By Designer

La Petite Robe Noire Couture by Guerlain

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This is going to be my second review of Guerlain’s La Petite Robe Noire series of fragrances. There seems to be 80 million variations of this namesake perfume and they all come in bottles that look close to the same. The original La Petite Robe Noire that I reviewed was highlighted by a black cherry note with berries and almonds supporting.

Today’s review is going to cover the Couture version in an Eau de Parfum. So, let’s go ahead and jump into my review, starting below.

What does La Petite Robe Noire Couture Smell Like?

Notes include: patchouli, raspberry, bergamot, rose, tonka bean, moss, and vetiver.

Click here to try: Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire Couture Eau de Parfum, 3.3 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

From the opening, I of course notice how similar Couture and the original Petite Robe Noire are to one another. Now, Couture replaces the black cherry and other red berries for a singular raspberry note.

It is interesting how this one maintains its sweetness and has a similar aroma to the first one just by swapping the fruit note.

Couture feels like it has just inverted some of the background players in the original and then dropped some other notes in favor of new ones like the raspberry.

There also is a very noticeable patchouli note in this. It’s combination with the raspberry reminds me of Black XS for Men and how it pairs itself with a lemon note. However, that men’s fragrance develops into a fairly acrid smell while Couture remains sweet and pleasant.

This perfume also contains a rose note that gets tempered by the presence of patchouli. The rose and the tonka bean pair to give Couture its smooth and powdery element and prevents the sweetness from going too overboard.

The dry down period, gives Couture a nice change of pace as the moss and vetiver begin to emerge and develops into a much more grounded woody base. It’s nice and not too masculine but I think that it gives this fragrance more character.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, La Petite Robe Noire Couture is pretty moderate but by no means weak. It’s not a perfume that will choke out a room. Nonetheless, I noticed it waft up from the skin many times during the day, as I tested this scent out.

Couture seems to have pretty good but not amazing longevity with around 7 hours of wear being well within its abilities. Not an elite perfume, with how long it lasts, but it is certainly a serviceable fragrance.

I’m not sure that I could classify this as a certain ‘season’. It would seemingly work well in all but the high heat of summertime and is versatile enough to wear at the office or out for a date.

Overall Impressions of Couture

Overall, is La Petite Robe Noire Couture worth a buy? Yes, granted you enjoy sweet fragrances. The patchouli isn’t bad in this one, which is usually a note that I don’t care too much for. If you’re not really into sweets, I’d probably avoid this one as it might be headache inducing for you.

That being said, if you enjoy fruity floral scents, this is a very solid choice. I actually think that I like it better than the original fragrance that it followed.

Couture isn’t a super powerful fragrance, but it does have a good use as a daily wear, so at a good price it might be worthwhile.

The vetiver and moss in the dry down, does help to set Couture apart, and comes across as a greenish aroma. Somewhat dry itself and a nice contrast from the raspberry and sweetness as a whole.

Dolce Floral Drops by D&G

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In today’s review, we have another fragrance from Dolce & Gabbana, from their Dolce line: Floral Drops. This one was released in 2015 as a flanker to the original Dolce perfume. So, how does this one smell? What are the ingredients? How does it perform? Is it actually worth a purchase?

What does Floral Drops by D&G Smell Like?

Notes include: peach, apple, daffodil, water lily, neroli, papaya flower, musk, sandalwood, cashmere

Click here to try: DOLCE GABBANA Floral Drops Eau de Toilette Spray for Women, 2.5 Fluid Ounce

Full Review

Floral Drops opens with a very crisp and watery aroma. It’s certainly the green apple in the top note, but the peach is also present. The peach is light but adds that sweet familiar smell. The fruit here, is a nice mix of floral and the actual fruit.

So, you get apple but also neroli and papaya flower, as well. It’s all sort of citrus and vaguely tropical. It’s sweet, summery, but not a sickening candy-like scent.

After the initial top notes, the white flowers move in to the dominant position. I can definitely smell the water lily in here and what I suppose is the daffodil, though, that isn’t a scent that I have a distinct memory of.

