Fragrance Reviews by Aiona

I accidentally got to sample this on my hand, while trying to spray a tester card. Tribute is not a fragrance for wallflowers or for people whose occupations require stealth, as whoever wears this will be smelled 500 feet away, with no wind. After it dries down from the bergamot, it smells a lot like an earthy pile of fresh mown lawn clippings. It lasts forEVER.

What a strange smell. It smells like. . . Salonpas! Kind of licorice-y. Only at first. Then the incense comes through a little bit. The drydown is mostly amber of some sort. I like it. But it's kind of got a weird medicinal opening.

First spray smells like AquaNet hairspray! All that alcohol. But, then it calms down into a melon-y, aquatic scent. Cool Water-ish. Nondescript aquatic smell. It's pleasant and very familiar. I'm sure there are a dozen or so shampoos with this kind of smell. White Rain is probably one of them.

I love that verbena-and-basil blast of the opening notes. Green! However after 2 hours, all that I smell is patchouli. And I don't like patchouli.

Bleuccgh. Strong fruity smell. Is it grapefruit? Melon? Then after maybe 10 minutes, roses and melon? But way too overpowering for me. Sillage was intense, which would not have been bad, if I had actually LIKED the smell. I tried to scrub it off, but it was persistent. And what was left, smells a whole lot like something in Estee Lauder's Beautiful that I absolutely hate. A musty smell, like clothes that have sat in the dryer too long. A fruity floral, this is. This is the kind of fruity floral that made me think I hate fruity florals. Luckily, I have since learned that they are not all like this mess.

I agree with SirSlarty on this one. It's a musky vanilla drydown with some spices, like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom -- almost makes me think of Jaipur Homme. VERY similar to Le Male's drydown. Easily wearable by gals, as well.

Its opening smell is that of lilacs to me, even though that's not listed as one of the notes. I can't comment on the drydown because it disappeared before I could even get around to thinking about assessing a drydown. In other words, longevity was miserably short. I do like the opening though!

First blast, is alcohol and a potting soil-like smell. After that it smells like Chinese preserved plum candy, up close. But, if I'm not smelling up close, I feel like I'm wearing the raspberry incense of Revlon's Ciara. Sillage was pretty intense for about 2 hours. After about 5 or so hours, it calms down into a strawberry sandalwood, that reminds me of Neil Morris' own Woodland Strawberries. I would like this one a lot more if it had more longevity.

If I had sampled this blindly, without knowing its name or that it's marketed for men, I would have said this was a fruity-floral fragrance for women. Maybe the melon-like smell I get in the top notes is actually the "mangosteen" and is what gives it the "oceanic" smell that scentimus refers to in his review. And what is "combava"?? According to Wikipedia, it's a lime. Overall, it's very candy-like! Good longevity as it lasted over 12 hours on my skin. I didn't think it had much sillage, but my husband walked into the room, and immediately smelled it from 15 feet away. So, I could be wrong.

It's a fruity fragrance. Good for fruity fragrance lovers, but not for me.

Someone commented to me that they thought the color of Jaipur Homme should be white, not clear, because it reminded them of eggnog. And yes! It does remind me of eggnog also! Nutmeg and vanilla! But not just nutmeg and vanilla; there's also some cinnamon and cardamom -- the list of spices I use to make my moussaka.

But about 4 hours later, it becomes less like a spice packet that I'd use to mix into my stir fry, and more vanilla and musky-smell -- almost like that powdery Arrid XXtra-dry deodorant-like smell of Le Male by JPG. I can't say I like the drydown as much as the opening. But it's certainly a distinctive smell, and I wouldn't mistake it for anything else, should I ever smell it on anyone else.

My test was with Jaipur Homme EdP, not the EdT. I agree with other reviewers that it definitely *lasts*. Sillage is pretty prominent, I think, because husband was able to smell it with me just standing next to him, and he was able to say that he doesn't like it. To each his own.

It says "Chevrefeuille Original" on my sample vial, but I'm just not smelling any chevrefeuille in this concoction at all. It's pleasant, but it's not like any honeysuckle I've ever smelled. Maybe in France, honeysuckle smells like lavender, because *that's* what I smell. It's a soapy scent, to me, much like Original Vetiver, but without the lemongrass. I guess I smell the mint that everyone else smells, but mostly I just smell soap smell -- lavender with something else. If they wanted to give it a name that means lavender, they could have named it Arome 3.

Aegean and Drifting both remind me of Smarties -- those little pastel-coloured candies that come rolls covered by see-through cellophane wrap, and twistie-tied at each end. I guess because both Aegean and Drifting contain "mandarin." It must be the citrus I'm smelling there.

But Drifting and Aegean part ways after that, because while Drifting is a sweet innocent baby-oil and Smarties scent, Aegean smells like Smarties and MUSK. Sexy Smarties. That's Aegean.

