Pinkdawn

Galbanum! There it is, the scent of young green leaves... On which the early summer sun paints yellow squiggles. If it had a colour, it would be green, as its name galbanus, Latin for green-yellow, suggests. The aromatic smell of the resin of this beautiful, bright yellow flowering Oriental is said to be reminiscent of spruce needles or cypresses. Others think of resinous, woody, camphor and spicy, bitter, even pungent. Not to me. Green yes, a mild, light green with slightly citrusy nuances at first and floral-sweet ones soon after. I'm thinking powdery mimosa, but it's not in there at all.

Galbanum has been smoked since biblical times. In ceremonies to drive away demons and mental illness and embalming dead Egyptians. Probably the oldest incense mixture with galbanum comes from - YHWH himself. "And the LORD said unto Moses, 'Take thee spices: balsam, and staves, and galbanum, and pure frankincense, of the one as much as of the other, and make incense of them, blended according to the art of the maker of ointments, salted, pure, for holy use. And thou shalt pound it to powder, and shalt bring some of it before the ark of the law in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee. It shall be a most holy thing unto you. But such incense ye shall not make for yourselves, but it shall be unto thee as sanctified unto the LORD. Whoever makes it, that he may delight himself in the smell, he shall be cut off from among his people.'" (Ex. 30:38)

Gulp. So the mortal must not delight in the fragrance of the galbanum mixture. On pain of death! The God of the Old Testament is just a strict, punishing.

Quickly sniff away to avoid falling into the very highest disfavor? Too late. At best, I can try not to enjoy the scent now. Easy for you to say.

But the days of the Old Testament are long gone. By now, even YHWH probably won't be angry if mortals enjoy the scent of galbanum. I hope so. Anyway, the resin is a popular ingredient in perfumes... Especially as a top note. Anyway, Diptyque seems to have seen the writing on the wall. No, perfumer Fabrice Pellegrin, or Diptyque in Paris Saint Germain, where apparently they don't just play football, was clearly ahead of his time. This is shown by the EdT's rating on the popularity scale. Dammed the women's fragrance from 2007 for years unspectacular before itself, the trend from 2020 suddenly shot up to unimagined heights.

Suddenly they all wanted to smell green. Leaves, sweet grasses, young foliage, woodsy nature with a few little flowers, now there was money to be made. Myself, always curious about where perfume fashion is going, now that I think about it, I have to say that in the last few months I have acquired a few green scents with forest or grassy nuances, all of which I still love and use more and more instead of citrus scents in the summer and also otherwise when I want a fresh scent, cooling and natural.

Eau de Lierre, the "ivy water", I got to know through several "reviews", as it is now often called here. I love ivy. A fragrance that is supposed to smell like ivy, of course, immediately caught my attention. I imagined this scent to be green, cool, leafy, soft and cuddly. And was not disappointed. Finally a blind purchase that was worth it!

What makes Ivy Water so appealing is its subtle blend or melange of green, leafy with flowers that smell sweet but remain delicate and subtle like cyclamen that likes to grow in shady woods.

The floral sweetness here comes across very subtly, but still clearly noticeable. Geranium contributes something sunny that gives the fragrance a little warmth, but not so much that it couldn't be worn in mid-summer.

Geranium as well as Galbanum are supposed to give harmony and inner peace. You can also tell that from the fragrance. Here it is not about loud, screaming, about "Here I am! Look at me!" The attention comes, so to speak, on quiet soles, but emphatically and memorably. You could say, Eau de Lierre suits women who are not concerned with a fragrance for quick, screeching attention that quickly fades again.

People have compared the fragrance to the freshness of a waterfall. I find it less dynamic, more tender, feminine, soft and - in a modern way - romantic.
Its genesis is reminiscent of Diorissimo. Because also from ivy no fragrance can be extracted - as also from lily of the valley. This means: one had to recreate the ivy scent, to approximate the appearance of the beautiful climbing plant, which is known to stand for fidelity and eternal life. Such synthetic constructs often come closer to our illusion than reality. However, it also takes creative intuition to create such a compelling fragrance image.

Fabrice Pellegrin has succeeded in this. He has created from a lot of galbanum, cyclamen, rosewood and pink pepper - some suspect geranium - an artificial ivy fragrance that reproduces the soul of this plant in idealized form. Ambergris and woody notes contribute a touch of dry warmth.

