Best Perfumes for Women

Olympea Intense by Paco Rabanne

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I’m still making my way through a ton of sample fragrance write ups and reviews over the next month or so. Mostly, I have women’s scents left in the box, so stay tuned. Today’s entry is one from Paco Rabanne, Olympea Intense. This is a flanker perfume to the original Olympea.

How does it smell? Perform? Is it worth a purchase? Read below for my full wear thoughts and review.

What does Olympea Intense Smell Like?

Notes include: amber, vanilla, salt, orange blossom, and white pepper

Click here to try: Paco Rabanne Olympea Intense Eau De Parfum Spray 80ml/2.7oz

My Full Review

Before I begin my personal review of this fragrance, let’s see how they describe Olympea Intense in the sample vial’s card, A salty-vanilla amber accord. Carnal and charming. With a heart of orange blossom pulsating to white pepper. Flowers bloom and tumble into a salty-vanilla and white ethereal amber base. Unexpected. Illicit. Captivating.

So upon spraying, I immediately detect the salt and the vanilla notes. Olympea Intense really does have a saltwater toffee vibe to it, an aroma that hangs in the warm summer air. The orange blossom also comes out quite well from the start and indeed throughout the entire life cycle.

It’s a familiar floral and one of the floral notes that I enjoy most in fragrances. Orange blossom fits in perfectly to that salty vanilla mix and feels like it is soaked in the amber note.

The amber, of course, is the other highlight of this composition. It gives this Paco Rabanne perfume, a thick warmth, which envelopes the wearer and acts as the glue to keep everything together.

Olympea Intense is a fairly straightforward and simple fragrance. Vanilla is the main attraction and it is paired with the salt to create something that feels like it has a dash of sea air to it. All of this is coated with a very compelling amber note and an orange blossom to offset it from becoming strictly a vanilla perfume.

This one reminds me of some other fragrances such as BonBon and Black Opium and perhaps a few others (Prada Candy, maybe?).

It has that same vanilla, citrus sort of smell with a candy-like aroma (toffee in this case versus caramel in others). None are exactly the same, but they have a similar profile.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, Olympea Intense actually lives up to the name and has a strong sillage. Trust me, you won’t have to spray very much of this stuff in order to get it to perform.

It is also an all-day wear and lasted over 10 hours on my skin, without any problem. So, you’re going to get your money’s worth. Paco Rabanne fragrances are usually great performers and this one is no exception.

Seasonally, it is built for colder weather and really shines there. However, it would be fine in moderate temperatures, as well. The high heat of summer? Maybe, but I have a feeling it’d fall apart.

Olympea Intense could be an everyday wear, but I think it’s best used casually, romantically, or for a night out. I think that it is quite attractive and sexy, it’s a perfume that draws people in. I probably wouldn’t go with this for more formal occasions.

Overall Impressions of Olympea Intense

Overall, do I like Olympea Intense by Paco Rabanne? Yes, I think that it is a great option for the colder months of the year. It isn’t a super complex perfume, but it has great performance, and bang for your buck.

If you’re a fan of vanilla and amber, this is definitely one to check out, and should be a crowd pleaser. It’s right along the same lines as several other popular fragrances, so, it’s not the most unique perfume out there.

Though, it separates itself enough to stand on its own merits. Olympea Intense can be a great little pick up, that not too many other people will have.

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.

Sunset Fantasy by Britney Spears

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I’ve gotten a few samples from the Britney Spears line of ladies’ perfumes and so I’ve been trying them out recently. One of these fragrances is a 2017 release from Britney, called, Sunset Fantasy. This is yet another flanker from the Fantasy part of the brand.

So, with that in mind, how does Sunset Fantasy smell? How does it perform? Is it worth a try? Please continue below for my full wear review.

What does Sunset Fantasy Smell Like?

Notes include: ruby grapefruit, Italian mandarin, pink lady apple, peach, orange blossom, raspberry leaves, sandalwood, amber, steamed milk froth accord

Click here to try: Britney Spears Sunset Fantasy EDT Spray, 3.3 Ounce

My Full Wear Review

Sunset Fantasy opens up with some zesty citrus notes as the main fruity attraction while being supported by peach and apple. It’s very bright, clean, and has that fructose sweetness to it. Coming into this review, I was expecting something bright and sweet, and Sunset delivers.

At the top, I mainly detect the mandarin note, more than anything else. I have to say, that it feels way more tropical than I would expect, even though it doesn’t have any pineapple or passion fruit-like ingredients.

The immediate opening, is much more like you would expect from a fruity beach perfume.

15 minutes or so into the wear, the peach note emerges as the leader, and it is joined by the steamed milk froth accord. Just think of this as ‘cream’ because that’s what it smells like.

Creamy peach with citrus, then orange blossom and sandalwood, playing the background and serving as the base. It’s all super juicy and creamy, again, it doesn’t have boozy notes but it has a tropical drink vibe…maybe just a puree?

Sunset Fantasy has a playful aroma, what I guess you could call, flirty. As it dries down it gets smoother, warmer, and creamier. The amber note is light but it does give it a hint of spice.