After about 2-3 hours it dries down with something like lavender and soapy smell. Maybe some vetiver?

Longevity was kind of poor for me. By 6 hours it was long gone. I guess I'd like it much more if it lasted longer

At first spray, I felt like I'd taken a clod of Scott's potting soil and mashed it onto my arm. Earthy. Neil Morris ain't kidding when he decided to call this *Earth*tones. And then after about 30 minutes or so, it stopped smelling like a potted plant, and I could smell woods. Cypress, cedar, and just lots and lots of loamy woods, with mushrooms growing in it. And it stayed like that for maybe 3 hours or so.

Then it became a really nice spicy scent. Kind of like BPAL's Coyote, but different. Coyote smells of champa and teak wood to me. The weathered, slightly-damp teak that one finds in old sailboats.

While I was wearing North Woods, I caught a whiff of Woodland Strawberries that was still lingering on my lab coat. In comparison, North Woods is mostly cedar and other earthy woods whereas Woodland Strawberries is more cedar with sandalwood. That's what I think, anyway.

I agree with tvlampboy, that there's a bit of Mitsouko-likeness in here. Maybe because in the opening, I smell peanuts, just as I do with Guerlain's Mitsouko and L'Heure Bleue. Then it calms down into an aromatic with leather, reminiscent of Caron's Yatagan, to me. So, in summary, peanuts + aromatic + leather. Nice!

I was surprised at how demure Pele was. I expected that a scent named after the goddess of a volcano would be a bit more powerful. Maybe incense. Or the smell of burning.

But, it was a very light floral. I had to check twice to make sure I had any on me at all! A lovely scent, but not what I had expected from its name.

Today I finally got around to sampling the Hanae Mori that someone sent me! I don't know why I waited so long. As soon as I sprayed it on, I started singing, "Sugar! Oh, honey, honey! You are my candy GIRL! And I can't stop lovin' YOOOO!"

It's got the same opening as D'Orsay Arome3. Pineapple! But unlike D'Orsay Arome3, the pineapple doesn't go away! It stays and stays and stays. It's almost 11 hours later, and I'm still smelling like a pineapple upside-down cake. I love pineapple upside down cake. How can there be no vanilla in this concoction? Amazing!

Intimate Wisteria smells more like an aquatic to me than Neil Morris' Spirit of Water which to me smells more of wisteria. I think he accidentally mixed the two up. I guess what gives Intimate Wisteria the aquatic smell is the "oceanic musk" listed in the notes above. It's a pleasant enough scent, but it is not as distinctive to me as some of Neil Morris' other scents.

There's no cedar listed in the notes? Weird! I've sampled about 5 of Neil Morris' fragrances in the last week, and of each one, I've noted that the name he's given them doesn't really match my impression of the scent! For example, Woodland Strawberries. . . . I thought this would be some kind of fruity-girly scent. Instead it's the complete opposite of what I'd expected. This is a strawberry scent that I imagine would work wonderfully on a guy! (Although I would love wearing it as well!)

The first hour or so, it's a sharp Vitalis-smelling blast. Sure, there's "strawberry" scent in there, but it's an abstract strawberry. Definitely not a natural "woodland strawberry." I don't know what gives it that Vitalis-smell. But anyway, for that first hour it smells like men's hair conditioner (which is basically what Vitalis is).

But after that first hour, more like two hours into it, it becomes this really yummy CEDAR and lightly-strawberry scent. Perhaps this is where the "woodland" part comes in. But it's not a cedar like a cedar closet. Maybe what I'm smelling is the black pepper, and I'm confusing it with the smell of cedar.

Absolutely yummy! I love it! This is not your typical fruity scent.

I love vanilla. I'm a Pink Sugar fan and a Hypnotic Poison fan. So this was one I had to try. On first spray, it's not really vanilla. It's more citrus and spices. But after about 30 minutes to an hour, the vanilla comes out, and I have a hard time reconciling the name "Intimate Vanilla" with what seemed like a really extroverted spices-and-citrus vanilla. It's kind of an oriental vanilla, and I almost compared it to Pink Sugar, but it's different from Pink Sugar. After many hours (10 or so), the vanilla comes out more and becomes almost like Vanilla Bean Noel, which I love so much. By then, it was only detectable up close. So perhaps Intimate Vanilla is only intimate once she gets to know you a bit. Sillage is moderate. Not monstrous. And that's something I appreciate. It stays relatively close to my skin, but lasts >10 hrs. on me.