For me, this popular eau de toilette is most suitable for spring and summer because of its fresh green but not sharp scent. I would rather wear it during the day.
The durability is not so bad, considering that Eau de Lierre is not a very intense fragrance overall - which is not to say that it is short-lived and does not develop sillage.

Fabrice Pellegrin is no stranger to me. In my collection there are already some good fragrances from him like Oud and Patchouli N' Roses, both from Réminiscence.
And more recently, the Eau de Lierre EdT, 100 ml, currently priced at around €120. I can recommend this pleasing, but by no means banal fragrance - for ladies who want to wear something other than citrus fragrances in the summer.

By the way: Another similarity with Diorissimo: Just as the protagonist Verena wears Diorissimo in Mario Simmel's melodramatic novel "Liebe ist nur ein Wort" (1962) - nowadays difficult to read - the fragrance of Anna, one of the main characters of the novel "Kein Wort mehr über die Liebe" (No more talk about love) - note the similarity of the titles - by Hervé Le Tellier is Eau de Lierre. This summer comedy is also about cheating - out of love, passion or the longing for a new beginning. Personally, the theme - the inability of one person to be faithful to another - doesn't appeal to me. I believe in monogamy. Besides, the motif has already been dealt with quite extensively in 3 hour-long full-length plays by none other than Wolfgang Amadeus in Così fan tutte.

Had I known about this "product placement" in Tellier's novel, it might have put the brakes on my desire to own the Eau de Lierre. It's a good thing I didn't find out until later, or I might have missed out on getting to know this perfume, which I don't think is appropriate for a "change of trees" romance novel. Because Eau de Lierre is quite sophisticated, and in addition to its friendliness and charm, it definitely has something mysterious, deep-shaded, cool that draws you in and makes it unforgettable.

A walk over a fairground. You are caressed by the smell of cotton candy and delicious caramel, enjoy a comforting sweetness that is actually not that sweet at all. Rather, you encounter consummate elegance in its most radiant, luxurious form. Transparent, but at the same time intense, delicate and noble. Fine jasmine, earthy saffron, fresh cedar wood, fir resin, ambergris - warm and beguiling ...

Much has been written about Baccarat rouge 540. And very different. The unisex scent seems to polarize. You either love it or hate it. Either way, we're dealing with a very extravagant and unusual scent.

BR540 was released in 2016 to mark the 250th anniversary of the world-famous Baccarat Crystal House, once a supplier to the French Royal Court. In Baccarat, Lorraine, exclusive - and correspondingly expensive - beauties have been handmade from crystal glass since 1764: Chandeliers, carafes, glasses, figurines, accessories for the refined table and jewellery. The egg cup of the new collection made of sparkling crystal for € 150,- is already sold out. The designer chess set for € 15.000,- is still available, if someone is looking for a Christmas present.

The legendary red of the Baccarat crystals is particularly popular. To produce the unique red tone, 24 carat gold dust is added to the crystal when it is melted. When heated to 540° C, the brilliant colour that inspired Francis Kurkdijan to create his Baccarat Rouge 540 is created. He wanted to olfactorically reproduce the masterfully combined harmony of the radiant transparency of the raw material glass with the intense red shade.

The resulting fragrance is described as floral-woody, but is much more than that.

Due to the enthusiastic but also contradictory descriptions I wanted to get to know BR540 personally - first in form of a "ersoukten", generous 10 ml filling. To spend about 300 Euro for a blind purchase seemed too risky to me. In the meantime, the original bottle has also arrived and BR540 is in continuous use. Why? Because I have the feeling that I have to find out the secret of this fragrance. Fathom why it has this appeal to me. Master Kurkdijan gives the nuts, but he doesn't crack them. And I'm curious.

For me, BR540 scores at first with an oriental note, which is probably due to the saffron. There is no vanilla-sweet, kitschy orient awaiting you, but rather the slightly bitter, dry, but also sweet-warm typical aroma of saffron. It plays the leading role in the top note and even holds its own against jasmine. Whereby the two are by no means in competition. With BR540 everything is perfectly balanced and harmonious. Sounds boring? But it's not. The extraordinary fragrance is extremely exciting, inspiring and has a certain potential for addiction. As always at MFK, you notice the high quality of the raw materials.

