Best Perfumes for Women

Eros Pour Femme by Versace

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Eros Pour Femme is a sample fragrance, that I unexpectedly received with another order recently. I thought that I had already done a review of it, but it turns out, I did the EDT version instead. So, this became another scent on my list that I needed to test out. How does this one smell? When should it be worn? Is it worth a try?

What does Eros Femme Smell Like?

Notes include: pomegranate, lemon, bergamot, jasmine, lemon blossom, musk, peony, sandalwood, ambroxan

Click here to try: Eros Femme EDP

My Full Review

Here’s how Versace describes it: Attraction, desire, passion. Eros in a perfume. An alchemy of seductive, luminous and feminine notes. A refined accord of lemon and jasmine, enhanced with soft and sensual woods.

So, the original Eros Pour Femme starts out much more concentrated on the lemon note than the EDT version. Pomegranate is there too, but doesn’t play the same role as the raspberry sorbet does in the EDT.

Here, it’s a lot of citrus. Lemon, lemon blossom, and bergamot. It is sharp, bright, and doesn’t have the same sugary appeal. I do still kind of like it, after a few minutes, as that pomegranate does get to come out more.

When I saw the ambroxan note, I thought that it might be a heavy use of that note. Nope, not on my skin, at least. I do get hints of it, but this has more musk. Even that, isn’t super powerful.

Lemon, jasmine, pomegranate, and some peony is what I get for basically most of the wear. It actually does get a bit sweeter, after that sharp opening, which is a nice change of pace. But, it’s never too candy-like or anything.

The last bit of wear is a drier affair, less juicy. Still lots of citrus and a generic floral aroma. But, the musk still hangs around with woods and I still don’t get much ambroxan.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

The sillage here is actually quite powerful. This one easily leaves a scent trail behind it and projects far off of the skin. Seriously, this is a strong perfume. Not the boldest out there, but very much above average.

However, the longevity isn’t as good as I thought it’d be, based on that powerful opening. I get somewhere in the 7-8 hour range, on skin.

Terrible? No, but I was sure this one was going to hit double digit hours. That initial power is steady for a while, then, begins to fall off from that immediate peak performance.

Seasonally, this is a warm weather choice for the spring and summer months. Outside of that, it isn’t going to get as much use.

Mostly, a daytime casual sort of aroma. You can wear it as a daily wear, so long as you go easy with the sprayer early on.

Eros Femme, despite the name, isn’t really sexy. Not a romantic or nightlife perfume, unlike its male counterpart. Which is sort of strange.

Overall Impressions of Eros Femme

Overall, do I like Eros Femme? Ehh, I don’t hate it, but it wasn’t terribly enjoyable either. The EDT version is much better to me and something I actually did like.

This one is too sharp for my taste, at times. The opening has that effect, it’s nice enough, but can also be bothersome. Lots of citrus and the jasmine note.

I do always enjoy pomegranate and it gets some decent play here. It’s cool. The first third of this fragrance, definitely has its moments.

The back end, is kind of boring. Not too much development, but it gets dry and the generic floral isn’t too exciting. The early stages feel unique, but that isn’t the case later on.

Performance is fine. Didn’t do what I expected, but still no real issue there.

Overall, I’d go with the EDT instead. This isn’t that bad, but I don’t think Eros Femme is all that great either. Versace definitely has better options.

Chelsea Flowers by Bond No. 9

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Bond No. 9 is an American niche brand that has released a ton of very successful fragrances for men and women over the years. One of the early ones, is Chelsea Flowers. I rediscovered a sample vial of this perfume, that I got back in who knows when. So, it was time to test it again and give this a proper review on the site. How does it smell? How long does it last? Is is worth a try?

What does Chelsea Flowers Smell Like?

Notes include: musk, peony, hyacinth, rose, tulip, sandalwood, magnolia

Click here to try: Bond No. 9 Chelsea Flowers Eau De Parfums Spray, 3.4 Ounce

chelsea flowers review

My Full Review

Before getting into my review, let’s see how Bond No. 9 describes it: The Scent of the Ingenue: dewy, freshly-picked blossoms, gathered in a paper wrapper, worn to perfection at New York’s newest art gallery-club-restaurant scene. An exuberant but slightly insolent all-day floral bouquet.

True to its name, Chelsea Flowers, is all about those floral notes. Early on, this one is dewy and has greenish qualities. Later, it is more like flower petals in a shampoo-like composition.