The color of this one really reminds me of aged Vivienne Westwood's Boudoir -- orange! (Fresh Boudoir is pink, I'm told.) And so when I sprayed it, I couldn't help but think of Boudoir! I have to go back and sample Boudoir and see if that note that I couldn't place was maybe lilac? But is it really lilac essential oil? Or is it just lilac -- the note? I can smell that soapy smell that I've come to believe is vetiver. And that makes it have that "round" (I don't have a better word to describe it) smell that fresh lilacs have. But it's not just lilac. It's also really musky. Almost like Boudoir in that viburnum/fish-sauce like smell. I'm surprised that Neil Morris marketed it for men, because it smells very feminine to me. On the right person, I think it would be really sexy, but that person is not me. Sillage is moderate. Not monstrous. And that's something I appreciate. It stays relatively close to my skin, and lasted all day and then some (>12 hours).

90% patchouli. 5% roses. 5% other. That's what I smell. Sillage is minimal. Longevity is pretty good, though. It's over 12 hours later, and I'm still smelling patchouli. Lots of patchouli. If one doesn't like patchouli, this is probably one to skip.

Ooh! Quite rosy! I like it very much! It actually smells a lot like Le Labo Rose 31 to me, only minus the cumin, and with some kind of added baby oil smell that Rose 31 doesn't have. Definitely roses. I do prefer the greener drydown of Rose 31, however. Mille et Une Roses dries down to a more musky baby oil smell, which some people might feel is more feminine. Sillage is minimal on me. Longevity of the sharp roses is poor, and it leaves way too quickly. But while it lasts, it's gorgeous! And like Rose 31, Mille et Une Roses is whoppingly expensive. Oh well.

This is so not a cool aquatic. It's got a sharp Vitalis-like opening, much like Etiquette Bleue (also by D'Orsay). Unlike Etiquette Bleue, it has a fruity kind of heart. Like Etiquette Bleue (and Penhaligon's English Fern, for comparison), it has a soapy, lavender drydown. It's easy to smell the lavender, even to my simpleton nose. It would smell nice on a guy, but it smells even nicer on me! English Fern has larger sillage, though. And as for longevity, after 12 hours it was pretty much gone without a trace.

Snake Oil is a perfume oil, so it doesn't absorb right away, which could cause problems with clothing. It reminds me a lot of an essential oil shop I used to frequent. Heavy with deep spicy stuff. I can easily imagine a lot of free-spirit types happily wearing this, and maybe even mixing it up themselves. There's amber in here, but maybe champa too. And maybe lemon oil. Maybe some myrrh. It's rather overwhelming at first, and I feel I should be wearing a tie-dye, ankle-length skirt with Birkenstocks and my peace beads while shopping in an import store. But, then about an hour later, the amber comes out more and makes it less 60's-love-child and more just plain oriental. I like the drydown much better than that first hour of free love. And I like the vanilla, plenty of vanilla in the drydown. Unlike Coyote (another BPAL I've tried), the sillage on this is pretty intense. It's also got some major longevity. It's over 12 hours later, and I'm still giving off amber waves of vanilla! I'm not sure I get the association with Snake Oil, but it is a lovely scent.

Instant headache! :( It's a floral. Heavy floral, with something like gardenia in it. I usually wait a while and see if a fragrance changes, but in this case, it was a scrubber in under 10 minutes. I tried! But a pounding headache does not make for a good start of the day.

Fermented fruit-y floral with a sandalwood base. It smells a lot like other Victoria's Secret perfumes to me. Particularly Rapture. On me, it's sour fruit. Perhaps it's wonderful on someone else.

I was told that this has an incense note, and that is why people like it so much. My earlier experiences with incense have been with John Varvatos and Le Labo Rose 31, and I have to say that I prefer both of those over Messe de Minuit. There's some smell in Messe de Minuit that I don't like. Maybe patchouli? Maybe the combination of orange with incense? Or maybe the sample I tested has gone bad! Sillage is pretty much nil (which was good for me!). It's just not my kind of fragrance.

It smells a lot like Yatagan. So if one doesn't like that aromatic rosemary YOWR!! of Yatagan, one probably won't go for Sud Est. The drydown is more floral than Yatagan, however. 10 hours later, and I can still totally smell the jasmine, and I *love* it. 'Such a shame it's discontinued.

What a sweet smell! I'm not big on florals, but this one is *not* a fruity-floral. It's just a floral to me. It opens much like Norell-and-other-70-like's fragrances (even though I see this one came out in 1953), with bergamot and something. . . maybe it's galbanum? So that first hour or so doesn't much distinguish itself from other perfumes. But after that hour, it becomes quite flowery, but not the irritating white flowers that I hate so much in heavy ones like Carolina Herrera by Carolina Herrera. It's some kind of light floral. Maybe lily of the valley? With something honeysuckle-like, but it can't be honeysuckle. Maybe it's the violet people mention in other reviews. In any case, I actually like it, which is rare for me (usually a floral hater). If I had to wear a floral, this might be one I would choose.

