Best Perfumes for Women

Ariana Grande Cloud vs. Burberry Her EDP

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Cloud is a massively successful fragrance. In part, due to its similarities with Baccarat Rouge 540, another hugely popular scent. Burberry Her, is related to both, with its scent structure…as such there’s a whole lot of comparisons going on. In this post, I want to compare the Ariana Grande and Burberry perfumes, and declare an ultimate winner between them.

Tale of the Tape: Cloud vs. Burberry Her

Cloud

Notes include: pear, lavender, bergamot, praline, whipped cream, vanilla orchid, coconut, musk, wood

Click here to try: Ariana Grande Cloud Eau de Parfum Spray, clear, 3.4 oz

Read my full review: Cloud by Ariana Grande

Burberry Her

Notes include: strawberry, citrus, raspberry, cherry, blueberry, wood, musk, amber, jasmine

Click here to try: Burberry Her Eau De Parfum Spray

Read my review: Burberry Her EDP

Opening

Burberry Her EDP opens up with a blast of its citrus and berry notes. It’s very fruity up top. Strawberry is the strongest note of the lot, with some additional raspberry and the sharpness of the citrus notes.

It’s pretty sharp and sour versus being sugary sweet or anything. The floral notes aren’t all that strong, but there is a decent amount of jasmine at times. Quite different from Cloud, at the start, but it does get closer to the Ariana Grande perfume later on.

Cloud, on the other hand, begins with lavender and pear being the main attraction. There is a light bergamot citrus in there, but mostly that crisp pear. Not a big fruity vibe going on, in totality. With Cloud, there is a creamier/muskier influence from the base.

Which is better? I prefer Cloud’s opening act versus Her. I actually do really enjoy that fruity start from the Burberry, but it always seems to grate on my nerves, after a while.

I’m not crazy about Cloud. It’s not as dynamic, but it’s simplicity works.

Edge: Cloud

Projection

It’s a tougher call in how strong each is. I think that Her starts out with a better sillage, then turns moderate, but is softer for much of the wear. To me, it has a higher peak versus Cloud.

Cloud is pretty strong as well, but for most of the wear is quite moderate, projecting a few feet from the skin.

I’ll give Cloud the edge here, since it is more consistent for the duration.

Edge: Cloud

Longevity

With Cloud, I can get up to around 6 hours of wear, on the skin. For me, it doesn’t have amazing performance, but it is good enough for most purposes.

Burberry Her can last up to 8 hours. It doesn’t have huge sillage, but this EDP does stick around for a long while, and outdoes the Ariana Grande scent.

Edge: Burberry

Versatility

Seasonally, Her is better in the heat, while Cloud can work better in the cold of winter. Though, neither is exclusively stuck there. It’s kind of a wash.

Neither is a formal fragrance. Both skew younger, but not exclusively for teenagers. Still, each is more of a casual daily wear, that can sometimes be worn into the evening depending on the situation.

I really don’t see much difference here. There is plenty of overlap, also.

Edge: Push

Overall Scent

This is actually a really tight race between this two fragrances. Personally, I’m not a super fan of either, but do enjoy aspects of each.

The fruits in the opening of Her, have drawn me into a love/hate relationship with them. I love citrus and strawberry, which gives the Burberry a different dynamic than some of the other Baccarat Rouge comparasion scents and close replicas. But, it also gets annoying to me.

With Cloud, the opening isn’t very exciting, but it works well. I do like the coconut, praline, and muskiness in this perfume. Not a complete love, though, I think its a solid fragrance overall.

Which is better? I lean more toward Cloud. Overall, it’s a bit more enjoyable. The performance is about equal. Plus, it can usually be found for cheaper when compared to Her’s prices.

If you really like the berry/cherry/citrus idea, you might prefer Burberry Her. They do end up smelling pretty close to one another. Musky and woody in the base, with a general sweetness about them.

Not a massive difference, but Cloud gets the nod.