Ultimately though, it is all about the abundance of fruit notes, put together like a cocktail and the beautiful aroma that they give off. The secondary creaminess, gives Sunset a wonderful aroma, that you’d usually get with a heavier winter scent.

This lighter version is a great gourmand fragrance for when the temperatures rise.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, this Britney fragrance is pretty moderate in its sillage. It’s not weak, but not ever a bomb either. This is one you can wear comfortably and not feel as though you’re choking out a room.

I found the longevity to be decent on my skin, somewhere around 6 hours before becoming a skin scent. Either way, it’s affordable enough to reapply, and not worry about having to drop serious coin to replace a bottle.

Seasonally, summertime. This is summer all the way. There aren’t marine notes, but you get a beachy vibe, or at least it conjures up images of sitting by a hotel pool. Sunset Fantasy has that tropical scent, creaminess like lotion, etc.

It’s a good casual scent for these months of the year and I would actually really like smelling this on a woman, so I’d say it’s date friendly. It also doesn’t feel like a complete teenager perfume, older women could pull this off, but it does have more of a youthful feeling to it.

Some of the other offerings from this line can really skew more towards younger teens, but this definitely doesn’t go that far.

Nonetheless, I would keep the application to casual events, daytime wear outdoors, or late night summer gatherings.

Overall Impression of Britney Spears Sunset Fantasy

Overall, do I like Sunset Fantasy? Yes, I do. Britney Spears actually has a lot of nice perfumes for the price and this is definitely an enjoyable example of that. If you don’t like hyper fruity fragrances, then, this is one to skip.

Update: Sunset Fantasy has been discontinued, since this original posting.

However, if you want a delicious go to scent during the warmer days of the year, this is one to try out. It’s not a pure fruity summertime scent, with aquatic elements, like many others in this category.

Instead, you get a creaminess from the trio of sandalwood/vanilla/cream, which surprisingly doesn’t feel heavy in the humid weather.

I enjoyed having this one on, during my review. Again, the price is low versus what you get in terms of performance and aroma. This can be a great value play, for the right person.

Light Blue vs. Marc Jacobs Daisy Perfume Comparison

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For this post, I want to get back into featuring some fragrance for the ladies, on this site. As such, I am going to do a head to head match up between two highly popular perfumes: Light Blue vs. Daisy. Which of these women’s fragrances, smells the best? The Marc Jacobs or the Dolce? I will break it down by category before declaring an ultimate winner between them.

Tale of the Tape: Daisy vs. Light Blue

Light Blue

Notes include: rose, apple, musk, lemon, jasmine, and more

Click here to try: Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue By Dolce & Gabbana For Women. Eau De Toilette Spray 3.3 Oz

Read my original review: D&G Light Blue Review

Daisy

Notes include: grapefruit, gardenia, jasmine, violet, musk, and vanilla

Click here to try: Marc Jacobs Daisy, EDT Spray, 3.4oz 100ml

Read my original review: Daisy Review

Opening

Light Blue opens up with a powerful lemon note along with a crisp apple. It is bright and refreshing, but also, the rose note lets itself be known early on in the wear. It can be somewhat sharp, but the juiciness and upbeat energy of the fruit notes is very nice.

Daisy opens with a burst of floral notes, but it is a watery sort of aroma, with a dash of grapefruit. The main trio is violet, gardenia, and jasmine. It is a light floral, with slight aquatic qualities, but quite pretty.

Which one is better? I prefer how Light Blue starts off, despite its ability to be too tart for some folks. The citrus/apple opening is probably its strongest and when this D&G perfume is at its best.

Edge: Light Blue

Projection

Light Blue is on the lighter side of the moderate range of sillage. More than a skin scent, but not an absolute monster of projection. Daisy is light all the way, not a skin scent either, just not as strong.

Light Blue, however, can start off feeling strong due to the sharpness of the citrus. The projection can be wide upon the initial spraying. Though, it levels off rather quickly.

Edge: Light Blue

Longevity

With Daisy, I have tested it out to about 7 hours, before it’s gone. Light Blue on the other hand, can go for over 10 hours. This is an easy win for D&G.

Edge: Light Blue

Versatility

Light Blue is great for casual or even office wear. It is more of a day time perfume, with more of a spring/summer vibe, but can go year round. Daisy hits the same beats as Light Blue and it isn’t what you’d call a nighttime scent either. No definite winner, here.

These two are hyper-popular in part because they can be worn in so many different situations without being out of place.

Edge: Push

Overall Scent

Daisy is a really nice classic floral fragrance. The composition is fairly green and slightly aquatic in its presentation of the floral notes.

The drydown period is nice, with its musk and the remnants of the grapefruit note. This is one, the pretty much demands that you like floral fragrances, but it has been very popular for years. I like it.

However, I think Light Blue is slightly better. It has the better performance for sure, but also, I like that opening act of lemon, apple, and rose. As it dries down, it’s not as good in my opinion, with the earthy/floral/woody aroma.

Luckily, the lemon is still there to carry things through. Even if I’m not impressed entirely with its latter stages, I think that it is still better than the Marc Jacobs fragrance.

Winner: Light Blue

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.