Bath and Body Works Orange Sapphire

I had smelled Orange Sapphire a few months ago and thought it would be a part of Bath and Body Work’s regular collection. When I went back recently to freshen my memory of this scent, I found that it had been discontinued. That’s the thing with Bath and Body Works, they come out with some nice, wearable, easy fragrances that smell all right. Then when you go back looking for it again, it’s been discontinued. Talk about frustrating.

Orange Sapphire

Orange Sapphire

In Bottle: Clean, sweet citrus that reminds me immediately of summer and the tropics. Nicely done citrus-based fragrance that’s more interesting than White Citrus. Orange Sapphire is like White Citrus if the latter would loosen its shirt collar a little bit.

Applied: It’s like a sweet citrus party upon application as all the citrus notes flood up top and vie over each other for dominance. There’s definitely a distinct sweet mandarin scent amongst the various citruses. As the fragrance wears on, it gets a bit more floral and a lot more generic. Orange Sapphire’s citrus notes try to hold on in the midstage but the fragrance develops into a floral near the end of its midstage and when Orange Sapphire hits the endstage, it still smells like a sweet floral generic fragrance, the base notes don’t add much to the fragrance, as is usually the case.

Extra: Orange Sapphire was discontinued sometime in 2011. The last time I saw this on the shelves at a Bath and Body Works store was in 2010. You can still buy this on eBay and Amazon from third party vendors. But given the history of BnBW discontinuing scents then bringing them back under different names, I wouldn’t be surprised if Orange Sapphire resurfaced with a different name.

Design: All Bath and Body Works perfumes are pretty much designed the same way. I suppose the uniform design approach works for them. I mean, the design itself is easy enough to like and easy enough to rebrand for other fragrances. Orange Sapphire, appropriately enough, features an orange glass bottle with some sapphire blue elements on the design.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Blood orange, orange, grapefruit, bergamot, mandarin, cassis, raspberry, peach, jasmine, orange flower, freesia, lily of the valley, magnolia, orchid, vetiver, musk, patchouli.

It’s too bad this was discontinued because I think it did fill a niche in that it’s more playful than White Citrus but is still refreshing without being a full out gourmand. But, I wouldn’t be surprised if they brought this back at some point.

Reviewed in This Post: Orange Sapphire, 2010, Eau de Toilette.


Betsey Johnson Perfume

Betsey Johnson’s fragrance is a polarizing affair with fans and dissenters alike. I just happen to be on the dissenter side. Even though I see what Betsey Johnson is trying to do with the kitschy design and equally kitschy fragrance, I just  can’t say that I like it.

Betsey Johnson

Betsey Johnson

In Bottle: Incredibly sweet and floral with a bit of musk. A rather discordant fragrance with a fruity hint and a strange medley of scents that don’t play nice with my nose.

Applied: Opens with a very sweet blackcurrant and citrus fragrance that quickly introduces the florals and a very sweet and very obvious freesia note. The apple wiggles in with the midstage and turns up the fruity side of this fragrance a few notches. It’s sweet and flowery and smells a bit synthetic and cheap and very cloying as the fragrance just continues to amp up on the sweetness the longer it sits on my skin. When the base notes arrive there’s a bit of sugary woodsiness that mingles with the equally sugary floral.

Extra: Betsey Johnson’s style has always been bright and colorful and pop artsy. I can’t say I’m a big fan of it, but the fragrance and the design itself do reflect these aesthetics. This particular perfume was created by noses Mathilde Bijaoui and Bernard Blanc.

Design: The bottle for Betsey Johnson is just about everything I don’t like in a design. It’s big and girly and flashy and bright and pretty much the epitome of kitsch. I don’t like the aesthetics and think they are a little ridiculous but rest assured, the bottle was designed to look like this. I just don’t like the look at all.

Fragrance Family: Fruity Floral

Notes: Grapefruit, blackcurrant, tangerine, pear, freesia, lily of the valley, apple, sandalwood, amber, musk, cedar, praline.

So all in all, this fragrance just isn’t for me but that shouldn’t stop someone else from looking this one up. It’s got a nice fruity floral with a very sweet tooth. If you love fruity floral and sweet scents, try this stuff out.