Winner: Cloud

9 Best Smelling Prada Perfumes for Her

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Prada is a luxury Italian designer with decades of fragrances released under its belt. I’ve already covered the best smelling men’s colognes from the brand, on this site, and so needed to get around to the perfumes for ladies.

There is certainly a lot of options to choose from, I’ve could’ve gone much longer with the list, but instead decided to settle on five that could be considered the tops.

Below, you will find my nine Prada choices, which I will update and replace as time moves on. New scents emerge and older ones become reformulated or discontinued, but these are the current greats.

What are the Best Smelling Ladies Prada Perfumes?

Great Iris Scent

Prada Milano Infusion D’Iris Eau de parfum Spray Women by Prada, 3.4 Ounce– A clean and fresh iris based fragrance, with plenty of bright citrus in support. Orange flower, mandarin, neroli, and cedar create a lovely aroma with a dry down that takes on a soapy quality.

Infusion D’Iris is woody and green to go along with the iris note, which create a soft and airy gem of a perfume. That is, for much of the wear. Infusion D’Iris isn’t really a sweet one. Cedar and incense give this fragrance a different base from many other floral fragrances. Very nice blend with an interesting amount of depth. This is one of the best iris fragrances out there.

Awesome Olfactories Les Mirages Perfume

Soleil au Zenith– I also put this one on the men’s list, since it is such a great unisex offering. Soleil au Zenith is a part of Prada’s expensive Olfactories Les Mirages line of perfumes.

While it is unisex, it does start off more like a ladies’ fragrance, since it’s led by ylang-ylang and peach notes. The base notes are warmer, deeper and richer.

The peach gets wrapped up with vanilla and sandalwood. You have spices including cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg becoming more prominent as it wears on. It becomes a softer warmer spice with powdery flourishes. To me, the ylang-ylang all but disappears.

A Good Paradoxe

Paradoxe by Prada– Between this and the Intense version of Paradoxe, I prefer the original a bit more. Mostly because, I think that it has a better middle and dry down than does its flanker.

I will say that I don’t think either of them are spectacular and I’d probably go with some of the others on the list before getting into this line. But, as a fresh and easy to wear daily fragrance, Paradoxe is a good option.

Tangerine and pear are in the opening, but they are more candy-like than naturalistic fruit notes. The main draw early on will be the neroli note. After that? It’s floral focused, I tend to get more of the orange blossom versus anything else.

That is flanked by vanilla, jasmine, benzoin, and musk. It’s the sort of perfume that you’ve smelled before, but it’s one that’ll cover a lot of bases, and is mostly a pleasant and enjoyable experience. Paradoxe review

Most Popular Prada

Prada Prada Candy Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, 2.7 Ounce– Prada Candy opens up with a warm, sweet, and somewhat salty caramel note. It is paired with musk and benzoin, the benzoin gives the scent a bit of a vanilla-like scent when put together with the caramel.

It is darker than the usual sweet candy perfumes, of this sort, and the benzoin and musk take more of a leading role as Prada Candy dries down. There is a slight spiciness which gives Prada a bit more than its simplicity would suggest.

A light option for colder weather, with good performance overall. In testing, I got about 6-7 hours from Prada Candy. This fragrance has become a best seller for the brand and has spawned many flanker perfumes using the Candy name. Prada Candy Review

Amber and Patchouli

PRADA AMBER For Women By PRADA Eau De Parfum Spray 2.7 Oz– An amber scent laced with benzoin and patchouli. At times, it is smooth and sweet, with vanilla and honey. Next, it is warm and spicy, with floral and green aromas.

Prada Amber could always come across as being quite strong, at first, before it settled down. Nonetheless, the perfume can stick around for double digit hours, depending on the climate that day.

Quite resinous and warm, not a scent for everybody, but can be amazing for amber lovers. This one got reformulated and I think that it started to have some additional fruity notes versus the original.

