Perfume Reviews

R.E.M. by Ariana Grande

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R.E.M. by Ariana Grande is a review that I forgot to do last year, after testing it out. Luckily, I had another sample tucked away in a box, so I recently tried it once again in order to do a full write up of the perfume. This one was released back in 2020. How does it smell? When should it be worn? Is it actually worth a try?

What does REM Perfume Smell Like?

Notes include: fig, caramel, lavender, zefir, quince, pear blossom, salt, sandalwood, musk, tonka bean

Click here to try: R.E.M by Ariana Grande

My Full Review

Here’s how REM is described: An intergalactic dream of femininity and power, R.E.M. draws you in with a cosmic blend of Juicy Fig and Warm Salted Caramel. Lavender essence takes you to dreamy new heights, while sparkling Pear Blossom explodes like a supernova in the night sky. Intoxicating Musk wrapped with Sandalwood creates the perfect ending to your unforgettable journey.

R.E.M. opens up sweet, creamy, a bit juicy (sparkling), and familiar. It certainly has overlap with the styles and some notes of the other perfumes in the Ariana lineup. However, the aroma itself would be closest to Cloud, while still being a lot different with how it smells.

Here, the fig is the star early on. It is rich and sweet, while not being overpowering. It is joined by a light quince, that quickly disappears, and the creaminess of zefir. That note adds an additional sweetness also.

REM feels more substantial than Cloud, not overbearing, but thicker and bringing a definite warmth to the mix. Salted caramel thickens things up creating a further gourmand like sensibility.

As things progress, the opening creaminess will start to take a back seat. This one becomes more lavender dominant and has a powdery finish to it. That caramel note, is one that really burns off, mostly sticking around as a generic sweetness. Much less salty.

Lavender and musk have their moment in the spotlight together. The musk actually sticks around to the end, but in a weaker state. The lavender doesn’t weaken. It’s interesting how this becomes powdery, since the tonka bean/zefir have more of a creamy quality.

To me, it’s like a 65/35 split between powdery and creamy towards the back half of the wear.

Finally, the dry down is lavender with a sweet finish. Musky and some sandalwood, if you pay really close attention. Not super complicated at the end.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, I think this one is on the upper bounds of moderate. It’s not massive, but with a good amount of sprays, the scent trail lasts a while. Plus, the projection is solid for more than a few hours.

It’s not massive, but I can spray REM on a shirt and pick it up across the bedroom with ease. It does lighten up and dry down more to the skin. Still, I don’t find this to be one of the weaker Ariana perfumes.

On my skin, this one will go for 7-7.5 hours. Again, most of these perfumes don’t have great longevity. But, this one is pretty decent. Those last hours are skin scent level, but it is indeed still present.

REM is best worn from autumn through springtime. Much better in weather that’s somewhat chilly. Though, it gives you enough versatility to go day or night with it.

It’s not a formal fragrance. It’s good for casual, school, maybe some workplaces, or just going out on the town.

It’s not so much ‘sexy’ as it is pleasing and attractive to smell. This gets called a unisex fragrance due to the presence of the lavender note. To me, nope. This is feminine, there are plenty of lavender colognes for men, and they’re much more forceful than R.E.M. is.

Nevertheless, if you’re not a fan of the lavender note on yourself, you might want to skip this one.

Overall Impressions of REM

Overall, do I like R.E.M.? I do. It’s not the most amazing fragrance that I’ve ever come across, but it’s in the top half of the Ariana Grande releases, thus far.

I’m not usually a big fan of scents that use lavender heavily. Yet, this is one that I find enjoyable, in ways that I don’t with Cloud. In my opinion, it’s just better, even while that one gets all of the attention due to its overdone BR 540 comparisons.

I am, though, a big fan of using fig in fragrance. The one here doesn’t get all that much shine, but it’s nice while it lasts. I like the opening with the caramel, the sweetness, and that later back and forth between the creamy and the powdery.