Reviewed in This Post: Betsey Johnson, 2008, Eau de Parfum.


Calvin Klein Eternity

Eternity is one of those classic smelling Calvin Klein fragrances with a ton of ingredients that kind of sends em off into ‘meh’ territory for some reason.

Eternity

Eternity

In Bottle: Spicy carnation with rose and lily notes there’s a hint of citrus up top with a bit of earthiness too.

Applied: Citrus opener that follows with a sharp green and clean note that fades away rather quickly to reveal very spicy carnation with a bit of sage and a lily and rose flowery midstage. This stuff smells like a spicy flower bouquet and if you let it keep aging on your skin, you’ll be treated to a woodsier interpretation near the end that falls into a warm spicy and earth fragrance that finishes itself off with a faded carnation note.

Extra: Eternity was composed by Sophia Grojsman who also did fragrance such as White Linen for Estee Lauder and Lancome’s Tresor.

Design: Eternity is bottled rather simply in a tasteful shape and with subdued design elements. It’s a rectangular glass bottle with a metal topper. Very nicely done, Calvin Klein. But then again, CK has always been pretty good about its bottle designs. Kudos.

Fragrance Family: Spicy Floral

Notes: Citrus, mandarin, green notes, freesia, sage, lily, carnation, violet, rose, jasmine, lily of the valley, marigold, narcissus, heliotrope, sandalwood, musk, amber, patchouli.

I’m not wild about this fragrance for some reason. Maybe it’s because I used to smell this a lot when I was around this one woman who swore by her Eternity and wouldn’t wear anything else. It’s been almost a decade since I was around her but maybe that’s why I feel like Eternity just isn’t exciting to me. You smell a perfume for a certain amount of time and it just ceases to be amazing, I suppose.

Reviewed in This Post: Eternity, 2002, Eau de Parfum.


Chanel No. 19

One look at Chanel No. 19’s notes list and you just know this stuff is worth a sniff. Aside from its very impressive ingredients, No. 19 is a classic with more than a few interesting factoids.

No. 19

No. 19

In Bottle: Very green and slightly bitter. I get a lot of the jasmine and orris.

Applied: Lots of green in the opening with a slight bitterness to it. I get a bit of bergamot in the opening but as No. 19 ages, the green gradually gives way to a powdery green floral where ylang-ylang, jasmine and orris are the stars of the show. Lily of the valley comes and goes in this as well and if you keep giving No. 19 time, the fragrance digs itself into a really pleasant sandalwood and dry cedar scent with the fading powdery florals. I am smelling a bit of leather in the dry down but it’s no where near as strong as I thought it would be as the scent fades with a perfumed sandalwood and cedar note. Overall, No. 19 has that expensive smell to it. If you want something sophisticated to wear, this is a good choice.

Extra: It’s said that No. 19 is named for Coco Chanel’s birthday which fell on August 19. No. 19 was composed by Henri Robert who also created Cristalle and Pour Monsieur.

Design: No. 19’s shape is reminiscent of Chanel No. 5 Eau Premier though it’s a distinctly different design. Still, like with most Chanel bottles, No. 19 has an understated elegance that works really well for the fragrance. There are no frills or cheap thrills with the design of this bottle. It just has a nice and timeless form that’s easy to use..

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Bergamot, galbanum, hyacinth, neroli, orris, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily of the valley, rose, narcissus, leather, sandalwood, oak moss, musk, vetiver, cedar.

A lot of people interested in buying their first Chanel perfume are probably tempted to one of three fragrances from the house. Coco Mademoiselle, Chance, or No. 5. All good choices but they’re all distinctly different fragrances and for those who think Coco Mademoiselle is too young, Chance to generic, and No. 5 too classical then try No. 19 and see if you can get a long with it.

Reviewed in This Post: No. 19, 2005, Eau de Parfum.


Guerlain Chamade 1969

How long has it been since I last smelled a classic Guerlain and marveled in that signature Guerlinade? Entirely too long, I think. I took a break from posting up Guerlain reviews because it’s clear I’m a fan girl from the amount of Guerlain vs. other fragrance houses. But we’re taking a bit of a respite today as summer winds its way down for autumn.

Chamade

Chamade

In Bottle: Ah glorious aldehydes mixed with a complex bouquet of florals and deepened with woods and resins and that unmistkable Guerlinade.