BR540 embodies luxury for me. Whoever does not perceive luxury as something negative, morally questionable and has no reservations about expensive perfumes, but can enjoy the glitter of diamonds in a childlike way, will love this fragrance.

I perceive BR540 as a kaleidoscope of fragrances that constantly shows new facets - flowery, gourmand, slightly aquatic, slightly smoky, slightly resinous, whereby the resin smells like tree needles - fresh, but not too fresh.

For me, BR540 is a perfume that is particularly suitable for autumn and winter. I see it more as a fragrance for indoors and quite suitable for everyday use.

I haven't quite deciphered the secret of BR540's fascination, but I've been on its trail ever since I read that the fragrance contains hedione (hedone = Greek for lust, pleasure, delight). This magical substance, which has been used in many perfumes since the 50s, can do a lot. It smells "jasmine-like" or delicately fresh, like magnolia and citrus notes. Besides jasmine, it contains scents of tobacco (smoke) and black tea. The synthetic material makes scents "radiant", transparent, soft and durable. But that is not all. Methyl dihydrojasmonate, as this carboxylic acid ester is called, is something like a happiness maker. It is also credited with the quality of making people more attractive in the eyes of others. This is because it activates different areas of the brain in the limbic system that are associated with desire, libido, emotions and memory. This is neither magic nor advertising mischief, but has been proven by scientific studies. Incidentally, women respond more strongly to hedione than men. However, this is by no means only about increased erotic feelings and sexual attraction. Hedione can also evoke pleasant childhood memories. Research on this is far from complete. So it remains exciting.

But BR540 can also be enjoyed as a fragrance full of beauty, charm and elegance beyond its euphoric effects on the psyche. Apart from the distinct saffron component, the fragrance lives from a delightful combination of (fir) resinous, gourmand and floral nuances that seem to be always in motion, sometimes emphasizing one or the other facet more strongly.

I noticed that the scent seems to be susceptible to temperature, at least in my case. Unfortunately, it "works" worse in cold weather. I am disappointed with sillage and durability. BR540 is much too fast for a sensual scent for people who are not afraid to attract attention. This is a pity and should not be at this price. The poor durability on my skin (my tomcat successfully escaped the test ... Don't worry, I was only joking, I would never do that to him) - it's better on textiles - makes the perfume, which would undoubtedly have the potential to become a great fragrance for shiny occasions, a perfume that is suitable for everyday use and can be sprayed on. One would not expect that at this price either.

Otherwise: beguiling, fine, noble, delicate, radiant and airy. Pure luxury. A masterpiece, which I see more in women.

Does it make sense to write a comment about a fragrance that apparently no longer exists?

But from the beginning: In 1999, Hervé Léger launched a fragrance called, not surprisingly, Hervé Léger. It took a while for this fragrance to find me. More precisely: over 10 years... Because just recently, a lovely perfume sent me a sample of the EdP for women.

I've worn it three times now. And it will probably stay that way, because unfortunately there was only a little bit left in the glass vial.

I liked the smell right away. How shall I put it? It is described as sweet and flowery. And that's exactly what it is. Does it sound trite? I suppose it is. I'm not expecting any great sensations here, nothing "daring", "hyped", innovative, "niche", surprising. It is simply a graceful, lovely floral scent with a pleasantly harmonious sweetness.

I know Hervé Léger as the creator of dreamlike elfin dresses for women in black or natural pastel shades, some of which look as if they were wrapped from wide ribbons and are all very feminine, usually super-short and extremely figure-hugging. Accordingly, they are only available in small sizes up to about ladies size 36, occasionally 38, at designer fashion prices.

Does the scent go with these little dresses? Yes and no. In women's fashion, Léger pays homage to the delicate, androgynous creatures that seem out of this world - simply beautiful and ethereal. The perfume, on the other hand, is more "down to earth", I'd say. Although it has a similarly transparent, fleeting sweetness, it seems to me to be wearable even by ladies beyond size 36. You could say it's a thoroughly conventional scent that probably pleases everyone and that you don't rub off on anywhere. So boring. Isn't it? Right? Right. I was surprised myself that I still found this perfume quite remarkable. Sweet floral scents are - with a few exceptions - mostly too inconspicuous and bland for me. This fragrance is not really innovative. But how shall I put it? It has something that distinguishes it from so many other sweet scents. It is difficult to describe this special feature. I would say: somehow you don't succeed in disliking this fragrance and dismissing it as bland and "nothing new". In no time at all, it was so ingratiating to me that I began to search for it on the Internet - with little success, however. Let's call it that: "normal" this fragrance is obviously no longer available. There should only be leftovers somewhere in Great Britain or used goods on ebay at juicy prices. A pity, I thought when I first wore the fragrance and found it so cuddly, comforting and yet sensual. A fragrance full of emotion - tender, gentle, soft, delicate and very feminine.

