Perfume-Celebrity Perfume-Britney Spears-Curious

Curious is one of the Britney Spears’ perfumes that I actually find easy to wear (in comparison with some high-voltage sugary flankers introduced year after year). The start is really watery (not aquatic sports perfume-y, thank god), feminine, with the magnolia wrapped with fresh discreet pear scent. It is sweet, but in a nice, girl-next-door sweet way if not over-applied.

After a while, it gets warmer with the vanilla-y notes coming in, but it’s not that in-your-face cake-y vanilla, it’s soft, smooth, and a good supporting background vanilla for the floral notes. Somehow it makes me think of high school, comfy beanbags and carefree girls (vice versa, high school girls do wear Curious a lot in my memory).

I find the final dry down a bit unstructured or too wishy washy, since it’s a washed down and warmed up, slightly stale and dustier version of the mid phase. However, since at this stage, people can barely smell it unless they press their noses against your skin, Curious gets my forgiveness.

Overall, it’s one of the celebrity perfumes I find nice to wear.

Perfume-Gorilla Perfume at Lush-Tuca Tuca

Tuca Tuca by Lush is quite a surprise; it is one of a kind in a way, judging it as an oriental floral perfume.  However, nice as it is, I find it a bit too edgy in a way that it falls in between grand and trashy (not literally, and by all means, all in a neutral or positive sense).

The scent develops rather linearly, it is like un-sweetened ylang-ylang mixed with woods, which resembles camphor/mothballs in a way, with a bit white floral type of light swirl of jasmine-like aura comes and goes. After checking the notes, I realised that the above smell is more a less a violet accord, oh well, violet does come in many different shapes, in Tuca Tuca, it is definitely a dried-up, bleached-off-of-the-nature-sweetness violet. The very start is slightly spicier and the final dry down is a bit more tamed.

I can see many violet lovers rave after Tuca Tuca, however, I prefer my violet smell more like the real dewy flower and would happily reach Apres L’Ondee by Guerlain, Aimez-Moi by Caron or Flower by Kenzo. However, to each of their own, Tuca Tuca may be a cult following by some, especially due to that Lush is quite a great company with either vegan or vegetarian-friendly products.

Perfume-Gorilla Perfume at Lush-Vanillary (solid)

The Vanillary (solid perfume) looks cute but to me it doesn't really have that much of a cute-cupcake-edible type of typical vanilla in it. It develops in a rather linear fashion with this really overbearing nuttiness and somewhat fuzzy hint of ink-ness in it, along with a really minimum level of vanilla hint. Somewhat this makes me (who had sweet edible vanilla experiences only) think if this perfume’s off, but…apparently it is not. As the scent gets warmed up, the nutty-ness gets closer to dried coconut shred, but in a non-tropical way and the vanilla brings the much needed lively-ness into the coconut-shred-y accord. The more towards the dry down, the more that there is a weird sense of butter-ness oozing out and haunt me, in such a strange way that I cannot decide if this is giving me a headache or I might become addicted to it.

To some this might smell heavenly, but I guess I'm not a fan of over-dried coconut-y scent combined with vanilla. I prefer my vanilla to be bald, oriental, maybe a bit woody or incense-y or even just a non-brainer type of gourmand-y delicious.

Will I buy it? Not really. Will I happily accept it if someone gifted me Vanillary? Yes! Because about half an hour after application, Vanillary is quite a mild non-bothering scent.

The bottom line? I would recommend you to try it, this could be one of those non-conventional vanilla you might actually end up liking.

Perfume-Kaloo-Naturel

Naturel perfum bottle

Naturel by Kaloo somehow just smell like peaches to me. Juice, sweet, realistic  peach.

As the scents gets warmed up, it gets slightly sweeter and less juice-fresh than before, which is still quite cute and peachy-sweet, which I can’t complain.

Then Naturel develops in a rather linear fashion. I guess this is what I imagined what a kids' perfume should be like.

The official website claims that this Kaloo perfume, Naturel, is made with 98% natural ingredients and the head of the bear is made of 100% organic cotton, which all together, makes this perfume an eco-friendly one.

