Best Perfumes for Women

Bvlgari Pour Femme EDP

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For this entry, I have another sample fragrance vial from Bvlgari, and this one is Bvlgari Pour Femme eau de parfum. The have released and re-released this scent under the same title with different formulations at least once and possibly more times. How does it smell? What’s inside? Is it worth a buy?

What does Bvlgari Pour Femme Smell Like?

Notes include: rose, violet, iris, sandalwood, musk, orris, orange blossom, peach, raspberry, other floral notes 

Click here to try: Bvlgari By Bvlgari For Women. Eau De Parfum Spray 3.4 Ounces

My Full Review

The opening of Bvlgari Pour Femme doesn’t strike me as pleasing. Honestly, it is pretty harsh, and smells like astringent to my nose. It does calm down, but, I’m really not into those first few minutes. This is a floral scent, so, going into it you’re going to have to love floral perfumes to dig this one.

It opens up with a iris and violet leaf leading the way, a noticeable powdery orris, and a hint of fruits. The fruity notes aren’t really that noticeable to me, but I can tell that they’re there, if I focus in.

Most of what you’re going to get throughout the wear, is orris and a whole host of flowers, including mimosa and carnation which make appearances.

From what I can detect, the two main flowers are violet and rose, and boy are they noticeable. The perfume itself isn’t super heavy, but it does seem lopsided with how the composition is put together.

It has a more mature disposition and is a subtle and sophisticated sort of perfume. It does get quite powdery with the floral notes and orris combining, which can feel overwhelming at times.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, the sillage of Bvlgari Pour Femme is soft to moderate. It’s never huge, but it was noticeable on my skin throughout the wear. The longevity, however, is fantastic. This one lasted all day long without any trouble.

Now, I did eventually scrub it off of my skin, but 8 hours in and it was still going strong. So, performance isn’t an issue.

Seasonally, it is quite versatile. It wouldn’t perform badly in any sort of climate, but probably fits in best during spring/summer. It is more mature, so Pour Femme, isn’t going to be a great choice for teen to college age but can be for professionals.

More of an office or elegant dressed up perfume. Not a romantic wear or even something sexy.

Overall Impressions of Bvlgari Pour Femme

Overall, do I like Bvlgari Pour Femme? Personally? Not very much. But as a guy, I don’t have to wear this, but during testing I really didn’t enjoy the smell that much. Very floral and powdered, which was somewhat headache inducing.

It’s not a bad perfume, just not the type for me. You need to be into floral perfumes, to be into Pour Femme, because that’s what you’re going to get and you’re going to get a lot of it.

However, if that’s what you’re into, expect lots of violet, rose, and iris with very good performance. This fragrance has been discontinued, so, you’ll have to buy it online.

Delina by Parfums de Marly

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It’s been a little while since I’ve posted a new Parfums de Marly review, even though, I think I have four more to do after this one. So, I figured that I might as well jump in and get to work. Today, we have Delina, from their women’s line of perfumes.

How does this fragrance smell? What’s it sillage and longevity like? Is it versatile? Is Delina even worth a buy? Please continue below for my full take, after wearing this scent around.

What does Delina by PdM Smell Like?

Notes include: rose, rhubarb, litchee, musk, vanilla, peony, and vetiver

Click here to try: PARFUMS de MARLY Delina, 2.5 fl. oz.

My Full Review

Before I get into my own review of Delina, let’s see how Parfums de Marly describes it:

This fragrance is an ode to femininity and sensuality. The blooming top notes of Delina hold fruity scents of lychee and rhubarb. Then the fragrance expresses its personality through a delicate and velvety Rose Essence of Turkey. Its caressing petals unveil delicious and warm musky and vanilla base notes.

So, from the opening, wow! Delina is gorgeous and a very pleasant aroma. The rose note here is prominent but soft at the same time and its a fruity powdered fragrance.

I don’t mean to suggest that this Parfums de Marly fragrance is a baby powder-like scent, it isn’t, because there is a juicy fruit elements that keeps the whole thing interesting.

The lychee is the main fruit here and it is joined by the sharpness of bergamot that sits in the background during the wear. Add to that, the rhubarb is tart, and I think gives this scent its distinct personality.

It is sweet but not overly so, as the fruit notes aren’t too strong, and there’s not much of a ‘sugary’ element within Delina. As it dries down, get much more of the peony note than I do the rose, and this is when I become even more intrigued by this scent.

