Oriane
Reviews
Filter & sort
Oriane
Disappointing Fruity Mishmash
Firstly, let me say that Estee Lauder has produced some of my most beloved fragrances such as Private Collection, Cinnabar, Youth Dew, Beautiful, and Tuscany per Donna, but Modern Muse Le Rouge is disappointing. It is really nothing more than a mishmash of fruit and some weak florals that could easily be a B&BW body spray which I would not like.
Smelling it now, I realise I have smelt this on many women before and never liked it, but I had no idea what they were wearing. I never would have guessed it was an Estee Lauder fragrance. I heartily recommend all of the other EL fragrances mentioned above, but I cannot recommend Le Rouge, and do not think it is a safe blind buy. The quality is poor.
Fragrance: 3/10
Sillage: 4/10
Projection: 4/10
Longevity: 4.5/10
Presentation: 5/10
ETA: Anyone who wants to try a well made perfume in this vein, i.e. a fruity red rose with a bit of woodiness, would do well to try Serge Lutens's. La Fille de Berlin, or if budget is an issue, you would do better with B&BW You're The One, which is an excellent fruity rose for the price point and one of my favourite B&BW scents.
Smelling it now, I realise I have smelt this on many women before and never liked it, but I had no idea what they were wearing. I never would have guessed it was an Estee Lauder fragrance. I heartily recommend all of the other EL fragrances mentioned above, but I cannot recommend Le Rouge, and do not think it is a safe blind buy. The quality is poor.
Fragrance: 3/10
Sillage: 4/10
Projection: 4/10
Longevity: 4.5/10
Presentation: 5/10
ETA: Anyone who wants to try a well made perfume in this vein, i.e. a fruity red rose with a bit of woodiness, would do well to try Serge Lutens's. La Fille de Berlin, or if budget is an issue, you would do better with B&BW You're The One, which is an excellent fruity rose for the price point and one of my favourite B&BW scents.
Sweet Like Old Fashioned Violet Candies
This review is for the current formulation.
Loulou has been on my radar for quite some time. It is a sweet fragrance that reminds me of old fashioned violet candies. This is not to say that it smells like violets but that it has that same candy type of fragrance, and it has a purple aura about it, which must come from the heliotrope. It also has an ever so slight play dough note which I am sure must also come from the heliotrope. The heliotrope is be a dominant note on my skin.
I can only imagine that it was a real head turner powerhouse upon release in the 1980s. Based on reviews of the original, the current iteration has to be a weak reformulation.
I really like Loulou and recommend it to anyone who favours these notes and heliotrope in particular. My only complaint is performance is extremely poor, but for the price point, one can afford to reapply every 2-3 hours. Projection is within a foot of the wearer, and sillage is soft. It may linger longer on fabric.
Loulou leans very feminine and can be worn by women of all ages. I would not recommend it for men.
I wish they made candles, room sprays, and fabric softeners in this fragrance. It would make a quite lovely boudoir scent. All in all, Loulou is a very pretty, very feminine scent that is uncommon now.
Fragrance: 6.5/10
Projection: 2/10
Sillage: 2/10
Longevity: 2/10
Presentation: 1/10
ETA: Loulou reminds me very much of my signature, L'Heure Bleue, but of course L'Heure Bleue is much higher quality and sophistication. Still, Loulou works very well as an inexpensive dupe of L'Heure Bleue. Loulou also reminds me of Lancome Poeme in a way. They do not smell the same, but both have that velvety, cushiony, deliciousness about them.
Loulou has been on my radar for quite some time. It is a sweet fragrance that reminds me of old fashioned violet candies. This is not to say that it smells like violets but that it has that same candy type of fragrance, and it has a purple aura about it, which must come from the heliotrope. It also has an ever so slight play dough note which I am sure must also come from the heliotrope. The heliotrope is be a dominant note on my skin.
I can only imagine that it was a real head turner powerhouse upon release in the 1980s. Based on reviews of the original, the current iteration has to be a weak reformulation.
I really like Loulou and recommend it to anyone who favours these notes and heliotrope in particular. My only complaint is performance is extremely poor, but for the price point, one can afford to reapply every 2-3 hours. Projection is within a foot of the wearer, and sillage is soft. It may linger longer on fabric.
Loulou leans very feminine and can be worn by women of all ages. I would not recommend it for men.
I wish they made candles, room sprays, and fabric softeners in this fragrance. It would make a quite lovely boudoir scent. All in all, Loulou is a very pretty, very feminine scent that is uncommon now.
Fragrance: 6.5/10
Projection: 2/10
Sillage: 2/10
Longevity: 2/10
Presentation: 1/10
ETA: Loulou reminds me very much of my signature, L'Heure Bleue, but of course L'Heure Bleue is much higher quality and sophistication. Still, Loulou works very well as an inexpensive dupe of L'Heure Bleue. Loulou also reminds me of Lancome Poeme in a way. They do not smell the same, but both have that velvety, cushiony, deliciousness about them.