I guess I wouldn't mind to be gifted a bottle of this, but will I actively get a bottle, or suggest this to others? I guess I will not, as this is cute but still…smells a bit too much like shampoo (peach flavour of course) and I was looking for something a bit more complex and discreet with regard to what it smells like.

Also, with regards to kids and perfumes, no matter how eco-friendly the perfume is, I still feel a bit nervous to add more scent to a kid, as if we are not surrounded by enough chemicals already...

Perfume-Kaloo-Liliblue

Liliblue perfume bottle

Liliblue, by Kaloo starts as quite a light, muted, unsweetened citrusy and grassy perfume. It is marketed as a kids' perfume. I find it really mild and might be one of the most kids’ perfume-y type of perfume out there, if mild is what you think a kids’ perfume should be.

Soon after, what I can smell is just light slightly bitter lemon peel scent and something really vaguely floral. Somehow, that’s where my headache radar starts working, as this stage of Liliblue gradually remind me of Blue, another scent by Kaloo, but not as aquatic as Blue, thank goodness.

Liliblue, I guess I don’t mind to try on, or have a very small sample of, just for the fun of it; but … I will not recommend this to anyone. If you are really thinking about getting Liliblue for a kid, maybe, going without a perfume would smell better for the kid, as I find kids generally have this slightly milky scent, why cover that with something like Liliblue (I'm not saying Liliblue is a bad scent tho)?

Perfume-Kaloo-Blue

Blue perfume and fluffy toy coffret

Blue, by Kaloo smells of slightly aquatic vaguely fruity shampoo. There is definitely something citrusy, but watered down and sweetened; there’s something floral-ish there, but muted to the background, leaving this nearly undetectable lily-ish tone. The whole scent somewhat has an overall citrus peel accord, but because the aquatic aspect of the scent, the whole combination somewhat makes me feel a bit uneasy, as in, it smells like the suppose-to-be innocent, fresh, light perfume; but the reality is, my brain and my emotion just can’t stop to warn me that this smells like chemical, chemical and chemical!

After about 5 minutes, Blue smells more of a kid’s perfume, as the projection becomes minimal and it’s basically, literally, a skin scent. You have to really pay attention to it in order to really smell it. Not bad, judging that there’s this aquatic accord there which I hate.

Blue, sorry, I tried. :S

Perfume-Celebrity Perfume-Katy Perry-Meow

Meow by Katy Perry is like a younger, sunnier, more cotton-candy-pink-fluffy version of Purr to me.
The beginning is quite like sugar, as if you were inhaling some fairy floss, plus a bit vaguely creamy/vanilla-y undertone. Somehow, it’s like its predecessor Purr without the fresh bamboo note.

Then Meow by Katy Perry develops in a rather linear fashion, it just gets closer to the skin and the creaminess and candy sweet simply become better mixed instead of a bit oddly out there by themselves.

The dry down of Meow reminiscent Purr a lot, but it is sweeter and with more of a dominant fairy floss scent effect.

If you want something really fairy-floss sweet, but find Britney Spears’ Fantasy or Aquolina's Pink Sugar a bit too overwhelming or headache-inducing, while Demeter’s Cotton Candy a bit too weak, then…give Meow by Katy Perry a go, it might be the perfect balance of the kind of sweetness you are looking for.

Personally, I like Purr and Meow both, judging them as celebrity scents, they both surprised me positively. However, I wouldn't actively buying any of them for myself, just because I want my fume to be a bit more than just sweet, girly, cute, or edible, to be that’s where things went wrong in this modern society with regards to how a girl should smell like, I’ll throw in my 2cents about it in a different post later. Well, if you were tossing in between these two Katy Perry scents (Meow and Purr), my vote goes for Purr tho, simply because it has slightly more depth to it than Meow.