It’s all sort of blended together into more of a singular floral scent, rather than stand alone and distinct floral notes.

At its base, Dolce Floral Drops has a very small amount of musk and some woodiness provided by cashmere and sandalwood.

None of these notes come through all that strongly. In the end, it is juicy/watery, floral, and greenish. I do enjoy the almost aquatic aroma, that this one develops, as it moves along. Very nice.

Sillage, How Long it Lasts, Versatility

Projection wise, Floral Drops has a light sillage. It’s an airy sort of perfume and isn’t going to overpower a room. That being said, I did notice it plenty while wearing. Not extreme in the slightest, though.

The longevity is an area in which this perfume does under-perform. It lasted about 4-5 hours on my skin, which isn’t horrific, but definitely not where I’d want it to be.

Trying it a few times, Floral Drops does tend to stay in the 5 hour range, on the skin. On clothing, it’ll give a few more hours. Nonetheless, this perfume doesn’t have great longevity.

Seasonally, I’d call this D&G fragrance, one for the spring/summer months. It’s light, clean, and cheerful. Floral Drops can be worn at work or casually during the day.

I wouldn’t call it a sexy fragrance, but I certainly think that it is pretty enough to wear on a date or on a night wear one wants to be low key. Mostly, it’ll serve as a daily wear when you want something simple and pretty.

Overall Impressions of Floral Drops

Overall, do I like Dolce Floral Drops? I actually do. It’s not super amazing or anything but is a nice take on the usual white floral perfume.

The fruit notes, while light, add a different dimension and make Floral Drops quite an attractive scent.

The only real issue is that this perfume isn’t all that great at lasting for very long. However, if you only need something light and pretty for freshening up, this would be a solid choice.

Floral Drops is a good fragrance for the warmer months, very clean, and pleasant to have on throughout its cycle. My favorite part has to be the initial apple and peach, which gives it more personality than the usual white floral fare.

Vert de Fleur by Tom Ford

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I’ve gone through plenty of Tom Ford fragrance this year, testing them out, and reviewing each for the site. I still have a way’s to go from my current batch and what I’ll have to get a hold of. Nonetheless, let’s continue the progress today by reviewing, Vert de Fleur. This was a 2016 release, from the Private Blend line. How does it smell? How does it perform? Is it even worth a try?

What does Vert de Fleur Smell Like?

Notes include: hyacinth, iris, vetiver, galbanum

Click here to try: Tom Ford Private Blend “Vert de Fleur” Eau de Parfum 50 ml/1.7 oz

My Full Wear Review

Vert de Fleur really does start with a bitter green semi-woody aroma. A lot of that, has to do with the surrounding notes, but the hyacinth is the main star up top.

Along with, galbanum, which will grown stronger during the wear. That opening blast, isn’t my favorite, but luckily the bitterness does subside shortly thereafter.

As it moves forward, the galbanum comes forward more, along with iris. The iris at times, is quite prominent, and then I can barely detect it before it once again comes roaring back.

This is the epitome of a green/floral perfume, as the name would suggest. It has such an earthy and mossy damp quality to it.

Later, the vetiver and some moss, do seem to poke through. Along with some other potentially unidentifiable notes, which gives Vert de Fleur a solid woodsy base. This helps to tow the line between women’s perfume and totally unisex.

While it is a unisex fragrance technically, as a man, this isn’t something that I’d personally want to wear. It leans top feminine on my skin, plus, I’m not a huge fan of this style of fragrance.

Sillage, Longevity, Versatility

I find this to have a fairly large sillage and good projection, but it isn’t the type to fill the room. It’s strong enough to be, greater than a skin scent, and be noticed throughout the day.

The perfume lasted in the 6-8 hour range, both times that I tried it out. Nothing crazy, but still very useable. For the price, it is just decent. With fragrances as a whole, it’s a bit more than above average.