He opens with a green freshness that soon becomes sweet. The fact that the citrus notes from the fragrance pyramid do not appear in my fragrance, I do not feel at all as a shortcoming. Of the fruits that are supposedly present, peach and currants are the ones I most likely perceive. Then quickly it becomes flowery. Here I am also overtaxed to sniff out the individual nuances. Because they all appear delicate and only appear as a round whole. Only heliotrope is what I think I am trying to sniff out. Because of its gourmand scent, this shrub with its abundance of purple flowers is also called cherry pie flower or vanilla flower. Its scent profile is reminiscent of almond, vanilla and marzipan. Heliotropin has long been used for scenting - for soap or perfume, for example. I associate heliotrope with strong fragrances like Poison or LouLou. But also Cuir Beluga. Oh yes, because Hervé Léger EdP is often described as "powdery" - compared to Cuir Beluga or Shalimar it is not, in my opinion. They seem to do that better with Guerlain. Hervé Léger also cannot stand comparison with these stars in the fragrant sky. The EdP may not be as concise and intense, but it is completely suitable for everyday use, even though it radiates something quite valuable. The fragrance was created by no less a person than Alberto Morillas, who later proved that he knows a great deal about florals with Daisy, Flower by Kenzo and some flankers from L'Eau d'Issey. Before Hérve Léger, he had already created a similarly graceful and pleasing fragrance with Pleasures, which I am drawn to from time to time, especially in spring.

But I can understand why Hérve Léger, the EdP, is no longer so readily available. Too much has happened in the last 10 scent years. Hérve Léger still knows how to please, maybe even to bewitch, but time has probably caught up with him. It's a wonderful fragrance for women who like to be feminine. But - its durability is unfortunately very limited. Especially for me, that would be a reason not to chase the fragrance.

The phenomenon described by some, that the scent changes for the worse in the course of wearing it, I can't notice on me. With me it is weak overall. So weak that one hardly notices it when the floral nuances finally sink into beauty in this feel-good mixture of vanilla, benzoin, tonka bean, amber, musk, sandalwood and patchouli.

When I look at the ingredients of this perfume, I find it hard to believe that this wealth of fragrances of the most diverse kinds produces nothing more than a rather unspecific, frightened cloud of scent. It may be that my sample was already old. I could imagine that this fragrance would be simply enchanting if it had the right intensity and durability. But in the end, it goes down in a certain arbitrariness and weakness

There I sit with my shopping bags on the Christian-Broda-Platz in Vienna-Mariahilf, not far from my apartment. The autumn wind blows the tender, feathered leaves of the robinias that live there down on me. They are so bright yellow that I feel like I am in a golden rain. I wear Chanel N°22 and try to make contact with this fragrance, which is new to me, to see if it suits me and how I feel about it.

The Les Exclusifs de Chanel series now includes several - as the name suggests - exclusive and all very well-known perfumes. I count myself more to the Guerlain Group. That's why I recently tested a fragrance from this series, N°22, as I mentioned earlier. Incidentally, it owes its name to the year of its birth, 1922, although it has been reformulated. My comment refers to the eau de parfum released in 2016.
N°22 has always been considered the flanker of the legendary N°5 from 1921, and although this fragrance may be iconic and have its fans, I still can't do anything with it. It simply does not suit me.

How do I fare now with N°22?

It is said to be more "feminine" than N°5, "caressing", milder and powdery. That's not bad for someone for whom N°5 was always too "brisk" and strong.

Gladly awaited, I treat myself to a dose of N°22 and admit that the scent immediately impresses me. It is flowery, but not sweet, but soapy from the start. These are the aldehydes that are not too weakly represented here, I know. N°22 has an intense scent of white flowers, but it is not very sweet, it is rather elegant, noble, exclusive and ladylike. The EdP is expensive and smells the same: precious and noble. It manages the balancing act between intense and subtle. The discreetness creates something distant, cool. This aura of the unapproachable reminds me of the attractive, "cool" blondes from the Hitchcock films of the 1950s.

