Japanese Cherry Blossom The Body Shop

Japanese Cherry Blossom is fresh and sweet at the same time. It’s an inoffensive and friendly scent, good for spring and summer. It brings femininity and comfort. This Floral contains 100% organic and natural extracts. The notes are cherry blossom, apple, magnolia and hinoki wood. It’s quite linear in the sense that what you get after the first spray is what you end up with.

Japanese Cherry Blossom is a delicate one, no one can go wrong with it. As expected, the sillage and longevity are poor so the options are either to moisturize your skin before application or take it with you and re-apply frequently. This perfume is ideal as a “freshen up post-workout” or “pick me up” during the day.

If you like a cherry blossom note with the hint of fruit and don’t mind re-applying, Japanese Cherry Blossom is perfect for you. 80/100

Bella Rosa Oscar de la Renta

Bella Rosa is a beautiful soft Chypre Floral fragrance for women. Apart from rose and patchouli, it’s challenging to detect individual notes; it’s that nicely blended. The smell is sweet, creamy, floral and romantic. Despite the presence of pepper, I don’t feel any spices.

I don’t find any particular resemblance to any other fragrance. The presence is fine but unfortunately, the fragrance does not last long. Bella Rosa can be very well everyday scent as well as the one for special occasions (if you spray a lot). The same with seasons. It’s light enough for summer and cosy enough for winter (if you spray a lot). Otherwise, it has all the necessities – fruit, flowers, spices, wood, patchouli.

Bella Rosa is a universal feminine fragrance. A right choice for a put-together lady. 80/100

 

Florabotanica Balenciaga

Florabotanica brings new modern ingredients to the table. It consists of mint, carnation, rose, cannabis, vetiver and amber. It’s an intensive Floral Green – fresh, sharp and crispy. Later, it turns more powdery and comfy.

Florabotanica is clean as a fresh shower yet bold and fierce, a nice companion for natural beauty. Ideal for French ladies who want to hide that they made an effort and are actually wearing a perfume. Suitable for day time spring and summer.

I like Florabotanica. I can imagine myself wearing it every day to work without being overly sweet and offensive. It’s also something different. Not a typical fresh scent. It has the modernity, timelessness and courage that some of the other Floral Greens are missing.

A bold fresh floral for everyday use. A tiny secret garden. There is something intriguing about it. 80/100

Karma Lush

Karma is a Citrus Aromatic unisex perfume. The opening is distinctive, sharp and lemony. You get a hint of spices, sweetness and earthiness. It is a unique and unexpected smell for a fragrance. It has the vibes of a mysterious, spiritual shop with toy witches, voodoo dolls and crystal balls. It’s definitely a pleasant scent but then you think, do I really want to smell like that? Does it reflect who I am, my mood and personality well? The truth is it’s not for everyone and not for every day for sure. You and Karma must either click very well or simply be in the mood for it. It’s also worth mentioning that it’s quite woody and aromatic, almost like a male colon; so if you prefer typically female fragrances, you may not like it. The projection is weaker, lasting power okay; the dry-down though is surprisingly beautiful – warm, cosy, somewhat therapeutical. And this is when I truly loooove this scent.

You either have an instant connection with Karma or it is a definite miss for you. Into which category do you fall? 70/100

 

So Scandal! Jean Paul Gaultier

So Scandal! does have the wow effect associated with JGP perfumes. It is refined, sweet yet sophisticated. The fragrance is very strong on raspberry. A milk note is very interesting and smoothes the whole composition.

Photo: douglas.cz

The overall notes are raspberry, tuberose and milk at the top, and then jasmine and orange blossom as a base. It is definitely a charming floral combination.

My favourite night scent is Hypnotic Poison by Dior. So Scandal! is significantly lighter, has a weaker presence and lasting power. On the other hand, you can go bold with So Scandal! and spray a lot without worrying you’re gonna poison your mates. It is a refreshing one to have in your collection.

So Scandal! is too sexy for white colour workdays. Ideal for a fun party girl who is still on a hunt for Mr Right. 70/100

Discovery Box: New Arrivals 2020

Find the perfect fragrance …

Idole Lancome

I was very excited to try out Idole. The notes and the flacon were just luring me in.

Photo: douglas.cz

After the trial, the first words that came to my mind were soft, comfortable, intimate, girly; by no means fresh and crispy as you can read elsewhere. I felt subtle fruits, white flowers and vanilla right away. Later on, Idole gets a little bit more powdery, rosy and sweet what I like. It is a beautiful combo: The top consists of pear and bergamot, the heart of different types of roses and jasmine, the base of white musk and vanilla.

It is quite easy for Idole to please me because I love rose fragrances. To give you an example, Chloé Roses is not too much for me. However, the rose note is not dominant in Idole; on the contrary, it is in nice harmony with the rest. It lasts about six hours on my skin, on clothes more. Idole could be a wedding scent of a young bride, softer and milkier than the original Coach or Amarige Givenchy.

Fruits, roses and vanilla in hazy doses. Nicely done, harmonic, “non-harassing” yet ultimately feminine. 80/100

My way Giorgio Armani

I thought that My Way Armani would be similar to Idole. Nope! It is indeed a very pleasant fragrance but it is competing in a different field.

