Experiscent Number 3: The Flower Space

One think I've always loved about scent is how polarizing a scent can be.  I can think of many classic scents that have both adoring fans and people who absolutely cannot stand them.  The third scent in our blind sniff series resulted in some definite preference lines.   This scent is a 'designer' scent, however, it was created by a 'niche' nose.....resulting in a heady, dense fragrance that speaks of quality ingredients and, I think, well represents the aesthetic of both the fashion designer and nose that created it.

Our blind reviewers' thoughts:

Jen:  This one definitely grew on me the longer I wore it. On my skin I get a slightly sweet, medium bodied fruity floral with decent staying power. I'm not much for florals, but I could wearing this on a casual date night. 

Nicole:  How amazing! This is a gorgeous, full bodied boozy floral that rises and settles throughout the day. The opening is gentle but full of dimension. The slightly sweet boozy note in the forefront but then a soft floral makes its way in and develops absolutely beautifully! The notes weave back and forth; like an elegant dance that lasts all day. This has a very vintage feel that can be worn either night or day. It settles close to the skin so it would do well in public settings. A stunning, elegant statement signature that is sure to be Loved! * I have worn this for three days straight!*

Alfredo:  Fresh  and feminine white floral that is slightly sweet & creamy ....I get jasmine, daisies, lily of the valley and honeysuckle.  It's pretty and romantic, quite possibly like the bouquet a bride carries on her spring wedding in the outdoors.  It becomes a little more unisex-friendly in the smooth sandalwood like dry-down.
 

Cyndi:  This scent is similar to #2 for me – unremarkable freshness and citrus, with a synthetic smell.  It was my least favorite of the group.  I didn’t get any personality out of it – and isn’t that what we are looking for in a scent???

Trona:  It’s Late May, and the air is crisp, slightly cool and it is gorgeous in downtown Seattle. I am meeting with my ladies for a luncheon at Pacific Place and then off to scour the many luxury shops throughout. Adorned in a light blue pant suit and my young sixties white hair frolicking beneath my chapeau, my overly powdered face set under slightly rouge glossed lips, I sit with the girls beneath the glass dome and take in all the hustle and bustle. My fragrance today reflects just how I feel. It is fresh, clean and just a tinge soapy. It developed since morning from a tad-bit overpowering from what I believe to be orange blossom, a little goes a very long way.  As it rested, it changed slowly into this beautiful clean floral.  It is lasting and makes a statement without being too loud. Like my personality, it's a little sassy (citrus), but refined when necessary; this fragrance speaks to those around me and I get compliments from my girls, each one asking what that beautiful scent is. As we finish our lunch and browse Tiffany's admiring the lovely sparkles and then head into Barneys, I see the most beautiful bag....it's a Louie and much more than I want to spend, but the smell of its newness and luxury, the fine lines of perfection in its cut and sewn leather....this is how my fragrance feels!  Though this is a perfume I would only wear on certain occasions such as this, I reserve my other perfumes for different settings. This one is unique to my collection and reserved for special occasions. Spring or Summer scent worn on a cool winter day, great sillage and longevity, this is not a perfume for babies.  It is strong and sassy and speaks to people, the wearer must have confidence!  I feel it is a more mature scent for an older woman who loves class and elegance and the finer things in life. I detected a soapy clean floral with hints of citrus and a blast of citrus at first spray. It changed tremendously in the first hour and then remained pretty much the same for me.

Paula:  White Flowers and faint tuberose, a bit of dusty linden, and maybe a hint of sweet honeysuckle?  Alas, there's also a high-pitched chemical burning patchouli quickly making its presence emphatically known.  This would be a pleasant light floral if it weren't for this horror.  Scrubbing and trying again later......

(Later):  Hopefully I can stay with this scent longer and make more detailed notes.  I'm getting linden/honeysuckle again.....with evil patchouli lurking behind it.  It really wrecks what would have been a nice springtime fragrance.  I don't like to sniff this one because of it, it's like a spike right up my sinuses into my brain.  Scrub.  

Igor:  My personal favorite among the three. It starts with shattering snap frozen jasmine. It is a very “cold” floral scent. Hints of smoky acacia honey in the background, waxy tiare and ylang-ylang, as if someone had put the exhaling sweet flowers on ice. On the drydown it goes lightly powdery. To be honest, this scent is so close to Lush’s discontinued Flying Fox shower gel’s smell, but crisper and fresher. The sillage is somewhat strong, it radiates beautifully. Longevity is great, lasted for 5 hours on me. I would recommend this scent for fall or spring, to give a fresh, but sweet floral kick to your morning. This scent reminds me of my vacation in southern France. In Nice, by my hotel windows, jasmine grew in abundance and the mesmerizing indolic scent of jasmine would wake me in the morning. It would be light and crisp, with morning dew radiating and filling my room with that unforgettable smell.