Perfume-Celebrity Perfume-Katy Perry-Purr

Purr by Katy Perry is actually quite a nice surprise to me, considering that I was quite sceptical about her perfume as soon as I saw the packaging, in which Katy Perry wears some kind of rubbery hot pink and blue-y violet cat outfit. I was really judging the perfume from its box/cover. To be honest, I do not care about Katy Perry, as in I don’t mind listen to her songs if it happen to be in the radio in the background, that’s all. The celebrity perfume launching trends also got me scared of sniffing any of the celeb fumes, fearing that I will have another nasty headache.

Well, Purr by Katy Perry is a great non-brainer type of comfort scent. It starts with some kind of creamy sugary vanilla-y vague fruity punch, and something fresh and breezy, which could be the imaginary bamboo note as marketed. The beginning of Purr really makes me think of sunny days, fun park rides and fairy floss.

Soon after the initial burst of sweet fun opening, Purr settles to a really creamy concoction with a tiny swirl of something like cherry-blossom, but really sugared, jerked or pickled in a lot of sweetness. This actually reminds me quite a bit of CK In2U for Her Pop limited edition, but Purr is creamier, warmer and not as bubbly or energetic as CK In2U for Her Pop.

The final dry down has this slightly warmer and fuzzier feel to it in comparison to the middle stage, and it is definitely much less sweet and powderier in powdery-sweet sense.

I know of that Britney Spears’ scents generally get relatively positive feedbacks among many other celebrity perfumes, but I guess after I tried Purr, I’d say Katy Perry’s perfume quality somewhat feels a bit higher to me, than Britney Spears’, which I find as a great thing.

Perfume-MDCI Parfums-Le Rivage des Syrtes

Le Rivage des Syrtes by MDCI starts with something smells vaguely like flowers and predominantly like sugar water to me. However, it is not your average cheap nasty sugary stuff, it smells like natural, inoffensive, great quality blend. Also, adds to the fascination is that there is a sense of quirky green quasi-citrus freshness in the scent, which just made the whole composition more lively. Somehow, I can predict that I will really end up enjoying the test drive a lot.

Later on, Le Rivage des Syrtes gets a shier and more diluted with some watery feel. This scent feels like one of those beige coloured trench coat, somehow, nearly everyone knows of, and possibly wanted to have one at one stage of life, just for the sake of be able to blend in and somewhat popular (when popular equals indistinguishable).By all means, I am not saying that Le Rivage des Syrtes is bad at all, in fact, I find it quite pleasant and non-demanding to wear.

The dry down of Le Rivage des Syrtes is just slightly softer in a really really light woody-musk way.

I find that Le Rivage des Syrtes is lovely and quite enough to be a perfect office scent (which makes me want to laugh when thinking about some sales assistant actually says to me that YSL’s Parisienne can be worn to office and everyone loves it, oh well, different people have different opinions on what makes a great office scent I guess, also, who knows if one day the sale girl would tell me that Thierry Mugler’s Angel, or Guerlain’s Shalimar would be perfect for office). I guess my notion of a good office scent is that, it should be shy enough, and the scent should be inoffensive enough and have a really soft sillage, to make it an office scent, otherwise, why bother to categories something as an office scent, but it is just a personal favourite you happen to wear to work?

I’d recommend Le Rivage des Syrtes to those who has the kind of disposable income they can use (as none of the MDCI scents are cheap relatively speaking), and happen to be seeking something really quiet and office-y.

Perfume-Yves Saint Laurent-Opium Vapeurs de Parfum

Tart, zest, and slightly balmy citrusy accord marks the beginning of Opium Vapeurs de Parfum (confusingly, an EDT), by Yves Saint Laurent. This type of citrus to me is in-between the sparkling, champagne girly sweet ones (which I picture those for warmer daytime) and the sensual deep and a bit dark ones you might find in Shalimar (which I wouldn't dare to wear to uni). Somehow, this citrus type in Opium Vapeurs de Parfum makes the perfume smell rather versatile.

The middle notes are quite oddly thrown-together to me…Even though the indistinguishable notes bunch somehow might be a sign for a well-blended perfume, but something odd there just make my nose feel uneasy and got a feeling that this phase is not as harmonious as I wished.