Beautiful Floral

Prada La Femme Eau De Parfum Spray, 3.4 Fluid Ounce– A clean floral scent that is led by tuberose and frangipani, with a sweet warmth of honey and vanilla. Later, it still has the floral sweetness, but the woody base emerges, along with a bit of powder coming from the iris note.

What is interesting about this one, is that it develops a nice creaminess at points, while having a very light spice which peaks through. Rich, clean, with a really gorgeous floral profile overall.

Simple, yet quite beautiful daily wear, sort of fragrance. The performance isn’t as outstanding as the smell, unfortunately. However, it isn’t completely terrible and will be good enough for most daily uses.

Great Candy Flanker

Prada Candy Florale Eau De Toilette Spray, 2.7 Ounce– A flanker fragrance to the original Prada Candy, Florale, takes the basic formulation of that scent and adds peony for a floral kick. Also, limoncello sorbet, is brought in for that smooth and bright citrus smell which plays very nicely on a subdued caramel.

This version is light, but turns much more into a floral based scent rather than the caramel and benzoin, of the original. It’s still an overall simple perfume, with a soapy quality, but very attractive for a spring/summer wear.

The benzoin and musk doesn’t play as big of a role in Candy Florale. As such, it has less of that candy-like feeling. It still has enough sweetness and an added crisp aroma from the sorbet.

One or the Other Olfactories

Heat Wave and Pink Flamingos– These two perfumes, I couldn’t decide between, and both are expensive and difficult to find outside of directly from Prada itself. I wanted to include at least one scent from the Olfactories line, but you’ll get two instead.

Heat Wave is actually a sweet floral fragrance packed with a blend of ylang-ylang and jasmine notes. As Prada describes it, “Heat Wave is an exotic holiday, a voyage to an island at night…”

It also has tuberose, as another floral note, and a somewhat tropical feel. Vanilla, coconut, and citrus add to the sweeter profile.

Meanwhile, Pink Flamingos is an interesting and bubbly summer scent. Citrus, cherry, and floral notes like iris. Really fruity up top, settles into a sugary fruity floral with the iris being joined by a light rose note.

Flamingos is powdery clean and sweet, with a effervescent summer aura. Probably not for everyone, but a fairly unique and upbeat experience.

6 Best Smelling Tory Burch Perfumes

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Tory Burch has become a popular designer in the past decade or so and as such has released a whole lineup of fragrances during this time period. However, in that short time, these fragrance releases have become both well like and quite well sold.

So, for this post, I want to take a closer look at the top of the brand and select what could be considered the six best women’s perfumes by Tory Burch. As always, I have linked each out to its page on Amazon for further information and ease of purchase.

What are the Best Tory Burch Fragrances?

Most Popular, Best Seller

TORY BURCH Eau de Parfum Spray, 3.4 Fluid Ounce– The original namesake fragrance. Tory Burch EDP is a citrus led floral perfume with strong mandarin orange and grapefruit notes. It is a clean and safe scent for daily wear with peony and neroli, sitting underneath.

The sillage isn’t huge but it is an upbeat and soapy scent that can be worn casually or at the office to great effect and a scent that smells quite nice. As it dries down, Tory Burch EDP reveal its soft woody and slightly musky base, with peony starting to play a bigger role. At that point, it is less of a citrus and more of a floral with citrus hanging around. Tory Burch EDP Full Review

Fruity Floral Blend with a Kick

Tory Burch Love Relentlessly 3.4 Oz Eau De Parfum Spray For Women– A patchouli-laden fruit mix that is sweet but not a teeny-bopper scent by any means. It has a warm pink pepper spice that isn’t too intense and plays nicely off of the patchouli note.

The main fruit note smells something like mango, though, I’m not entirely sure that this is in fact the ingredient. I think it might just be the way that raspberry and the other fruits blend together. The fruitiness, is fairly dominant up top. Then, you get the pink pepper spice, while the floral notes develop.