Applied: There’s something familiar and almost nostalgic when I smell Guerlinade in a fragrance after many months of hiatus. It’s like a comforting friend waiting for me with a cup of coffee after a rough day. Except in Chamade’s case, it’s a bouquet of aldehylic florals that stretch beyond the spectrum of complexity. You truly don’t smell anything like this these days. Not even the more daring of fragrance houses have quite this much depth to a fragrance. I can get the florals and the woods with the spicy and resins, but I can’t pick out specific notes. It’s just so beautifully blended together that I can only describe the opening as bright, slightly bitter, green and sophisticated. The midstage is a deep, resinous, complex floral aldehyde. The dry down is a warm, resin woodsy scent with this signature vanilla-like note. Just beautiful.

Extra: Classic Chamade, like many great perfumes, disappeared a little while ago. It was reintroduced in 1999 as Chamade Pour Homme as a limited edition then finally added to the line of Les Parisiennes. Looking at the notes list for the two, you can kind of see the new Chamade has been thinned out a bit. I haven’t smelled her yet though so I can’t pass judgement on whether or not the fragrance has actually been thinned out but I am worried for its history and its lush complexity.

Design: Classic Chamade was bottled in a beautiful flacon that reminds me half of a heart and half of a leaf. It’s a little reminiscent of an Escada bottle (or rather, the Escada bottles are reminiscent of this) except done far better with much nicer design elements and superior form. It’s a beautiful piece of glass and I have no complaints.

Fragrance Family: Classic Floral

Notes: Bergamot, Turkish rose, aldehydes, hyacinth, ylang-ylang, jasmine, lilac, cloves , blackcurrant buds, lily of the valley, galbanum, sandalwood, vetiver, musk, balsam, amber, benzoin, iris, tonka bean.

That was a nice respite. I especially found this pleasant after the disappointing adventure with Cher’s Uninhibited. Classic perfumes can be kept for many years and it’s a good thing too, or we wouldn’t be able to enjoy original Chamade.

Reviewed in This Post: Chamade, ~1980, Eau de Parfum.


Dior Diorissimo

Diorissimo is a classic from the 1950s before Dior went the youth route and replaced their hard hitting fragrance lines with stuff like Miss Dior Cherie. I smell Diorissimo and miss the days when it was okay for a fragrance to be heavy and heady.

Diorissimo

In Bottle: Florals with a slight sting of citrus up front and a coating of animalic civet in the background.

Applied: Fresh and green with a citrus opening and that smell of leaves and dew. The lilies come in during the mid-stage and in the final act of the opening and proceed to dominate the fragrance. The lily scent in the middle is very noticeable, clearly the stars of the show as the fragrance settles into this heady floral lily mixture that’s just unrelenting. I still get a bit of that fresh green leaf scent that present when this fragrance was first applied but the civet can’t stay hidden forever. It creeps up as the fragrance gets warmer and dirties the scent up quite a bit. At times I’m wondering who let the mongoose into the garden as the civet is a bit disturbing but at the same time feels like it belongs. The dry down introduces a bit of sandalwood, scenting together with the lilies as the two do a little good against the ever-present civet.

Extra: Diorissimo is still available in its Eau de Toilette form and for the most part, it smells similar now to when I first smelled it in the 90s and, all things considered, it is available for a fairly reasonable price. You can also hunt down the Parfum concentration, though I’m told it’s more rare, more expensive, and even headier than the EdT.

Design: Bottled rather simply but has a classic elegance to it that says this stuff doesn’t need frills and gimmicks to look good and be good. I like the simplicity of it all. The brush script I can take or leave but the overall design is pleasing and nice.

Fragrance Family: Classic Floral

Notes: Bergamot, leaves, rosemary, lily, lilac, jasmine, lily of the valley, ylang-ylang, civet, sandalwood.

I’m not sure how to treat the civet in Diorissimo. It’s not heavy enough to be a deal breaker, but I do notice it and it does put me off a little. Regardless, if you like a little civet here and there Diorissimo is a beautiful classic that’s survived the times–mostly–in tact.

Reviewed in This Post: Diorissimo, 2005, Eau de Toilette.