Erica:  Wet, a bright fresh rose. Bergamot, soapy laundry florals, almond-hay-tonka, really enjoying! A strange aroma that is somehow also familiar and comforting. Seems like it might be an Arabian perfume to me. Taking pleasure from the wafts throughout the day. Clean on top with an intriguing musky harmonious base. I don't know if I love it enough to go for a bottle of this for myself; however, if I sensed this fragrance on someone passing by, I would enjoy it immensely and silently dole out perfumista points to the wearer. 

Rina:  Plastic floral but familiar scent that morphs into a pleasant comforting skin scent. I want to say this is Alien Absolue, if not that, def the only one I know I already own..

Alyssa:  My initial reaction when putting this on skin was how sweet and pretty it was - very femme. For the opening I thought I was smelling honey or honey suckle. For the middle I kept getting a green note and just couldn’t put my finger on it. For the dry down I got patchouli and wow was I surprised. For what started out so sweet and innocent kind of turned into a bad ass. This fragrance lasted hours on me! I put it on at 7 pm and woke up to it the next morning around 6:15 am. 

My review (not blind) with reveal:

This fragrance is definitely a heavy floral.  Every time I've tried it the initial wallop of orange blossom and jasmine that i have experienced have almost caused me to fly into a panic.  It's very powerful and commanding and BRIGHT, light a spotlight on a huge bouquet of white flowers whose scent has permeated every corner of a room.  Without a window, it is overwhelming......however, in a few minutes the powerful cocktail has dissipated every-so-slightly allowing for an adjustment in my ability to read it clearly.  The orange blossom is actually a very nice one, I have a love/hate relationship with orange blossom so my initial reaction was very typical for me, especially with this concentration.  I have a bottle of orange blossom absolute, when sniffed without dilution it's almost off putting....and the strength in this scent is very apparent.  It just takes it out of the off putting zone and places it with creamier notes of lily maybe, and a green tinged jasmine.  The sharpness is somewhat incendiary, elevated with a patchouli note that has a sharp wood tone to it, almost igniting the floral bouquet and taking it away from any delicacy it may hold.  It's beautiful, but in a fierce overtly feminine way.  So much so that on a man, it may be absolutely beautiful with the juxtaposition it would take.  That being said, it's too much orange blossom for me and I wouldn't wear it for that reason......but nonetheless, it's impressive for a designer fragrance and I can't say I'm surprised.  The nose is Francis Kurkdjian......his floral notes always blow me away......and the scent is Elie Saab Le Parfum.

 

 

The Experiscent 2: Mediterranean Journey

The second scent in our Experiscent series differed greatly from our first selection. This scent is a relatively recent release that got a lot of buzz in the beginning but seems to have been largely forgotten as far as discussion goes.  Meant to be (and successful in) unisex, it embraces a note that usually isn't showcased in perfumery:  clary sage.  Clary sage is a pungent herb commonly found in Mediterranean regions.  I've used it before in soapmaking, there's a beautiful airy clarity to it that blends wonderfully with citrus and florals.  Here, it is blending with fig, refreshing mastic, energizing pine, and oak.  Reactions and responses from our lovely reviewers below!

Cyndi:  This scent starts out with a blast of freshness, like a spring rain shower in the mountains.  I get crispness and citrus, that seems to be smooth and refined.  But after about 20 minutes, a synthetic mint-tea note rears its head and makes the whole scent veer off into sharp and screechy territory. This would be a good scent for someone who means business, like the revered Chanel 19, except this sample is more synthetic and not as sparkling smelling.

Alyssa:  This one scared me a little smelling it from the sprayer and how acrid it was. Boy, was I in for a treat and a surprise! First spray I instantly said MMM! out loud. It was so light, airy and refreshing. I kept thinking this would make a beautiful scent in the summer on a hot and humid day. It actually kept making me think of a Mojito! For the opening I instantly got mint and it stayed this way for a while. A gorgeous sweet flower introduced itself next and I was thinking either white flowers or yellow flowers - honey suckle or ylang ylang. The mint was still here with me. For the dry down, I know it was some sort of citrus and maybe because I had Mojito on my mind, I smelled lime. The mint was also present here as well. I did not get a ton of notes from this fragrance but I certainly enjoyed this one a lot!

