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Getting back into the women’s perfume space, I wanted to do a comparison post about two of the more popular fragrances on the market: Si by Armani vs. La Vie Est Belle by Lancome. Which of these two best-sellers smells the best? Which lasts longer? Which is the better buy?
Tale of the Tape
La Vie Est Belle
Notes include: patchouli, vanilla, blackberry, iris, pear, tonka bean, praline, and more
Click here to try: Lancome La Vie Est Belle Eau de Parfum Spray, 1.7 Ounce
Read my Review: La Vie Est Belle
Si by Armani
Notes include: rose, vanilla, freesia, black currant, patchouli, amber, woods
Click here to try: Giorgio Armani Si Eau de Parfum Spray for Women, 3.4 Ounce
Read my Review: Si Perfume
Opening
La Vie est Belle starts things off with its fruity elements. You get pear and blueberry in combination with one another. It can have a bit of a tart profile at first, but it’s very nice, and is followed by patchouli and iris.
Meanwhile, Si, opens up with also brings some tart fruitiness with black currant, that gets smoothed out by vanilla and rose. Actually, it takes on a sweet quality which sort of smells like peach, rather than the individual parts of the perfume. Patchouli also comes into the picture.
Which is better? Well, they’re both a mix of fruity and patchouli. I think that I prefer Si, out of the two. It doesn’t have the same tart or sour qualities, as does La Vie, and smells juicier to me.
Edge: Si
Projection
La Vie est Belle is a pretty darn strong perfume. The sillage is fairly large and if over-sprayed, it can overpower a room. You definitely get the performance with this one.
The Armani perfume, isn’t all that heavy, but not weak. It seems to be strictly moderate during the entirety of the wear, never really touching the same heights as La Vie.
Edge: La Vie
Longevity
When testing out Si, I could get it to last for 6-7 hours, on my skin. Not amazing, but quite good, for most purposes. The Lancome scent will go for at least 8 hours, but can often exceed 10. It’s the clear performance winner.
Edge: La Vie
Versatility
To me, these are both extremely versatile fragrances, which is why they are so popular as daily wears. Each can go to the office, out for casual events, and even serve as romantic wears. Neither of them, are built for summer, however.
Cold weather to more temperate climates, are their sweet spot. There’s no noticeable difference in this category.
Edge: Push
Overall Scent
These two perfumes often get compared because they do occupy the same space. Not only that, there is overlap in the composition of each. As such, the head to head comparison is quite close.
La Vie Est Belle is a really great performer. The opening can be too much for some people, but it really settles down into a nice gourmand fragrance. There is the later inclusion of vanilla and praline, which flank the patchouli, and fruit notes perfectly. Not to mention, the iris powdery note.
I happen to like SI by Armani, a bit better. Not by a huge margin, and no, the performance isn’t as good. However, I think the smell is better. It starts off with the juicy berry/fruitiness and then moves into something more floral and woody.
For me, the rose and freesia, with amber and woods really create the distinction between these perfumes. Those notes coming in later, separates Si, and gives it the low key quality to make it a winner.
Winner: Si
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Best Men’s Colognes started back in 2013, as a way to share my learning experiences with different fragrances, as I dove head first into the hobby. Since then, I have written hundreds of reviews and other pages about perfumes and colognes.