Playboy VIP For Her

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Seems like I’ve been on something of a niche and vintage bender lately and have been immensely enjoying it. But it’s time to pull things back a little and take a sniff of this Playboy VIP for Her sample I got in the mail one day.

VIP for Her

VIP for Her

In Bottle: Fruity and floral with a slightly woody element to it. Smells a bit like jam, I get a big apple presence.

Applied: Fruity, clean and sweet on the opening. It’s not overpowering, and actually kind of pleasant. Not interesting, just pleasant. Like a non-offensive shampoo kind of smell. The apple isn’t bothering me too much though it smells quite synthetic as apple notes tend to do. It’s not a screaming, overbearing synthetic apple though. It’s just a hint of plastic and that’s a good thing because apple notes don’t often agree with me this well. VIP for Her’s midstage is a fairly bland affair of florals and sugary fruits followed by an equally bland sandalwood, vanilla and white musk end cycle that doesn’t do too much to excite, but does do a lot for the wearability of the fragrance. I’m not going to pick this one out if I had a choice, but I’m also not going to be too disappointed if I had to wear it.

Extra: I was actually rather amused by the Playboy VIP for Her commercials more than anything else. The absurd humor is getting to me, I suppose. And I have a weakness for adorable animals–but then, who doesn’t? Playboy VIP has a men’s counterpart called, Playboy VIP for Him that also features a set of amusing commercials.

Design: I’m not a big fan of Playboy, their publications, their fragrances, or their paraphernalia. Growing up, I always thought of the Playboy bunny logo as a sign of things I wouldn’t be interested looking at and the same remains true today. I don’t like the design of the bottle and don’t like the Playboy aesthetic in general. Different strokes for different folks.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Nectarine, peony, orange blossom, apple, berries, heliotrope, vanilla, cashmere wood, sandalwood, white musk.

Fairly bland showing for VIP for Her, but it’s miles better than other Playboy fragrances I’ve sampled in the past. Not a bad thing to pick up if you like fruity florals, but there are definitely better ones out there. I think the best parts of VIP for Her is its inoffensiveness and it’s reasonable price.

Reviewed in This Post: VIP For Her, 2012, Eau de Toilette.

Playboy Play It Rock

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Apparently Playboy didn’t stop at the last trilogy of “Play It” fragrances that included in Play It Sexy, Play It Lovely and Play It Spicy. Play It Rock is a new fragrance that’s built on the same concept as the previously mentioned three scents.

Play It Rock

Play It Rock

In Bottle: Citrus and fruit. Lots of fruitiness in this actually with a little bit of vanilla.

Applied: Citrus up top, rather loud and harsh at first and makes me think that’s where the rock is coming from. The sharpness goes away rather quickly though and I’m introduced to a fruity mid-stage that makes me think of apples and berries mixed together in a bizarro cupcake. The fruitiness is tempered a bit by a pretty benign layer of generic, but soft and yielding florals. As the fragrance ages the vanilla note arrives making Play It Rock smell more and more like a fruity cupcake. Nothing wrong with that. The fragrance is rather soft at this stage and doesn’t smash you in the face with its sweetness. It’s actually pretty decent when you get to the dry down. It’s not unique, but it’s perfectly wearable after the opening.

Extra: Play It Rock was released in 2011. I’m not sure where Playboy is going to take this line. A part of me wonders if they’re going to be releasing two more Play It fragrances or if they’re just going to leave it at Play It Rock. I just hope they get a bit more creative in the future.

Design: The design is essentially the same as the other Play It fragrances with a round bottle and a nozzle cap that features the Playboy Bunny. Play It Rock sets itself apart by having a red topper as opposed to a black top like the other Play It fragrances and does not have the little jewel on the bottle.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Oriental

Notes: Blood orange, apple, orange flower, saffron, frangipani, passion flower, ebony, patchouli, tonka bean.

Play It Rock doesn’t do what it’s meant to do badly. It’s not exciting, but it’s a good competent fragrance for a younger audience or for someone who wants a nice sweet fruity scent that isn’t too strong. Granted, if you wanted something light and sweet you could get the body spray version of this stuff.

Reviewed in This Post: Play It Rock, 2011, Eau de Toilette.

Playboy Play It Sexy

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What classy digs I’ve found myself in today with one of the (surprisingly) many Playboy fragrances. It’s Play It Sexy, a fragrance for women that I guess women can use to seduce men. I’m not sure this will work the way it claims it’ll work but let’s give it a sniff and go from there.

Play It Sexy

Play It Sexy

In Bottle: Sweet citrus that doesn’t hit the right notes and ends up smelling a little synthetic right off the bat. I kind of get some of the licorice note up front too which doesn’t help the synthetic smell of this at all.

Applied: Citrus on opening with a sweetness to it that’s a little bothersome. That synthetic feel of the fragrance isn’t any better on the skin. The fragrance is rather quick to evolve as well as the citrus moshes itself into the florals where I get jasmine and what’s clearly a rose note. The sweetness mingling with the rose is a tad disturbing and is reminding me a bit of how Danielle by Danielle Steel smelled and I did not like that one bit. The licorice note–hilariously enough–is also present throughout this entire fragrance taking this to the next level of unappealing because it’s mingling with everything and in a really poor way. It’s kind of like you’re not really enjoying a discordant juice blend that you decided to make yourself one day and tried to add some random element to it in the hopes of improving upon your wayward culinary attempts. Only said random element only made things worse. The fragrance dries down into a pretty generic vanilla sandalwood which I actually liked seeing as the rest of the fragrance didn’t hit it off with me. I will give Play It Sexy one thing, it doesn’t reach cloying sweetness and it isn’t crazy strong. So while I didn’t like the fragrance, I didn’t feel like I had to run to the bathroom and scrub it off.

Extra: So I don’t think Playboy will be joining the hallowed halls of mainstream designer perfumes any time soon. But if you’re looking for some cheap thrills in perfumery, these Playboy scents are very affordable. They’ll run you a few bucks over an Axe bodyspray but they do smell better.

Design: I really can’t speak for the bottle design for this stuff. It’s like an amalgamation of things I don’t like. Weird animal motif, random gem, pink, bowtie. It’s cute, I suppose. The only thing it’s missing is Comic Sans font and a fairy. The aesthetic just isn’t sitting well with me.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Grapefruit, mandarin, pink pepper, jasmine, florals, licorice, vanilla, patchouli, sandalwood, tonka.

So these fragrances come in a three pack, which is a pretty good deal, but supposedly they are supposed to represent the stages of a woman’s seduction game. The other two fragrances I’ve got are called “Play It Spicy” and “Play It Lovely”.

Reviewed in This Post: Play It Sexy, 2010, Eau de Parfum.