My Quick Perfume Reviews (updated 10/22/24)

 Here are some reviews of fragrances I have been able to try out. Keep in mind that I favor gourmand-type scents. The ones in bold are my faves & the ones with an X are the duds. For many of these, I tried decant's or free samples. I'm not sure if that makes a difference, but full disclosure.

(Links are usually to Fragrantica for a scent overview.)

• Another 13 (Le Labo) - Finally snagged a teeny-tiny sample! On me, this was mostly pear and cetalox. It's really lovely but I found a dupe from MiracleLayer called "13 Aromatics". The scent is soft and clean. Oddly, on the drydown, it's very similar to Not A Perfume. It doesn't last very long and I think it's better as a layering perfume because of that. MiracleLayer's is so close to the original that I couldn't tell a difference. Keep in mind that I only tried a sample of the original. 
• Molecule 02 (Escentric Molecules) - I got a small decant of this at the same time that I got a decant of Escentric 02. Molecule 02 is a hit for me. It's not much on its own - I can barely detect it on my skin, let alone pick up the amber musk I was expecting- but it's so good for layering that I am in love. I paired it with a cheap roller bottle of Kuumba Made's Persian Garden and got a straight-up dupe for Glossier's You - and I'm talking the OG You that smelled so amazing. Once again, there is a MiracleLayer version called "Aromatic 02" that is similar but not a complete dupe and that does not layer as well as the original.
• Sweet Tooth (Sabrina Carpenter) - This was a disappointment for me at first. It smelled great and I got all the marshmallows and chocolate from the notes, also, it was cavity-inducing sweet. However, it faded after just about 10 minutes! However, if I pair this with Choco Musk from Al-Rehab... heaven. Funny enough I don't like either scent solo (because of faintness and zero longevity) but together they make up what is one of my top 5 scents.
• Sweet Tooth Caramel Dream - This is a nope for me. I haven't found anything to layer it with that makes it work either. It's much too masculine and the patchouli gets in the way of everything else. If only they had left out that patchouli! Glad I have the OG version.
• Choco Musk (Al-Rehab) - I have both the rollerball oil version and the spray bottle. They smell really good because of the chocolate (not much musk) but... see what I had to say about Sweet Tooth. The rollerball oil has only a tiny bit more longevity than the spray. 
• Viva la Juicy Gold Couture (Juicy Couture) - This is in my Top 5. I wore it so much a few years ago that I got tired of it! If you are old enough to remember "Gold" by Flori Roberts (circa 1982), this is the child that grew up. It's sweet and sexy. On me, the caramel and vanilla are dominant. The scent also lasts for at least 6 hours.
• Fancy (Jessica Simpson) - Wow! This is more grown-up than I expected & it smells really expensive. It starts with an almost too-strong fruity-liquer scent but dries down to a very caramel-and-powder vibe on me. The bottle is also cute. This is one that I will repurchase when I'm out.
• x The Only One (Dolce & Gabbana) - Thank God I only got a tiny roller of this. This is the kind of scent that reminds me not to blind-buy fragrances. I thought I'd get at least some of the "caramel, sweet, vanilla, and caramel" accord. I did - not in a fem way. This was very masculine-smelling on me.  The vanilla and caramel are there but they are very "hard", if that makes sense. I put this away about a year ago and will have to give it another chance.
• 
  Cheirosa '71 (Sol de Janeiro) - I fell so hard in love with this one from the very first spray. The scent is so tropical and fun that it's like a vacation on a beach with non-stop pina coladas. It actually reminds me of buttered toffee popcorn - with a little chocolate drizzled on. Yum! The sad thing is that it does not last long at all. If I spray it on my clothing, that helps but it still fades after a few hours. I have no idea why the brand doesn't make an oil or perfume. There's a perfume for the Cheirosa '62 that I am not in love with.
• Cheirosa '62  (Sol de Janiero) - This is a huge nope for me. From the notes shown for it, I thought it would be better than the '71. It was as good as the '71 but, at first, it was decent and I really liked it. I thought it would get better with age. Wrong. I don't get any of the sweetness of the caramel or fruity notes. I get a harsh, soapy scent. Other people really like it though. It's not a safe blind buy.
• Chrismas Cookies (Bath & Bodyworks) - This is almost and very close dupe of Cheirosa '71. It's also cheaper but doesn't last much longer for me. I spray my hair and clothes with this and it's a good summer scent on me. Like Cheirosa '71, it's heavy on the nutty caramel. It is missing chocolate that's in '71. (By the way, I've heard that BBW's Vanilla Bean Noel is also a dupe. Possibly. I've only ever had the room spray in that and I don't find it to be as much of a dupe.)

