Best Perfumes for Women

5 Best Smelling Balenciaga Fragrances

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Balenciaga has been a name which has resonated in the world of fashion for many decades now. Among it’s lineup, is of course, the almost required fragrance offerings from nearly all the big design houses.

In this post, I want to cover five of the ladies’ perfumes that have been sold by Balenciaga over the years, and what could be considered the best of the bunch.

Obviously, there may be some that I left off of the list, but this is a good place to start for those who are searching for the top Balenciaga scents.

Update: They haven’t put out a new fragrance in years it seems. So, these might be difficult to find or even more expensive now than usual.

Favorite Balenciaga Fragrances for Her

Balanced with Depth

Balenciaga B Perfume, 1.7 Ounce– One of the newer scents from the Balenciaga line, B, is a wholly unique scent in the women’s fragrance space. It has a fresh and green aroma yet is laden with woods, a tart sweetness, and the addition of pea as a note.

Yeah, B isn’t a perfume for everyone, but is a great choice for those looking to set themselves apart from the masses.

The lily of the valley gives B a balanced approach to the perfume, with a good blend of wood, greener notes, and some light floral ingredients. Lily of the valley and violet leaf. It has a bit of spice from a pepper note underneath.

As it dries down, the woody cedar note becomes more prominent and its less about the floral notes. Very interesting and can be a go to for the right person.

Popular Green Floral 

Balenciaga Florabotanica Eau de Parfum Spray for Women, 3.4 Ounce– A fresh and green sort of floral with rose and carnation notes surrounded by vetiver. Florabotanica has been around for a long time and the perfume’s performance also has great longevity.

This fragrance has a great earthy character that shines in spring and summer. An interesting but slight addition to the composition is a cannabis note.

It helps to further the green-ish elements of this fragrance. The rose note isn’t the usual fully developed bright red variety and there is also a crisp and cool mint note that is prevalent.

Scent for Violet Lovers

Balenciaga Paris Eau de Parfum Spray for Women, 2.5 Ounce– A naturalistic floral with violet as the main highlight. It has a powdery sort of aroma but then is joined by a woodiness, later on in the wear. Paris is a moderate fragrance suited for an every day usage.

Violet is of course the dominant note here, but there is a woodsy and naturalistic heart to this fragrance. A bit of vetiver, more cedar, dashed with some other light floral and plant notes.

Paris is upbeat with a great freshness and a clean finish. Feels very vibrant and dynamic, not like a heavy old time violet.

Warm and Inviting Fragrance

Cristobal By Balenciaga For Women. Eau De Toilette Spray 1.7 oz– This one has been discontinued but you can still find bottles here and there. Cristobal features vanilla, fig, patchouli, and floral notes.

It is a soft perfume with a lot of personality and has moments of spice, sweetness, and overall warmth.

Sweet and a bit creamy vanilla, with a warm embracing patchouli, that is blended with florals and fig. This one is a great wintertime option, if you can get a bottle at a good price.

The vanilla sort of holds everything together, but it still presents a rather unique aroma, versus the usual vanilla perfumes.

Best Overall Balenciaga Perfume

Balenciaga Talisman By Balenciaga 100ml Spray– A sweeter and fruitier option with less floral notes than found in the other entries on this list from Balenciaga. Talisman, isn’t all sweetness, as it features smoky elements and boozy rum undertones coursing through it’s body.

A bright yet dry aroma with a definite tropical feeling, like being in the tropics during the wintertime. Pineapple, peach, and some other fruity ingredients. Talisman is deep with good complexity, the smokiness of the scent really brings to life the various fruits and other gourmand notes.

I really liked this one, when I came across it. The others on the list are great, in their own right, but Talisman just strikes me as the more interesting fragrance. Plus, the dry warmth and mix of different ingredients is awesome.

The Scent of Peace by Bond No. 9

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I recently got a hold of about 10 Bond No. 9 fragrance samples, so, now I will be posting proper reviews on each over the next little while. The first up to bat is a highly popular fragrance for ladies, The Scent of Peace.

In this post, I’m going to explore what’s in it, how it smells, how it performs, and whether or not it is worth a buy.

What does The Scent of Peace Smell Like?

Notes include: grapefruit, black currant, cedar, lily of the valley, hedione, musk

Click here to try: Bond No. 9 The Scent Of Peace Eau De Parfum Spray, 3.3 Fluid Ounce

My Full Wear Review

The Scent of Peace gets a lot of comparisons to Light Blue by D&G. With Light Blue, you get: apple, lemon, and musk. While with this Bond No. 9 fragrance, you get: grapefruit, black currant, and musk. So, while they share the musk note, the juicy fruits within the composition are different but create a similar effect.