Vanilla and musk emerge well into the wear and provide a base for this perfume. It’s all very well done and a pleasure.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, Delina doesn’t have a huge sillage. This is more of a moderate fragrance, that can be worn everyday without causing a huge fuss. It’ll project itself in the 4-6 foot range or thereabouts.

However, it’s longevity is great, and I believe I got right around 9 hours of wear out of it on my skin.

Update: Testing it out again, 9.5-10 hours seems like what it is fully capable of on my skin.

Seasonally, Delina works best in the warm weather. This would be enchanting in the spring and summer months. It’s a daily wear, that’s pretty enough to be worn on formal occasions, as well as casually.

I enjoy how it smells, but it doesn’t strike me as being super ‘sexy’ or seductive, it is very appealing. It’s more of a pleasant and enjoyable sort of perfume to be around. Can really fit in well, in a wide variety of situations.

Delina will continue to be signature scent worthy for a lot of people.

Overall Impressions of Delina

Overall, do I like Delina? Yes. This is a great fragrance by Parfums de Marly. It is a fruity floral with interesting depth and character.

The performance is exactly what you would expect from a luxury brand like this and you get something that smells wonderful.

This has become one of the most popular, if not the best selling fragrance from the women’s PdM line. While it has also spawned the Delina Exclusif flanker.

The opening fruitiness is great, with the bit of a powdery finish early on, Delina develops nicely into a sweetish rose and peony perfume that is really versatile, fun, and does everything well.

This is a Parfums de Marly scent that you should try out, if you’re interested in it. At least get a sample of it, even if you cannot afford it. There are also lots of similar perfumes to this one.

Nolita by Bond No. 9

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Another Bond No. 9 sample I received, is of their new 2017 release, Nolita. It is a citrus/floral mix and the full bottle comes with a lipstick as a part of a product combination. In this post, I’m going to explore how Nolita smells, performs, and whether or not I think that it is worth a buy.

What does Nolita by Bond No. 9 Smell Like?

Notes include: freesia, tangerine, lily, amber, rose, sandalwood, musk, jasmine

Click here to try: Bond No. 9 Nolita Perfume + Lipstick Duo: 3.4 oz (100ml) Eau de Parfum Spray for Women

My Full Review

The opening of this fragrance gives me the scent of the tangerine note, the freesia, and some light rose. The citrus is the dominant note for the first five minutes or so before becoming well-blended with the rest of the composition.

In my mind, the tangerine is the most prominent throughout, but not by much after that initial five minutes.

As it moves along, Nolita, starts to give off a warm and slightly powdery aroma. It is much more of a floral at this point in time than it had been with the emergence of the lily and wonderful jasmine. However, the rose almost became non-detectable for me.

I really like how the amber note supports the floral notes and gives them that intriguing warmth. The tangerine is what keeps this from becoming too much of a green floral bouquet and brightens it all up.

Nolita is a fairly straightforward perfume. After that initial citrus burst, it is pretty much the floral notes jockeying for position the rest of the way.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

The projection on this is rather light. Nolita is a soft fragrance, that you’ll have to be close to in order to detect. That is of course, unless you’re spraying a crazy amount. Not necessarily a bad thing, just don’t think you’re going to be getting an absolute bomb here.

The longevity for me was roughly 5-6 hours and after that it was very sparse, if anything. Not that great for something at this price point, but not absolutely terrible. Close though.

Bond No. 9 describes this fragrance as ladylike and I have to agree. It’s very soft, fresh, and powdery. Something to be worn casually or at the office during the daytime. Nolita is attractive but not really ‘sexy’ or ‘seductive’, just a pretty floral with a citrus top.

Very much a warmer weather fragrance, but not really for the extreme heat of summer. Rolling out of winter and through the springtime is the best opportunity to wear this one.

Overall Impressions of Nolita

Overall, would I recommend Nolita? It’s nice but not spectacular. It’s supposedly almost an identical twin of Bond No. 9’s Mother’s Day scent, which I think might be the only sample I didn’t get of the I Love NY line.

So, I’m not sure whether the comparisons are apt or not. As a standalone, it’s a decent fragrance that is safe and non-offensive. Do you want more from a fragrance with this cost? Probably. Maybe the lipstick it comes with is better…

Central Park West by Bond No. 9

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Most of the Bond No. 9 samples that I received were of women’s perfumes, so I’ve got about four more of these or so that I’ll be posting as soon as they’re written up. For this one, we have Central Park West. In this post, I’ll cover what in this perfume, how it smells, how it performs, and whether or not it is worth a purchase.