Photo: douglas.cz

It is easy to wear, light yet modern and exotic. The opening is sharper, the orange blossom is dominant. The dry down is less sweet but nicely exotic and curious. The lasting power is good.

The composition is made of orange blossom and bergamot at the top, tuberose and jasmine in the heart and white musk, vanilla and cedar as a base.

Recently, I don’t wear many night scents. I tend to concentrate on the office-friendly daytimers. My way is right in this alley. Although I think that this perfume is more suitable for spring and summer, I wore it predominantly in winter and it was so fine. No compliments were coming my way. This bottle is all about feeling in your element, free and fearless. It does not aim to attract the opposite sex.

My way can be easily anybody’s favourite daytimer. Like a breath, you cannot live without or your second skin. It is that addictive! 90/100

Angel Nova Mugler

So far, Mugler house fragrances haven’t been my cup of tea. I’ve found only Womanity quite wearable. Let’s see what this Angel Nova brings to the party.

Photo: douglas.cz

The first spray feels like delicious bubblegum; however, raspberry and litchi fade away quickly and the perfume is left with rose and wood. It is definitely not sickly sweet or cloying, just heavy. Angel Nova is a Woody Floral Fruity perfume. The vibe is almost masculine. I expected a better lasting though. I wore in outside in winter and the scent was gone surprisingly soon.

Nonetheless, can we compare Angel Nova to any other female/unisex fragrance? Can we compare any other Mugler scents to anything? I don’t think so. Their uniqueness is extraordinary and so is Angel Nova.

Practical? No, pretty hard to wear but one of a kind certainly yes. 30/100

Voce Viva Valentino

Photo: douglas.cz

What you get from Voce Viva (My voice) when you first sniffing it is orange, white flowers, vanilla and wood. Although the opening is sharp and elegant due to the explosion of orange, the scent settles to a  sweet, powdery and woody smell. You can’t help the feeling that you have smelled this combination before. Maybe The One by Dolce&Gabbana? Or a bit from Decadence by Marc Jacobs? It’s pleasant, don’t get me wrong but a bit too generic. It belongs to the Floral Woody Musk perfume family but still, it does not linger to my skin. The scent was gone in a couple of hours. It is not something I would personally buy but if I got it as a gift, I could wear it to work on a daily basis to use it up.

Voce Viva is an elegant fragrance for a lady who doesn’t give a damn about the fashion and beauty industry. She has more important things to do. If she wants to dress up, she puts on a nice smelling perfume like Voce Viva and is out the door. 40/100

Libre Yves Saint Laurent

It is obvious that Libre is a heavy and musky fragrance right from the first spray. I neither detect orange nor black currant. White flowers are dominant as well as lavender. I m not a fan of lavender but it can be a hit in a nice combo. Let’s see what this Oriental Fougere brings to the table.

Photo: douglas.cz

I must admit that the first hour is almost uncomfortable with Libre but when it settles, it becomes softer, sweeter and warmer. It takes time to develop and it is definitely an interesting one. The composition is similar to funky and underground Brit Rhythm Burberry, however, Libre takes itself more seriously.

This scent sends a message to people out there. It is about a strong, courageous and powerful woman. Nonetheless, I don’t see myself finding much use of it. It is too bold for me as a daytime fragrance and too unromantic as a nighttime one.

A boss feminine, nauseating, lavender scent for women with balls. 30/100

Daisy Eau So Fresh Daze Marc Jacobs for women

The notes of Daisy Eau So Fresh Daze are simple: white peach, orchard blossoms, peach skin. I bought a 75 ml bottle because I adore peach in perfumes. As expected, Daisy Eau So Fresh Daze is indeed very fresh and sweet, stays close to your skin at all times.  It can smell like a good peach shower gel or hand soap.

Its poor longevity (four hours max) actually helps me in my day-to-day life at the moment. I have a 2,5-year-old toddler and of course, I don’t want to suffocate him with an overbearing scent. Daisy Eau So Fresh Daze is ideal in this respect – nice, sweet, inoffensive. I enjoy this fragrance a lot; in fact, more than I expected. And you can always spray more or reapply here and there.

Due to its subtle and uncomplicated nature, this floral fruity is suitable for teenagers as well as stay-home mums with very young children. 80/100

Coach Coach for women

Coach is an elegant floral, easy to wear, an uplifting energetic companion for a naturally beautiful girl/woman. It opens with lovely fruity notes, then Turkish rose and gardenia, and ends with suede and cashmere.

I wore Coach when I was heavily pregnant. It is inoffensive, quiet yet you can feel the city vibes and femininity – the right boost when you most need it. The fragrance is quite strong and refined at first glance; later on, has a sweet and soft nature. I put on five spritzers and the perfume lasted six hours on my wrists and eight hours on my hair. Not great! If I drenched myself in it, it would probably last longer. However, I don’t want to force others to smell clouds of perfume. It is not my style.

Anyway, there is a bit of everything in Coach. It can be your everyday signature, office fragrance as well as special occasions, dates scent. The choice is yours baby. 80/100