N°22 is described as floral-powdery. I like powdery. I'd like more of that here. But the scent is rather soapy. It gives you the feeling of being well-groomed, which is almost too perfect for me. I'm thinking of the famous retro soaps from the old days. They were available everywhere, in every drugstore, Lux, Camay and whatever else they were called, those soaps with the perfume scent, but they were marketed as luxury.

N°22 has something similar to vintage. It does not change much either. In the top note the aldehydes are very present. They give the fragrance that clean image of fresh out of the bath. Lily of the valley, which I love, and neroli I don't notice much. More so from the flowers of the heart note: jasmine, rose, tuberose and ylang-ylang. Jasmine and ylang-ylang dominate here.

Amber and vanilla in the base note could have given the fragrance feminine softness and sweetness. But they can't compete with the masculine vetiver. That's probably deliberate

I know the scheme of N°5, which is the same in structure. Both have a concise aldehyde note and close with a mercilessly strong vetiver. I like vetiver, but not when it is so intense that it takes away all sweetness from the floral scents and turns the fragrance into a chypre that is as if it were elegant.

N°22 is indeed considered feminine, sensual and seductive according to the description of the manufacturer Chanel. But I cannot confirm this. The fragrance has too little warmth and softness for that. For me it rather radiates the soulless crystalline perfection of a lady who wants to appear almost inhumanly perfect herself. The fragrance has an almost frightening hardness. I can imagine it on proud queens and self-confident business ladies in elegant clothes. In my opinion it does not suit sensitive women.

I too feel "disguised". N°22 and I are not compatible. The perfume is too perfect for me. It's not me. I don't want to be either. I think of all the wonderful flowers that have come together here, along with such deliciously sweet aromas as vanilla and amber: Jasmine, ylang ylang, neroli, roses, lily of the valley, tuberose... And I wonder how one can make a perfume with such a masculine attitude from such lovely scents. Soapy aldehydes and masculine vetiver reign supreme.

I imagine the woman who wears N°22 to be powerful, maybe a little bit know-it-all, very mature, serious and strict. And reserved. She always has herself and her feelings under control and knows exactly what she wants and how to achieve it

The flowers are already there, but frighteningly abstract. That's how I feel about them, anyway. Passion and liveliness, emotions like tenderness, devotion, joy, playfulness, flirtation and smiling are not present in my opinion.

No question, the fragrance not only has a solid durability, it is also good and has class. And size. I see it as a perfume for festive, maybe even official occasions, a kind of status symbol.

I like the soap, but it's too strong for me. Too much. Too much. Probably I am too weak or too sensitive for this classic fragrance for women who (want) to radiate power. I am neither a queen nor a business lady and I don't want to be.

With thanks to Leons for the rehearsal

I have already tested, even possessed, several fragrances by Paco Rabanne that I found very pleasant. So when a nice perfume company sent me a sample of Lady Million EdP, I was quite pleased and curious. Because this perfume has so far passed me by, so to speak, although it seems to be very popular. The name and design of the bottle didn't appeal to me. Both seem deliberately pretentious to me. Real millionaires - unless they're newly rich - are rarely show-offs who light their cigars with banknotes and hang themselves with thick gold chains.

Of course, this image of the "moneyed aristocracy" mentioned here can also be treated with humor. When I saw Lady Million, I immediately thought of an Austrian phenomenon that is now known far beyond the borders: the Money Boy ("Andy Lubitz", "Swag", "Gucci and Prada"). This is the name of a rapper, born in 1981, who also plays with status symbols. In his videos he wears expensive designer clothes, poses in front of luxury cars and pretends to have any "bitch". At first this seemed so ridiculous that it was attractive again. In the meantime, Money Boy has found something like his own style with the help of professional arrangers and is not only clicked because he looks ridiculous, but has become musically interesting and shows self-irony. After all, behind the often provocative Austrorapper is an academic, who in real life is called Sebastian Meisinger and wrote his journalism master thesis about gangsta rap in Germany and therefore knows the scene well enough to imitate it. But because of his deliberate exaggerations a lot of things get a certain wink, which gives the show-off something playful.