Which one is better? I think that The Scent of Peace gets it right. The grapefruit note with the delicious smelling back currant is a much more enjoyable aroma than the already nicely scented Light Blue.

Anyways, the opening of this fragrance, is all about those vibrant and juicy fruits. It is a very fresh and bright aroma that has me smelling the spot on my arms I sprayed, again and again. Just catching a waft of this stuff is quite and enjoyable experience.

The black currant is the leader of the pack, without question. Obviously, pairing this note with further citrus, can make the beginning of the scent quite sharp. Some might find it to be too much, though for me, it’s not bad at all and actually enjoyable. 

As it moves along, the floral notes begin to emerge, but never really seem to take over the scent. At this point, I am fully getting the summer’s day vibe from The Scent of Peace. Lily of the valley is the floral note of choice, but it really remains light, and flanked by the musky ingredient. 

With the underlying cedar note, the lily of the valley, creates a ‘green’ outdoorsy aroma that is undeniably beautiful when blended with the fruit. It’s fresh, clean, bright, with a bit of a biting sharpness. 

The whole wear isn’t all that complicated. It’s an easy to put on scent, with minimal development, but an attractive and refreshing smell. 

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, this one is pretty light to moderate, which I think is a good thing in this case. This perfume doesn’t need to be an absolute bomb and would take away from how good it already is.

It is light, yet noticeable, before turning into a skin scent that sneaks up on you, lest you have forgotten that you were wearing it.

Longevity, is good, however. Around 7 hours of solid wear and maybe a few more, where it is still detectable on my skin. It could probably go longer, in the right circumstances. It does its job for a daily wear or casual type of scent. It could be a bit better, but it’s certainly solid. 

I would say this is an ideal spring/summer fragrance. As a casual daytime wear or one that is worn to work or school. It has an upbeat but not overly youthful vibe, it doesn’t have that ‘teenager’ super sweetness, but seems right for women in their 20s and up. Think beautiful but not necessarily sexy.

It’s a really nice and refreshing sort of wear, that will sit beautifully in the temperate or warmer climates. Once the black currant settles in a bit, things still feel a bit crisp, but The Scent of Peace is an altogether smoother experience. 

Overall Impression of The Scent of Peace for Her

Overall, would I recommend The Scent of Peace? Yes, this is one of my favorite Bond No. 9 fragrances for women. It is delicious and oh so pretty.  It is great for those who are looking for a casual scent that will garner complements, be enjoyable to wear, and won’t overpower a room.

Obviously, the Bond No. 9 lineup can be pricey. However, this is one that I think is worth the purchase. Not everyone will be enamored with it, it will mostly boil down to the grapefruit and black currant combo. Though, I think that most, will find this to be a very nice perfume to spray on during the spring and summertime. 

6 Best Smelling Lanvin Perfumes

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Lanvin Paris has a very long history in the world of fashion, thanks to its founder, Jeanne Lanvin. She passed on, a long time ago, but the brand that she created still lives on today.

During that time, the house has released a ton of fragrances, some gone forever and others new. Heck, some have been reformulated, based on an older original and are available once again.

In this post, I want to select six perfumes for ladies by Lanvin, which can be considered the best. I have only chosen ones that are still available, as most of us aren’t going to be able to smell something that was for sale in the 1930s. Nonetheless, this should provide folks with a place to start, in order to find something of interest from this brand.

What are the Best Lanvin Perfumes for Her?

Most Popular

Lànvȉn Eclȧt D’arpȅge Perfume for Women Eau De Parfum 3.3 fl.Oz– Probably the best selling fragrance from Lanvin, at least in recent years. Eclat d’Arpege is a wonderful floral fragrance with a light and airy composition.

While it includes several flowers, lilac is the main attraction here, with peony being the secondary lead.

This one is a daily wear, that is safe to put on for work or school, as it isn’t going to fill up a room. Rather, it is subtle, and freshly beautiful with a dash of green tea to add a slightly different feel from most floral perfumes.

Top Fruity Sweet

Lanvin Jeanne Perfume for Women 3.3 fl.Oz Eau De Parfum– Jeanne Lanvin comes back with the peony note, like the previous entry, but it sits underneath an array of fruity notes. It does have some pear, but it is mostly, blackberry and raspberry taking charge here.

It is sweet and upbeat, with a lighter musk appearing in the dry down period. The sillage and longevity here isn’t crazy, but it is a really great scent, for when it gets warm outside; to just spray on and enjoy.

