Best Perfumes for Women

Un Jardin Apres la Mousson by Hermes

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Hermes’ Jardin line is one that I’m currently doing my write-ups on, after having tested them out. Today’s perfume is the release, Un Jardin Apres la Mousson (A Garden After the Monsoon). How does this one smell? When should it be worn? Is it worth a try?

What does Un Jardin Apres la Mousson Smell Like?

Notes include: ginger, ginger flower, cardamom, coriander, vetiver, pepper, citrus, water

Click here to try: Un Jardin Apres la Mousson

jardin mousson review

My Full Review

Here’s how Hermes describes it: Un Jardin après la Mousson explores unexpected aspects of India, when the monsoon gives back what the sun has taken from the earth, and drives away the scorching breath of drought.

The opening of Mousson is an interesting blend of warmth and aquatic coolness. It does really capture that rainy aftermath, where the sun is out, but you have somewhat of a break from the heat…but not necessarily to humidity.

The citrus top is light, much like a flavored water than a distinct solo lemon or orange note. This is joined by the suite of spicy notes: pepper, cardamom, coriander, and the headlining ginger.

The pepper and coriander do give it an initial sharp spiciness, that will become more subtle and really a fresh aromatic.

Once this stage has cleared, the heart is where you get much of the garden aspect of this scent. Ginger, floral notes, and a greenish quality with that rainy aquatic base.

The only real change is that it becomes less watery and get a drier aroma, with some added vetiver strength. This Hermes scent is pretty simple in its development.

Spices, watery notes, earthiness/floral, with an underlying sweetness throughout.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, Mousson definitely leans more towards the lighter side of things. With a decent amount of sprays, you’ll get an airy scent trail for about 2 hours or so.

The projection is like 4-6 feet, at its peak. Don’t go into this thinking that you’re going to get a powerhouse, that’s not this scent.

The longevity is about 5-6.5 hours, also. The back half of that is going to be a skin scent, that you’ll catch whiffs of throughout that 3 hour or so span. Then, it’ll fade away.

Seasonally, this is a spring and summer fragrance. I would want moderate temperatures at least to wear Mousson, but more of a warm weather fragrance for me.

This is indeed unisex. I don’t think that it strays too feminine, but it’d lean more that way than something traditionally masculine, in my opinion. But, it’s a safe one for anybody to use.

Casual to semi-formal wear during the daytime. It’s a fresh and invigorating sort of aroma. Not sexy. Not something built for the nightlife or romantic occasions. Just something that can be pleasant to put on for the right person.

Overall Impressions of Un Jardin Apres la Mousson

Overall, do I like Apres la Mousson? It’s fairly enjoyable, but not something I really want to wear often, nor is it my favorite from this series. I’m partial to the Monsieur Li fragrance, myself.

While I like ginger a lot as a note, it’s usually in more of a support role versus the main attraction.

I like the concept and like the other Jardin perfumes, I think that it nails a fairly naturalistic smelling impression of an Indian garden after a monsoon has ripped through. Not that I’ve encountered that personally, but on the level of imagination…this gives that impression.

The mix of water, spices, and vegetal aromas is intriguing. I think that it is worth a try. Personally, I like the opening act where the spices and watery aspect are most pronounced.

The performance is okay, in terms of longevity. However, this is more of a lighter and airy fragrance, so don’t expect much of a long lasting sillage.

If you like these Hermes scent, check Apres La Mousson out. It’s a good perfume, that may speak to you more than it did for me.

L’Interdit EDP by Givenchy

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L’Interdit (The Forbidden) was an older fragrance released by Givenchy back in the 1950s. The current EDP is a newer take on that classic formulation. Obviously, I don’t know if it’s a one to one replica of that classic…so let’s just review it as it is. How does L’Interdit EDP smell? Does it last long? Is it worth a try?

What does L’Interdit EDP Smell Like?

Notes include: tuberose, pear, orange blossom, jasmine, vetiver, ginger, patchouli, vanilla, ambroxan

Click here to try: Givenchy L’interdit Women, Eau de Parfum Spray, 1.7 Fl Oz

My Full Review

Here’s how Givenchy describes it: A white flower crossed by a dark woody accord.
L’Interdit Eau de Parfum for women — a fearless fragrance imbued with the frisson of freedom. Transgress your limits with audacity and feel empowered on the journey to self-discovery.

The opening of L’Interdit EDP is where you’re most going to experience what has been termed grape bubble gum or candy-like aroma. I get the comparisons, but honestly it is overblown.

The white floral notes are going to be there throughout. Orange blossom is pretty present at the top, with pear, bergamot, and a light spicy ginger note. The latter two will very quickly fade away.