Performance for me is decent. Not crazy good, but it seems to work on me better than what some people have reported.

R.E.M. is worth trying out. It’s not going to be everyone’s favorite, but there are a portion of people for whom this will be the best Ariana perfume.

Cruz del Sur II by Xerjoff

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Cruz del Sur II is a tropical based fragrance by the high end designer, Xerjoff. This is a scent I was wanting to try for a while now, so I tested it out and have collected my thoughts on it. How does it smell? How long does it last? Is this perfume actually worth a try?

What does Cruz del Sur II Smell Like?

Notes include: mango, pineapple, apple blossom, musk, vetiver, cedar, floral notes, milk, violet leaf, and more

Click here to try: Cruz del Sur II

My Full Review

Here’s how Xerjoff describes this scent: a luxuriant journey into the tropical rainforests of South America. Characterised by the fresh and fruity top notes of mango, pineapple and apple blossom, this exotic scent opens into a blossoming heart of green leaves and floral bouquet.

Cruz del Sur II is a fragrance that I have wanted to test out for quite a while. I was hoping to find another good tropical and unisex perfume to use during the summer months and Xerjoff seemed like a brand to have a good one.

I will say, this wasn’t as unisex as I’d hoped. Definitely more of a traditionally women’s fragrance. Leans way more towards that end.

I also purchased a 10mL sprayer of Desire II by Dua, which is their inspired by scent of Cruz del Sur. Yes, it’s like 95% the same, so get that one for a cheaper price.

Anyway, on to how it smells. Cruz del Sur II opens with it’s tropical fruits on full display. Mango is going to be the strongest here, so, know that before you decide to buy.

But, the other fruits sort of combine into more of a amalgamation of aromas. What this smells like to me is a glass of orange juice infused with mango juice. Kind of sharp, but nice enough.

However, that fruit juice cocktail is then spiked with milk. Coming into testing, I was thinking that this would just be a creamy finish, much like Sunset Fantasy by Britney Spears. Just a unisex and more tropical fruit version. That Britney note is ‘frothed milk’.

Nope, it’s actually the smell of milk. Not terrible, put kind of weird, and I’m not too enthralled by Cruz II in its early stages.

But, this does begin to shift into something that is less milky and almost a vanilla/powdery undertone to it. Maybe more like a milkshake and less like a glass of milk, is a way to put it.

The orange juice like smell kind of fades. The mango comes into its own. You have some musk and non-distinct floral notes that probably give this that slight bit of powder, that I am picking up on.

Outside of that, there is really only a little bit of wood popping through. Mango, the fruits toned down, the milky/vanilla/powder, and some musk.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

Sillage wise, you do get a bold start here, nice scent trail, and a projection that emanates from the skin. This will diminish over the span of between 1-2 hours. Yet, for most of the wear this is solidly above average and not just an intimate scent bubble. 

The longevity is pretty good here. It goes over 8 hours on my skin, maybe up to 9 hours at its best. It’s solid and it doesn’t just fall off quickly. 

Seasonally, this is mostly a summer scent, and the tail end of springtime. A mango infused milky aroma, doesn’t really do much for you in the dead of winter.

This is more of a fun and casual wear. It’s not formal, not really sexy, just playful and can be pleasant to be around. A well put together fruity aroma, that has energy and a delicious kind of quality to it.

Not the most versatile perfume out there, but still has its uses.

 

 

Overall Impressions of Cruz del Sur II

Overall, do I like Cruz del Sur II? I like the dry down aspect of it. The opening isn’t terrible, it just feels kind of off. The mango is nice, the mix of the guava and other notes, less so. That milk? Not for me.

The performance is good and this is a scent that has plenty of fans who love that tropical vibe. I myself, enjoy tropical scents quite a lot. I’m disappointed that this wasn’t really all that unisex and am not enthralled with the fragrance itself. It still has its charms, though.

Is it blind buy worthy? No. Actually, as I said the comparable ‘Desire II’ by Dua smells nearly identical to Cruz del Sur II. As such, it makes way more sense to save your money and get that instead, if you really want to try out this type of mango mix. Performance on that, is actually better too.

