Best Perfumes for Women

Bright Crystal vs Chanel Chance Comparison

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Chanel Chance EDP and Bright Crystal by Versace are two best selling fragrances for ladies on the market today. They aren’t exactly duplicates of one another and offer quite different experiences from one another in the floral perfume space. Which is better? In this post, I will break down each before declaring my ultimate winner between them.

Tale of the Tape: Versace Bright Crystal vs Chanel Chance

Chanel Chance

Notes include: vanilla, jasmine, iris, patchouli, pink pepper, and musk

Click here to try: Chanel Chance EDP

Bright Crystal

Notes include: yuzo, peony, pomegranate, musk, magnolia, iced accord, lotus, amber

Click Here to try Bright Crystal: Versace Bright Crystal Eau de Toilette Spray for Women, 3 Ounce

Read my original review: Bright Crystal Review

Opening

Bright Crystal kicks off with its fruity notes taking center stage. A delicious blend of yuzo and pomegranate peak through with a cold and icy demeanor, as there is a so-called iced accord in this perfume. Once that initial phase passes, the peony and other floral notes start to really come into their own.

Chanel Chance EDP has much less of the patchouli note, than the EDT version. This one is a floral scent with clean vanilla highlights. It is led by both jasmine and iris, as its main floral notes.

You get a mix of sweetness, with musk, and enough earthy spice to make it pop a bit. There are some light fruit notes, but it isn’t very prominent. The patchouli, will develop more in the later stages of this fragrance.

Which is better? I think I enjoy the opening of Bright Crystal more. I love the yuzo and pomegranate, very cool and juicy. Chance is nice, but I just get drawn into the Versace.

Sillage

Neither of these has a monster ability to project themselves. Bright Crystal is much more of a moderate fragrance than Chance EDP. The Chanel is strong, but on the lower end of that spectrum. However, it definitely is stronger on me than is Bright Crystal.

Edge: Chance EDP

Longevity

Meanwhile, that strength doesn’t seem to give Chance a longer lasting wear. For me, they both fall into the 8-10 hour range, which is what you will want in most any situation. Nonetheless, they are equals in this regard.

Edge: Push

 

Versatility

Both of these are highly versatile. Can be worn year round, in a variety of situations, perhaps, the Chanel is a bit more formal. Nevertheless, they pretty much assume the same space in terms of use. 

Edge: Push

Overall Scent

Which is better? It’s a tough call, as they are both great fragrances.

Chance gives you more of a fresh and floral wear, with an awesome pink pepper note. Patchouli, jasmine, musk, and pink pepper are prevalent in the dry down. It does everything that you want well. You can’t really go too wrong with this one from Chanel.

Bright Crystal as more of a fruity/floral balance, with the fruit notes really taking hold at the start. Then, the peony, magnolia, lotus, and musk notes reveal themselves more. 

Between the two? It really depends on whether you prefer the fruity notes and peony or jasmine, spice, and patchouli. Also, consider that Bright Crystal is a lot less expensive than Chance EDP. For me, I tend to enjoy the smell of Bright Crystal in comparison. I like both, but the Versace gets the edge to my nose.

Winner: Bright Crystal

4 Best Smelling Ellen Tracy Perfumes

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Ellen Tracy is a newer addition in the world of fragrance, but has already carved out a niche in the space for the lineup of perfumes produced under its banner. These perfumes while available at a highly affordable price point, are actually extremely well put together, have style, and aren’t the typical run of the mill ‘cheapies’.

In this post, I want to go over what I would consider the four best smelling ladies’ scents that have come out from this designer thus far.

What are the Best Ellen Tracy Perfumes?

Top Daily Wear

Ellen Tracy By Ellen Tracy For Women. Eau De Parfum Spray 3.4 Ounces– The namesake fragrance and the one that has enjoyed the best seller status. Ellen Tracy for Women is a beautiful and very well put together scent, at this price point.

It is a very clean woody/floral perfume with a warm musky undertone. It is elegant and vibrant with fruity notes of plum and peach giving it a very small dash of sweetness. Mainly, you’re going to get a light floral bouquet aroma. It dries down as powdery with a bit of soapiness.

This is a easy to wear scent, that is great for daily wear, office, or casual situations. Very nice and welcoming during the spring and into the summer months.

Fruity Floral

Ellen Tracy Pretty Petals Eau de Parfum Spray, 2.5 Ounce– With notes including peach and blackberry, Pretty Petals is a fruity mix with floral undertones, featuring rose.

It’s a strong fruity bomb at first, but will settle down into something with a subtle warmth and vanilla smoothness. Pretty Petals is sweet, youthful, and kind of girly but has an energetic charm about it. The name suggests it’d be more about the floral notes, but that’s not the case.

A bit sweet, with some early tartness from the blackberry. Not a heavy fragrance, and so, this can venture into the warmer months.


Cold Lemonade and Floral

Ellen Tracy Bronze 3.3oz Eau De Parfum Spray For women– Bronze has a lemonade note that is mixed with floral undertones. Sounds weird? Maybe, but it is also a sneaky good fragrance.

It’s more of a casual wear with the violet note and the cool lemonade blending to make a somewhat sugary, powdered scent. The latter half of the wear is more about the floral notes like: heliotrope, violet, honeysuckle, and orchid.

I’d say that the familiar somewhat baby powder aroma (not entirely) that Bronze takes on, is probably its main appeal, and may deter those who don’t enjoy that smell. I really enjoy that chilled opening act of lemonade and soft freshness. Read my full review

Clean, Powdery, Floral

Tracy By Ellen Tracy For Women. Eau De Parfum Spray 2.5 oz– This perfume has a creamy smooth profile with a floral powdery aroma. Tracy is a softer everyday wear that is clean and has a very nice almond note doing the heavy lifting that is flanked by violet.