Actually, the patchouli note tends to stick out on my skin. It’s not super heavy or something that I don’t enjoy in the mix, but it was very noticeable to me during testing.

Orange blossom, tuberose, and jasmine all sort of split the duties early on. I get more of the orange blossom at first, then tuberose takes over as the strongest note. Jasmine kind of floats back and forth as the second or third heaviest white floral note.

Shades of being like one of the Gucci Bloom perfumes. However, this has a wider variety of scents than just the floral notes. Patchouli, pear, and some vanilla take it away from just being a greenish bouquet smell.

This one does get drier as it moves forward, but never fully loses its sparkling quality or sweetness thanks to the pear and vanilla. The vanilla in EDP isn’t as strong on me, as it is in the Intense version, but it does give it a little lift.

At this stage, tuberose and jasmine with less of the orange blossom. Finally, the tuberose almost rules alone.

It is tuberose, patchouli, and vetiver. Vanilla, a general non-tuberose floral smell,  and maybe some light ambroxan sit underneath those three. Not nearly as sweet as the opening, this is also when I get plenty of that patchouli note.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, L’Interdit is a strong perfume. It didn’t take over the room, but it is a scent that could pretty easily be over-sprayed. This one will leave its scent in your wake, for much of the first few hours of wear.

Though, it does tone down to something more moderate. It’s not overwhelming, but gives you plenty of projection and is never weak.

The longevity is also good. Somewhere between 8-9.5 hours on my skin, whenever I’ve tried EDP out. You might get it to hit double digits with the hours, but that’s around what to expect.

Seasonally, I’d say it can be worn anytime, outside of the height of summer. Summer nights might be fine if it isn’t too humid. But, just don’t wear it during the day.

Less of a casual fragrance. But not completely buttoned up and serious either. It has a sexy nightlife or date night vibe, even if it isn’t the most seductive perfume out there. I like it, it’s attractive, but that’s mostly in the early stages.

Either way, one should get plenty of use out of this scent.

givenchy l'interdit perfume

Overall Impressions of L’Interdit EDP

Overall, do I like this fragrance? I do. It gives you more of a white floral strength than Rouge or Intense do in this series. So, if you want more of the tuberose, jasmine, and orange blossom…this might be the one for you.

I like the opening with pear and little ginger kick. The sweetness is nice, especially with that early orange blossom. Plus, I actually dig the patchouli in L’Interdit. Not too annoying and plays its role nicely.

The drydown is more of a standard tuberose led white floral. Still attractive and worthwhile, but it’s not my favorite note in the world. Nonetheless, I like this perfume from Givenchy.

This is certainly a scent to check out if you are into this style or notes. The performance is very good and provides a good amount of value with its use case.

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil by Hermes

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Hermes’ Jardin series of fragrances has been pretty popular and one which I have enjoyed from time to time. I’m coming back to them, in order to give these perfumes proper full reviews. Today’s entry is Un Jardin Sur Le Nil, one of the favorites of the line. How does it smell? Does it last? Is it actually worth a try?

What does Un Jardin Sur Le Nil Smell Like?

Notes include: green mango, lotus, sycamore, tomato leaf, incense, hyacinth, musk, grapefruit, calamus, and more

Click here to try: Un Jardin Sur Le Nil

sur le nil review

My Full Review

Here’s how Hermes describes it: A perfume of life and light, sparkling and generous, where the scents of green mango, lotus, flowers and aromatic rushes mingle with incense and sycamore wood. For Men and women alike.

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil starts off sharp, fresh, yet with a greenish/vegetal aroma. The mango and grapefruit are dominant on first contact with the skin. Tropical and then a layer of citrus, which will reverse when the grapefruit takes over for the fading mango.

It’s interesting to have those fruit notes blended with a mix of earthy and aquatic smelling notes wafting from the heart and base. Tomato leaf is a big player here, along with the lotus, which is the strongest floral note at first.

‘A garden on the Nile’ is what the name translates to and like the others in this Hermes series, it does indeed capture what that might smell like.

As the mango takes a step back, this one gets earthier and more floral. It’s more of a cycle of the floral notes. Early lotus, then hyacinth giving it a slightly sweet green feeling, and then its a bit powdery in the dry down with iris.

It’s still clean and somewhat aquatic, but a lot of the green vegetal aroma will pass. Less tomato leaf, lotus, and the mango.

More of a citrus floral, musk, sycamore, and maybe a touch of incense. Not really something that I pick up a lot of.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

This one actually has some nice strength early on. The projection off of the skin will extend to maybe 7 feet after spraying. It has a good scent trail with its super fresh cleanliness.

After that, it moderates quite a bit. For much of the wear, I would expect about half of the distance of the peak.