In terms of when it should be worn. I’d say anytime the temperatures and humidity is moderate. It’d feel out of place in the extreme cold and probably not hold up all that well in the extreme heat.

Who should wear it? Women or men, who want a niche greenish floral fragrance. It smells perfectly nice, but it isn’t going to be a crowd pleaser, nightlife star, nor is it particularly sexy.

This is the type of fragrance, that is mostly going to be appreciated by the wearer themselves, and not people around them.

Overall Impression of Vert de Fleur

Do I like Vert de Fleur? It’s okay. Again, I’m saying this as someone, who doesn’t really enjoy this category of perfume. I think that the iris note is nice and actually enjoyed the vetiver dry down. The rest of it, I was pretty indifferent to.

However, this is absolutely going to have an appeal to a certain percentage of the population. If you do enjoy these kinds of ingredients in your perfume, this is a darn good example of it. The performance and quality is right up there. So, it is one that you may want to try out.

Dior Poison Girl vs Unexpected Perfume Comparison

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Back here with another perfume comparison, this time between two Dior offerings from the Poison Girl line: the original Poison Girl EDP vs. Poison Girl Unexpected. Which of these two great fragrances smells better, the flanker or the first of the line? As usual, I will compare each scent based on different metrics and then ultimately declare a winner. I have also linked to my original review of each below.

Tale of the Tape: Poison Girl vs. Unexpected

Poison Girl

Notes include: Damascus rose, tonka bean, bitter orange, vanilla, almond, sandalwood

Click here to try: Christian Dior Poison Girl Women’s Eau de Parfum Spray, 3.4 Ounce

Read my original review: Poison Girl

Poison Girl Unexpected

Notes include: ginger, salt, tonka bean, Damascus rose, lemon, blood orange, hazelnut, almond, vanilla, and cashmeran

Click here to try: Christian Dior POISON GIRL UNEXPECTED EDT Spray Sample Vial .03 oz / 1 ml Womens NEW

Read my original review: Poison Girl Unexpected

Opening

Poison Girl Unexpected opens up with a creamy candied aroma, which was the intention of the perfumer who developed this fragrance. Lemon and blood orange are two of the top notes which give Unexpected that bright citrus aroma.

This is paired with tonka bean, vanilla, and ginger which creates a delicious quality to opening of this perfume. A dash of salt is added to the ginger to further solidify the edible-like properties of this scent.

Meanwhile, the original Poison Girl, opens with Damascus Rose, tonka bean, and bitter orange. You can see that the two scents definitely share a similar DNA, however, the original Poison Girl is less citrus while being more floral. It shares that creamy quality with Unexpected but with almond instead of ginger.

Between the two? I actually really enjoy how both of these perfumes open up. They are both pleasant and gourmand. Though, I think that I have a slight preference for Poison Girl Unexpected, in this regard.

Edge: Unexpected

Projection

Poison Girl starts off strong and then becomes much more of a moderate sillaged perfume, as it dries down. Nevertheless, it is still a stronger fragrance than is Unexpected.

Unexpected isn’t weak, it’s just a lighter type of scent, and never reaches the same power as its predecessor. I’d call it a lighter moderate, while Poison Girl is at the upper range of what could be considered moderate.

Edge: Poison Girl

Longevity

While Poison Girl has better projection, than does Unexpected. They are about equal in terms of how long they last on my skin. I get 9-10 hours out of both of them, sometimes more. What’s more, they both perform well during the extent of the wear, and aren’t just some weak smell after a few hours. There’s no clear winner here.

Edge: Push

Versatility

The original Poison Girl, is much more restricted in when it can be worn, in terms of the climate. It’s, to me, a cold weather wear that might be able to make it into spring.

Unexpected, is much more of a year round fragrance, thanks to the ginger and citrus notes. These ingredients give Unexpected a different dynamic and one more conducive to warmer weather.

Both are however, very versatile as to where they can be worn. Each of these is safe enough to wear at work, casually, but are also quite sexy and great for a night out.