• Shalimar (Guerlain) - This was my first adult "signature scent". I could put on as little as two light dabs anywhere on my neck and I smelled glorious for at least 30 hours. I couldn't shower the scent off before that time. It's probably why, to this day, I like powdery tonka bean/vanilla fragrance. It's soft but has a lot of sillage. That is until I turned 35 or so. My body chemistry went through some kind of hormonal whirlwind and my beloved Shalimar would fade to a skin scent 20 minutes after I applied it. I haven't bought any for many years now but I still have a tiny vial that one of the nieces gifted me for Christmas about 8 years ago. If you like Emeraude, it's a good cheap alternative. Shalimar's scent is sexy and slinky, like a prowling and emerald-eyed black panther. Seriously. Don't blind-buy this. It's finicky and wears very differently on different skin types and ages.
• Daisy Ever So Fresh (Marc Jacobs) - I so so excited to get a sample of this (in a Walmart Beauty Box, I think). It was described as "sweet and fruity and sort of tropical" I got a sort of a harsh floral and almost nothing else. It smelled a bit astringent. Not for me.
• 
  Fantasy Intimate Edition (Britney Spears) - Like the one from Jessica Simpson, this surprised me. These ladies are younger than me and I guess I didn't give them enough credit. (I will mention another little young gal next!). I like this as much as I like Fancy but I don't like it as often, if that makes sense. This one is powdery while Fancy is powdery-sweet. Fantasy has a nice musk and amber-scented drydown with a faint hint of green apple.  The Fantasy (original, red bottle) is close to this one on me but there is no green apple. Instead, the chocolate plays a bit louder. The Intimate lasts longer on me.
• 
  Cloud (Ariana Grande) - These young gals! This would be my favorite of the Jessica/Britney/Ariana set if it lasted longer than half an hour. The coconut-musk-candy combo is so delicious while it does last but for some reason, my skin eats this lovely scent right up. I'm going to have to try it in the cooler months to see if there's an improvement. (Because this doesn't last and is not cheap, I prefer the near-dupe from Mix Bar called Cloud Musk. I get better results from that (over Cloud by A.G.) if I spray my hair and clothing. It's also very cheap affordable and you can find the whole Mix Bar line at Target. (The Billy Elish perfume is, to me, a bit of a dupe to Cloud & I actually prefer it.)
• 
  Fahrenheit (Dior) - OMG. This fragrance almost caused whiplash once when it wafted off of a man passing by my cubicle at work. He was a friendly coworker so I felt comfortable asking what he was wearing that smelled so good. Since I could afford it at the time, I got my older brothers bottles for Christmas gifts (they love it). I was so flush back then that I even got myself a bottle. Those days are gone but I do get decants every so often. This and Habit Rouge are the only male fragrances that I like so much I would wear them myself. Of course, this one is all leather and green and animalic. The cedar is gorgeous. Habit Rouge (Guerlain) is what I've always called Shalimar's brother,  husband, or lover. 