Jen:  Fig, fig, figgy fig fig!! Mystery Scent #2 is much more my speed. The opening on my skin was a combination of light citrus, a soft, green, milky fig and an airy, dewy floral. Between the beautiful February in Florida weather and the perfume, I wanted nothing more than to take a rest on a sun dappled bench in a park. The major downside was the lasting power; I felt like I had to refresh about an hour and a half after spraying. And then I had to refresh *again* after another 2 hours or so...but I was happy to do so! This one is by far my favorite of the three.

Nicole:  One spray and this selection is off and running! The opening is Very sharp and bright on my skin. I get notes of wet greenery and a white floral bouquet (gardenia...Lily of the valley...) There is an underlying musk that reminds me of damp sheets in the sun while somehow bringing to mind an early spring right before the rain. After 30 minutes it softens, the bright greenery fades while the floral and musk remain. The floral develops further, so you can smell the flower growing, budding and then blooming. 

Trona:  It was a warm summer day in mid-August, the day was long and lazy. I had gone on to stay at the family farm for a week to relax and get my thoughts together. I longed for my childhood adventures on the farm playing carelessly in the pond and chasing butterflies in the field. I was a young woman when I left, a broken hearted young woman. I hadn’t returned since, that was some years ago. I sat under an old Oak tree out yonder enjoying a good book and taking in the smell of my surroundings. Warm, sweet and smoldering hay caught my attention, I sensed a hint of smoke from the pasture fires burning old wood and dried bushels. Swift breezes picked up the honeysuckle and wildflower that mixed in nicely. The mixture was reminiscent of my youth, and comforting, yet it brought back memories of my first love. While enjoying the peace and listening to the many sounds on a farm, I closed my eyes and re-experienced the combined smells again, as the day carried on, those smells blended and became softer, powdery to my nose, and suddenly I caught it, the fresh cut tobacco, it was making a statement and I opened my eyes. There he was is his glory, my first true love, but somehow, different. He had matured nicely and was standing there, fresh cut tobacco in his left pocket, the mix of the other smells and this musky, sexy cowboy chemistry all in one. He looked the part, Dark mysterious eyes, 3-day old stubble lined his pronounced jawline and thick waves of chocolate hair took a slightly wild but attractive stance on his head. Closer…I thought, I wanted to smell him closely, his scent was close to the skin and I leaned forward to steep in, it lasted for a very short while and then I opened my eyes….It was just a dream, the cowboy fragrance was gone as it dissipated with the dream. I picked up my book, put my tongue back in my mouth, and went on inside. My take on this, worn on a rainy day in the PNW, masculine, green, and I really got a lot of warm hay, it developed quickly and turned soft and powdery, quite pleasant, but still very green with hints of woods. Again, It developed again and the fresh cut tobacco became the theme, it was sexy, and warm, reminded me of a hot summer day relaxing. It is close to the skin and longevity was only about three hours on me.

Rina:  Green, juicy pear, softens to a powdery but not dry finish. Fresh and Spring-like but fleeting.

Igor:  Very mild herb bitterness hits the nose at first. I might be imagining, but to me it smells like a much toned down tomato leaf. Wood notes with very subtle hints of vanilla, not a desert one, but the herbal and earthy kind. On dry down the bitterness wears off, leaving behind a very tender and almost creamy cannabis accord. It is a very light fragrance, makes me think that it is an eau de toilette. It could easily be unisex. The longevity is moderate, stayed on for about an hour. Sillage is weak and the scent stays close to skin. This is a perfect morning summer bitter scent, light enough for an office or a very hot evening when you want a hint of herbal freshness. This fragrance paints a picture of a wealthy New England family reposing on Cape Cod in late August afternoon. He family is having early evening drinks, apropos Talbots clothing, white cotton pants and a blue linen blazer on him; white silk pants and a naval blue cotton shirt with a silk foulard on her. Both are sipping spritzers in the shade of a tree on at their summer home.

 
Alfredo:  This scent is Crisp and green I 'm getting Bergamot possibly something a little herbal..Rosemary perhaps...it's slightly bitter but in a Fresh way...This is a Classic Unisex scent in my book with a weekend attitude...Good for daytime get togethers and would work nicely In Spring weather!

