Paul Smith London For Women by Paul Smith, 2004

I'm a guy and got this in a swap, because I liked the note pyramid on it. I don't get much in the way of florals, though there is a minor presence clearly. The citrus is clearly there, as is what I'd describe as a dried fruit base. It's not sickly sweet, though I'm used to, and enjoy sweet fragrances. There's almost a burnt quality to this at time, like someone is cooking a bunch of different dried fruits. There isn't much development, but longevity and sillage are good (I've only used one spray at a time, to the chest). I can see how "ubuandibeme" didn't like it after wearing it for a couple of days in a row, especially if too many sprays were used. For me, this is definitely a once a month or fortnight fragrance, but it does have depth, and is interesting every once in a while. Luca Turin described it as similar to Shalimar Light in his (and Sanchez') perfume guide book, but I don't see any major resemblance (obviously, some of the notes are the same, but that's true of a huge number of fragrances too), so don't think that this is the same, or even close, really. I think this is a good example of the kind of fragrance that calls for several full wearings, spread out over time, required before a decision can be made about whether it is "bottle worthy" for someone.