Opening up, I get a pretty big dose of magnolia. That along with a tulip note. It is pretty aquatic smelling, not completely watery, but more than a sprinkling of dew.

I’m concluding that this early dew/green aroma is coming from the hyacinth and tulip. It never takes a pole position, but sits underneath the top two throughout this opening act. Pretty distinct.

The next phase sees the rose and peony notes emerge. On my skin, the rose really isn’t all that heavy. I get a lot more peony, than I ever do from rose, which might be the fourth or fifth strongest of the floral notes.

Chelsea Flowers becomes much more appealing to me, once the hyacinth has calmed down. It becomes a fresher and muskier floral, that’s actually very pretty with its soapy vibe.

The final dry down is an amalgamation of the floral notes, on my skin. None of them feel all that separate from one another. Maybe still some magnolia and tulip I can pick out…sometimes.

But, the rest of the notes really bring home the dry freshness and shampoo aroma. Musk, vetiver, and moss. A greater dose of the moss and musk. The watery side of the perfume is basically gone.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, this will leave a scent trail for the first couple hours especially. It’s not a massive cloud of scent, but Chelsea Flowers, is above average and projects itself very well. 

At it’s peak, it’ll project itself to around seven feet or so. That’s about where I could pick it up from, after spraying the fragrance on a shirt.

The longevity is good, not elite. Somewhere in the 8.5-9 hours of wear range, on my skin. Is that amazing? No, but really no reason to complain for most purposes.

Seasonally, it would best be served in the spring and summer. Though, it can be used during the more temperate days of autumn, as well. Keep to wearing it above a certain temperature, since this doesn’t fit in for winter.

Chelsea Flowers isn’t a sexy scent, nor is it a nighttime party animal. However, within the daytime, it is very versatile.

It can be worn by girls or older women, without issue. It’s fine for office wear, casual, or pretty much wherever else one might need it. Not the most formal scent, but it’s clean aroma wouldn’t be out of place.

 

 

Overall Impressions of Chelsea Flowers

Do I like this fragrance? It’s pretty good, but nothing all that unique or special. It’s not among my favorite from the Bond No. 9 line, though, you could do worse.

The opening act isn’t all that great, the hyacinth is somewhat bothersome here. I like the dewy and aquatic aspects of this scent. But, this really comes alive when the rose, peony, and musk have their turn taking the reins. 

The latter stages are like a dry floral shampoo. Fresh and very presentable, just nothing super memorable or groundbreaking. It’s not bad, just know what you’re getting here.

The performance is solid, on the whole. It lasts a good amount of time and really doesn’t need to be super powerful.

I don’t really want to recommend this to everybody, since it might not have the most exciting scent out there. But, if this sounds like your type of perfume, Chelsea Flowers is a good example, and worth trying. Buying? Maybe not.

Nude by Rihanna

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It seems as if almost every celebrity eventually releases a fragrance or a line of fragrances. With pop stars, it’s pretty much a given that it’s going to happen, and not always successfully. However, Rihanna is one notable exception, who has put out well received perfumes over the years. In this post, I want to do a full review of Nude. What does this fragrance smell like? How does it perform? Is it worth a try?

What does Nude by Rihanna Smell Like?

Notes include: pear, guava, orchid, mandarin orange, gardenia, sandalwood, orange blossom, musk

Click here to try: Rihanna Nude Eau de Parfum Spray for Women, 3.4 Ounce

My Full Review

Nude opens up with a gorgeous array of fruit notes, led by guava, with pear and orange following.  The orange is a blend of mandarin and a rather distinct orange blossom aroma, which will come into play more, later on.

The guava is the real star, up front, and it provides a juicy sweet and tropical sort of smell. The overall fragrance, probably isn’t tropical per se, but the opening act sure feels like its heading that way.

Nonetheless, it starts out as a fruity floral, which will later reverse more into the floral/fruity arena. For me, the start is mostly a guava and pear affair with an emerging gardenia and orange blossom.

As it moves along, I do start to get much more of a floral smell, as I said. It comes in waves. First, is the gardenia and orange blossom. Then, it is more about the vanilla orchid.  When the gardenia comes in, there is a bit of creaminess from the sandalwood, with a hint of vanilla. 