Erica: I've tried this before, I just don't remember what it was! Almost minty at the opening, some coolness. Quiet greenery. Cucumber. Muguet? This would be fabulous on a sticky humid summer day, totally refreshing and not sharp at all. Making my brain hurt, I know what this is, what is it?!  There's a hint of fruit, like plum blossom or peach nectar, some kind of stone fruit but gently done. Not my typical style at all, dousing myself in this sample today was like letting someone else pick out my clothes from their wardrobe! Green and fresh and simple, with a blurry roundness to keep it from being zesty. I would guess this is an Eau de Toilette. I will say that this scent was too green and fresh for my personal tastes, but that I do appreciate the composition. 

Paula:  This is a tea fragrance with a yummy opening, it puts me in mind of Jardin en Mediterranee.  Citrus, green and fresh.  It's very close in style to the other Jardin series scents.  There's some patchouli here.....a bit acrid perhaps, and the whole composition, while essentially pleasing, is very close to bordering on harsh and astringent.  About 90 minutes in it has lost the edge and the patchouli is no longer noticeable.  It's also similar in style to Bvlgari au The Bleu, but that fragrance is softer. About 3 hours in, it still smells the same, only softer and weaker.  This scent is quite linear and doesn't have much development; it wears pretty much like it starts all the way to the end.  I do like it.

My review:

Scent number 2 was Caligna by L'Artisan.  Released in spring, 2013, it was meant to build on their Grasse range highlighting the history of French perfumery, in this case highlighting Mediterranean ingredients.  

Upon opening, I am definitely hit with a punch of clary sage and green fig.  The pairing is appropriate, the clary sage adds a breeze to the fig which is not overly syrupy but also not overly woodsy.  As Paula pointed out, the fig note in this scent reminds me of Jardins En Mediterranee from Hermes, but as Jardins en Mediterranee becomes richer and darker, Caligna continues to emphasize an refreshing outdoor greenness, almost as if you're drinking mint tea in that same garden.  The pine helps to extend the life of the clary sage and jasmine adds a summer element.  The jasmine also allows the fig to develop into a sweet, dense fruit, just a bite of it, eaten on a stone patio in a warm sunny breeze.  Caligna feels very languid and reminiscent of a hilly countryside, in a full bloom of greenery for spring.  Somewhere in the middle of the development, this scent becomes to harsh for my personal taste.......fig always acts like bells to me......their ringing can become overwhelming after awhile and it's all encompassing on my skin, so anyone with a mixed relationship with fig should try this before making any judgments.  This scents lasts about 5 hours on me and sweetens with time.  I could see this being a summer staple for many but for me it's just not one I reach for. 

       

The Experiscent: Scent Number 1 Blind Reviews and Reveal

As a relatively long-term perfume lover and collector, I have gone through the typical periods of buying, trading and selling scents.  Those of us who can relate to the term 'perfumista' are also familiar with the tragedy of failed purchases and the ecstatic feeling of a blind buy that worked out beautifully.  I know that i have fallen into many a purchase based on glowing reviews from others, or merely by virtue of brand.  As time goes by I've been finding, more and more, that expensive doesn't always mean better, indie doesn't automatically mean great, and designer is not always something to look down your nose at.  We've all experienced getting a scent on our scarf or jacket,  then putting the same item on a few days later and loving the scent but unable to place what it is.  I feel that these moments give you the most accurate perception of what your preferences are, much like the inability for one to, say, control their heartrate when they see someone very attractive.  You cannot deny the positive responses you feel to certain notes and constructions.

Those who read my last post know that I'm doing an experiment here on my blog that will be a regular feature.  These kinds of experiments are not new, however I decided to go a slightly different route.  I chose reviewers randomly who have various interest levels and experience levels with perfumes and perfumery because I was interested in a variety of opinions rather than just highly educated noses from the industry.  I want to see what people Just Like.  Is there a theme?  A formula?  I'm assuming not.  But I am very interested in reading about what people have to say about scents when they have no preconceived notions of what they SHOULD feel.

 I have eleven lovely reviewers who have volunteered to have me send them samples and decants every month.  These scents are unlabeled when I send them, so the reviewers have no idea what they are reviewing.  I wanted to see how perceptions of scents are different when labels, marketing, and preconceived opinions have been removed. Once they receive the samples, they send me their notes and I publish them here.  The scent is revealed at the bottom of the post along with my review (non-blind).  

