Armani Code for Women

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Armani Code for Women is the feminine version of Armani’s very popular men’s fragrance, Armani Code. Armani fragrances usually don’t do much for me in terms of scent but Code for Women is a crowd pleaser in the same vein and competence as Gucci Flora. It’s not a show-stopper with the perfumista crowd but it’s a nice enough fragrance. Code for Women

In Bottle: Pleasant light florals swirling around an equally light, clean citrus topper. Nothing spectacular to see here, folks.

Applied: Bright and clean citrus followed by light and airy florals. Easy to wear and sticks rather close to the skin. This fragrance can be sprayed a few times as it goes on really lightly and wears equally as light. After the top notes go away, it smells remarkably like really good shampoo. Clean, fresh, scrubbed sweet and powdery florals make up the mid-stage with no real depth or fanfare. If Armani Code for Women was a shampoo, it’d be a pretty popular–albeit generic smelling–brand. And I think that works for Code for Women. It’s not going to wow anyone into saying, “I’ve never smelled anything like it!” It’ll probably encourage compliments and pats on the back about how nice you smell though and that’s enough for a lot of perfume shoppers. I like Code for Women for its simplicity and cleanness. I like how quiet and well-behaved it is and particularly enjoy the shampoo smell of it too. The dry down is barely detectable and rather predictable as a vanilla woodsy scent.

Extra: Armani Code for Women caught my eye sooner than it caught my nose. It was the first readily available perfume bottle I’d seen in a while that could come with a balloon pump atomizer. I thought it was the bees knees but to get the balloon atomizer, you would need to get the Elixir concentration. Given how light and skin close this scent is, that might not be a bad idea.

Design: I love the bottle. it’s a beautiful glass bottle with gradients and girly floral designs. It’s a nice marriage between simple and decorative. The whole thing just goes so well together as a package. The sprayer is very good on all of the Code for Women bottles I’ve tried.

Fragrance Family: Fresh Floral

Notes: Blood orange, ginger, pear, jasmine, orange bossom, seringa flower, lavender honey, precious woods complex, vanilla.

I’ve had my eye on Code for Women for a while. A big bottle of it, actually, but I never quite got that extra nudge to actually purchase the thing. It’s nice, it’s easy to wear, but if I already have Gucci Flora, I don’t see the point in owning this. They smell different. They just serve the same purpose which is to be a young, airy, easy to wear scent.

Reviewed in This Post: Code for Women, 2010, Eau de Parfum.

DKNY Delicious Night

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Delicious Night is one of the flankers from Donna Karan’s very popular Be Delicious line which centers around the apple note. Despite its shape and its heritage, Delicious Night does not contain a single apple. Delicious Night

In Bottle: Sweet, citrus and berries that verge on being cloying even as it’s sitting in the bottle. This is a fact that troubles me. It’s like a warning.

Applied: Sweet blackberry and citrus fruits. Or should I say, SWEET BLACKBERRY and CITRUS INFUSION 9000!!! Because Delicious Night goes on loud. Very loud. Also very sweet and that cloying sweetness I got in the bottle is full throttle on my skin. This stuff is like blackberry and lemon syrup, dumped into a vat of sugar and then rolled into a giant candy ball. I had thought Miss Dior Cherie was a cloying headache inducer but Delicious Night really takes the cake as I wait out the top notes amidst this bizarre combination of scents that remind me uncomfortably of children’s flavored and sweetened cough syrup. Much to my chagrin the mid-stage echos the same level of syrupy sweetness as the opener except with a bland mix of flowers that are trying to swim out of the Sweet’n’Low sea but they can’t quite make it under the merciless sugar baron’s iron-fisted rule. If you think you can get away from the sugar baron on the dry down you’ve got another thing coming. The sweetness is miles long, and it won’t stop until you do. It invades the base notes as well, sugaring up the sheer clean patchouli and if it’s one thing I don’t think patchouli should ever have to do, it’s be both clean and sugary sweet.

Extra: Be Delicious was the original DKNY apple scent that a lot of people really like. And it’s a pretty decent apple scent that inspired Victoria Secret’s Appletini.

Design: Bottled in the same shape and concept as DKNY Be Delicious and DKNY Red Delicious. Delicious Night is a dark purple affair with an apple-like shape. The black plastic cap also hides the sprayer that makes a distinctly plastic sound as it splodges the fragrance out onto you like a hooked fish would regurgitate the last of its water. I wasn’t impressed by the lackluster function of the sprayer nozzle–in other words. Maybe I just hit a bad bottle. I will admit that it’s a pretty cute shape and a rather clever way of hiding the sprayer.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Pomelo, ginger, blackberry, pink freesia, martini, night orchid, jasmine, pink iris, amber, frankincense, myrrh extract, patchouli, vetiver.