Here, it is going to be some iris and rose, which gives this scent a somewhat powdery aroma. Love Relentlessly has good performance and while sweet doesn’t have a huge sillage. Patchouli s a major factor here, so that might put some folks off to this perfume.

Best Summer Perfume

Bel Azur Eau de Parfum Spray, 3.4 Fl Oz– This has a very nice citrus opening and is very similar to Bergamotto di Calabria, except Bel Azur has a better longevity than that one. The sharp citrus of bergamot is met with the floral neroli note and creates something that is zesty and beautiful.

It’s none too aggressive or loud but Bel Azur is a nice fresh citrus that sits on top of that familiar peony note. The dry down period is much more floral with that peony than it is citrus when the initial top wave fades.

Refreshing summertime scent. There is a very slight woody base, but mostly a clean and summery peony with a citrus aroma.

Tuberose and Other White Flowers

Tory Burch ‘Jolie Fleur – Bleue’ Eau de Parfum Spray– A soft floral bouquet, composed mostly of white flowers, such as tuberose. It is mostly a perfume for lovers of tuberose but violet leaf is also pretty big here.

The sillage isn’t huge, but Jolie Fleur Bleue does have some decent staying power. Underneath, the tuberose and violet leaf is woody notes of cedar and sandalwood. This Tory Burch scent is clean and fresh.

There are light touches of citrus and jasmine, blended into the mix. A decent amount of creaminess from the smell of the floral ingredients. Not super complex, but can be a nice pickup for the right person.

Top Cold Weather Pick

Tory Burch Absolu for Women Eau de Parfum Spray, 1.7 Ounce– A cold weather scent that is woody with cedar and warm with pink pepper. This is a feminine woodsy scent that is a nice change of pace in the world of ladies fragrances.

Absolu is a very clean scent and the florals are there to support the cedar note and not vice versa. What you’ll get is lily of the valley and rose. Absolu is well balanced, smoothed, and has a classic cleanliness.

Absolu does have citrus notes like Tory Burch EDP, but they are toned down and blended with the cedar and vetiver to create a clean and not sharp smell. Floral, woody, with a solid mix to keep it interesting.

Green Floral

Tory Burch Just Like Heaven by Tory Burch Eau De Parfum Spray 3.4 oz Women– Just Like Heaven is more of a niche kind of scent compared to the other more popular offerings of the line. Rhubarb, hyacinth, and heliotrope are the major players here.

It turns into a light, bit spicy, and quite greenish floral fragrance. Up top it is citrus and the rhubarb, which is bright and where I think the scent isn’t at its best. However, the dry down gives you some added sweetness from the tonka bean note, which pairs well with the hyacinth/heliotrope/ylang-ylang combo.

The performance is nice, but this one will hang in the air with a lighter sillage. Again, the dry down is where it’s at, and that opening isn’t too bad.

7 Best Smelling Tocca Perfumes

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Tocca has become a pretty famous designer brand over the past few decades. Starting off with their clothing options, and then later, introducing fragrances for women. In this post, I want to take a closer look at their perfume collection, and choose some that could be considered the best of the bunch. There are now dozens of them, which have been released, but I narrowed it down to seven to give enough options; but make it manageable.

What are the Top Fragrances by Tocca?

Best Floral Tocca

Tocca Giulietta Eau De Parfum, 1.7 oz– Lilac, tulip, and ylang ylang create a floral bouquet effect, that is joined by an early crisp green apple. So, it isn’t a pure floral fragrance, more floral/fruity, with some light musk added. Very pretty fragrance that has a light sillage, a bit of powdery aroma, but an overall clean profile.

The apple gives it that slightly sweet and watery feel to it. A greenish and somewhat garden-like scent, but mostly you’re going to get those floral accents. Plenty of soft lilac, with periods of tulip, and musk hanging around throughout.

I like this one better than the white floral blend of Florence, listed below. It’s more of a personal preference, but if you have the opposite inclination and love gardenia, you’d probably better served to go with that scent.