Trona:  Fragrance #1 
This fragrance has a warm feel to it, loses longevity in the cold air, but inside on warm skin, it really shines.  #1 opens with subtle sweet and boozy wafts, she is slightly intoxicating but in a good way. The pepper and florals blend playfully, offering an alluring powdery aspect. Her cocktail breath makes one’s heart race like this party girl is meeting someone special tonight. After a short time in, she softens and you see the sophisticated, professional she is in the daytime, she wears her vanilla colored Jeanette Miner suit, with nutmeg heels and a Prada bag.....she is classic, and elegant, and very feminine. This lady doesn’t last long as a mannerly debutant, as evening approaches and she removes her layers, she reveals a warm and persuasive heart; adorned in a buttery marshmallow bustier and nothing else. She is truly a refined and well-bred woman in every sense of the word. I definitely get the pepper/nutmeg cinnamon in the top and throughout though it changes to a more balanced amount.  The florals are beautiful, but I cannot pick them out ….yet the blend feels familiar to me, I can’t put my finger on it.  It softens and gets nice and powdery (my favorite) and turns to a beautiful buttery marshmallow in the end with a hint of that spice. I love this scent and cannot wait to know what it is. 
 
Alfredo:  I'm getting a yellow floral.....something along the lines of mimosa & carnations, with possibly lily.  There's a touch of honey that adds to the sweetness. It's somewhat powdery on me with the dry down verging on slightly gourmand.  I feel this scent would be good for day time & spring weather, and for the weekends as it gives me a casual vibe. All in all stays pretty feminine giving me a Vintage 1960's Vibe!

Nicole:  A bright burst of sweet, not sickly but in a honey-syrup sense.  This scent evokest he image of early summer days outside; picnics and maypoles on a country estate in the South.  After 30 minutes the sweetness softens  and a musky, elegant scent emerges.  It reminds me of formal evening dinners at the turn of the century, very vintage and upscale like old money can buy.  After an hour the sweetness is replaced by a soft, powdery musk that sits close to the skin making me think of humid summer nights and candlelight.  I greatly enjoyed this fragrance and it reminds me of something from my childhood.  A distinctly happy feeling is associated with this scent (or something close to it).  I feel like this is a very elegant fragrance that everyone should experience at least once in their perfume adventures.

Rina:  Licorice.  Black licorice that morphs into bubble gum and camphor, then settling into a creamy tuberose.  Definitely gourmand.  Low sillage and longevity (on me, anyway).

Igor:  There's an initial rush of chypre and somewhat synthetic aldehydes. A few minutes in I sense the gourmand notes of berry, then dark coffee, mixed with roasted hazelnuts. After 30 minutes I sense vanilla and tonka . There is a “cold” sentiment that is retained throughout the entire fragrant journey. It almost balances all the warm notes in the composition. It could be either a citrus with juniper berry. For awhile it goes a little sweet and sour, then levels off and disappears. The scent is somewhat narcotic, but with a synthetic “feel” to it, as if you are getting not the real thing, but a great illusion. Longevity (on me) is rather poor, that scent is gone in 40 minutes without a trace. If I had to assign it to a specific gender, I would say they are a tad more on the masculine side which makes it ever so much sexier if worn by a woman. The sillage is rather weak; the scent stays closer to skin. It is more of an afternoon scent to be worn in a cooler weather. I usually think in pictures and this fragrance brings a very vivid image of Sean Young in Blade Runner, a bolder, stronger Joan Crawford archetype with a modern synthetic, un-human side. She has no emotions, she is cold, daring, in control of her every thought and action.

Paula:  First try......spicy opening with perhaps some cinnamon and a whiff of aldehydes.  Behind this is a sort of mid-twentieth century heart.....a well-blended floral with no one note standing out in particular.  I would take this for a mid-market fragrance, perhaps by Bvlgari or Fendi.  It's a sweet spicy floral with a hint of vanilla or amber......pleasant, but nothing is grabbing me about it.  As the top notes wear off and the heart starts to open, I find myself liking it more.   The notes at this stage are hard to pick out but now there are more fruits (perhaps plum) and a hint of hay and maple bringing to mind immortelle.  Aaaaaand now CORN of all things is coming in.  Weird! OK, an hour after applying the spice is fading and the gourmand elements are replacing them, but the scent seems to be fading.  However, 2 hours later this stage is still holding.....quietly, to be sure, and still sweet.  In the end there's a light dust of almond or heliotropin on my skin.

Jen:  I valiantly fought against my urge to scrub this one off moments after it hit my skin; there is something in it that made my nose hairs curl, unfortunately. Thankfully I persevered, and the heavy, spicy, too-floral-for-me scent gave way to a drier, duskier scent. It ended on a slightly creamy note. My note guesses: Honeysuckle, jasmine, immortelle, orange blossom, musk, amber, tonka, spices.

