Sky

I once came back from holiday to find my fruit bowl had turned my kitchen into Badgley Mischka.

It was obvious that the fruits had painted their nails, got drunk, partied & mingled with each other & then collapsed in a boozy heap on the table, their golden juices oozing out of their porous terracotta container. Naughty!

Next to them I noted my virginal, white blooms has wilted... their dank, green stems slightly rotten, sharp & tinged with a pond-water note. The fruits had obviously corrupted them, poor dears.

The kitchen had that warm, honeyed, sharp-&-sour decay note that only over-ripe fruit can create....not unpleasant & worth quite a few repeat sniffs, but nil by mouth. I left the room a little queasy - high sugars and ethylene threatening to cause a headache.

Now I own Badgley Mischka I can confirm that it is a grown-up fruity scent that may be appreciated by non-froooty lovers. It is like finding a PhD in a beauty pageant - what a pleasant suprise! Pretty AND clever! BUT don't expect the depth, class, sillage or longevity of a niche chypre and enjoy it for what it is: a template for what fruity scents should be like.

One fruity gal with a bit of experience and bite. Not at all sexy & quite possibly a bit irritating until you get to know & love her...Mischka is strictly no cuddling. She can battle in the boardroom & collects diamonds like ex-husbands. She owns an acerbic wit honed by one-too-many brandies, has a twinkle in her eye & laughs like a drain. Intoxicating.

* the rich body lotion is one of the best I have tried - a toned down version of the scent which can be worn alone or layered *

Oooo, Trouble! A very fitting name for a dark & daring, womanly perfume.

Trouble is what I'll be wearing on Hallow'een this year. She fits the bill perfectly: mysterious, deep, smokey, voluptuous & she'll last all night long without corruption. Trouble smells dangerous....in a good way!

Once the citrus opener is tamed, the perfume is all about the jasmine - dark caramel & incense-smoked jasmine ....there is nothing delicate & light about this midnight beauty! The cedar adds a seductive smokey woodsy feel, the amber is rich, warm & inviting. The lemon doesn't lighten the scent (it isn't sour or tart) but it does brighten her dark side, giving her ruby-red richness a glorious, golden glow.

They say the scent of Dyer's Broom can tame both man & beast - Trouble is certainly bewitching & has the strength of a lion. Sillage is good & on my skin the dry-down is a smooth, buttery caramel with the merest hint of citrus, but this is many, many hours later.

I like Trouble. She is a wicked, independent beauty confidently walking in the shadows to a masquerade ball, her black cape with red silk lining flowing behind her.

*the lotion is equally delicious & well worth a few pennies*

I love Guerlain perfumes - they always have a complex story that unfurls as the fragrance opens up on your skin. Even if you wouldn't wear them, you can't help but admire their unique composition. Mahora will never be on my wish-list, because I would never be able to handle this kind of pushy, midnight lady.

Mahora hurts me - she forces her way deep into my lungs with her sahara sand, aldehydes & heavy, honeyed flowers. I can almost taste her! The sweetness is deep & low & voluble. There is a rich, heady spiciness & a strong tuberose accent. As her velvet grip hardens, a dark tropical night-forest begins to bloom: nectar drips, incense burns & there is the slightest touch of creamy vanilla-coconut.

Her thick, warm scent is excessive, opulent & almost too much to bear (she will try to drown you in only one drop!). Mahora is powerful & passionate & pungent - hers is a forceful & pervading sillage with substancial staying power.

This dark, sweet, spicy floral is not for the faint hearted, or headache-prone. Alas, this rules me out.

Are you into magic & mischief? Do you like Tim Burton's twisted tales? Have you ever wanted to slip into a dishevelled, deep-plum velvet burlesque outfit & handcuff yourself to a trapeze to join the gothic carnival?

If these are your girly daydreams, then you may just like this scent. (If you are actually "Sword-Swallowing Sadistic Sadie" from the Corrupt Carnival Troupe, then you will find this far too trivial, sweet & frilly, lacking real grit, dirtiness & ooom-pa-pa).

It is a very purple scent. Heavily heady & a great showcase for orris, iris & tonka. The fruits open to an almost over-ripe booziness before you are powdered down & enveloped in a treacley-thick floral fog....the flowers are not fresh, crisp & zesty but old & candied (& probably covered in pixie-poo). I do not get the usual woody/amber dry down but the tonka is spectacular....clove-spiced, vanilla-warm with sweet nutty cherry tobacco.

I agree that it is a sweet, fairytale scent - but not one for a pretty pink glittery princess. This is a haunted castle, a poisoned apple, a purple rose whose thorns drip blue blood from wounded wood nymphs.

Here is a young perfume with bolshiness & individuality.....but personally, I can't get over the sickly fruit.

Great for twilight changlings who look like sugar wouldn't melt but have deliciously dark daydreams. Confusing for mere mortals