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Fragrance Reviews Mainstream Monday

Paco Rabanne 1 Million Fragrance Review (MAINSTREAM MONDAY)

paco-rabanne-1-million
* The bracing intro kicks off as a citrus mint cocktail with some spice – I get some orange, mint, and cloves.

* Initial projection is loud and sweet – people around you will notice this.

* While it stays on the sweet side, it starts to mellow when a light leather and a hint of wood starts to mellow it out.

* The sweetness continues as a sweet amber and earth patchouli joins the woods in the base 

Summary:  When I went to the Amsterdam Dance Event in 2008,  it seemed like every guy at every nightclub was wearing 1 Million.  It had just launched in Europe, and clearly the marketing campaign was successful.  This is a clubbing fragrance with great projection and longevity – clearly not for the office.  Although it’s labelled as an EDT, it is as strong as an EDP.  I bought a bottle at the airport on the way home and absolutely loved dousing myself in it.  Just as I strive not to put gender restrictions on a fragrance (though they are sometimes obvious), I also try not to put age restrictions on them either.  But, smelling and wearing One Million – it is clearly targeted and designed for teens and twentysomethings.  Though I still wear it from time-to-time (I am 40), I really don’t think it’s appropriate for those past their mid-30s.  It is a scent for a guy who has grown out of Axe or Fierce and is ready for a going out fragrance.  The scent also has strong associations for me – scent memories – of clubbing not only in Amsterdam but in Miami as well..

Other opinions:

Mens Fashion at About
Styleite
Now Smell This
The Totality
Pop Sugar
The Scentualist (Intense Review)r

Paco Rabanne 1 Million is widely available at department stores and Sephora.

Disclaimer: No disclaimer needed, bottle purchased by me. Image courtesy of the Scentualist.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Lush Scent Rose Jam Fragrance Review

* I don’t get the rose jam on top like with the shower gel – it’s more like toasted rose cracker..  There’s a bran or cooked starch weighing it down.

* That cracker note dissipates and the rose starts to get peppery and lemony.  The rose is still the star – it’s just that the supporting players change.

* At this point, Rose Jam goes in one of two ways – either soapy or fruity.  Each time I wear it, it’s a bit unpredictable.

* The starchiness of the top comes back again in the base – for a bready rose, with a touch of almond and honey.

Summary:  After reading Victoria’s review of Rose Jam shower gel, I picked up a bottle and now use it a few times per week.   Rose Jam Pure Perfume is a really good interpretation of the scent.   It lasts 8-10 hours on my skin before it becomes completely undetectable.  Rose Jam is more of a nighttime scent, and I wouldn’t consider it office friendly due to the projection.  If you spray it after bathing with the shower gel, you get a really decadent rose experience.  For the price point, I can’t think of another Rose scent of similar quality.

Other opinions:

EauMG (Shower Gel)
Now Smell This (Shower Gel)
Musings of a Muse (Shower Gel)
Oxford Owl (Shower Gel)
Journeys Are My Diary (Shower Gel)

Lush Scent Rose Jam is a limited edition that was available only from their website. Check there first to see if it is still available. If not, ebay is pretty much your only option.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lush website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Lush Scent Calacas  Fragrance Review

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* I have never smelled Calacas Halloween-themed slime soap before, but it’s listed as lime jellybeans.

* The top is definitely lime with a hint of tangerine – reminding me a lot of 25:43,  but instead of lime and caramel it is lime with a bit of light floral.

* The citrus gets juicier and sweeter after the initial burst. It quickly becomes a skin scent (after about 30 minutes)

* But wait – it comes back for a second round about an hour later – where it’s new and improved dirty lime. Lime with a bit of skank and attitude.  Almost like a slutty lime, if you could imagine.  

* The dry down is a light and dry floral woody skin scent.

Summary: I’ve never smelled Calacas soap before, so I can’t tell if this is close.  Calacas is definitely a brother fragrance to 25:43 for the lime story, but of the two I prefer 25:43.  Calacas is a nice lime scent and of better quality than anything else in the price point range.  Longevity is good at 8 hours, and this is probably the most office-friendly of the special line.

Other opinions:

Cassandra’s Stuff (Shower Jelly)
Beauty Blogger (Shower Jelly)
The Sunday Girl (Shower Jelly)
Knickers and Nail Polish (Shower Jelly)
Sammy Scribble (Shower Jelly)

Lush Scent Calacas is a limited edition that was available only from their website. Check there first to see if it is still available. If not, ebay is pretty much your only option.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lush website.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Lush Scent Snowcake  Fragrance Review

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* Before smelling the perfume, I stopped by a Lush store to smell the snow cake soap.  It’s sweet almond – almost edible, like a cookie-  maybe an Americanized version of Loukoum.

* Snowcake perfume starts off strangely vegetal.   The almond on top isn’t as sweet – it’s cut with a cooking oil, like canola, that gives its an oddly astringent texture

* Then something seems to go wrong and this odd accord comes through which I think is a mix of fig, ambergris, and sulfur.  It’s not unpleasant – it’s just a bit outerworldly and surreal how it floats over my skin.

* Sometime in that mix I get a bit of rose in the background as well.  

* The dry down is a subtle and sheer dry, sweet vanilla.

Summary:  I had a quick sniff of Snowcake soap at Lush and think it is a little bit sweeter than the perfume.   Snowcake is office-friendly because it is not that loud, yet it’s not exactly a shrinking flower either.  Longevity is the lowest of the series with it becoming a very subtle skin scent after about six hours. Snowcake is nice, but not one that I would strongly recommend, if only because other lines have stronger almond/marzipan/loukoum products.

Other opinions:

All Things Lush (Soap)
Meteo Beauty (Soap)
The Notice
Vampy Varnish (Soap)
Writing Whimsy

Lush Scent Snowcake is a limited edition that was available only from their website. Check there first to see if it is still available. If not, ebay is pretty much your only option.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lush website.