What does Central Park West EDP Smell Like?

Notes include: ylang ylang, narcissus, gardenia, black pepper, jasmine, linden, orris, musk, white oak

Click here to try: Bond No. 9 Central Park West Eau de Parfum Spray for Women, 3.3 Ounce

My Full Review

Wow. The opening of Central Park West presents you with an absolute floral bomb. I get a lot of gardenia and ylang ylang with an underlying muskiness and just a hint of black pepper kick.

From the start, I will say, that you’ll only enjoy this perfume if you’re a pure floral lover. It honestly gives me kind of a headache during the opening while it’s on my skin, it so overwhelming to my sense of smell.

The florals are however, clean and pretty sweet. As it dries down, I tend to get more of the narcissus and the black pepper becomes more prominent to my nose.

The dry down period was a much better aroma in my opinion, not as intense and smoothed out by mainly the jasmine note, I think. The oak also becomes a factor and gives it a solid non-floral background.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, it’s very strong. You won’t need more than a few sprays, as Central Park West is utterly powerful juice. Probably one of the best from this designer, in terms of performance.

It also lasts a long time, I could smell it for over 10 hours while wearing, which is kind of funny as a guy walking around smelling like gardenias. But if you love white floral blends, this one has excellent performance.

This is springtime in a bottle. Mostly a daytime wear, that is good for casual or more dressy occasions. I don’t find it to be sexy at all and I wouldn’t classify it as something that should be worn to a bar or club. It has a certain classiness to it without being too stuffy.

Overall Impressions of Central Park West

Overall, is Central Park West worth a buy? I personally don’t like hyper-floral perfumes, but those who do, will most likely love this one. It’s well blended and nuanced with extreme staying power.

It does get better, the deeper into the wear you get with Central Park West, but I really disliked the opening 15 minutes. If this sounds like your thing, you might do well to check it out.

You will at the very least get your money’s worth with how long it lasts and its heavy sillage. You’re just going to have to really enjoy heavy gardenia and jasmine.

Burberry Body vs London Women’s Perfume Comparison

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In this post, I want to compare two ladies’ fragrances from the British brand Burberry, London and Body. These are both popular choices from this design house and I’m going to break down each to see which one I think is a better buy. I want to cover how each smells, how it performs, when it should be worn, and which one has the overall edge when put side to side.

Tale of the Tape: Burberry London vs. Body

Burberry Body 

Notes include: peach, musk, rose, sandalwood, amber, iris, vanilla

burberry body

Read my original Burberry Body Review

Click here to try: BURBERRY Body for Women Eau de Parfum, 2.0 oz

Burberry London for Women

Notes include: rose, jasmine, peony, tangerine, honeysuckle, musk, sandalwood, Tahitian flower

My Burberry London Perfume Review

Click here to try: BURBERRY London for Women Eau de Parfum, 3.3 fl. oz

Opening

The opening of Burberry Body is a fruity floral blend of peach, rose, and a warm hint of musk. London also shares the rose note to go along with a floral bouquet that is supported by tangerine.

I personally like the London blend better as I enjoy the tangerine over the heavier peach note in Body.

Edge: London

Projection

Both of these perfumes score very well on the projection and performance front. Body and London are towards the stronger end of things and won’t disappoint in this department. I think that London is just slightly better in terms of its projection range but not by much.

Edge: London (slightly)

Longevity

Again, both perfumes perform very well and will give 8+ hours of wear and still be chugging along. On my skin, there wasn’t a clear winner in this category, solid performers.

Edge: Push

Versatility

These two are great for everyday and casual wear. I wouldn’t say that Body is a ‘sexy’ or ‘romantic’ type of fragrance and while London isn’t really either, I do think that it is better in that regard.

Neither is a summertime perfume but are good to go during the rest of the year. This is another slight edge to London.

Edge: London

Overall Scent

To me, it comes down to whether you want a creamy peach with woodsy, floral, and a spicy musk type of scent (Body) or whether you want a floral perfume with an added layer of tangerine note.

I think that London smells better, I don’t dislike Burberry Body but it feels like a notch below its competitor.

Winner: London