Versace Versense

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If scents could scream, Versense just might be the one who goes so high that only dogs can hear it. This fragrance is clean and fresh, fresh, more fresh, and sharp like the tip of a needle. Not altogether exciting or mysterious, Versense does the one thing really well; and that’s being fresh (in case you haven’t quite gotten that yet). This is an unrelenting freshness that pummeled me over the head with a giant lime and then squeezed the juice into my eye. So overall, not a bad experience.Versense

In Bottle: There’s something a little smooth and sweet in this fragrance that’s holding back what I can only describe as an overwhelming army of angry limes and lemons. It holds the blend together and lends it a very pretty and calming note making Versense smell a lot smoother than she really is. But first impressions in the bottle or on paper are sly. They’ll often smell significantly different on the skin as it mixes and morphs with skin chemistry. And as I waft Versense up to my nose from a slip of paper I’m cursing that deceptive little fruit note. I like it. I wish it would stick around because it’s whipping those unruly citrus notes into a comprehensive shape.

Applied: That instant burst of fleeting fruit, a very smooth and juicy scent that smooths things over before the citrus lands for the take. The smoothness of Versense is fleeting, fading within seconds as the lime shoots straight up into the air and up my nose. There’s an overwhelming green and huge burst of freshness on the initial assault like I had just taken a big too-close-for-comfort whiff of lime scented cleaner. But give Versense the time and in a couple of hours it mellows out into something less fresh and more complex. That’s when the citrus decides its had its fill and lets the woodsier notes come out. Things are still sharp but they no longer scream sharp (or fresh) as the woods help cut a little out of the clean and add some fullness and body to the fragrance.

Extra: Apparently Versense was supposed to take the wearer on a glamorous and sophisticated trip. Unfortunately, I didn’t get glamor or sophistication from Versense. It is very clean though.

Design: Held in a rectangular glass bottle with the seal of Versace on it, Versense boasts a light innocently green color to its juice. The cap is not standard fare clear plastic as I’m happy to note and the entire package as a whole looks very nice. Versense is similar in design to its big sister, Versace’s Versace.

Fragrance Family: Fresh Citrus

Notes: Lime, lemon, mandarin, bergamot, pear, jasmine, sandalwood, cedar, musk.

If you’re looking to smell ultra fresh and love citrus, Versense cannot possibly fit the bill any better. This fragrance is so fresh I think it scoured my brain, sweeping over my grey matter with an avenging citrus coated brush. Powerful is a good word I’m willing to hand to Versense. The real reward is waiting for the drydown as Versense eases off on the power a little and takes in a bit of mellow woodsy calmness. But, boy, brace yourself for the initial impact first.

Reviewed in This Post: Versense, 2009, Eau de Toilette.

Bergamot, Mandarin, Prickly Pear, Sea Daffodil, Cardamom, Jasmine, Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Olive Tree, Musk.

Beyond Love By Kilian

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Green seems to be the color of the day when it comes to Beyond Love. It’s a gentle, high-pitched tuberose fragrance that, if skimmed, seems like a relatively simplistic blend of green tuberose and light balancing florals. But a closer inspection yields a fragrance with a bit more depth and charge.Beyond Love

In Bottle: Green, clean, and floral fragrance. It’s got that special slick bite that tuberose has to my nose with a definitively green aura of fragrance that makes me think of green and white flowers, bitter leaves and rain. There’s something a little musky hiding in the backdrop and what I think is the fabled ambergris rearing its whale upchuck head to sweeten and add complex appeal to Beyond Love’s so far pretty green tuberose petals.

Applied: Instant payoff on the tuberose part as an entire bouquet of them blooms upon application with this bitter green note that sticks around for a few minutes before dissolving into the ambergris induced sweetness. I’ve lost any coconut that may have been present in the bottle and all I get now is tuberose with a gentle breeze of jasmine here and there. This is a bit of an interesting experience as the tuberose in Beyond Love is trying to convince me it’s a new, science fiction born tuberose that’s a cut above the rest and if misunderstood will go on a rampage to devour its enemies before it dies at the end of the day.

Extra: By Kilian is a fragrance collection by the grandson of the founder of LVMH (Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton), Kilian Hennessy. LVMH being famous for its luxury items.

Design: As I don’t actually have a bottle I can’t personally give details on the feel of the design. I will say, however, that no expense was spared to make sure By Kilian’s packaging was top notch. For what you pay for it (approx. $220USD for 50ml of Beyond Love) the money has to go somewhere into the packaging. I see dark covered boxes, carved designs on the sides of bottles, travel holders that look more intricate than any travel holder has the right to be. These things have a look that tries its best to make you feel like the $220 you dropped was not in vain.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Coconut, tuberose, jasmine, ambergris, musk.

Despite all this, Beyond Love faded in a record two hours on my skin. The shortest wear time of any fragrance I’ve ever tried. But then I also only had a sample tube and that may have had something to do with it. Still, for how much it costs, I am leery to pick up a full size bottle unless I know I’ll get $220 worth of longevity. Again, this could be the fault of the sample vial I have and it may very well have excellent lasting power in a bottle.

Reviewed in This Post: Beyond Love, 2009, Sample Tube.