I had a good time watching those Lady Million commercials. Protagonist is Dree Hemingway, born in 1987, an American movie starlet and model for Givenchy, Lavin, Chanel and the "Playboy". In the chic black and white video she plays a rich bitch in a low-cut, skin-tight black glitter dress with a tousled blonde mane. Of course, all the set pieces are there again that the average consumer associates with wealth: a fleet of luxury cars, status jewellery and power, which of course is also associated with money. And so the attractive, but also deliberately cheap-looking blonde mutates into a spoiled luxury creature, to whom the handsomest men lie at her feet and give her precious gifts, which she only makes fun of.

Yeah, you can smile at that crude story. But it does show what kind of audience is being targeted here: young women with Cindarella ambitions who dream of being rich and powerful. Lady Million gives them this illusion for some time. Because this fragrance has the effect that some young girls might imagine that dominant, rich ladies smell - which of course is not true in real life.
This sophisticated advertising image was taken one step further: I suppose it was the company itself that started the rumor that the perfume "smells like money". Anyone who thinks that rich women need to be young, sexy and beautiful is easily convinced of this and sniffs the scent of money. It is well known that you can interpret a lot into a fragrance. Also that a flowery perfume smells of money.

Now what does Lady Million smell like?

According to the pyramid, the fragrance starts with raspberry, neroli and bitter orange. Supposedly there are also amalfizitronen in the fragrance. That would be nice. Some who have tested it describe the raspberry note as sparkling like lemonade. I like to think so. Raspberries in general - I like them if they are not too sour. But the raspberries don't even show up at my place, let alone smell them. Nor do the Amalfizitrons, by the way. Strange. Bitter orange? It doesn't stand out much either. I make Lady Million sweet and floral. White-blooded, to be exact. At Parfumo, the gardenia is not listed in the ingredients, but according to other sources and my nose it is there - and not too scarce. The only problem is: I don't like gardenia scent very much. It is too heavy and sweet for me. And here it also appears in combination with jasmine, even jasmine sambac. The oil of this Indian olive tree is even more intense than that of the more well-known jasmine grandiflorum. For 1 kg Absolue - jasmine can neither be distilled with steam nor extracted with alcohol - you need 1000 kg of fresh flowers. I love the smell of fresh jasmine flowers in nature. When it comes to perfumes, I have my difficulties with such intensely scented flowers.

But nobody stops the sweetness. It is intense and almost narcotic or hypnotic. Unfortunately I don't like narcotic or hypnotic scents. I've always avoided Alien, Angel, Hypnotic Poison and La Vie est Belle. Not for me. In this sense it is also no coincidence that especially these hypno bombs, which are recommended if you like Lady Million, are not among my Tops of the Pops
But I have nothing at all against white flowers, e.g. in connection with Musk. I like to wear something like that on warm summer evenings when I'm in the mood for it
But here comes the full droning of a pompous floral scent. I feel it almost overwhelming. The scent is feminine, yes, some may find it seductive, sensual or sexy. Not me. It's too clear in its message for me. It overwhelms me with its sweetness and numbing heaviness, which seems almost obtrusive.
I am thinking of some reviewers who have something like this in mind: Oh, I thought it was a redneck scent, but it's so delicate and subtle and lovely anyway...
Well, I cannot join that group. I love sophisticated fragrances that offer something new and interesting. But not only. Like I said, I'm pretty good with "White Musk" scents. I also find them cuddly, sweet and seductive. But I just can't do with some of the highly acclaimed women's scents. Among them are the already mentioned Chanel 5 and Chypres.

I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend anybody. But I just find Lady Million to be provocative, cheap, loud and vulgar. That's my personal impression. It's a matter of taste. I've worn it a few times, but I'm not comfortable with it. This - in my opinion - bold and seductive style does not give me enough style and refinement.

White honey should also be added to the base note. I like the smell of white honey, but not in a perfume. Fortunately, however, the honey is rather reserved with me anyway.

What surprised me was that the fragrance didn't stick to me as intensively as some people describe it. I would say that Sillage and durability are "within limits" - meaning not too opulent or too inconspicuous. Rather weaker than expected. Nevertheless the fragrance has a dominant presence.

In the drydown phase, I find Lady Million still best when the fragrance - probably due to the patchouli - becomes softer and gentler and no longer has that deliberately provocative quality.

A perfume that suggests the smell of money would certainly be an exciting thing for me. But here I only find a lot of gardenia and jasmine. That's not enough for me.