5th Avenue by Elizabeth Arden, 1996

OK, so my mom gave me a gift card for 25 bucks to Marshalls. I recently got a promotion at work, and will be transferring to another store, so I wanted to treat myself to a new "office scent." I had been used to BIG fragrances, but a lot of my previous co-workers often told me I seemed too tiny for such big scents (I am 5'4" and 105 pounds.) I came across this scent, and it was only 19.99 for a big 4.2 ounce bottle of the EDP. I know a lot of times discount stores end up carrying the bulk of the "failed" fragrances, but I had remembered all the ads for this one, and figured it would be a safe chance to take. I bought it unsniffed, since it was in one of those tamper-proof plastic cases.

At first sniff, I was a bit let down. I was thinking this was going to be less "girly," and more of a clean scent similar to that of Chanel No.5. I got lots of tuberse, lilac and sort of a gardenia. When I read what folks had to say about it though, it seemed like maybe I should give it a fair chance. I sprayed this before heading out to work today....good three to four pumps on my clothing. Well, for eight hours (and counting) I can still catch a slight whiff of it on myself when I move about. It is still a bit more floral than I hoped it would be, but it is somewhat comforting and pleasant. My husband says it smells nice, and my co-workers joked around that I smelled "approachable." It has good staying power.

In fact, I made an impulse decision before leaving work for the night to return to the store I bought it at.....and I got another bottle of it. It is stashed away in my drawer, and even though I might take six months to finish the one I already opened, there is another one ready on hand when it is empty. I think it is the best 19.99 I have spent in a long time.