An inexpensive option for those who want to be low key while smelling delightful. It can come across as semi-aquatic early on, mainly from the water lily. As it progresses, more iris, rose, and peony come through. Particularly, the peony note.

5 Best Smellinig Bijan Perfumes for Her

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Now, I’ve already written up a list of the best smelling men’s colognes by Bijan. As such, I thought it’d be a good time to tackle the women’s side of their lineup. Now, there have been decades of releases from this design house, and it became pretty difficult to narrow it down to only five. However, the list below is a good representation of some of the top scents from Bijan, and as good of a place to start as any.

What are the Best Smelling Bijan Perfumes?

Floral Chocolate

Bijan Nude Women’s Eau De Toilette Spray 2.50 Oz– A floral, led by the very prominent iris note, and joined by lilac. Also, a supporting sweetness is provided by the white chocolate note.

Overall, it has a lighter aroma, but it can start off quite strong. Bijan Nude features musky and woody undertones to balance out the floral. It’s an interesting fragrance, with the usual floral and musky soapiness, but with that chocolate note and iris powder.

The white chocolate really starts to come on more after the initial wave of fragrance settles down. A nice candidate for daily wear, that is safe enough to wear to the office, but with enough to set it apart from the crowd.

The Namesake

Bijan By Bijan For Women. Eau De Toilette Spray 2.5 Oz– A throwback to the 80s, with a lot of depth, character, and a great smell. Bijan is warm and sweet with an amber heart, which is surrounded by sweet notes, and florals.

However, it evolves throughout the wear and there are bits of citrus, spice, and woody notes that all take their turn on the throne. Still a fantastic fragrance, many years after its release.

Dark, Woods and Patchouli

Bijan Wicked FOR WOMEN by Bijan – 2.5 oz EDT Spray– Lotus and jasmine, sitting on top of a sea of warm amber with a dry fresh vetiver and earthy patchouli note. It opens up with citrus and a somewhat tart red currant.

It becomes more about the floral notes for a while, before it moves into its final phase of patchouli, vetiver, and amber. Warm, woodsy, earthy, and somewhat masculine finish. Great performance, strong and long lasting.

Sweet Delicious Floral

Bijan Black By Bijan For Women. Eau De Toilette Spray 2.5 OZ– A very fresh floral with a bit of a twist at the start, where you get a sweet and creamy, tonka bean/pomegranate blend that is absolutely refreshing.

Ultimately, it retains that sweetness but becomes much more of a floral with notes such as rose and gardenia. This one is getting tougher to find a bottle of for cheap. I wouldn’t pay an exorbitant amount of money for it, but it’s a good fragrance for a reasonable price.

Spicy Vanilla Floral

BIJAN B EXQUISITE by Bijan EAU DE PARFUM SPRAY 1.7 OZ– A very warm and quite spicy scent at the beginning, but ultimately more of a vanilla and sandalwood blend, that is dotted by flowers.

Early on the vanilla is joined by the berry notes and B Exquisite really lives up to its name, as something that smells quite expensive and luxurious. It can come across quite a bit like the fragrance Flowerbomb.

Sublime Vanille by Creed

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So, among multiple Creed samples, I received a few from their Royal Exclusives line of scents. These are even more high end (read: expensive) scents than their usual already high-priced fair. Sublime Vanille is a fragrance that is built for those who love vanilla, but is it any good?

In this review, I’m going to cover what’s in this unisex fragrance, how it smells, performs, and whether or not it is worth a purchase.

What does Sublime Vanille Smell Like?

Notes include: vanilla, musk, tonka bean, bergamot, lemon

Click here to try:  Sublime Vanille

My Full Wear Review

The opening of Sublime Vanille is a mix of citrus and the fantastic vanilla note. In fact, it smells like an orange Creamsicle to me, except changing the orange for a lemon note.

The first ten minutes or so it stays like this until the vanilla note becomes dominant along with the creaminess of the tonka bean. Honestly, this is one of the best vanilla notes that I’ve smelled in any fragrance, it’s really good.

The whole thing feels warm, almost like the vanilla is baked in, and it has a syrup sweet quality to it. The citrus note still hangs around but it plays the background exclusively after the beginning. While this is a unisex scent, Sublime Vanille does seem to lean more toward the feminine end of the spectrum.

One thing that I enjoy, is how the musk note is subtle and doesn’t overpower the composition. This scent is pretty straightforward, it doesn’t change all that much from the start, and is consistent from then on.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, Sublime Vanille is decent but not amazing. It’s a fairly soft fragrance but you’ll know that it is there during wear. Longevity, is disappointing but not terrible I can usually steal 4-5 hours with this beauty before it fades away.

With many vanilla and tonka bean scents, you are limited to the colder months of the year but with the citrus notes in this, you can get away with wearing it in the summer. In fact, it’s pretty great when its warm outside, with that typical Creed bergamot note.

I would call it a casual scent, but it smells good enough to be a romantic wear. I guess you can call it a dressed up casual fragrance. It is not however, a night club scent.

Overall Impressions of Sublime Vanille

Overall, is Sublime Vanille a buy? OK, I’m going to assume that anyone who is researching a bottle of Creed, can actually afford to pay for it without selling a kidney.

I do think that this is a really nice vanilla fragrance, but I do have some reservations about the longevity. The aroma itself? It’s beautiful and one of the best vanilla notes that I’ve ever experienced. Top notch.

I feel that if you’re going to spend $500-1000 a bottle, you should get something that lasts throughout the day, and this doesn’t. Personally, I’d rather spend that money on several fragrances instead of just one, but if you’re a well to do vanilla lover…I say, go for it.

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.