On the skin, it will go for 6-7.5 hours. It’s pretty decent for me, just not amazing or anything that’s going to really shock you with the performance. Not terrible, though.

Seasonally, this is spring and summer all the way. This is one that begs to be worn in the daytime, particularly outdoors in the sunshine. The naturalistic notes ae a joy in the light breeze, which I got to experience coming back and testing this one.

This is a fresh and casual wear. Maybe semi-formal. Not a nightlife or sexy wear. It just smells good and may gather some complements, but won’t be a total attention grabber.

This is technically unisex, but this is definitely more feminine leaning with how it comes across. Though, not entirely so.

Overall Impressions of Un Jardin Sur Le Nil

Overall, do I like Un Jardin Sur Le Nil? Yes, it is one of my favorites from the series, and one of the better Hermes fragrances for women (even if it’s listed unisex).

I do like the green mango note. The complexity and how many different smells that you encounter throughout the duration. Hyper-fresh, yes. Powdery, sure. Vegetal, you bet. And on  it goes.

Personally, though, I prefer Le Jardin de Monsieur Li versus this one…but that just my preference.

This one can come across as quite sharp, clean, musky, and a lot of citrus (especially early on). For some, that may be something that turns them off completely from Sur Le Nil. For others, it will scream springtime and be something that they cannot do without.

It is an interesting fragrance for sure, with plenty going for it. I wouldn’t say that it is a must have for everyone, but it is a perfume that you should check out if the Jardin series is of interest to you.

The One for Men by Dolce & Gabbana

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The One EDT was literally one of the first fragrances I bought to review when I started this site back in 2013. If I actually ever posted my review, it has since been deleted, as the performance of this cologne was so bad that I felt it to be useless to post.

Well, fast forward to today, I wanted to dive into this whole D&G collection and start off by revisiting this 2008 release that has been mega-popular ever since. I always loved the smell, it just lasted for less than an hour on my skin, at the time. Has that changed? What are my thoughts now after nearly a decade of avoidance? Please continue below for my full take.

What does The One for Men Smell Like?

Notes include: grapefruit, basil, coriander, amber, tobacco, ginger, cardamom, orange blossom, and cedar

Click here to try: The One EDT

the one for men review

My Full Review

Before we get into my review, here’s how D&G describes it: Dolce & Gabbana The One for Men is an elegant, sensual perfume that is decidedly modern but also a unique, timeless classic. It is the natural, masculine version of Dolce & Gabbana The One. An Oriental Spicy perfume which is developed from the harmony of Tobacco notes and refined spices.

The One EDT opens up fresh with its grapefruit and array of spices taking center stage.  The grapefruit here is more along the lines of the older versions of the brand’s Light Blue fragrances, instead of the realistic one used in Light Blue Forever.

The spices early on are a mix, but you can pick out a few. The coriander is stronger than that basil note, but even that has its run during the initial spray.

It’s a warm oriental sort of spice, sitting on that base sea of amber, and given a pop by the fairly short-lived citrus note. Basil and ginger are two of my favorite and underutilized spices in fragrances…and both are the first to fade away.

Coriander and cardamom are really the one’s which show up on my skin. With the latter, adding a bit more of a citrus like impression with grapefruit and the white floral orange blossom heart.

The initial fresh spiciness will begin to take a back seat. The One becomes smoother and smokier with how it presents itself. Just a light smokiness, rather than heavy incense or anything like that.

The spices also become more of a combination versus anything distinct in how they present. At this point, it’s a amber and tobacco show with a noticeable cedar, and hints of: spices, smokiness, orange blossom, and a very light citrus.

The final dry down is basically a faint amber and tobacco without much else. Still smells nice, you just need to press your nose to it. Spicy and fresh gives way to a still warm and somewhat sweet scent.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, that initial 30-45 minutes or so is pretty solid. Even with 4-5 sprays from sample vials, I still got a good trail going from either skin or clothing.

It probably peaks at the 5-6 foot range off of the skin. After that, you’re going to be looking at something that sits within 1-2 feet. That draw down is really fast from being noticeable to if not a skin scent, close to it.

So, I also tested The One out side by side with a fragrance of a similar style, Noir Extreme by Tom Ford. 5 sprays on the one sample vial versus 2 sprays of a Noir Extreme vial. An hour or so in, the Tom Ford has a much more noticeable presence.

Seasonally, the warmth and spices is built for the autumn and winter months. I would avoid the hotter weather and humidity. Cold to moderate temperatures is where The One for Men smells absolutely divine.

It is a versatile fragrance. It is a sexy and attractive date night or nightlife wear. Though, it’s not offensive or completely out of place during the day. The tobacco note, might not always be appropriate, but it also might not be strong enough to really matter.

