Best Perfumes for Women

In today’s review, we have an entry from Marc Jacob’s line of women’s perfumes, Dot EDP. This one was released back in 2012 and quickly became a popular fragrance and well-known for its lady bug shaped bottle. In this post, I’m going to explore it ingredients, how it smells, develops, when it can be worn, and if it is actually worth trying out.

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What does Dot by Marc Jacobs Smell Like?

Notes include: jasmine, red berries, honeysuckle, coconut, musk, orange blossom, dragon fruit, vanilla, driftwood 

Click here to try: Marc Jacobs Dot Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, 3.4 Ounce

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My Full Wear Review

Before I get into my review of Dot, let’s see what Marc Jacobs has to say about it: Chic and charming, a lush floral bouquet of beautiful jasmine and juicy red berries.

Dot opens with a blast of the juicy red berries and the tropical sensation of dragon fruit. There is also the coconut water, which isn’t too heavy, but it is definitely present throughout the wear. Dot is much more fruity than it is floral and the berries are the main attraction here.

As it moves along, I do start to get the floral bouquet in a more pronounced aroma. It never takes over the fruits but I get jasmine, honeysuckle, and orange blossom in descending order of strength. It’s all very light, pretty, and low key.

These florals are joined by just a hint of vanilla which brings a sweet creaminess to the composition. It’s not super noticeable all of the time, as it kind of blends with the coconut.

Finally, during the dry down, a bit of musk and a woody undertone help Dot to have more substance and a solid foundation. It is ultimately a fresh fragrance with red berries, jasmine, dragon fruit, woody, and hints of coconut/vanilla sweetness. Clean, juicy, with a tropical vibe.

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Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, the sillage of Dot isn’t very strong. This is a very light perfume that is going to hang close to the skin, throughout the wear.

It isn’t weak or a super under performer, as the scent will get about 6-7 hours of solid staying power. For an EDP, that’s not amazing, but it’s usually good enough for most purposes.

Seasonally, it feels more spring/summer, but is kind of a year round perfume. It’s not going to be horrible in any particular climate, which gives it a bit more versatility versus other fragrances.

It is good for casual or office wear or other functions. It’s not really sexy, just pretty and pleasant. Since it is not really ‘loud’, it isn’t going to overpower or choke out a room. It smells youthful, but not like a teenager’s scent, it just doesn’t give off that ‘mature’ vibe.

 

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Overall Impressions of Dot

Overall, do I like Dot by Marc Jacobs? Yes, I think that it is a very nice smelling perfume. It isn’t a bomb, by any means, but it gives a solid performance and has an interesting aroma.

The red berries and dragon fruit pair, really sets it apart from so many of the other fruity scents out there. Then the added layer of a floral bouquet, gives the perfume an added depth. It’s versatile and a really good choice for an everyday wear.

The beach is a place that most of us have fond memories of, and is a place, we dream about being while stuck in offices, classrooms, etc. While we can’t always be where we want, we can try to replicate some of the sensory experience, through smell. In this post, I want to present some of the best smelling ladies’ fragrances which evoke the image of the beach. From the sea itself to the sand to the fruits and flowers native to islands, let’s see if we can’t find a great beachy perfume.

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What are the Best Ladies Perfumes that Smell Like the Beach or Ocean?

Oceanic Hermes

Eau des Merveilles Bleue– A flanker fragrance to the popular Eau des Merveilles line by Hermes. This one is pretty different from the other options from the brand. Very aquatic and oceanic, with a cool airy quality, of water and ambergris.

The top gives you a citrus brightness, while later on, you’ll get more patchouli with the aquatic smell. However, the patchouli is not overbearing at all. Relatively simple perfume, but an underappreciated aquatic.

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Tom Ford Seaweed

Costa Azzurra by Tom Ford– I had to thrown in at least one scent on the list with a seaweed note. It’s not one, which everyone will like, but some percentage of you will completely dig it. I’m fairly indifferent to it, but in Costa Azzurra, I think it is well done.

Also, while this Tom Ford fragrance is unisex, it does lean a bit more masculine. Yet, it is still perfectly wearable for women. Azzurra is a woody aquatic, a beach laden with driftwood, breeze, and a dose of seaweed. Very interesting and gives a great, complex performance.

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Tropical Fruit and Beachy

St. Kitts for Women by Tommy Bahama– This has plenty of similarities with the men’s version of St. Kitts, except that it features more floral notes. Yet, both have that great tropical beachy vibe, when you spray it on.

St. Kitts for women features star fruit and mango, as its main fruity notes, with frangipani and freesia holding down the floral side of things. This all sits in an aquatic base, that has driftwood-like highlights. St. Kitts is beautiful and relaxing, a clean mix of fruits/floral ingredients.