At first it was all pineapple-y! But that only lasts seconds. Then it becomes a very sweet, vegetable (carrot?), rum, caramel scent. I'd almost liken it to a caramel sweetness. But again, that doesn't last long either! Maybe 3 hours of sweetness. Then it dries down to a musky, cinnamon-y smell, with a musky vanilla base that reminds me of Le Male. After the top-notes of pineapple subside, it's really a lot like Femme de Dandy (for women). Femme de Dandy is a bit more floral, whereas Le Dandy is definitely FOODY. It's a foody-fragrance. Yum!

I think this is the only fragrance I've tried that had cleanly separated phases. It was bizarre. At first spray, it was all alcohol-y. And then, for 30 minutes, it smelled only of pears. Just pears! Like some pear glycerin soap that I bought from Victoria's Secret once.

Then after 30 minutes, abruptly, the pears were gone. Not even a hint. Then it became a fruity-flowery-sandalwood scent. There was something gourmand about it that I couldn't put my finger on. And even something aromatic, like sage (even though I don't see it listed in the notes above). How it managed to be simultaneously fruity, florally, aromatic, and gourmand, I dunno.

Then four hours later, HORRORS! It became straight patchouli. The sandalwood was gone. The pears were long gone. Geh! Mercifully, it didn't last very long. After about 2 hours, the patchouli was gone too.

That middle part was pretty nice. If that part had stuck around longer I would have liked this one much more.

It definitely smells like sugar cookies, but not the way I make mine. Everyone has their own recipe for sugar cookies. Demeter makes theirs with ginger and cardamom and a little lemon zest, in addition to the requisite vanilla. I agree with previous reviewers that it's not a burnt cookie smell. It's definitely a citrusy fresh cookie smell. It's an alcohol 'fume, not an oil, so there's a bit of sharpness at first, which I didn't like. As someone mentioned, sometimes I just want to smell cookies, but I don't want to smell *LIKE* one. This perfume fits the bill.

There's patchouli in here? If so, I may have to rethink the idea that I hate patchouli. Seriously though, I don't smell the patchouli at all. My first thought was, "Vanilla! and Citrus!" Husband's first thought, which he said out loud, was, "You smell like a State Fair!" I had to ask, "How so?" Not in the cow patties, and rancid-oil-barrel-trash-cans way, but in the, "It smells like cotton candy!" way. It makes me think of Pink Sugar by Aquolina -- another vanilla oriental. But I gave away my bottle, so I can't directly compare them. In any case, if one doesn't like vanilla, this would probably be one to avoid.

At first spray, it's almost like one of those lemony wipes that used to come with one's Kentucky Fried Chicken. But that disappears fast. Afterwards, it's all freshly-cut cedarwood with cardamom. Maybe a little cinnamon, and a little citrus too. Most mostly cedar cedar cedar. Like walking into a cedar lined closet, while holding a sachet of cardamom and other spices. Some sandalwood too. I don't smell any white chocolate, or at least not any white chocolate I've ever eaten. Sillage is not large, but not small either. I *like* it! This is not a fruity floral. It's just a nice woody scent that has lasted over 6 hours on me today.

I was told that fragrances by Florascent "come and go." But this pretty much stayed the same all day for me. It started out like dried orange peel and wormwood or rosemary or sage (like what I think I smell in Yatagan). And it ended with dried orange peel and wormwood or rosemary or sage. It's a very aromatic scent, with a little bit of citrus.

To me, this smelled like honeysuckle oh so briefly, then that was gone in seconds, to be replaced by pond algae mixed with milk. That lasted for about an hour and a half, and then became a light herbal green drydown that was actually quite nice and lasted all day. Not a lot of sillage on me. Strange stuff.

Top notes of Pineapple Sno-Cone! Yum! I think this is a perfume oil, because it didn't absorb right away (which meant I had to wait before putting on my blouse!). Also, I didn't really get any blast of alcohol on application. If one likes candy-sweet scents, Tristan Brando's Untitled #2 would be a good choice to try.

After 3 hours, the pineapple is almost gone, leaving a vanilla-amber-musk scent that totally reminds me of Must de Cartier. Yumminess lasted a total of 18 hours. Sillage was minimal. It stayed close to the skin, but it sure stayed a long time!

I tried this today from a sample. It was definitely a perfume oil, with no alcohol to sting my nose. Even so, at first whiff, I thought, NO WAY! It was ylang-ylang in coconut oil or gardenia, much like what I get from Carolina Herrera by Carolina Herrera. But I braved it out, and 3 hours later, the ylang-ylang had faded considerably, and it had changed into a gourmand like scent. Granted, my nose may have been confused by my orange-scented 50 spf sunblock, and maybe some lingering Odeur #53 on my pullover sleeve, but I don't think so. In any case, the drydown was far more acceptable to me (a hater of ylang-ylang), and I would have liked it much more had it lasted longer than 6 hours.