Delicious Night was supposed to be sexy and modern. All it made me was kind of nauseous. Sorry, Delicious Night.

Reviewed in This Post: DKNY Delicious Night, 2010, Eau de Parfum.

Chanel Chance Eau Tendre

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The Chanel Chance lineage of fragrances has always been marketed toward younger woman. And seems that with each flanker the age group gets bumped down even more. Chance was a good, easily worn fragrance for women in and around their thirties and younger. Eau Fraîche knocked it down to mid-twenties and younger. Now There’s Eau Tendre. Eau Tendre

In Bottle: Marc Jacobs Daisy. The resemblance has been noted before and I will confirm them. This smells like Daisy. The wet, green grassy, lightly floral top notes of Daisy.

Applied: Daisy’s still there, and I can’t get over this barrier of how much it smells like Daisy. It’s like I’ve sprayed Daisy on myself instead of a Chanel fragrance. I’m waiting this one out though, because Daisy does lose that wet green and grassy scent when it progresses into its mid-stage and I want to see if Eau Tendre does as well. So far, Eau Tendre hangs onto its top notes a little better and longer and I do like Daisy’s top notes but I want this smell in my bottle with the rubber flowers not in Chanel. As Eau Tendre dries down the mid-stage has moved on from its Daisy-like personality and has developed a rose and jasmine with a bite of citrus and a woody note sandwiching the flowers. The mid-stage is probably the least remarkable part of Eau Tendre. It smells rather generic and pedestrian and kind of dull. Normally, I’d just say this smells nice and young but Chanel’s built a reputation on a solid base of very respectable fragrances that Eau Tendre hits a sore spot because it’s like a trip in an otherwise rather smooth road. This doesn’t smell like a Chanel. While I could see the appeal of the original Chance, that was a well composed fragrance that had a lot of class. Eau Tendre smells like most other recent releases with none of the familiar Chanel soul in place. The dry down is not that much better as the cedarwood in this amps up and the florals grow a bit quieter. The one thing I can say for Eau Tendre is that like many Chanel fragrances it has good sillage and decent projection. I just don’t think it’s very creative or very reflective what Chanel fragrances have been for the past century.

Extra: Chanel Chance is a very popular fragrance line that targets younger women and tries to introduce them to the Chanel line of perfumes. It has, so far, two flankers. The first is Eau Fraîche and the second is Eau Tendre.

Design: Eau Tendre is bottled like its Chance sisters. Held in a round glass bottle with a square cap the juice inside is a light, very girly pink. The glass has a nice, light weight to it. The presentation is clean and fits well with other Chanel fragrance bottles. I do think of all the fragrance houses, Chanel’s one of the better ones in terms of packaging.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Grapefruit, hyacinth, jasmine, iris, white musk, amber, cedarwood.

Unremarkable as this is, I don’t doubt that it will sell well because it’s a really good reflection of where fragrance trends are headed now. So if you’re young and you want to own a Chanel perfume but you think many of them are too old or too sophisticated then Chance Eau Tendre deserves a sniff. Don’t let my disappointment color you away from this fragrance. It’s a Chanel and it’s well-done for what it is.

Reviewed in This Post: Chance Eau Tendre, 2010, Eau de Toilette.

Bath and Body Works White Citrus

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What can I really say about White Citrus that hasn’t already been said? White Citrus is one of Bath and Body Works’ more simple compositions that’s billed as a modern take on a classic citrus fragrance. Not sure what they mean about a modern take on a classic citrus as this just pretty much smells like a citrus perfume. Nothing classic about it. But it is very good.  White Citrus

In Bottle: Sharp citrus, tangy lemon zest and a bit of sweet tangerine. There isn’t a lot of sweetness in this but there’s a tiny amount that helps to balance out the tartness a little bit.

Applied: Big white florals and citrus fragrance. Heavy emphasis on the citrus. I mostly get the lemon zest out of this fragrance which is tempered a bit by the lily and freesia present in the fragrance. The freesia helps calms the tartness of this scent a little with its floral sweetness as White Citrus lays on the skin like a clean, sheer coating of freshness. This is a nice, competent citrus-based scent with a good level of initial projection. However, due to its citrus-heavy top notes, the fragrance doesn’t last very long or project very far on me so I end up having to layer, layer, layer. White Citrus remains predominantly floral and lemon until it calms down near the end by introducing a barely noticeable and very sheer woody scent on the exit.