Best Seller 

Tocca Beauty Cleopatra Collection 1.7 oz Eau de Parfum Spray– Cleopatra features some sweet fruit notes such as, peach, and flowers including jasmine and tuberose. This is all held together with musk and some light patchouli, which are a great tandem within this composition.

It’s mostly a feminine floral perfume with patchouli undertones, and fruity notes arising from time to time. It has a very similar profile to Lovely by SJP and Narciso Rodriguez, with it’s musky and patchouli blend.

So, if you’re familiar with those two scents, you know what to expect from Cleopatra. This one has a bit more of a fruitier aroma, than the other two, however.

Nice Newer Release 

Tocca Eau de Parfum, Gia–  Gia is a dynamic and bright use of Turkish rose and an aroma of citrus. It is one of the few to be released from this brand in the past handful of years, but I think that it is the best of that group.

Tangerine kicks off this Tocca fragrance and is paired with the warm spice of pink pepper. The spice is more like a hint, because the pink pepper is overwhelmed by the tangerine early on. Later on, the rose note begins to play a bigger role.

Most of what you’ll get is that tangerine and rose combination. However, it smells like the citrus gets wrapped up in a vanilla and amber creaminess, that is quite enjoyable to wear.

Gia is a sweet and creamy release, that is not heavy and can be worn in the warmer weather of summer.

Best Overall Tocca Perfume

Tocca Stella Eau de Parfum Spray – 50 ml/ 1.7 fl. oz.– Stella changes the pace from the more floral dominated entries on the list and goes straight citrus, up top. Blood orange is the main highlight here and it is both fresh and delicious.

Yes, there are other notes like musk and sandalwood. Plus, the lily, orchid, and freesia which really emerge during the dry down period.

The floral notes are pretty well-blended, but you will probably be able to pick up more on the lily versus the others. The citrus is juicy, but doesn’t have a really sharpness to it. It’s got a very nice transitional phase into that final dry down with a smooth and creamy sandalwood note.

I think that this might be the best of the Tocca line. There are several contenders, but this has great balance, and versatility.

White Floral Fragrance

TOCCA Eau de Parfum Florence 1.7 oz– Florence is an entry for those who love gardenia dominated perfumes. It’s got a clean, crisp, and watery background thanks to the fruity additions of apple and mostly pear.

Beyond that, you do get the usual gardenia pairing with tuberose, but the latter isn’t that strong. A very nice white floral perfume. The juiciness of the fruits give this one somewhat of a sparkling opening act, which plays beautifully off of the gardenia note.

This has lot of similarities to the Kim Kardashian scent, Crystal Gardenia, but Florence is a bit more well done. It’s smoother and has a soothing coolness to it. Very nice, but again, one for people who want a white floral scent.

Top Summer Perfume

Tocca Eau de Parfum – Simone – 1.7 oz– A fruity aquatic scent that is lead by a light and juicy watermelon scent. With that, is lemon and apple, along with a dash of saltiness at the start. It dries down with some floral notes, but never really relinquishes the watermelon essence.

Super fresh at the start, but the dry down is more of a light aquatic scent. Simone is a great change of pace perfume, for the summer months.

It’s not going to be a go-to for the entirety of the year, but is very refreshing and fund for when the temperatures start to rise. Light, clean, with a delicious opening act.

Top Tocca for Winter

Tocca Eau De Parfum Spray, Maya, 1.7 Fluid Ounce– A sweet powdery mix highlighted by that familiar scent of iris and a lovely black currant note. As it dries down, the light currant/iris blend, becomes woodier and patchouli begins to peak through.

Very simple and light, with a dry/woodsy infusion toward the end of the wear.

The black currant here, is light and mostly present during the opening. However, it does add a great dimension to Maya. The iris isn’t too overbearing here, so, don’t expect it to be pure powder or anything. Very simple fragrance, but has its strengths for sure.

Burberry Her by Burberry

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Burberry Her is a line that Burberry has seemed to want to develop further over the past few years, ever since this one was released in 2018. They’re still coming out with flankers, so, I guess it’s going to continue for quite a while.