I'm a relative newcomer to niche scents, so my opinions of this fragrance may change, as this is one of the first niche scents I ever got a chance to smell. When I first tried it, I didn't expect to like it. I didn't consider myself a fan of roses. However, I enjoy the rose that I experience in Rose 31, well through the top notes and into the heart. The rose is not a fresh rose. It's a dry, metallic rose mixed with cedar, and some incense-like smell, which I can only guess is the oud or guaiac wood. It also smells so very feminine to me! So I was surprised to find out that it's marketed for men. I was also extremely bummed when I found out how much it cost, because it is rare for me to find a floral that I like. I agree with some of the other reviewers that it has a metallic smell. It also has a "doughy" smell, as Vibert mentions. It has so much doughiness, that when I first smelled it, I wanted to call it a "chewy rose." I like it very much, and it has changed my opinion about rose scents.

Boozy! It smells like the now discontinued Dilys by Laura Ashley. Fermented fruit and flowers. Ketone-like. Perhaps my sample went bad. Sillage was not great. Lasting power was pretty good. I didn't smell as much like rose as I'd have expected from the name. Compared to Tea Rose, the rose was pretty subdued. At least it didn't give me a headache, as Tea Rose does.

I can't remember how I acquired two mini bottles of this stuff, but they've sat in my cabinet forever (okay, more like 13 years) because every time I try it, it gives me a raging headache.

I was inspired to pull them out again, because someone gave me some rose essential oil, and I wanted to compare the two. The essential oil was mixed with some other ingredients, like patchouli, which gave it a darker character. In comparison, Tea Rose is a beautiful, bright, green rose -- smells freshly picked. However, it's so fresh-smelling, it has to be artificial!

Longevity is incredible. Sillage was also great. And unfortunately, it gave me a headache again, just as before. It's beautiful, but I can't wear it.

What an unusual perfume! At first, it's all cedar. But not just any cedar, it's cedar that's damp and almost rotting. Other reviewers have mentioned "vinegar" and "sweat." And it does smell very much like. . . sweat. It makes me think of lactic acid. Incomplete glycolysis. And perhaps that's what gives it the sweaty gym clothes smell. There's also patchouli in the opening. Ugh. I don't like patchouli. And a fecal-like smell. Could that be the oud?

I really didn't think I could brave this one out, but luckily, its sillage is next to nil. It's not a sillage monster on me. Even though I could smell the fecal smell up close, no one else could. I'm sure of that.

What's interesting is that by 4 hours later, all those sweaty, smelly gym clothes are gone, and someone has laundered them in a really nice-smelling detergent. How did it do that? Amazing! And this nice, clean scent lasted all day, and well into the next morning -- a good 20 hours.

In theory, I should like this. In practice, I don't. Although I love amaretto scents, there was just too much patchouli for me to truly appreciate the other notes. I tend to not like scents with patchouli, as it reminds me of a medicine my paternal grandmother used to use. Also, after living in Berkeley for 5 years with the scent of patchouli everywhere, I got really tired of it.

For those who love patchouli, this may be a great fragrance to try. After about 4 hours, on me, the patchouli is still detectable up close, but in the sillage, it's more of an amber-vanilla-like scent. It didn't last very long on myself. Whereas most fragrances, I can still detect a whiff on my skin or maybe clothes at the end of the day, after 9 hours Le Baiser du Dragon was pretty much undetectable on me.

This is the first BPAL fragrance I've ever sampled, so I don't know if they're all oils, but that was what struck me about this one. It's viscous, and there's no alcohol on opening. So, I'm guessing this is a perfume oil. The lack of the alcohol means it doesn't have that stinging opening that so many perfumes have. However, it also means it leaves a little oily sheen on my skin before it gets absorbed, which could be a problem for some clothes fabrics.

I had read reviews on MakeUpAlley.com that this one smells like desert soil and grass. I definitely don't get any soil out of it. Instead, it smells like a perfume oil mixture I had made for myself once. The components of mine were champa and amber, with a base of peru balsam. I added a touch of anise oil as well. Coyote smells almost exactly like that mixture, but with sandalwood as part of the base also. There's something else in it that reminds me of old teak furniture, or the old, damp teak in some sailboats. But desert soil? No.

The anise makes it just a little gourmand, and yummy (I like licorice), and it makes me want to try other BPAL fragrances.

We had a perfume sale at work, and I sampled a ton of perfumes that all smelled alike, until I came to this one. I was turned off by the name -- "Pink Sugar"? I was thinking it must smell like that cheap stuff I saw in the kiddie aisle at the department store. But, I gave it a try, and wore it for a good long 2 hours before I went back and bought some.

Like the other reviewers, I was amused to see that someone thinks this is a unisex scent. It's a perfume for people who like to smell tasty. . . . and if you're male, and you want to smell tasty, then "Pink Sugar" will probably do the trick.

I noticed there's no listing at the top, about what the notes are. I'm not good at this kind of thing, but I'd guess that there is synthetic cotton candy, of course, but also lots of vanilla and amber. The base note is the same one as the no-longer-being-made Yardley's Apothecary "Make Me Melt" shea butter lotion, which I miss so much.