Very Nice for the Price Point
Miss AP is my first Agent Provocateur fragrance. It is very nice for the grey market price point. It is much better than a lot of celebrity scents and other fragrances I have smelt in this price range. I do not find it particularly unique, but it is the type of fragrance that would easily garner compliments.
To my nose, Miss AP is a predominantly pachouli scent. I detect some pink pepper, but I do not detect specific florals such as ylang-ylang which is one of my favourite floral notes. Vanilla is not a listed noted, but I detect a bit of vanilla in the deep dry down. Overall, it is a spicy, warm, powdery, feminine fragrance that patchouli lovers undoubtedly will enjoy. I would classify it as an Oriental.
This perfume is probably best left for evening and leisure wear. Miss AP is said by some to be a reformulation of L'agent. I have never smelt L'agent, so I cannot reliably comment on how similar they are or not, but I can tell you I detect zero incense in Miss AP, and judging by L'agent reviews, I speculate that Miss AP and L'agent may be distant cousins at best.
Miss AP is not at all challenging to wear in my opinion, so if you find the notes appealing, and if you like lightly spicy, powdery Orientals, I deem it a reasonably safe blind buy.
Performance is reasonably good. It does not project very far, but longevity is excellent at 12+ hours on my skin.
Projection: 5/10
Sillage: 5/10
Longevity: 9/10
Presentation: 5/10
To my nose, Miss AP is a predominantly pachouli scent. I detect some pink pepper, but I do not detect specific florals such as ylang-ylang which is one of my favourite floral notes. Vanilla is not a listed noted, but I detect a bit of vanilla in the deep dry down. Overall, it is a spicy, warm, powdery, feminine fragrance that patchouli lovers undoubtedly will enjoy. I would classify it as an Oriental.
This perfume is probably best left for evening and leisure wear. Miss AP is said by some to be a reformulation of L'agent. I have never smelt L'agent, so I cannot reliably comment on how similar they are or not, but I can tell you I detect zero incense in Miss AP, and judging by L'agent reviews, I speculate that Miss AP and L'agent may be distant cousins at best.
Miss AP is not at all challenging to wear in my opinion, so if you find the notes appealing, and if you like lightly spicy, powdery Orientals, I deem it a reasonably safe blind buy.
Performance is reasonably good. It does not project very far, but longevity is excellent at 12+ hours on my skin.
Projection: 5/10
Sillage: 5/10
Longevity: 9/10
Presentation: 5/10
Nice but Thin, Skimpy, Very Poor Performer
I almost purchased Hypnotic Poison blindly based on the many, many glowing reviews I read. I am glad I tested it first before buying it.... For a gourmand fragrance, I came away hungry instead of sated....
I finally tested this much beloved Dior flanker of the original Poison a few days ago at Ulta. Briefly, it was a pleasant fragrance. I detected no play doh, root beer, or marzipan notes in it as many have described. In fact, it was not very "gourmandy" at all. I detected hints of coconut and vanilla, but they were more abstract and less edible than I expected. I expected it to be rather dense, but it was quite light and breezy instead.
The upshot is HP is a well blended and likeable fragrance. However, it is very thin with astoundingly poor performance on my skin, although once on clothing, it lasts a bit longer, but on skin, I had tops 3 hours from it. On my skin, it became a skin scent within the first hour (probably within the first 30 minutes), so I am very unimpressed with performance especially at $130 for the 100ml bottle.
Overall, I would not add this to my collection, at least nowhere near this price point. Dior have really watered down their fragrances to the point of absolute insult to consumers. This goes for the current iteration of Poison, too, which I believe is a much more exciting fragrance than HP. Perhaps I would be more impressed with HP EdP ?
Dior seem to put more money into their advertising, and thus into their image, than they do into their fragrances these days. I am truly sad to say that the once great House of Dior is no more, at least not as far as their fragrances are concerned.
Fragrance: 5/10
Projection: 2/10
Sillage: 2/10
Longevity: 2/10
Presentation: 5/10
I finally tested this much beloved Dior flanker of the original Poison a few days ago at Ulta. Briefly, it was a pleasant fragrance. I detected no play doh, root beer, or marzipan notes in it as many have described. In fact, it was not very "gourmandy" at all. I detected hints of coconut and vanilla, but they were more abstract and less edible than I expected. I expected it to be rather dense, but it was quite light and breezy instead.
The upshot is HP is a well blended and likeable fragrance. However, it is very thin with astoundingly poor performance on my skin, although once on clothing, it lasts a bit longer, but on skin, I had tops 3 hours from it. On my skin, it became a skin scent within the first hour (probably within the first 30 minutes), so I am very unimpressed with performance especially at $130 for the 100ml bottle.
Overall, I would not add this to my collection, at least nowhere near this price point. Dior have really watered down their fragrances to the point of absolute insult to consumers. This goes for the current iteration of Poison, too, which I believe is a much more exciting fragrance than HP. Perhaps I would be more impressed with HP EdP ?