It is an interesting fragrance, as it does have a level of maturity to it. While also being dynamic and not at all stuffy. Younger guys and a lot of teenagers, really wouldn’t have an issue using this cologne.

Overall Impressions of The One EDT

Overall, do I like The One for Men? The smell, I still adore. The performance…still pretty bad. Though, not as terrible as I remember.

I mean 3-4 hours is absolutely not great. Especially when the projection is so light a few hours in. This is in contrast to my memory of it not lasting an hour previously.

The One features some of my favorite notes and a style, which I really enjoy. Ginger, basil, cardamom. Orange blossom is among my favorite floral notes. Amber is great. Plus, a very nice rich tobacco note for this sort of mainstream cologne.

The problem is, when all combined together…these notes don’t hold up in an EDT concentration.

As such, is it a buy? I mean, maybe. I would try to get a huge discount. Probably putting on some unscented lotion on my skin before spraying, to aid longevity. Also, I’d spray it heavily each time using.

The One EDT is an amazing smelling and mass appealing fragrance. Performance for most folks, just isn’t great. Really, among the best sellers in this category, it smells better than the vast majority.

Kate Spade New York EDP

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Kate Spade New York EDP is a perfume that was released back in 2020. It really wasn’t on my radar for a long time, but when I had the opportunity to get a hold of a sample, I made sure to grab it. I have been testing it out on and off over the past few months, in order to post my full review. How does it smell? When should it be worn? Is it worth a try?

What does Kate Spade New York EDP Smell Like?

Notes include: strawberry, rose, ambroxan, cashmeran, freesia, citrus

Click here to try: Kate Spade New York

My Full Review

Here’s how the brand describes it: Sparkling, joyful, sensual and feminine, the Kate Spade New York fragrance is a bright, colorful blend of fruits and flowers including wild strawberry and rose essence with alluring hints of ambrox and cashmeran.

When I first received a sample of this perfume, I really wasn’t in any sort of rush to try it out. Though, I must say, I’m pleasantly surprised with what I got from Kate Spade New York.

The strawberry is the main attraction in the early stage, especially. Very nice and more of a naturalistic sort of strawberry aroma than something completely candy-like. But, there is still a mixed drink aspect to this with the citrus notes.

So, leaning natural, but somewhere in between that and a strawberry flavoring.

Bergamot and I think there is some grapefruit coming through as well. These support players really help to make the strawberry pop after first spraying. Plus, this doesn’t ever stray too tart to my nose, more sweetish without overdoing it.

The rose essence isn’t too heavy in the mix. So, if you’re looking for a rose-based scent, this won’t be it. More of a background player early on, and definitely loses some ground to the freesia, which adds a light watery vibe to the composition.

Also, that dewy aroma does give it a touch of light greenish smell, after the initial fruity overload subsides.

This will be led by the strawberry note for the duration. Ambroxan gives it that synthetic amber finish and the woodiness of the cashmeran becomes more pronounced, as it enters the final stage.

So: strawberry and the remaining citrus, cashmeran, ambroxan, and the general floral impression that is left.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, this one opens up with a strong punch and an ability to leave a trail. Though, it will moderate quite a bit.

To me, it never weakens entirely and is fairly solid during its complete cycle. It just doesn’t maintain that initial burst caused by the fruity notes.

It will project well. Maybe around 7 feet at the max, more 3-4 foot range, for much of the wear.

On me, this seems to stick around for 6-7 hours. That last hour is faint, but New York is still there. It’s not a workhorse or a monster performer, but pretty decent on the whole.

Seasonally, the uplifting fruitiness makes this a star in the spring and summer months. Really sits well in the warmer air and is just pleasant to be around. Maybe out of place in the autumn and winter, however.

This is geared toward a younger woman’s style. It’s a nice daily wear. Not completely immature, mind you, but teens and women in their 20s would do fine with this one.

Very attractive and pretty, than anything like a ‘sexy’ nightlife perfume. A playful fruity perfume, that isn’t an overly sweet or cloying mess. It’s got style, but remains fun.

Overall Impressions of Kate Spade New York

Overall, do I like Kate Spade New York? I do. It’s not a super amazing perfume, but I like it and its rather simple profile.

The style is very much like Burberry Her, while smelling fairly different and better, for that matter. I like the pairing of the strawberry and citrus notes. With the floral notes, ambroxan, and casmeran you get a good balance…while still getting a fruiter perfume.

The performance is good enough for what it is. A daily wear for the warmer months, that is pleasing and not going to break the bank. It never felt like a weak perfume, while wearing it.

It’s worth checking out, if this sounds like it might be your style. Nothing groundbreaking, just one that is well-executed, and enjoyable.