Guerlain AA Jasminora

It’s been a while since I’ve been to the Guerlains. I figured a few months worth of a break is a decent time period so I’m heading back slowly with Guerlain’s newest Aqua Allegoria; Jasminora.

Jasminora

In Bottle: Clean citrus with a jasmine and soft floral heart.

Applied: Sharp green citrus up front that quickly fades into a scrubby clean floral scent. The jasmine is easy to distinguish from the other florals although it is struggling a bit due to the amount of clean white musk that was dumped into this fragrance. The mid-stage is a lovely floral and airy thing. A bit of a wilting daisy when it comes to fragrances but this is an Aqua Allegoria after all. Guerlain’s done jasmine better in some of their other fragrances but this one is a nice departure from their usual. It’s a lighter, more youthful interpretation. I just wish there was more to it than jasmine and clean. The dry down is not too much more complex as the jasmine and florals fade away leaving you with this generic clean smell on your skin.

Extra: I’m not overly impressed with Jasminora. It suffers from that “Doesn’t smell like a Guerlain” syndrome. But one could argue that most Aqua Allegorias suffer from that. Still, Jasminora is easy to wear and easy to like. She’s not interesting at all and she’s a bit of a disappointment from one of my favorite fragrance houses.

Design: Bottled in a similar way as other Aqua Allegorias, in a pseudo-bee bottle flacon with a hive cage over the top half. Although these aren’t quite the full deal bee bottles, I bet they’d look beautiful all lined up in a row.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Bergamot, cyclamen, galbanum, lily of the valley, freesia, jasmine, musk, amber.

Ultimately, I looked at Jasminora and compared it to Thierry Mugler’s Alien. And I know, it’s a bit unfair. Alien is a powerhouse jasmine and Jasminora is an approachable jasmine. There’s just something weak about Jasminora that makes me say you’re better off going light with Alien.

Reviewed in This Post: Jasminora, 2011, Eau de Toilette.


Paco Rabanne Calandre

Okay, now we’re talking. After three disappointing fragrances in a row, I think a little classic ditty like Calandre’s going to make me see the Paco Rabanne line of fragrances in a better light.

Calandre

In Bottle: Aldehydes and enormous florals. Calandre smells like a classic pretty much immediately. I’m thinking I might associate aldehydes with “smells like a classic” though, so bear that in mind.

Applied: Rose and jasmine with those soap aldeyhydes that makes me think “classic”. The fragrance settles down a bit as you let it age but the opening did knock me back because it was quite strong. As Calandre settles down, the mid-stage is an easier to wear and less “punchy” mix of lilies, jasmine, rose, and that omnipresent lingering aldehyde. The soft floral quality of the fragrance shows through more and more as the time passes and the fragrance is less of a punch in the nose and becomes more of an airy breeze. Keep in mind that when I say “airy breeze” when I refer to Calandre, I don’t mean modern perfume, wispy, wilting daisy, and barely there “airy breeze”. Calandre is definitely more pronounced than modern wispy perfumes. But it is light when you compare it to other fragrances such as the heady Guerlain Jicky or Joy by Jean Patou. The dry down is a little bit of a disappointment as Calandre settles into a soft sandalwood with a hint of dirtiness and musk.

Extra: Calandre, so far, seems to be the only fragrance from the Paco Rabanne line that I can actually see myself liking. Though it’s a bit of a weak contender when it comes to others in the classics category, it is leaps and bounds more impressive than the more recent Paco Rabanne releases.

Design: Remember when Paco Rabanne fragrance bottles weren’t literally designed? By that I mean, you didn’t have a perfume called “1 Million” bottled in a gold brick? Or a perfume called “Lady Million” bottled in a gold diamond? I’m not a huge fan of the boxy, kind of boring, Calandre but it’s definitely a step in a classy direction for a fragrance house that has, so far, rubbed me wrong in the design department. And while I can see the appeal of the literal bottles, I just don’t think they’re my kind of thing.

Fragrance Family: Classic Floral

Notes: Bergamot, green notes, aldehydes, lily of the valley, rose, jasmine, iris, geranium, sandalwood, oakmoss, vetiver, amber, musk.