I’ve tried Her EDP out before, but recently received a sample with an order from Macy’s…so, it’s time to do a full review. How does it smell? How long does it last? Is Burberry Her worth a try?

What does Burberry Her EDP Smell Like?

Notes include: strawberry, citrus, raspberry, cherry, blueberry, wood, musk, amber, jasmine

Click here to try: Burberry Her Eau De Parfum Spray

My Full Review

Let’s see how Burberry describes Her EDP: Effortlessly stylish, energetic, optimistic, adventurous and bold – the spirit of Her, captured in London – a beautiful, bustling, creative metropolis, eclectic and full of life.

Burberry Her opens up with its berry and citrus notes out in full force. I get a sparkling quality from the raspberry, a slight sharpness from the citrus, and a hefty dose of strawberry. On my skin, the strawberry definitely takes the lead early, and never lets it go entirely.

Since this one was designed by Francis Kurkdjian and has plenty of overlap with his famous Baccarat Rouge 540, it often gets compared. This one is much fruitier, has more of a spring/summer vibe, and is missing much of the depth.

Underneath the strawberry, I do get a hint of cherry and the other berry notes really just feel like a generic fruit note. It is sweet somewhat, but not overly so, it’s more bright/sharp/sour…pick your adjective.

One thing that I’ve noticed, is how weak the floral notes are in this mix. The jasmine does poke through later on, but it never grabs much attention. It’s there, just not doing very much. Perhaps, that’s just on my skin.

Later, it becomes muskier, woody, and resembles Cloud by Ariana Grande. Both have that general fruity sweetness, musk, and woods. Cloud is creamier.

That’s pretty much the development of Burberry Her. Bold berry and citrus start. Strawberry with a bit of jasmine. Then, sweet with musk and woods.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

The sillage here is pretty strong at first. Not monstrous, but I was impressed with its ability to project. On a t-shirt, I could smell it from up to about 7 feet away. That was at its peak, once Burberry Her settles, it is more in the 3-4 foot range.

Later, it’s even more intimate. Really, gets soft and very pleasant.

The performance isn’t lacking. This will stick around on my skin for 8 hours of wear. On fabric, it keeps going well past that. So, if you’re into the scent, you definitely get your money’s worth.

Seasonally, I like this best in the warmer weather. I’d keep it mostly to the spring or summertime (when not super hot out). The fruity notes really dominate and it would stick out in winter weather, but it should also be fine in the autumn coolness.

Burberry Her has a youthful vibe to its aroma. It would work for teenagers, but adults can wear this easily, if you’re into the fruity perfumes. It’s pretty crowd pleasing and simple, not at all a formal wear, nor is it cheap and tacky.

Mostly, a daytime casual wear or one that you could go lightly with in the office.

Overall Impressions of Burberry Her

Overall, do I like Burberry Her? I do. I’m not in love with it, though. The Intense version is actually better, in my mind. It just gets overshadowed because of the BR540 comparisons with Her EDP.

The red berry and citrus opening is really great for a while. But, each time I’ve tried to wear this one, it begins to grate on my nerves a bit. It’s not one that I’d need to scrub off or anything, just the intense strawberry and sharp/sour citrus gets somewhat old after a while.

Though, when I do stick with it, I end up liking the dry down of this more. It’s closer to Ariana Grande’s Cloud than it is Baccarat Rouge. Still, Burberry Her is distinct enough from both of them.

It’s funny, this has been so successful that there are starting to even be, supposed perfume ‘dupes’ of Burberry Her.

The floral notes are light on me. I mostly get the cleanliness of musk and wood in the dry down with the strawberry and the mass of whatever is left of the other fruits.

Is this worth a try? Yeah, it’s one to check out. I don’t know that I’d blind buy it, as you might not like the way the berries sit on your skin. It’s not the best perfume out there, but it’s solid and can be a nice choice for the right person.