The longevity is good. At the end of the day (about 6 hours later), my husband could smell it on me the minute he walked into the house. The sillage is also pretty intense. From just a small spritz, my coworker said she could smell it from outside of my office, even. But that also might have to do with the shoddy bottle -- which when sprayed ends up dripping, not spraying. So since I work with chemotherapy patients, I probably can't wear this to work because I'll probably make some people sick. But it's something I am totally going to wear at home, where I might need to be tasty.

White Aoud is only the second oud-containing fragrance I've ever tried (my first being Black Aoud also by Montale). It has the same oud-y opening as Black Aoud which smells plasticky, like spoiled uni sushi, but mixed with flowers I couldn't name, whereas Black Aoud does have roses. Unlike Black Aoud, however, the oud doesn't stick around. It pretty much goes away after about 2 hours, on my skin, anyway. What is left is a tame and lovely sandalwood, vanilla, amber, and jasmine fragrance that lasts and lasts.

I thought it might compare with Kenzo Amour (another vanilla scent), but Kenzo Amour is more flowery and almost citrusy, with a baby-oil like smell that White Aoud doesn't have. In comparison, another vanilla-jasmine scent Hypnotic Poison is heavier on the jasmine-vanilla-almond combo whereas White Aoud is predominantly sandalwood-vanilla-amber with a bit of jasmine.

To put it politely, this is a perfume that most people would probably consider to be for "a sophisticated woman." It is not girly, by any means. I'm so bad at naming notes, but when I tested this, I got a clear set of associations. The opening notes remind me much of Halston Couture, which I know has a sharp opening due to citrus. After about 4 to 5 hours, it smells very much like a Baskin Robbins that we used to visit every Sunday after Mass. I can't tell if it's because there maybe was a woman who wore Must de Cartier and worked in that particular establishment, or whether it's the vanilla that I'm smelling in the heart. Then after about 9 hours, it lays into this sultry scent that for all the world reminds me of the time I discovered my uncle's Ginger Lynn video, which he had left on the VCR during the time he briefly lived with us. That must be the 1980's musk, I guess.

Wow! I like it! Soapy! It reminds me a lot of Creed's Original Vetiver, with the Ivory soap smell. However, whereas Original Vetiver soapy smell is [cedar + ginger], English Fern's soapy smell seems to come from the lavender mixed with something else. . . maybe geranium? It also doesn't have the lemongrass smell that I get from Original Vetiver. I like it a lot, and one spray has lasted a good 12 hours on my skin. I don't smell the patchouli that foetidus smells, and thankfully so, because I tend to not like patchouli.

For the first few minutes, it was overwhelmingly masculine. I don't know what it was. Vetiver? Ginger? Really sharp and earthy. If someone had been in the garden, digging in moist black dirt, about 6 inches down, they could have pulled me out of the ground. I smelled like a root vegetable.

But after maybe an hour or even less, those top notes were completely gone, and all I was left with was a faint smell of flowers and amber. Foetidus does list flowers in his review, so maybe I was smelling jasmine.

Not a lot of sillage, just a lovely drydown smell. Almost feminine. I like the dry down much better than the root vegetable part. I wish I could name the notes better, but I can definitely say what Helmut Lang is *not*.

Helmut Lang is definitely not a cool aquatic. And it is not a sillage monster.

Edit: My mistake. . . My review is for Cuiron pour Homme by Helmut Lang! Not Helmut Lang by Helmut Lang.

When I first put this on my arm, I couldn't place what that top note was. After maybe two minutes, it hit me -- it smelled like dill! Freshly-pulled dill right out of the garden. What an odd note to put in a perfume! But that dill only lasted less than 3 minutes if even that, and then it kind of faded into a cedar scent which lasted maybe 5-10 minutes. And then, it seemed to disappear entirely, but every now and then I could smell sandalwood. However, if I sniffed my arm, it disappeared. I could only smell it if I was just going about doing my thing, but the scent of sandalwood surrounded me like a subtle cloud. *THIS* is the sandalwood that I think of when I hear "sandalwood." My mother had a sandalwood necklace, which maybe was artificially scented, I'm not sure. But for years it gave off this wonderful aroma, which made her closet smell marvelous. She told me it was sandalwood, and ever since then, the scent of that necklace is to what I compare all sandalwood oils. My mother informs me that the necklace's scent has faded with time (it's been over 20 years), but I need not mourn, because if I want to enjoy that scent again, I know I can find it in Tam Dao.

At first I thought this was a floral perfume. But after the alcohol blew off, I realized, no, it's a FOODY perfume! Top notes of cinnamon. And an hour later, still lots of cinnamon and amber. Much much later, it was cinnamon milk. Very delicious! I sprayed it on at 19:10 and I could still smell cinnamon milk 5.5 hours later. I have been told that the perfumer behind it is Francis Kurkdjian -- the creator of Le Male -- but I don't know if that is true. It does seem, however, that both Le Male and D'Orsay's Femme de Dandy have the same musky vanilla smell on drydown.