Calandre, interestingly enough, is still reasonably available for purchase. I’m not sure if it’s still being produced. If it is, don’t expect that oakmoss note to be real–or even present. If it’s been discontinued then that would explain why a great deal of the bottles are going for $100 or more. Still, a pretty good price for a fragrance that doesn’t smell like anything made today but is also light and wearable enough if you’re afraid of the old classics. This is probably one of the more approachable classics I’ve tried.

Reviewed in This Post: Calandre, ~1980, Eau de Parfum.


Hermes Kelly Caleche

It’s been a while since I last had a whiff of an Hermès fragrance and it’s almost always a delight. Today, it’s Kelly Calèche one of the few fragrances marketed toward young girls and women that has a sense of respectable sophistication to her.

Kelly Caleche

Kelly Caleche

In Bottle: Leather and florals with a clean hint of grapefruit.

Applied: Grapefruit on the opening with lilies and unmistakable narcissus up top. The leather note in this fragrance stays in the background throughout the entire progression and even down into the base. But let’s get back to the opening stages first. Narcissus is the first to go, I barely even noticed it when the lily of the valley disappeared. What’s next is a pretty tuberose that works together with a rose and green and powdery note to give the leather this kind of sophisticated, creamy, scent. On the fade we’ve got powder, cream and leather. The fragrance is remarkably well put together and does a great job bringing leather into a younger fragrance audience with more refined taste.

Extra: I really admire Hermès for stepping into the young women’s market with Kelly Calèche. Whether or not she’ll be a hit amongst the Flowerbomb demographic is yet to be seen. But hey, if it doesn’t hit it off with the 20-somethings then I wouldn’t feel too bad. Kelly Calèche would be beautiful on anyone of any age.

Design: Rather simple bottle but it’s got that look and feel of quality to it that another bottle in this shape and style wouldn’t be able to pull off with inferior materials. I like the simplicity coupled with luxury feel and the sprayer nozzle works like a charm.

Fragrance Family: Floral

Notes: Grapefruit, lily of the valley, narcissus, tuberose, rose, iris, leather.

There’s not a bad thing I can say about Kelly Calèche. She’s just a pretty fragrance that I wished I had heard about and smelled sooner.

Reviewed in This Post: Kelly Calèche, 2010, Eau de Toilette.


Donna Karan DKNY Be Delicious

I was really wary of trying DKNY Be Delicious thanks to my less than warm reception to DKNY Delicious Night where I pretty much experienced it as a drowning episode in an ocean of sugar. But I tried Be Delicious anyway since a lot of people seem to love this.

DKNY Be Delicious

DKNY Be Delicious

In Bottle: Synthetic apple. That’s just about all I smell, there’s some sharp little citrus notes in the opening but this stuff is mostly synthetic apple.

Applied: More synthetic apple bubbling around up top with a very sweet and sort of cloying personality. Beneath it are some citrus notes that try their best to make themselves known but the apple in Be Delicious is just way too strong for any of that “balance” and “blended” nonsense. The fragrance doesn’t really age well either, I get some floral hints as the wear goes on but everything is being obscured by the big fat apple that’s sitting in the foreground. It’s like I went to see a play and someone that’s wearing an obnoxious hat is seated right in front of me. That’s the apple in Be Delicious. It’s not a good hat. It’s not stylish. It’s just fake and gaudy and loud. The dry down sees a fade on the apple a bit, where I get some florals mixing it up a bit. I would have liked for the apple to go away a lot sooner but hey, I think we’ve established that Be Delicious isn’t my kind of ride and no last minute florals can help that.

Extra: So there’s apparently an entire line of Be Delicious flankers that I have yet to try but if I don’t even remotely like the original, I wonder how I’ll do with the rest of them. Probably not well if they’re anything like Delicious Night or Be Delicious.

Design: Shaped like an apple. I kind of like how the Be Delicious line is shaped though the construction leaves a lot to be desired. I thought the metallic cap on Be Delicious work in an aesthetic sense far better than the plastic cap on Delicious Night. So the original has that going for it.

Fragrance Family: Fruity

Notes: Green notes, violet leaf, apple, grapefruit, magnolia, tuberose, lily of the valley, rose, violet, sandalwood, amber, musk.

I don’t know where the rest of those notes where. All I smelled was apple and then much later on some rose and lily.

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