Narciso Rodriguez for Her EDT

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Narciso Rodriguez is a designer that seems to gather more and more fans, as time marches on. I recently grabbed a sample of the eau de toilette version of the brand’s namesake fragrance, in order to revisit and finally post a full review for the site. I always mix this one and the EDP up, since they are similar, but I’ve worked it out. How does it smell? When should it be worn? Is it actually worth a buy?

What does Narciso Rodriguez EDT Smell Like?

Notes include: orange flower, bergamot, honey, musk, osmanthus, patchouli, vanilla, vetiver, amber

Click here to try: Narciso Rodriguez For Her by 1.7oz EDT Spray, 

My Full Review

Narciso Rodriguez for Her starts off with a fresh top led by a bit of citrus bergamot. This brief foray into the fruity realm is offset by floral notes of osmanthus and orange flower.

It’s a very nice beginning to the fragrance, that obviously shifts to a greater use of that musk note. But, the osmanthus is very nice here, reminds me of Flowerbomb to an extent.

That shift comes fairly quickly after the opening. The middle act will unveil the musk note, along with vanilla. It’s still got some sweetness from the vanilla and a honeyed aroma. However, the musk allows this warmth to have a clean and fresh quality.

Orange blossom is the strongest floral note here. It is interesting, that the further you get into the middle to more of a powdery finish becomes apparent with this Narciso perfume.

The musk will be dominant from this point on. There is an amber note providing some extra smoothness and the warmth. The dry down is a clean musk and orange blossom with touches of the vanilla that is leftover.

The EDT version doesn’t seem to have very much patchouli, as you would get with the EDP, but I do get a tad here.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

The sillage here is light, but above average with how it projects early on. It will settle closer to the skin, while providing the wearer a nice intimate scent bubble. You’re just not going to blow out the room with Narciso EDT.

The longevity is solid. I routinely got 7 hours out of it and this perfume is capable of getting just over 8 hours from time to time. That high end, isn’t consistent, but the 7 hours was pretty much clockwork.

The versatility here is pretty great. You can basically wear Narciso EDT, anytime and anyplace. I’d certainly have others to go for, during nights out and maybe some more formal scents. But this, just kind of fits in and never feels too out of place.

I don’t find it to be particularly sexy and it does have a more mature feeling. So, some can feel that a fragrance like this strays more ‘old lady’, but I don’t think that it does at all. It’s just one you might want to skip if you’re younger.

It might not be the biggest attention grabber, though it works well. The spring and more moderate days of the summer are a good time to wear this. Autumn and winter too, if it isn’t all that cold outside.

Overall Impressions of Narciso for Her

Overall, do I like Narciso for Her EDT? I do. It’s a very feminine, versatile, and clean-ish sort of perfume. I’m not completely amazed by it, but I do think that it is a very good example of this type of scent.

However, do keep in mind, not everyone enjoys musky fragrances, that present as clean soap or even detergent-like  aromas. To me, this isn’t too harsh or synthetic, especially once you settle into the middle of the wear.

It’s not a super heavy perfume, but it does have pretty great staying power, especially considering that it is an EDT.

This is a super safe scent to buy. Again, if it doesn’t sound like your type of thing, I’d go in another direction. It’s fairly straightforward with what you should expect from this fragrance. No major surprises, just an all around good perfume that does what it was designed to.

Guilty EDP Pour Femme by Gucci

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Closing out my reviews of the Guilty Pour Femme fragrances from Gucci, we have today’s entry, Guilty Eau de Parfum. This is an updated 2019 release, of what I’m pretty sure is a previous edition from the lineup. Anyway, I put this one through testing and wearing it around for a while. How does it smell? When should it be worn? Is it worth a try?

What does Guilty Eau de Parfum Pour Femme Smell Like?

