Fragrance Reviews by smelly_in_melb

I tried this on one arm with Guerlian's 'Shalimar' on the other - I was surprised to discover that Darling long outlasted the heavy scent of Shalimar. At first I thought Darling had an unattractive mandarin topnote with not much complexity and then wishy-washy middlenotes, but by the end of the day the fragrance was getting better and better which may be because of the amber coming through. Overall not one that impressed me enough to buy it.

I needed some help from wikipedia on what Hilary Duff has actually done in her career.. but nevertheless fell in love with the olde world bottle design- meets-the contents of sweet amber notes more typical of the adventurous naughties. I find the basenotes somewhat similar to the male fragrance 'Laguna' by Salvidor Dali.

On the test strip 'With Love' smelt too sickly sweet, but blended with my skin it is quite subtle, feminine and alluring. A pity the yummiest topnotes don't last longer.

This was my first ever perfume (at 10yo). Pulling it out from the back of the cupboard now, it smells better than I remember, but still more suited to a grandma than a preteen given the barbie/lolly scents out on the market today. A strictly floral scent as the name suggests, but more like backyard posies than exotic botanicals.

Sprayed sparingly this fragrance smells like air, it dissipates into nothing. Using 1/2 a tester tube I realised its aquatic title is more inspired by sweet coconut than aquatics. The basenotes seem quite similar to Hilary Duff's 'With Love'. This fragrance is probably too sweet for most men, but an unobtrusive fragrance suitable as unisex in my mind.

A musky/sweet nighttime fragrance that works well with my skin chemistry and captures soemthing of my personality: trashy/sensual/seductive. My partner loves this scent on me, maybe because it reminds him of when we met 8 years ago at highschool, nightclubs etc. Considering it is such a cheap and uncomplicated fragrance, I giggle when reaching to wear this on special nights out such as a romantic dinner, or wedding anniversary.

I inherited my bottle of Red Door from my mother who found the scent too heavy. But Dad liked it (he bought it for her); A male friend of mine loves it on his wife; but when I wear it in the car on our drive to work, my husband has to wind down the window to curtail an asthma attack! Once the punchy notes settle, this perfume is good for work wear - no reapplication necessary.

On those mornings when you're late ad there's no time for a shower, Red Door is guaranteed to hide the the BO or big-night-previous-on-the-booze odor. (In fact, one day I caught a mother in the shops spraying a tester of it all over her stinky 8 year old son!) Once on your clothes (eg. a sweater) it can retain the scent for the next wear without going stale - bonus!

This is my favourite scent of 2006, it has a longlasting smokey elegance to it. An original and sexy fragrance. There are no surprises on the dry down, it holds its impact. Love the bottle too.

There a few good things about this fragrance: the price, the longevity, its Australian, and the fact that it was a catalyst for me joining basenotes to register my stomach churning experience. A creamy, overpowering scent lingered with me all day and made my stomach queasy (with only one spray to my wrist). I should have washed it off, because I caught a whiff of my wrist at the end of the day and it made me literally rech. I'm not allergic to anything but I may just be allergic to something in this perfume... I'd be interested to see what others think of it. A good present for a person you dislike.