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Clean Citrus Tea & Aquatic

Elizabeth Arden White Tea Eau De Toilette Spray, 1 oz.– A newer take on the green tea concept this time using, you guessed it, white tea. White Tea actually takes a different tact, than does the original Arden Green Tea.

It is a stronger scent, with more depth. However, it does share that super fresh vibe, like its fore barer.

It features an aquatic note, behind the white tea, and a powdery iris which is not overpowering. The top is clean with a light citrus note, and it dries down, into something with an amber embrace. The result, is a lighter aquatic influence, but one that still seems completely fitting for the shore.

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Woody Sea Salt

Jo Malone ‘Wood Sage & Sea Salt Colonge 30ml/1fl oz’– A coastal aroma that will transport the wearer to the shore. Sea salt is infused with wood sage and a bit of citrus to create a unique fragrance, that you can’t quite put your finger on, at times.

The opening is quite oceanic with the sea salt, but is given a typical aquatic partner, with the grapefruit.

It is so fresh and aquatic, but dries down with a bit of sweetness, and light woody undertones. Let’s not forget the sage, which is a part of the opening, but comes into its own later.

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Tropical Floral Perfume

JUDITH LEIBER Exotic Coral Eau de Parfum Spray, 2.5 fl. Oz.-This is a wonderful summertime scent from Judith Leiber. Exotic Coral is an island flower scent with heliotrope and tiare soaked in coconut with a touch of sea air.

It’s sweet in the floral sense, with some coconut and lime to give it that bit of island edge. Exotic Coral has an opening of a boozy coconut, with its sea water influence.

Much like sitting on a tropical island. From there, you get the floral notes, with the remaining coconut sweetness.

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Celebrity Beachscape

Beachscape by Jennifer Aniston– This is a nice and fairly inexpensive option for a beachy perfume, with notes including the sand itself. It’s crisp blend of floral notes and oceanic ones.

The sea water isn’t super heavy in this, but it does provide a great cooling background to the composition.

Beachscape is fresh and clean with a light breezy citrus feeling, at the top, with its floral side coming through more so in the latter stages of the wear. I’m pretty sure it’s been discontinued, but I’m seeing cheap bottles still available online.

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The Name Fits

Bobbi Brown Beach Rollerball Fragrance– A beautiful summertime fragrance with notes that transport your mind to the shore. The notes are mostly oceanic in their origin but are paired with jasmine and mandarin to smooth out and sweeten the perfume.

Notes also include: sand, driftwood, sea water, neroli. Yeah, sand and sea water. So, if you want to smell of the beach, with some extra floral notes to make it tolerable…this is a good one to try out.

n today’s review, I have another ladies’ perfume from my batch of sample fragrances. This time, it is a fragrance from Revlon called: Love is On EDT. This scent was released back in 2015 and generally didn’t get much notice.

In fact, I’m pretty certain it has been discontinued. However, it is still available out there on the secondary market. Is it actually any good though? How does it smell? How does it perform?

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What does Love is On Smell Like?

Notes include: Italian lemon, passionflower, red berries, orange, cocoa bean, vetiver, sugarcane

Click here to try: Revlon Love is On Eau De Toilette

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My Full Review

The opening of Love is On is led by the citrus ingredients (lemon and orange) and a tart note, which is cranberry. The cranberry note reminds me a lot of Polo Red for Men, but it is nicely paired with the lemon note here.

It is light and sweet, with that added sugarcane note, adding a candy-like sweetness.

Then, the fragrance moves into a smoother and drier phase. The cocoa bean note is somewhat creamy and furthers the sweetness. There is a bit of vetiver that lurks in the background also. It’s such a pleasant mix of sweet, citrus, and tart cranberry.

Very attractive and delicious smelling. The sugarcane and cocoa bean almost present themselves as vanilla in this mix, that’s just the way it smells.

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Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Now, here’s the issue with Revlon’s Love is On, it doesn’t last. It’s a light fragrance from the start. It was even light when I liberally applied the sample to both my skin and on an old t-shirt.

So, even though the sillage is very light, it could’ve still lasted a long time at least? It doesn’t. A couple of hours at the most, even when pouring it on the skin. Shame.

Seasonally, this could’ve worked in a lot of situations if it had better performance. It has the citrus notes which work in warm weather and the more creamy/sugary notes that can be nice in winter.

It has such a nice smell that could have of course been used for romantic wear, as the name suggests, but also casually or just to freshen up.

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Overall Impressions of Love is On

Overall, though, this one just never realizes its potential. I like the notes and how they’re arranged within the composition a lot. The play between the lemon and cranberry at the top, is quite good, and then the cocoa bean in the dry down, makes for a sweet scent.

It just doesn’t perform well at all. On my skin, it’s weak and reading reviews of this scent, I’m not the only one who experienced this.

I mean, as of writing it is only $12.50 on Amazon, so if you want to try it out…it won’t break the bank. However, I can’t really recommend this Revlon perfume.