Notes include: mandarin, bergamot, pink pepper, lilac, violet, geranium, rose, amber, and patchouli

My Full Review

Guilty EDP opens up with a fresh spice, citrus touches, and a greenish aroma with violet. The pink pepper and violet are very noticeable to me, up top. The lilac will have more of a role later, but it is somewhat present early.

The mandarin orange is the strongest of the citrus notes, but even upon first spraying, they never get top billing.

Guilty EDP starts to feel pretty cold early, with the powdery dose coming from the lilac. The cold freshness is part of the geranium, which seems pretty steady throughout the wear.

The pink pepper will subside, as will whatever citrus there may have been. The violet will lose its top spot, in favor of the lilac, that dominates the rest of the way. This becomes a soapier, less spicy aroma. Touches of rose and patchouli, but the violet and lilac are the main focus.

Less green, as it moves along. Still clean, blend of soapy/powdery, with a soft and pretty sweetness lying underneath.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

The sillage here is a bit better than that of the EDT. Though, it isn’t a great deal stronger. Both are slightly above average with how they project and how long they’ll leave a scent trail. Just neither is a massive perfume.

The EDT is about a 3-5 foot scent bubble for much of its wear. This one, is probably 4-6 or 7 feet at its peak. Nothing crazy, but it’s fine.

The longevity is also improved with the eau de parfum version of Guilty Femme. This Gucci can go up to 8 hours on my skin. Though, it’s more in the 6-7 hour range, most of the time. I did get a wear that seemed to stick around longer for whatever reason.

Seasonally, this one really shows its versatility. Like EDT, Guilty EDP is probably best in the springtime or in the autumn. It can, however, easily venture into summer and can even be a cold weather wear. Just not the bitter cold ones.

This is safe for the office, can go casual, or even more formal. Not the most refined scent, but it doesn’t feel out of place almost anywhere. Daytime, mostly.

But, there is something that is inherently attractive with this one. As such it can be worn on some evenings. Not necessarily the sexiest, but it’s got some beautiful facets.

Overall Impressions of Guilty EDP

Overall, do I like Guilty EDP? I do. It’s probably the fourth best in this line. I do prefer EDT slightly more than this in terms of how each smells. But, you get better performance with this higher concentration.

Absolute and Intense are my favorites on the women’s side of Guilty.

I’m not a huge fan of the greenish qualities early on. Violet is not a floral note, that I personally enjoy very much. I do, however, like the geranium and lilac in this one a whole lot. Sure, it’s what you get elsewhere in this line of scents, but it still manages to get my attention.

Even if it’s not my favorite from this line, EDP is still well worth checking out. If you happen to vibe more with this mix, you get the added performance bonus versus the EDT.

It’s pretty safe to blind buy, as I don’t think most people would hate this. But, I’d probably insist on getting a nice discount for a full bottle purchase.

Baccarat Rouge 540 by Maison Francis Kurkdjian

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Baccarat Rouge 540 is a fragrance that has catapulted to insane levels of fame, probably thanks to social media. Some think it’s the best thing they’ve encountered, others think it is entirely overrated and terrible. Me, I don’t entirely fall into either camp. But, I have tested out samples of this perfume to see what it is really all about. How does it smell? Does it last long? Is it worth a try?

What does Baccarat Rouge 540 EDP?

Notes include: saffron, hedione, cedar, ambroxan, fir resin

Click Here to try: BR 540 at Saks

baccarat 540 review

My Full Review

Here’s how Maison Kurkdjian describes it: The woody scent releases a poetic alchemy, a highly condensed and graphic olfactory signature. Breezy jasmine facets, radiant saffron boost the ambergris mineral notes and the woody tones of freshly-cut cedar. Bright and sleek, Baccarat Rouge 540 eau de parfum caresses the skin like an amber and woody floral whisper.

BR 540 starts off with its saffron and jasmine notes up top. The hedione (jasmine) actually has a bit of a lemony tinge to it. Clean, sweetish (maybe more bittersweet with the saffron?), with a very unique smelling mix of resin and woods.