Classic Lanvin Fragrance

Lanvȋn Arpége Pẻrfume For Women 3.4 oz Eau De Parfum Spray – This one dates back to the earlier decades of the last century, but it has been updated and reformulated, a few times since then.

The current version is a lot of floral notes, with a powdery aroma from the iris, sitting on top of sandalwood. It’s actually kind of a powerhouse, when compared to the others on this list, and while it is pretty heavy it does have a certain cleanliness about it.

You get a good amount of jasmine and ylang-ylang, but Arpege is pretty well mixed. Maybe not the most universally appealing scent on the list, but one that ranks up near the top, for a selection of the population.

Unique Powdery Perfume

Lanvin Oxygene Perfume For Women 2.5 oz Eau De Parfum Spray – Oxygene has a nice spicy opening of black pepper, which conveys a fresh energy. That settles down, in favor of a creamier/powdery floral fragrance, with iris and gardenia which is much smoother.

The spice of the pepper is present throughout, but Oxygene is light and relaxed, with a bit of sweetness in there. A very clean perfume, with a nice musk and sandalwood base, and good performance.

Summertime Rose

Rumeur 2 Rose Perfume for Women by Lānvîn 3.3 fl. oz Eau de Parfum– Rumeur 2 Rose has a great citrus top, that isn’t too tart, even while being led by lemon. You get grapefruit and orange in there, as well. Obviously, the name tells you that your main floral note is the rose, and it works very well with the citrus.

The whole thing is light and doesn’t take on a heavy rose personality. This fragrance is energetic, but not overbearing, and can best be described as quite pretty. Very easy to wear and will be well-liked.

Jasmine Bouquet

Marry Me Perfume for Women by Lanvin 2.5 fl. oz Eau de Parfum– The opening is a blend of citrus and peach, which is deliciously sweet. However, a few minutes into the wear, it begins to shift more towards being a jasmine dominant floral fragrance.

You get some freesia and magnolia also, as it moves along, but the jasmine and peach stick out the most. The citrus pretty much falls by the wayside after that opening. Marry Me is a lovely wear for the warm weather months, particularly springtime, and while simple is a joy to smell.

Soleil Blanc by Tom Ford

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I still have about a dozen more Tom Ford fragrance reviews to post from my current batch of samples. I’m going to start making a dent in that number today, by reviewing 2016’s release Soleil Blanc. This perfumes has gotten fairly popular over the past few years, but is it actually worth it? How does it smell? What’s the performance like? When should it be worn?

What does Soleil Blanc Smell Like?

Notes include: coconut, bergamot, pink pepper, ylang ylang, cardamom, pistachio, jasmine, tonka bean, amber, benzoin, tuberose

Click here to try: Tom Ford Private Blend Soleil Blanc Eau De Parfum Spray for Unisex 3.4 Oz / 100ml

My Full Review

Soleil Blanc opens with coconut infused with bergamot juice and flanked by floral notes, though, mainly tuberose at this stage. It feels quite tropical and I particularly like the beginning, when the bergamot is in full swing, before it fades from the picture.

Beyond the initial offering, I start to get a bit of cardamom (with a slight hint of pink pepper), and the jasmine begins to emerge more on my skin. It’s sweet with a fresh spice, in there, but the fragrance as a whole takes on a suntan oil or lotion fragrance.

Yes, it gets compared to Virgin Island Water a lot, but Soleil Blanc is more feminine and pleasing to my nose. I honestly don’t think that they are as similar as folks want to make them out to be.

The further along I get, the more the floral notes emerge, and create a smooth and creamy effect on the composition. Lots of ylang-ylang, tuberose, and jasmine with the sweet coconut still sitting in the heart of things.

It’s wrapped up in a slight amber warmth and a benzoin, that reminds me of men’s fragrance, Kouros Body. Soleil Blanc is pretty simple from there on out.

I put some on a t-shirt also, and the next day, it had dried down into a semi-sweet floral with cardamom being the other main note.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, the sillage is solid, but not super heavy by any means. It is exactly what it needs to be, noticeable, but not room suffocating. It is also pretty consistent in intensity throughout the wear.

The longevity is great and Soleil Blanc lasts for over 10 hours on my skin. So, no worries about it quitting in the middle of the day. For a summertime fragrance, that’s actually really could compared to most others.

Seasonally, this bright fragrance begs to be worn in the warmer weather. Spring is just fine, but really summer is where it’s at.  I find it to be quite an attractive fragrance, but yes, it does have that suntan lotion element.

As such, maybe it isn’t a ‘sexy’ perfume, but is pretty and upbeat. It can be worn casually, semi-formal, or at the office.

