fragrances
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My Signature
627 reviews
OK, yes, after the horror show of Coze, this is more palatable. Like the predecesor, it's heady and strong, possibly a bit headache-inducing. At best, a quite standard green, figgy broth. I scrubbed it off after 15 mins.
You open a car ashtray that's full of old cig butts and spliff ends, and leave it open with the car windows closed, and the car is a dusty old banger, and one of your friends is wearing some Lynx (Axe) deodorant (you are all 19 years old), and possibly someone spilled some coffee on the seat yesterday....voilà, that's what you're gonna smell like. 10 mins in and it's getting sour. I only sprayed once on one wrist but this is pretty nuclear, and not in a good way. I'm almost ready to scrub it off and try to forget it. OK I scrubbed it off, no way, no thank you.
For 2 euros, this is perfect. Yet again with El Nabil I'm blown away by the quality of this tiny perfume.
Noxious synthetic opening, rather like every other JPG perfume, but 30 mins later it's a pleasing sweet bubble. Not sure when this is meant to be worn, it's way too strong for summer and too tropical for cold weather. I guess spring and autumn... I get an unpleasant ambroxan vibe but it quickly subsides thankfully. All in all its a classic JPG, not haute perfumeríe at all, but fun and strong AF. Is that a good thing? Not sure.
Epic performance, great scent, 2 euros! Puts some of the designers to shame (most in fact).
Positive - it's a blue fragrance minus the things that usually make me dislike blue fragrances. It's natural smelling, quality Negative - nothing interesting to be found. Grapefruit and not much else, or everything else is so subtle as to be moot. I'd love some more florals or something more woody underneath (absolutely no ambroxan though). Sandalwood maybe? Totally inoffensive but also totally unremarkable.
I have u-turned on this. I tried it a few months ago and, while I found it interesting, I couldn't bear to keep it on, and scrubbed it off quickly. I repeated this a couple of times over a few weeks. But more recently I went on a coastal break, and was reminded of the scent when sitting on an isolated pebbly beach. I thought I would have to test it again. The wondeful people at Jovoy Paris gave me a little tester, but then I bought a Strangelove sample set anyway. I'm wearing it again, and I love it. Less is definitely more with this, and I agree with another reviewer who said don't spray around the neck. I did two light sprays inside each elbow and one on each wrist. It's beautiful. I probably couldn't wear it anywhere out, but I don't care. I'll cherish the little vials I have.
As with many of the range, it opens unassuming and delicate, but has surprising legs. As is also the case with most of the others in the range, it has a slightly challenging element to me. As the citrus wears away from the opening, the spices take hold, and the cream subsides to a sort of artificial remnant. It's not bad, but cloves can be a tough one, as they can enter into culinary territory. Someone else on here mentioned a raw egg smell, and I do get what they mean. That's not to say I don't like this perfume, but what seems to be a gentle, soft scent is actually quite a difficult one, with a couple of twists and turns. As ever with Guerlain, the quality can't be denied, and I do keep going back to spray a little more then keep sniffing my skin, so there's something magical there. Don't be fooled by the soft opening, go easy on the sprays, you'll be rewarded by gentle, complex wafts for quite some time, whereas overspray and you'll risk smelling of a spicey, eggy guff.
I've uturned on this since first smelling it a few months ago. I found it meaty and repulsive, but now, perhaps because my nose has done some learning, I find it beautiful. You really have to love cloves, and the opening/first hour is not for public transport, work, etc, but the dry down is gorgeous.
Lovely but very similar to a lot of Ellena's other tomatoey, blackcurrantey, citrusey freshies. Quite delicate, discreet.
