly (def. not for 20 year-old, thirty-five and up). Surprised by high quality of eau de toilette. Keeper.