Extra: White Citrus is also available in a white variety of other products from Bath and Body Works. This includes lotions, body mists, travel size items, hand soap and probably much more. So if you’re worrying about the scent fading fast, get the lotion, the shower gel, and start layering. For those of you interested in this fragrance and want something that lasts a bit longer, Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs’ Whitechapel is a citrus-heavy perfume oil that has a few familiar components to White Citrus.

Design: White Citrus is bottled in much the same way as other Bath and Body Works eau de toilette fragrances. A no nonsense rectangular glass bottle with a design printed on the front. In White Citrus’ case, the design on the front appears to be some sort of explosion of green, or a graphical representation of a halved green citrus fruit.

Fragrance Family: Fresh

Notes: Lemon zest, tangerine, grapefruit, mandarin, lily of the valley, apricot, freesia, waterlily, ginger flower, woods, musk.

I had a small bottle of White Citrus lotion and quickly grew tired of it. A nice clean and fresh fragrance is good for an average day but White Citrus wasn’t as pleasing a citrus-based fragrance as I had hoped.

Reviewed in This Post: White Citrus, 2009, Eau de Toilette.

Juliette Has a Gun Lady Vengeance

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Lady Vengeance triggered something bright and flowery in my head. I dabbed it on, aimed my nose at the back of my hand to sniff, and as it wafted into my nose and hit my smell receptors, my voice decided it couldn’t wait to form a good sentence as I proclaimed in a high-pitched voice, “It’s so pretty!” Lady Vengeance

In Bottle: Fresh and rosy and really pretty. Lady Vengeance is a young, bright, happy smelling rose scent that puts a smile on my face the instant I smell it.

Applied: Feminine and clean and speaks to the springtime. I had wholly expected Lady Vengeance to contain a note of darkness, of depth and dense rosiness but she’s a bright and happy character instead. A bit funny for the name but I can’t stay mad at something this peppy. Lady Vengeance starts off with a brilliantly bright and new bloomed rose. It reminds me of a freshly watered rose bush glistening with dew on a brand new spring day. It’s like soft rose soap cut with real petals. There’s a powderiness to Lady Vengeance but there’s very little of it and it works so well in this fragrance that you just end up smelling like a really good rose powder. There’s a slightly sweet and gentle hint of vanilla but it is predominantly a very well done rose. This is a sweetened rose, not a sugar rose–I might add. The latter is the staple of modern rose-based scents that rely on sugaring up the note. Lady Vengeance has excellent longevity, it clung to me all day and lent that gorgeous clean rose for hours and hours until the dry down approached where the powderiness gives way and I smell a couple of whiffs of smooth patchouli under all the awesome rose soap.

Extra: Juliette Has a Gun is a niche perfume line inspired by Shakespeare. It has ties to Nina Ricci. Mainly, the line was founded by Ricci’s grandson.

Design: Set in a very cute black bottle, Lady Vengeance’s packaging would hint at a dark rose. But there’s no darkness in this as far as I’m concerned. The bottle has lovely little etchings in it that conjure up images of tattoos and goths.

Fragrance Family: Soliflore

Notes: Italian rose, vanilla, patchouli.

Who would have thought a simple fragrance could be so well done? I am a big fan of Lady Vengeance and her pretty rose treatment. For $80 per 50ml and $110 per 100ml bottle. You can also get some pretty wicked looking purse bullets fragrance roll ones for $75. You will be hurting if you’re into this niche line but it isn’t as bad as some other choices out there that would have you proclaiming, “Eighty bucks? That’s nothing!”

Reviewed in This Post: Lady Vengeance, 2009, Eau de Parfum.

I Really Hate Clinique Happy

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As I tried to whittle down my bottle of Clinique Happy, I came to realize something–by God, I hate this fragrance. I had thought its little synthetic balloon heart was a little charming at first. If somewhat alarming. But as I whittled it down more and more the synthetic note got more and more annoying until I couldn’t wait to be emptied of that thing so I could move on.

I do have to wonder as to the widespread appeal of this fragrance is. And why I can’t appreciate it as much as other people can. Maybe it’s because of my balloon phobia. Or maybe it’s because it smells so rubbery. Or maybe it’s because I have no fond memories of Clinique makeup and the only thing I own from them is a dried up tube of mascara.