Melon notes. It's a fruity floral. My first impression on sniffing the nozzle is that it smells like a sweeter version of a soapy bubble-blower mixture. After about an hour on my arm, it smelled very much like Paris Hilton's Paris Hilton. Kind of a flowery, fruity, aquatic kind of smell.

Last weekend, I was in the backyard weeding and trimming invasive trumpet vines, when caught a whiff of some flowery scent. It smelled like "Design" by Paul Sebastian. I thought it was most unusual, because our yard is pretty darn big, and our nearest neighbor is quite far. Who was wearing "Design" in my yard??? It was just me and the dogs. Well, I was hauling the trimmings out to the the bin in the back alley, and I saw these beautiful yellow flowers. I sniffed them, and it was "Design." I was shocked, so when my neighbor came out to throw his trash away, I asked him what this plant was. He said, "It's Spanish Broom." "Design" smells like Spanish Broom to me.

The first time I smelled "Design" was on a coworker who had come into the cold room to return the centrifuge rotor. She was a young woman, about mid 20's, and this was the 1990's. So I don't associate "Design" with old women, as some other reviewers do. It smelled lovely on her! But when I bought some for myself, it really did not smell the same on me at all. It smelled awful. So, I never wear it.

I've only smelled this once, and it was on someone else. It smelled SO GOOD! Ambery, flowery, musky. It smells a lot like a perfume that was around in the 1980's, that I never identified. Feminine, with some real sillage, which is why I was able to catch the scent of it on a coworker. The description by Avon says there are fruity notes in it, but what I smell is mostly flowery. Perhaps a little gourmand. The complete opposite of cool aquatics. It's like a warm, pudgy pillow of scent.

It's funny to me to see all the reviews by men who think this smells most like a women's perfume, because that was my thought as well! I sniffed the Burberry Weekend for Men on a card, and liked it very much! On the other hand, I sniffed Burberry Weekend for Women on a card, and my nose recoiled in horror! 'Nothing alike!

I sprayed a little of this on myself, and it was all lemony-lime and bergamot! I liked it! Then, many hours later, it was still like a lime Lifesaver on my skin. Other women told me it smelled nice, and when I told them it was a male scent, they were surprised, too!

It's a nice summery kind of scent. Long lasting on me too (>6 hours). 'Wouldn't come off with soap and water, or alcohol.

I was feeling nostalgic for Cristalle EdT, and not knowing that the EdP is a completely different formulation, I purchased it, and was a little surprised at how it differed from my memory of it. It wasn't until I checked on Basenotes that I realized my mistake.

The EdP definitely smells more floral, to me. It lacks the metallic sharpness that I remember from the EdT. I thought it smelled fairly nice on my skin, unlike the EdT, which somehow turns sour. My husband, however, found it completely vomitous, and told me so with great force.

Today, I also encountered a lady at work who was wearing it, and something about it made me feel like retching. Perhaps it was the lady, herself. But, in any case, with two episodes of nausea, neither of which can be attributed to pregnancy, I've decided the Cristalle EdP is just not for me.

This perfume starts out smelling like Diamonds and Emeralds (by Elizabeth Taylor), and then later smells like Dilys (by Laura Ashley), only without the alcoholic breath part. It lasts a long time on my skin. Not my kind of scent, as it smells kind of bath oil-like, and bath beads kind of make me nauseous. But this perfume is a little more floral than a bath bead, and hence, it's actually a little enjoyable, after the initial bath-bead smell.

This perfume smells like Curve, to me. And I cannot wear it, for the same reasonsI won't wear Curve. It reminds my husband of all irritating women he used to encounter when he worked in a movie theater.

The name intrigued me. The purple bottle with silver-colored metal, that drew me too. The lady at the counter sprayed it on a cotton ball, and it's PURPLE too! I've never seen a purple perfume before this one. I rubbed it on my skin, and it smells just like Poison to me. Poison, the perfume, that is. But the Alien bottle is way cooler.

This perfume is just as stinky as its male counterpart. But, I had to buy some! There is some powerful initial smell -- bergamot? -- that just blasts me away when I spray it on. Then there's something else. Something stinky! Then there's sandalwood and some kind of white amber, which comes out on the drydown -- about 12 hours later. I love the drydown smell, far more than the initial stinky smell. I can't stop wearing it! It's awful!

My husband thinks it's far too strong. So I wear it just for myself.

Sharp, metallic floral smell. Strong and long lasting. This perfume was great for blasting away the smell of the cadavers we dissected in medical school. I wore it every day in first year medical school for that reason!