The good news is, the middle notes stage is rather momentary, soon Opium Vapeurs de Parfum goes into this blooming, beautifully crafted stage, which is quite close to the skin. It smells like waxy-incense (the quite, relatively clean, Zen y type) on the background of sandalwood (also the more cleaned-up version which uses Iso-E-super for the sandalwood-y smell) with a nutty swirl.

I find Opium Vapeurs de Parfum quite lovely to wear, more in a sense of an intellectual journey. With the soft sillage and close-to-skin personality, I find it quite suitable to many occasions.
However, just like one of the hauntingly beautiful incense-dominant perfume that Opium Vapeurs de Parfum reminds me of—John Galliano’s John Galliano (EDP), these gems might not be love at first sight, wait for them to speak to you, you might be nicely surprised!

My bias towards quite incense and scents with some kind of intellectual depth to me, makes me feel compelled to recommend Opium Vapeurs de Parfum to anyone to try...and I can see myself wear this a lot.

Perfume-Aftelier-Secret Garden

Secret Garden (EDP) by Aftelier has had my attention for a while, maybe it is the name, or maybe it is just my curiosity and my imaginary perfect spring/warm-weather-perfume wish, finally I got a sample!

Cleaned-up patchouli, woody oud-y syrupy sweetness oozed out when I had a drop of Secret Garden on me. It smells really natural, somewhat familiar but I cannot really retrieve the right memory related to this; something I am sure is, Secret Garden at this stage has this quasi-Chanel No.5 Parfum type of civet smell, which is animalic but not stinky; and the syrupy jam-y tart raspberry simply lightens up the whole concoction and smells like Sunday afternoon picnic at grandma’s in a way, the home-made jam, the smell of the sun (if it had a smell) and the whole sense of care-freeness (or maybe, it’s grandma’s Chanel No.5 Parfum in the air mixed with raspberry jam).

Then the scent develops in a really linear fashion. It is sweet, syrupy without the thickness. Somehow it reminds me something from the Chanel Les Exclusif range, but not as sophisticated or that Chanel-y (as in all suited up, business-y).

Secret Garden is not bad at all, somewhat I find it has some personality and I did enjoy it momentarily; however, to smell this syrupy for nearly the whole duration of wearing this perfume, I guess I can easily pass this to someone else.

However, does Secret Garden smell like the type of lush, natural garden I was dreaming of? Not really.
Also, I'm pretty sure Secret Garden would not be that much warm-weather friendly to me.

Oh well, I tried. :S

Perfume-MDCI Parfums-La Belle Helene

La Belle Helene by MDCI Parfums is like a beautiful art-deco salon with some old-time charm, yet still look and smell rather captivating in a way that I just can’t take my eyes off (or to be more precise, my nose off my wrist).

It starts with this really juice, yet self-assured, well-blended slightly lily-dominant caramalised fruity scent, which somewhat reminds me a lot of Something about Sofia by Benefit, and Lalique Amythest. I checked out the nose behind La Belle Helene, well, it’s Bertrand Duchaufour, I guess this type of hate-or-love slightly earth and ‘wet’ sweet accord is the Duchaufour signature then. I guess the chemical compositions do play tricks, as I checked, the official top notes suppose to be more leaning towards pear, tangerine, rose, lime, vetiver, osmanthus, ylang ylang, patchouli, Virginia cedar, to name a few.  I guess, sticking with the ‘pear’ accord, La Belle Helene is one of the art-y, tasteful ‘pear’ perfume I’ve ever tried. It is neither too fruity/juice, nor too dry or gourmand with sugar. Everything seems to blend so well, and at this stage, what I can think of is some of those really exquisite Marie-Antoinette style dresses in champagne colour and a lot of fine details would go well with the particular mood La Belle Helene sets.

As the scent develops, the quasi-lily accord goes to the background and becomes more echo-y and moised, i.e typical Duchaufour; while the sweetness gets more settled and slightly warmed and spiced and dried up a bit. I cannot detect any osmanthus, even though this note is one which got me buying a sample of La Belle Helene by MDCI Parfums.

