So Hooked On Carmella by Benefit, 2010

Carmella is a creamy white floral, buttery vanilla, with a primal green jungleish tinge. I love it.

Whoa! As Hester suggested, this IS a big girl! I experience it as both off-putting and fantastic at the same time, and I have to give it credit just for that. With my chemistry it's a longevity monster - just TRY to get it to go away - and depending on how much time has elapsed when I sniff it, I get a resemblance to the florals of Gucci Rush, the vanilla/mega black pepper effect of Diptyque's Eau Duelle, and/or the awesome caramel drydown note of Dior Addict. I think if I over-applied it I would die.

While I would not have chosen this for myself, not ever, I really do enjoy wearing it a lot on those 'no intellectual, difficult fragrances today, thanks' days. Although if you find strong fragrances challenging per se, this could be a difficult perfume for you, because Carmella is a BIG GIRL. Topnotes read as almost meloney to me (I know! Horrors! But somehow not), then we almost totally skip the middle notes, to my nose anyway, and move into a sweeeeet lightly floral vanilla, almost boozy, definitely luscious. I don't really get the sandalwood, some amber does read true. The trashier younger cousin of L'Artisan's Vanilia, and a real compliment extractor. And how about that stunning bottle - if you love patterned paper, you should buy it for the bottle alone.