Dior seem to put more money into their advertising, and thus into their image, than they do into their fragrances these days. I am truly sad to say that the once great House of Dior is no more, at least not as far as their fragrances are concerned.
Fragrance: 5/10
Projection: 2/10
Sillage: 2/10
Longevity: 2/10
Presentation: 5/10
Another Elegant Piguet
Over the years Piguet has become one of my favourite houses along with Guerlain, Chanel, and Amouage, and I now have several Piguet fragances in my collection with Baghari eau de parfum being the most recent acquisition, and what a wonderful addition it is!
Baghari is a lovely, classic style perfume. It reminds me of the 1950s and 1960s style of perfumery in the best possible sense. Indeed, I believe the original launched in 1950, but I am not 100% sure. In any case, Aurélian Guichard's 2006 update of Baghari seems to have left it largely intact. I think Guichard's formulation would be instantly recognisable to Robert Piguet as his Baghari. True to its origins, the top notes include an abundance of aldehydes along with a crisp bergamot and what to my nose smells like fresh, frosted orange blossom dusted with a smattering of powdered sugar. I guess that is the neroli.
The scent is very fresh yet perfumey in that classic sense. It really is lovely and very well blended. None of the floral notes really stand out to my nose save for the delicious orange blossom. It dries down smelling much the way it began albeit a bit warmer and more buttery as amber and vanilla step in.
I have nothing else like this in my large collection. It is unique, and I imagine I could be out in public for months on end and never smell Baghari on another person. It is definitely signature worthy. It leans quite feminine, but as always, if you are a man and love this, then wear it and enjoy it. That is what perfume is for.
The ingredients seem to be of very high quality, and I love the elegant, black glass bottles. Projection and sillage are moderate. Longevity is excellent. I can clearly detect it on my skin 12-14 hours after first application.
Baghari is appropriate for romantic evenings and all elegant occasions. Wonderful, wonderful fragrance.... Only a gifted artist can come in and "update" a classic fragrance without causing it to lose its soul. Kudos to Piguet and M. Guichard!
Fragrance: 8.5/10
Sillage: 7.5/10
Projection: 7/10
Longevity: 10/10
Presentation: 8.5/10
ETA: Some reviewers claim that Baghari is a sister fragrance to No. 5. Whilst they both utilise some of the same notes, most notably aldehydes, I disagree that they are very similar, aldehydes aside. Baghari is a totally different fragrance compared to No. 5, and whilst I like No. 5 well enough, Baghari is more sophisticated, more elegant, and far less common. Whilst I could not imagine No. 5 as my signature fragrance, I could imagine Baghari as my signature fragrance if Guerlain had not so completely stolen my heart and soul many years ago. :)
Baghari is a lovely, classic style perfume. It reminds me of the 1950s and 1960s style of perfumery in the best possible sense. Indeed, I believe the original launched in 1950, but I am not 100% sure. In any case, Aurélian Guichard's 2006 update of Baghari seems to have left it largely intact. I think Guichard's formulation would be instantly recognisable to Robert Piguet as his Baghari. True to its origins, the top notes include an abundance of aldehydes along with a crisp bergamot and what to my nose smells like fresh, frosted orange blossom dusted with a smattering of powdered sugar. I guess that is the neroli.
The scent is very fresh yet perfumey in that classic sense. It really is lovely and very well blended. None of the floral notes really stand out to my nose save for the delicious orange blossom. It dries down smelling much the way it began albeit a bit warmer and more buttery as amber and vanilla step in.
I have nothing else like this in my large collection. It is unique, and I imagine I could be out in public for months on end and never smell Baghari on another person. It is definitely signature worthy. It leans quite feminine, but as always, if you are a man and love this, then wear it and enjoy it. That is what perfume is for.
The ingredients seem to be of very high quality, and I love the elegant, black glass bottles. Projection and sillage are moderate. Longevity is excellent. I can clearly detect it on my skin 12-14 hours after first application.
Baghari is appropriate for romantic evenings and all elegant occasions. Wonderful, wonderful fragrance.... Only a gifted artist can come in and "update" a classic fragrance without causing it to lose its soul. Kudos to Piguet and M. Guichard!
Fragrance: 8.5/10
Sillage: 7.5/10
Projection: 7/10
Longevity: 10/10
Presentation: 8.5/10
ETA: Some reviewers claim that Baghari is a sister fragrance to No. 5. Whilst they both utilise some of the same notes, most notably aldehydes, I disagree that they are very similar, aldehydes aside. Baghari is a totally different fragrance compared to No. 5, and whilst I like No. 5 well enough, Baghari is more sophisticated, more elegant, and far less common. Whilst I could not imagine No. 5 as my signature fragrance, I could imagine Baghari as my signature fragrance if Guerlain had not so completely stolen my heart and soul many years ago. :)
1 Comment