 

Finally, the dry down is a blend of orchid, guava, sandalwood, musk, and the other floral notes. It is clean and still pretty sweet, but not nearly the same intensity, as the sweetness at the start.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

The sillage isn’t all that heavy, but the initial sweetness, can project itself fairly well. However, I don’t think you’ll bomb out a room, unless you severely over-spray this perfume.

The good news is, that it does leave a nice scent trail and create a fairly substantial scent bubble. For a celebrity perfume, the performance here is actually quite good, if somewhat inconsistent. 

It seems to hit a max of around 7 feet in projection, when I sprayed it on a shirt in my room. It’ll move in closer, but wasn’t ever a skin scent, until the very late stages. 

The longevity is good here, not amazing. On my skin, it’ll hit somewhere in the range of 5-8 hours, at varying strengths. It’s kind of a wide mark, but this Rihanna scent, does linger around.

Seasonally, I cannot really place it exactly. I’d lean more toward the warmer weather, due to the fruits, but it really wouldn’t be terrible in the cold. Trying it outside, on a fairly mild day, it held up well and never felt cloying. 

This perfume does, skew towards the younger set. Like around college age, through the mid-20s. More of a casual or something to wear out and about, rather than, a formal or office type of setting. Nude is attractive, but has a playful vibe about it.

Overall Impression

Do I like this perfume? I really do. Now, some may not care for the sweetness of such a scent, but I like it. I especially like the guava, pear, and orange opening. I think that it’s great.

It’s a fairly simple, clean, upbeat, and fruity celebrity perfume. Nude probably won’t end up being a daily wear, for an older woman, but could very well be for someone younger.  As far as celebrity fragrances go, this is one of the better examples, and it’s pretty hard to go wrong with.

The performance is pretty good, and the value for the price, is quite high. It smells very attractive. Is it completely unique? Not really, but it is distinct enough and highly enjoyable. 

Nude is a perfume that I don’t think has any glaring weaknesses, while also not being the most amazing fragrance out there. That being said, it is worthy of trying out, and safe enough for a blind buy.

La Panthere Legere by Cartier

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I’m doing a whole new batch of reviews on the site, which will include dozens of perfumes and colognes, that I’ve been testing out. One such fragrance is the subject of today’s review, La Panthere Legere from Cartier. How does this one smell? Does it perform well? Is it worth a try?

What does La Panthere Legere Smell Like?

Notes include: musk, gardenia, tiare, oakmoss, fruits

Click here to try: Cartier La Panthere Legere Eau De Parfum Spray for Women, 3.3 Ounce 

My Full Wear Review

La Panthere Legere opens up with a fairly sweet floral and fruit blend. I can smell some citrus and perhaps some peach in there, as well. Mainly, what I pick up is gardenia.

The gardenia sits absolutely beautifully in the presence of the fruit notes, which have a drier, rather than juicy aroma. Joining this flower is both the tiare flower and musk. To my nose, the musk is light, and doesn’t get in the way of the rest of the ingredients.

What I do really enjoy is the tiare notes, which is delightful when it blends with the soft fruit mix, that’s sitting in the background of this scent. It gives this Cartier perfume, a very faint tropical kind of vibe.

Though, it doesn’t stray too far into that territory. I don’t think the fruit mix is actually too tropical, but it gives you some nice sweetness to contrast against the floral earthiness of this perfume.

As I get further along into the wear, this starts to take on a clean oak moss scent. Between that, the musk, and the florals it can have a somewhat soapy aroma, at times.

Ultimately, it straddles the line between that and powder. Nonetheless, you’re going to get something that is clean, and different points with either gardenia or tiare dominance.

Longevity, Sillage, and Versatility

The projection on this one is fairly strong. It’s capable of being over-sprayed, but it doesn’t come across as a heavy bomb. It’s light enough to not be annoying (with normal spraying), but still has enough sillage, to make itself known.

The longevity is really good. I got about 9 hours on my skin. It also, doesn’t just crap out and become a weak scent, but remains pretty consistent during the entirety.

I don’t know if it’s capable of going beyond nine hours or so. That should be enough for most purposes though.

Seasonally, it feels more like a springtime fragrance, but it would be fine in anything other than extreme heat. Find something else for summer. But, when it’s warm and even slightly breezy, this one really came alive during my testing of it.

This could be a good option for daily wear at the office, casually, or for more formal wear. It is attractive and somewhat pretty, but not really a ‘sexy’ sort of perfume.