Gucci Gucci pour Homme

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The Saga of the Inoffensive Men’s fragrance continues with Gucci pour Homme, a mixture of fresh and woodsy for the man who isn’t yet tired of smelling like a mixture of woods and spice. Gucci pour Homme I

In Bottle: I can harsh on Gucci pour Homme for smelling like every other woody spicy fragrance for men out there but it really is a winning combination that, if worn properly, is like a formula for success. Well, fragrance success anyway. Its in bottle presence is a sharply fresh spicy woodsy scent.

Applied: Spicy woods! The pepper in this lends a pleasant kick to the blend of woodsiness that predominates this fragrance. There isn’t a whole lot of originality to be had here. If you liked Dolce and Gabanna’s Light Blue pour Homme, you will find this a fairly good choice too. It differs, of course, with Gucci pour Homme having a cleaner and more detectable aromatic bay leaf note in it and a strong cedar and woody accord. The bay leaf sticks around in the mid-stage where it mingles with the woods and does a fine job making Gucci pour Homme smell decidedly masculine. Of course a woman could wear this too, but the marketing would have a fit as this was clearly made for a man to wear. It smells of clean dry wood and greenness. Like a man who spent the last three hours chopping down trees and making a very nice desk in the forest then took a shower. The dry down is likable enough with your typical woodsy cleaned up vetiver fade with a pretty nice leather note and a splash of warm amber thrown in for good measure.

Extra: Just for a full dose of confusion there are three Gucci pour Homme fragrances that share similar names. Gucci by Gucci pour Homme. The one reviewed in this review, also called Gucci pour Homme, finally there’s Gucci pour Homme II. All of them smell different and look different. Gucci by Gucci pour Homme is bottled differently than the fragrance pictured here. Gucci pour Homme has an amber liquid and is the fragrance in this review. Gucci pour Homme II is bottled similar to this one only the liquid is blue.

Design: I really like Gucci pour Homme’s design element. It’s a cube-like glass bottle that reminds me of how Chanel nail polish is bottled. Simple, clean lines, no frills. Just a nice minimalist design that functions well.

Fragrance Family: Spicy Woodsy

Notes: White pepper, pink bay, ginger, papyrus wood, orris rhizome, vetiver, amber, white olibanum, leather.

Gucci pour Homme  is a very popular fragrance for men. You can probably tell why. Like with all men’s fragrances that lack in the originality sector, it is high in versatility and likability. You can wear this in the office, to the club, on the bus, to the golf game. Wherever it is your heart takes you guys and girls. Just a forewarning that Gucci pour Homme runs on the strong side, so ease up on your trigger finger.

Reviewed in This Post: Gucci pour Homme, 2008, Eau de Toilette .

Anna Sui Secret Wish

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Secret Wish makes me feel a little bit silly. It’s probably because I’m not a big fan of fairies so the fairy sitting on the cap tips this typical fruity fragrance right into the “no thanks” pile. It smells nice, sure. It’s pretty generic though and then there’s that fairy. Secret Wish

In Bottle: Big, sharp, citrus with a hint of fruitiness. Similar to Dolce and Gabanna’s Light Blue but with a melon helping out the citrus instead of an apple.

Applied: That big flood of citrus again, the lemon in this is behaving. After the nice sharp blast of lemon and citrus, Secret Wish washes into the fruity ocean with a big sweet pile of melons and currants adding to the fresh lemon opener. I’m getting a weird sticky sweet scent with citrus now which isn’t all together unpleasant but at this point, I’m thinking Light Blue pulled this idea off a little bit better as Light Blue had a tartness that I really liked. The tartness is a lacking factor in this making this seem almost syrupy sweet. The dry down is a similarly sweet fruity affair with a clean warmth to it. I have to say, despite the lemon being tame in this fragrance, I preferred Light Blue. It was more refined.

Extra: Anna Sui is a fashion designer from Detroit who has several very popular lines of clothing including a children’s line. She several well-known fragrances aside from Secret Wish. One of the most popular is Dolly Girl.

Design: Bottled in a green-blue glass container, Secret Wish has a  cap that has a fairy sitting on top. This is a really nice fragrance for a younger audience and for people who like girliness, fruity scents, and pretty bottles with fairies on it. It just misses the mark with me though.

Fragrance Family: Fresh Fruity

Notes: Lemon, melon, currants, pineapple, amber, cedarwood, musk.

Reviewed in This Post: Secret Wish, 2008, Eau de Toilette .