The final dry down is rather nice, it’s like warm, slightly dry woody vanilla scent with a tiny bit muddled white floral touch.

As much as I loved some of the Duchaufour creations (and came to hatred towards nearly the other handful), I guess La Belle Helene is more in the slightly polarizing end and I can see myself hating this perfume one day. I cannot handle this quasi-lily note well, however, if you are a Bertrand Duchaufour fan and you love Lalique Amythest, but want something slightly quieter in a more refined, lady-like way, give La Belle Helene a try!

But if you are on a budget and you don’t mind a more girly sweet opening and some slight insence-y hint in the dry down, in addition to what you can smell in La Belle Helene, I’d say, go for a bottle of Something About Sofia, Benefit makes quite cute bottles by the way.

Perfume-MDCI Parfums-Vepres Siciliennes

I’m really impressed by Vepres Siciliennes by MDCI Parfums (despite of the question why MDCI picked such a name for this fragrance, which has been bugging me a lot, you can check out the history of Vepres Siciliennes). Even though it is categorised as a chypre fruity perfume, it smells more like a sophisticated floral to my nose.

The beginning is really promising sweet orange-y type of citrusy mixed with juice ripe peach. I know this will be a short-lived opening, which is like a wonderful trailer that sets the tone and makes me want to smell the perfume from the beginning to the very end.

As the fruity accord gradually becomes less dominant, a well blended, tuberose-dominant flower bouquet is what I can smell for quiet a good long time. The tuberose has its soul, but not as aggressive or intensive, somehow a really floral aspect of jasmine comes and goes, which lightens up the scent from time to time, while a rather syrupy, raspberry-jam-y rosey accord mixed with some mouth-watering plum-ness keeps the warmth and sensuality of Vepres Siciliennes. I saw coconut listed as one of the notes in this perfume, however, I can smell none, but there is this overall creamy factor of this scent which makes it quite cosy in a way.

After a while, I can smell the osmanthus note! This is a rather miracle surprise to me because most of the perfumes claiming have osmanthus in the notes don’t smell of this delicate flower at all. The osmanthus here leans towards a rather peach-y sweet end, while the rest of the perfume anchors the osmanthus down with tuberoses and other flowers. This is like a duet, there is brilliant breezy freshness as well as the more grounded, sensual, deeper aspect of the scent, all coming together at a quite harmonically blended concoction.

Towards the dry down, I find the tuberose/jasmine-y accord is a bit too dominant for my liking (mind you, I’m a self-claimed white flower hater), yet I still find this perfume nice.

If you love Chinatown by Bond No.9, you might love this one too. To me, if Chinatown is the dark, woody, mysterious gardenia-y perfume to wear with a little black dress at night, Vepres Siciliennes is the day-time, more floral match of Chinatown and can be versatile enough to be worn from a mundane workday to a fancy brunch if you are a floral fan who likes the flowers to be unapologetic. Apply with a light hand, it works magic.

Perfume-MDCI Parfums-Rose de Siwa

Old fashioned dressing table rose-scented facial powder comes to my mind after I tried Rose de Siwa, by MDCI Parfums, on. It smells really similar to the springtime limited edition of Paris by Yves Saint Laurent, rose water, or the rose aspect of several L’Occitane’s rose/peony themed scents.

To my nose, the scent develops rather linearly, the only difference between the newly applied perfume and 3-4 hours after, is that the rose/peony combo smells more predominant to my nose while the cosmetic-y powdery notes becomes less present.

The final dry down, is the best aspect of the scent to me, because there is this vaguely creamy woody note mingles perfectly with the rose aspect, and I do love a rose scent to have some depths.

Overall, Rose de Siwa by MDCI Parfums is a lovely rose-themed scent which shows the soft, warm, even a bit balm-ish aspect of rose.

However, will I recommend it? The answer a definite ‘No’. Largely due to its price, for the same amount of money, you could’ve found 3-4 bottles of lovely rose scents of similar quality from perfume brands.