There is a little spice here in the opening stage, nothing extreme, just a bit of a bite.

The ambroxan note, plays a pretty big role here. Amberwood, ambroxan, etc. Different names for basically the same chemical molecule.

This one does seem to have more of a mineral/metallic kind of smell than some of the others that I’ve come across, which again, is probably heightened by the saffron.

Once the hedione has settled down, this one starts to get more resinous and woody. It’s a very dry fragrance with a potent freshness to it, through the back half of the wear.

Yet, it does come across to me as being a ‘fluffy’ smelling perfume, rather than the usual woody fare. That’s one reason Baccarat Rouge so often gets compared to Cloud by Ariana Grande.

This is better, but that overlap is indeed present.

Towards the end, this mainly becomes a cedar and ambroxan mix on my skin. That cedar note, can feel pretty sharp, it’s probably my least favorite in this composition. The resinous quality is still there, probably a blend of the fir and a few amber-like ingredients in the mix.

The jasmine is basically gone and there isn’t much saffron left, for me at least.

Sillage, Longevity, and Versatility

So, Baccarat Rouge isn’t a terribly heavy scent. As I said, it does have a cloud-like fluffiness to it.

But, the projection is actually well above average. It can be a difficult one to gauge really. Sometimes, I can spray it on clothing and pick it up across the room. Other times, I can go nose blind to it, on my own skin.

I’ve read others say that they literally cannot smell a thing, with Baccarat Rouge.

Honestly, I think that all of the varying reactions to what it smells like and just how powerful it is, probably explains a good deal of why this perfume is talked about so much…it’s hard to get an understanding of it.

I’d say err on the side of caution, if you’re going to be in a situation where spraying too much might cause a problem for those around you.

The longevity with this Kurkdjian scent, is really good. Though, I must say, it does fluctuate quite a bit. It’s never bad, the minimum is 8 hours. It can, however, go for up to 12 hours on my skin.

It does usually split the difference and leans more towards double digit hours of wear.

Seasonally, I like this mostly in the colder weather of autumn and winter. Not a super heavy scent, just not one that I’d reach for in late spring or the summer. If it’s not too hot where you live, you might be able to get more use out of it.

It does have great versatility. It can be worn by all ages, is unisex, and can be worn on a variety of occasions. It leans more feminine, so, I wouldn’t advise all guys to choose BR 540…but it isn’t super girly or anything either.

I don’t really think of it as a nightlife perfume or one that is all that ‘sexy’. Outside of that, it can generally fit in and does have an attractive quality.

Overall Impressions of Baccarat Rouge 540

Overall, do I like this fragrance? Yes, I think that it’s very good. However, it has somehow become insanely popular and overhyped to a crazy level. The Extrait version is better, in my mind.

It can be a strange scent. As some people apparently get a band aid or even a ‘dentist’s office’ sort of aroma from this. I understand the comparisons, it just doesn’t fully come across that way on my skin.

Funny, others get cotton candy from this…I guess, maybe a little.

I enjoy the saffron in the opening, the jasmine, and the resinous qualities of the dry down. That amberwood note is something that I think turns a lot of people off with this, especially with the cedar freshness.

However, I actually think the amber facets work here, even with that synthetic style amberwood that they put in so many perfumes nowadays. Most of the time, it’s not great, but I don’t dislike the Baccarat 540 use of it.

It is a major factor in this perfume, so, you’re going to have to like it.

The performance here is good. To me, it’s not a super loud scent, but it can have a bit more projection than you actually think it does. The longevity is fantastic, so no issues there.

Is Baccarat Rouge 540, worth a blind buy? I’d lean towards no, due to the price. I’d highly recommend getting a hold of a sample or trying it out in a store before committing.

It is a popular fragrance, but there are plenty of people who are let down by their experience.

That’s an expensive mistake that you don’t need to make. There are now many alternatives which have come out for cheaper and perfumes similar to Baccarat Rouge 540.