• Persian Garden (Kuumba Made) - If you tend to wear perfumes well, the Kuumba Made fragrances are great bargains. My old skin is finicky but this is one from K.M. that I can wear - if I layer it. As I mentioned, Molecule 02 with this is an amazing Glossier You dupe. It has that same soft, powdery, and clean skin scent that made the OG version of You so good.
• Madagascar Vanilla Perfume Oil (Nest) - This works as a powder-floral skin scent on me that's best in warm weather. It's so pricey that I was forced to buy some vials from an eBay seller. The floral note is stronger than the vanilla and it's a soft, sweet, non-offensive scent that's perfect for the office.
• Egyptian Musk (Kuumba Made) - This is another really lovely and budget-friendly scent. In my opinion, it's more powdery than most musk scents. It's got great longevity and projects to about arm-length. I  find it to be stronger in warmer weather. It performs the way a good oil scent should by lasting more than a few hours.

• Blanche Bête (Les Liquides Imaginaires) - Scent Split tucked a 1ml sample of this in one of my orders and I fell in love. It's all milky ambrette and vanilla on me and nothing I would have picked for myself. It's to only a unique blend but also a scent that lasts for me. I do need to order some when I can!
• Accident À La Vanille (Jousset Parfums) - If you like Vanilla Caramel scents with a boozy lean, this is it. It was much too burnt caramel for me but I can see it being gorgeous on the right person. To my nose, the drydown got better with less of the burnt caramel.
• Tihota (Indult) - I had been wanting to try this forever. It sounded so amazing.  So I tried some and...This is lovely but it's a bit of a one-note player, IMO. It's very pricey and the sample size I tried did not last long enough for me. Also, it's not as interesting as I expected it to be. I would never recommend this as a blind buy - actually, I would never buy it at all - because of the price. I saw it somewhere for around $220 for 50ml. Insane. Not even if I could afford it...
• Messy Sexy Just Rolled out of Bed (A Lab on Fire) - Another one that I couldn't wait to try. Also, another one that is ridiculously priced. For me, this one took too long to settle down. It was very sharp and almost manly-smelling for a really long time. I hated the harshness coming out of some of my favorite things - toffee, cashmere, powder - then something magical happened. This just suddenly became everything I wanted. The problem is, that part of it wound down after less than an hour. And, again, I wouldn't recommend a blind buy. In this case, the scent is more complete so it probably wears very differently for everyone. Then there's the price... It's close to $200 for just 50ml. 

UPDATE 10/22/24

It's been a while but I was going back through my closet and pulling out older bottles. Thinking now about some of these makes me want to get more of at least 3 of them. A few of the bottles were almost empty (or were samples). The Youth Dew is the only new one.

• Youth-Dew (Estée Lauder) I got this instead of replenishing my Emeraude (which is now & suddenly priced like cheap gold for some reason). This one comes off at first as all spice & powder, then drifts into mostly powder. It's a low-key scent suitable for the office or church. No one will remember what you smelled like but that you did smell nice. Basically, this one won't offend, stand out, or impress anyone. It's a nice "Mom" scent. I'm going to put it away somewhere for a few months to see if it ages into something nicer.
• White Diamonds (Elizabeth Taylor) This is one that my brother brought to me when he came to visit this summer. We both know it was my sister's favorite, but it was never one I thought to buy. However... I don't hate it & the longevity is insanely eternal (of course, it is, since it's not one I adore!). On me, this one is very "bright" & makes me think of blinding light and icy cold vibes. On my siste, it was always very floral and musk-heavy. On me, it is kind of harsh and spicy - "spiky" almost. It's not bad, but it's not complimentary. 
• Ana Abiyedh (Lattafa Perfumes) Luckily, I have at least a half bottle left because... it has aged and has more longevity. One of the reasons I put this away is because, as beautiful as it smelled, it lasted only about a hot minute on me. Now... all the amazingly soft vanilla-powder notes have staying power. (This is why I need to remember to let a scent "age" a bit before giving up on it!) I see that I got this very early last year so I guess it just needed time. Right now, this is a big old cashmere-powder-musk-vanilla bomb with a bit of amber at the back. Yum!
• L'aimant Parfum De Toilette (Coty) This one is... hard to pin down. It is powdery & floral but it also has a deep musk note. That might be the "woody" accord though. I don't not like this but I haven't fallen in love with it yet. It's not Emeraude... (I used the Parfumo link because Fragrantica shows only the cologne and there are some different notes in it.)

Peace

--Free