Legere is a perfume that exudes a good deal of confidence and is well put together. So, that’s the style I’d lean towards wearing it with.

If wearing in an enclosed space, I’d go lighter on the sprays with this one. Again, it’s not a monster with the projection, but it can be deceptively strong. The moss and musk are great outside, though.

Overall Impression of La Panthere Legere

Do I like this perfume? Yes, I actually think that it’s better than La Panthere, from what I can remember of that perfume.

The opening act, is the best aspect of this scent. When the fruit notes are around at full strength, to go along with the gardenia and tiare, it’s a really great experience.

The dry down is good, much more geared towards oak moss and musk, but there is still the floral notes hanging around.

I tend to like the parts in the dry down that feel more powdery rather than being soapy clean. Nonetheless, it still never feels like it’s straying too far one way or the other, to my nose.

Performance is very good and you get a very wearable, pleasant fragrance. Legere is a scent that will probably appeal to those in their late 20s and up. It’s not stuffy or out of date, but is one that has a certain maturity level.

La Panthere Legere is a Cartier fragrance that is worthy of trying out, if this all sounds like something you might be into.

The Girl by Tommy Hilfiger

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In this post, I want to take a loser look at a sample fragrance that I received months ago, but never did anything with: The Girl by Tommy Hilfiger. Now, this one came out a few years ago, and is not to be confused with Tommy Girl. The Girl is an entirely different sort of perfume, but is it actually any good? What does it smell like? How does it perform? Is it worth a buy?

What does The Girl EDT Smell Like?

Notes include: fig leaf, cashmere, pear, jasmine, cedar, violet leaf

Click here to try: TOMMY HILFIGER The Girl Eau de Toilette Spray for Women, 3.4 Ounce

My Full Review

This fragrance opens up with a crisp and juicy pear note that is joined by a particularly strong fig note. It is a green fruity experience with wood notes, like cedar and cashmere, becoming immediately apparent. It’s soft and has a watery element that sits underneath the fig note and gives The Girl a bit of an aquatic vibe.

A few minutes into the wear, the pear note subsides a bit, and this takes on a more vegetal green aroma. Now, there is violet leaf in here, but that’s not really what I’m picking up. It’s that aquatic aroma peaking in, mixed with plant life, and the woody base.

I guess it’s a mix of the lily of the valley, violet leaf, and the pear. It’s okay, I’m not completely turned off by it, sort of interesting.

The Girl is a very fresh and clean scent, with an airy mix of natural elements, combining for something that is quite pleasant.

Ultimately, I get a lot of fig, the wood notes get stronger, with the aquatic aroma, and some violet leaf. It’s pretty simple and for a fragrance called The Girl, it really isn’t a girly sort of scent.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Projection wise, the sillage on The Girl is pretty light. It starts of pretty moderate, but again, shifts to an airy semi-aquatic fragrance without a massive footprint.

This isn’t going to take over a room or leave a scent trail in one’s wake. More like create a light private scent bubble or have a misty kind of presence in the air.

The longevity with normal sprays, is pretty bad, like a few hours. You can boost it to 4-5, if you double up the sprays on each spot. Meh, could’ve been a lot better.

Seasonally, it would be best for the warmer months of the year. I get more of a springtime vibe from this one. It’s more naturalistic or garden-like vibe reminds me of a cheaper version of the Hermes Jardin series of perfumes. Similar style, but the quality isn’t nearly the same.

It would be good casually, for class, or for work depending on your situation. It’s not a nighttime scent at all, not really sexy, just a fresh and clean wear for the day.

Overall Impressions The Girl by Tommy Hilfiger

Overall, do I like The Girl by Tommy Hilfiger? I like the way it smells, I’m not blown away by it, but it is pretty nice. It’s almost a unisex scent. The wood and the fig leaf note, are really attractive in this composition, and this could be a great naturalistic sort of perfume.

However, the performance, isn’t great. If it was boosted in its strength, it would be worth a buy for those who don’t want overly fruity or floral fragrances. As it is, this is probably a pass.

The violet leaf isn’t completely bothersome to me in this mix. The Girl has a lot of positive things going for its aroma. The lightness, freshness, and that early fig and pear combo are  nice.

The Girl could be a solid cheapy. Again, probably one to pass on, but for somewhere around $20 it might find a place in one’s rotation.