My dad hates perfumes. Everytime my mom would come home from the mall, smelling of the latest scent, he would gripe about how she stank! Well, my mother was shocked when she came home smelling of Shalimar, and my dad asked her what she was wearing. He actually liked a perfume for once! My mom was amazed, and she bought some Shalimar. When they went to visit my dad's mother, my mom gave her a bottle of Shalimar, and she loved it too.

I have a feeling that the sandalwood triggers some kind of scent-memory in my dad and his mother. It might have something to do with the fact that they are from Thailand, and they burn a lot of sandalwood incense there. For me, Shalimar is just another perfume.

The opening notes smell like Vitalis to me. (Does anyone even know what Vitalis is anymore?) Vitalis is the hair grease my dad used to use. Sharp and green-smelling.

After that it smells like public bathroom freshener. Then maybe an hour later, it smells like a powdery chypre -- like baby powder. That's what it smells like on my skin, anyway.

Peanuts. When I first smelled the bottle, I thought, "PEANUTS!?" It changed on my skin though. I totally don't smell the 'peach' that others adore. It smells old and musty to me, like my very first piano teacher's house. Bvlgari_BLV said it smells like 'flesh', and I agree. It smell like an unwashed old lady.

This was the first perfume I bought for myself, and it was kind of a bad choice for a teenager. It's a very strong and sultry scent. The oak moss makes for a very strong woodsy base note, I'm guessing. Then there's some kind of amber in it, and they fight raucously together. I wasn't nearly old enough to wear this perfume, but as I got older, it was definitely something I could wear in the evenings. It changes on my skin, becoming more intense and actually kind of makes me dizzy.

I know they don't make this anymore, and that's a shame. It is a very different scent from the the other Halston perfumes. Halston Couture is the only one that came with a sterling silver top.

My old roomie from Singapore used to wear this, because her boyfriend practically drooled whenever she did. I liked the way it smelled on her, too, but on myself, UGH! No way. It's quite strong and metallic, like sucking on a copper penny, and it kind of makes me nauseous if I don't wash it off within 20 minutes. It must be our different skin chemistries.

Very citrusy. And you can smell it a mile away.

I really don't know why this scent was so popular when I was in college. One of my male dorm-mates called it "man repellent." However one of my female friends said that her boyfriend loved it. To each his own! I personally think it has a very boring sour smell. My female cousins, however, all love it.

I love this perfume. It's so strong. You can smell it a mile away. And it's so distinctive. I've only known one woman who claimed it for her signature scent, and she was a most remarkable lady. When she stepped into a room, you noticed -- because you could smell her! I agree with the above reviews that this perfume is for a special kind of person. Definitely not a subtle scent. I love it, but even I can't wear it because it would be like wearing a dark purple evening dress with stiletto heels and a feather boa to substitute teach at a Sunday school.

I first smelled this on a black woman who shared my dormitory. It smelled marvelous on her, and I bought some for myself. Somehow on my Asian skin, it changed to a quite different smell -- sour and totally annoying. I never wore it again! I've notice some white women wearing it, and it doesn't smell the same either. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with body chemistry.

My mother bought this for me when I was in college, and I swear, it smells like someone's breath after they've had a dozen beers. Fruity, ketone-y, hypoglycemic-y. Very fitting for a college student. I wear it sometimes, just because I loved the the bottle it comes in.

I personally love this scent. It changes on my skin, and smells pretty darn good. My husband on the other hand, hates it, because it reminds him of all the trashy women he had to deal with when he worked at a movie theater. I guess that's because it was so darn popular back then. Needless to say, I haven't worn it since.

Back in 1985, I accidentally left a chicken fried steak in one of my purses for two weeks. I could not find the source of the smell! It was most irritating! When I finally found it, it had leaked grease all in my purse. I couldn't get the smell out of that purse, afterwards.

A few years later, I noticed there were a whole lot of guys going around smelling like a two-week old chicken fried steak. Turns out, they're wearing this new cologne called "Obsession for Men." Even now, I can't smell a guy with this on, without thinking of rotten chicken fried steak.

The ironic thing is, all the cutest guys were wearing this. So I get weird mixed feelings from smelling this cologne! Revulsion and attraction. . . .

You can smell a guy wearing this a mile away. It's strong and has staying power.

This is a stinky cologne. But, just as with Obsession for Men in the late 1980's, the cutest guys are wearing it. So it becomes very distinctive for me. I follow it with my nose, and it leads me to a hottie. I wish I knew what it was that makes it stink so bad! The bergamot, perhaps?

I saw this perfume at Wal-Mart, and I really wanted to sniff a tester first, but couldn't find any! So, Ms. Hilton's company ended up with my $9.99 for a small bottle. It isn't bad. It smells a whole lot like "Sunflowers," actually, and there was a time when I really liked that scent. However, these days, I'd prefer something a little less girly to wear to work. This would have been a nice scent if I were 10 years younger.