Erica:   Thrillingly complicated when wet. Smells expensive at the opening, fresh and bright but with nuanced spiced tones underneath, sparkling bergamot, a round hint of green, a soft orange blossom, a clean rose. The base is warm but light, a tender amber.  I sense cedar after some time on the skin. The bergamot lasts and is the star of the fragrance on me. Really enjoying this, I have a feeling I won't be able to afford a bottle but if it turns out to be inexpensive I am all over it! It's classic and energized. Throughout the day, I revisit this aroma huffing my wrists, and became more and more convinced that I have definitely tried this before and enjoyed it. I think it might be an Amouage. This is by far my favorite of the three! 

Alyssa:  I instantly thought this smelled familiar but couldn’t quite place it. I wore it 3 times and kept closing my eyes inhaling its aroma. I actually have question marks next to my notes because each day I tried it felt like a new experience. So consensus for the 3 days of wearing it I thought I sniffed out in the opening: orange blossom or honey suckle a slight bit of leather or suede a green kind of earthy note - patchouli.....For the heart I got: Amber, and a sort of citrus-like lime For the dry down I got: a woody scent - almost like cedar patchouli.

Cyndi:   This is absolutely thrilling!  Like an energetic swirl of bees and butterflies in a colorful, densely packed flower garden, heated by the bright sun.  I get 2 layers of scent here too – it’s heavenly, virginal and innocent, floating atop a lower layer of beckoning, mischievous sensuality that captures your attention and draws you closer to the wearer’s skin.  There is a honey note that I love, doing a lovely dance with powdery, floral and musk notes that are so well blended it’s like a magnificent frosting on a cake I cannot stop eating.  It’s sexy without being outright bawdy and a sassy but classy dress-up scent for evening.  This scent frankly mandates that the wearer twirl in her skirt, flirt, laugh and party the evening away.  The dry down is delicious- calming down to a hum of warm honeyed happiness on my skin, but with a little zesty something that keeps it from being too sweet or linear.  This is a scent I would definitely buy a FB of and spray again and again.   

My thoughts:
Fragrance number one was Elixir Charnel Le Boise Torride by Guerlain.  Released in 2009, this scent was meant to strike a balance between masculine and feminine (points to Igor!).  The opening reflects the feminine, with a lightly spiced floral and fruits.  The notes say berries......I sense a currant undertone.  Much of this fragrance reminds me of a softer, creamier version of Armani Si with perhaps a bit less fruit.  Though the florals are apparent, they are very soft and only serve as a landscape for the vision of fruits.  All of these notes are held aloft on a base of cedar and patchouli giving it a nicely grounded base.

What I enjoy about this scent is that it has an exuberant elegance about it.  This is a young woman new to the world of luxury......her presence skips along and over the fussy rules that have added structure to upper society.  She has not yet fallen prey to the trappings of traditional lines of feminine vs. masculine.  It feels vaguely hopeful and optimistic.  This is a lovely scent for a breezy, crisp, sunny fall day or the first sunny day of late winter when spring is a teasing scent in the cold air.   My husband asked me in the course of my considering this one, "Do you think there's anything in this scent structure that relates to a trend as a whole?"  After thinking about it, I believe the answer is yes.  In my opinion, around 2009 there started to be a movement starting to veer away from the average fruity floral.  This scent nicely tied in the commercial desire and standard to entice the general public with the fruitier aspects of the scent but still maintained elements of luxury classical perfumery.

Most of the reviewers stated that this was, to them, a high end fragrance without knowing which brand it was.  It does smell like an elegant scent and there's something in the structure and ingredients that is clearly higher end.  What I like about it as well is that it is not 'recognizably' Guerlain.  It has an individuality about it. I find the scents from the this series of Guerlain fragrances to be quite sweet and some I've never been able to embrace (*cough* Gourmand Coquin *cough*)  This one, though it steers that way, is nicely balanced by the base.  On me, I really sense the fruit and some fluffy marshmallow and a beautiful blend of sweet woods.  I don't know if I find it sexy or hot or anything like that as the name would imply; but it is definitely cozy, warm and pleasant.  This seems to be one of the lesser-appreciated scents from the Elixirs Charnel lineup....however, I feel like it was released before its time.  I feel that many current releases are very similar to the feel of this scent but this one is better done than most.....had it been a new release I believe it would have been more universally embraced. A shame, since the latest info is that it has been discontinued.