Edge: Unexpected

Overall Scent

I find it hard to believe that one would go wrong by choosing either of these Dior fragrances, they’re both very good perfumes, all around. That being said, I think I prefer the smell of Unexpected over the original Poison Girl.

Unexpected has elements of the original, but also added layers, which I find both more interesting and attractive. The opening candied citrus, smells wonderful, and adds a different element to the gourmand profile.

Then, as it dries down, Unexpected gets that familiar Damascus Rose note, but paired with ginger. Finally, there’s a nutty final chapter with hazelnut and almond, being introduced fully.

Poison Girl is great with citrus elements, rose, a smooth and creamy profile, with more woodiness than Unexpected. Rose, vanilla, tonka bean, almond, and bitter orange are the biggest stars in this fragrance.

Both are sweet and super attractive scents, but Unexpected is more versatile, has a better aroma, and at least equals the original in performance.

Winner: Poison Girl Unexpected

Rush by Gucci

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Apart from the massive amount of Bond No. 9 samples, I’ve accumulated recently, I have also gotten a hold of a few others that I wanted to review. One of which is a classic scent released by Gucci in 1999, Gucci Rush. This ladies’ fragrance has gotten quite a nice reputation over the years, but is it justified? Please continue below for my full wear thoughts about this scent.

What does Gucci Rush Smell Like?

Notes include: freesia, jasmine, coriander, gardenia, patchouli, rose, vanilla, and vetiver

Click here to try: Gucci Rush By Gucci For Women. Eau De Toilette Spray 2.5 Ounces

Full Wear Review

I’m am doing a review of the classic formula of Rush. I haven’t tried the newer bottles, but it may have been reformulated. I’m not sure, but just a head’s up if you’re considering this scent.

The opening of Gucci Rush is a smooth mix of floral notes and what smells like peach (though, I’m not sure this is even an ingredient since I cannot find it listed). I would say the floral aspect at the start is more dominated by the rose note and the gardenia.

Add to that is the familiar scent of patchouli, which is well blended in Rush, and never goes overboard in my mind.

Most of what you’re going to get from this one will from the peach, patchouli, and gardenia. It’s floral/fruity with a bit of a dirty side to it.

This scent just sort of grabs your attention from the get go and feels so perfectly smooth as a floral based scent and not overly ‘green’ or like you’re walking through a garden.

It has a certain energy and seductive quality to it, which I suppose is where the Rush moniker came from.

At it’s heart, Rush is a sweet perfume but once again it stays grounded by the vetiver and patchouli notes which give it an earthy/woodsy quality. Some spicy kick floating in the background, but nothing too intense.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, I found Gucci Rush to be strong but it never really struck me as monstrous. It can be loud, for sure, but it isn’t insane by any stretch of the imagination.

For the longevity, maybe it’s just my skin, but I only got about 6-7 hours of wear out of Rush. That’s not terrible, but it isn’t an all-star in that regard. I think other folks do get more time with this, but for me that’s what it maxed out to.

Now, Gucci Rush is one of those scents that specializes in the nightlife. Think of this stuff as more of a club/bar/romantic kind of wear. If you apply lightly, you might be able to wear it no problem casually, but don’t go nuts with the sprays.

Rush is the type of perfume that I would love to smell on a woman during a cold winter night at a bar. On the dance floor or just hanging around, it’s pretty sexy stuff. Climate wise, I would try to keep it to autumn and winter, it wouldn’t be all that great in the heat.

Overall Impressions of Gucci Rush

Overall, do I think Gucci Rush is worth a buy? Yes, it’s a classic at this point. It’s a very good scent with nice performance, that is built for a specific purpose…to rule the night. It does a great job at that.

The aroma is gives off is well-balanced, interesting, and charming. It has a unique vibe that is upbeat, warm, and always full of energy. There is a reason why this is a highly rated fragrance from the early 2000s time period.

That being said, it never was one for everyone. Now, that this has been re-released, I don’t know how much of the original survives. So, it’s probably a try before you buy perfume.