Leiber by Leiber, 2007

Interesting and fun, but I don't think it hits it out of the park. The top reminds me of Goutal's Mon Petit Cherie, with its mix of sparkling pear and aldehydes, but Leiber ups the aldehydes into Chanel territory. This really nice intro leads to a floral phase that I'm a little unsure about. The upfront rose is nice enough, but there's some bleu cheesy gardenia hovering in the background that mixes with the honey aspects of the rose to form a strange "meaty" off-note on my skin. The base is decent, another obvious Chanel influence with its rich creamy vanilla musk with a pinch of patchouli for warmth. I'd vote thumbs up if it weren't for that ungainly gardenia and, on a more nitpicking note, Leiber is clearly paying tribute to classic aldehydic florals and does it fairly well, but without the chypre backbone, it lacks the complexity that makes a great aldehydic floral so fascinating, instead coming off as a simplified modern copy. It's not that it's bad, it's just that I don't know why anyone would opt for this when No 5 and Joy are still wonderful and available.

The opening is fresh, potent, 90-s glam perfumey (but in the nicest possible way) - and it threw me for a few minutes because it reminded me of several scents at once. I had Rive Gauche and even the chypre Y run through my head, but it's only after the heart notes started warming up that I realised: Leiber seems closely related to Ralph Lauren Safari. It's like Leiber is Safari's sexy daughter who wears just a little bit less velvet.

This lush floral is full bodied and potent! At first it's all fruity/floral madness, but when the roses kick in ~ the rest of the flowers in this bouquet perk up! The mid section of this lovely scent is making me think of Lauren's Romance. The florals here never give way; they hold my attention and then cleverly draw my nose into the decadent and rich base. The roses stay true and fresh, very womanly and gorgeous!