Soleil isn’t really going to offend anybody, so it is safe for close quarters. Sweet, creamy, floral, with some underlying spice.

Overall Impressions of Soleil Blanc

Overall, do I like Soleil Blanc? Yes, I think that it is a great addition to the Tom Ford line of women’s fragrances. It’s really among the best of the bunch that have been released over the years.

The coconut is great and blends very well with the floral notes. It’s all creamy and smooth, with some nice warm and spicy notes thrown in.

It does have somewhat of a summertime beachy vibe, but not the same kind of saltiness that other scents in this category have. In the end, it smells nice and lasts all day, and is an awesome option for women.

Bleecker Street by Bond No. 9

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This is a review that I’ve been meaning to get around to doing for a long while. In fact, I grabbed another sample vial just for this very purpose, and promptly forgot about it for months. But, Bleecker Street, is a scent that needed a write up on this site and I wasn’t going to let the sample Bond No. 9 perfume, lie unused for too long.

So, in this post, I am going to cover the usual ingredients, how it smells, develops, performs, when it should be worn, and if it’s actually worth a purchase.

What does Bleecker Street Smell Like?

Notes include: violet leaf, vanilla, caramel, cinnamon, jasmine, cassis, patchouli, oakmoss

Click here to try: Bond No.9 Bleecker Street Women Eau De Parfum Spray, 3.3 Ounce

My Full Review

Before we get into my review, let’s see how Bond No. 9 describes, Bleecker Street: Art, fashion, seduction, and dessert in liquid form. A warm and sensual aphrodisiac that glides from day into evening. 

The opening of Bleecker Street gives you that initial blast of violet leaf. Violet leaf always reminds me of Fahrenheit by Christian Dior, and yep, that’s a what I experience with this Bond No. 9 fragrance. That outdoorsy almost gasoline kind of aroma, just toned way down, in Bleecker Street and not nearly as aggressive as the Dior.

Nonetheless, it quickly moves off of that beginning and is joined by other notes like cinnamon, patchouli, and oakmoss. It’s a green ‘natural’ kind of scent, sort of sporty, but always clean and fresh.

Looking at the notes, which include vanilla and caramel, I would expect this to be sweeter than it actually is.

However, Bleecker Street never reaches that expected sweetness, as it is controlled by the stronger notes like cassis, which while derived from black currant doesn’t have that sugary quality. It is the same type of thing you find in Aventus.

So, it’s not sugary and the fruit isn’t ‘juicy’, as it is surrounded by dry ingredients.

The whole profile and experience of wearing Bleecker Street brings me to the outdoors, out in the wilderness, and taking in the landscape. At times, it’s completely woody with the overlying natural sharpness of the cassis. Then, a layer of faint sweetness of caramel.

The violet leaf is always present and a bit of warm spice from the cinnamon and patchouli. To my nose, it gets sweeter as it dries down, and moves away from the woodiness.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, its of pretty moderate sillage. People will notice it, but there’s no need to go heavy on the sprays, nor is it going to be crazy intense with a normal application. There’s really no need to coat yourself in it, though.

The performance with Bleecker Street’s longevity is very good and while around 8 hours is the norm, it can hit double digits on occasion. It’s not one to die out in the middle of the day and will be just right for almost any time one wears it.

Now, this is listed as a unisex fragrance by Bond No. 9 and I tend to agree. Though, it does lean more towards the masculine side of things.

I’ve said that it has elements of both Fahrenheit and Aventus for men, but this Bond scent, never has that same intensity or overt masculinity.

So, yes, it is safe for women but it does have more of what would usually be considered masculine elements.

Seasonally, I would like to wear this best in the autumn or spring. It just feels right with more moderate temperatures and there’s all of the usual changes in nature taking place. Just the whole clean outdoorsy profile fits these time periods to a tee.

Bleecker is a versatile scent, it can be worn casually, as well as on more formal occasions. It smells really good, but isn’t what I’d call sexy, and isn’t a nightclub beast.

Overall Impressions of Bleecker Street

Overall, do I like Bleecker Street? Yes, this is one of the better fragrances by Bond No. 9. It’s got a pretty unique style and aroma. It is interesting throughout and the notes aren’t what you’d find in a lot of the more common fragrances on the market.

The performance is also great. Is this a fragrance for everybody? Almost certainly not. Some women will find it too masculine and some guys won’t find it bold enough. Though, it is a quality perfume, and one which has found a niche in a lot of people’s rotations.

It’s definitely one of my favorite fragrances from this expensive brand, which can honestly be pretty hit or miss. This one is among the best that they’ve ever put out.