Swarovski, Bulgari, Chopard, Van Cleef & Arpels… it would seem that if you’re a jewellery and hit the big time, the next step is to create a perfume. Thomas Sabo, the luxurious German brand best known for their lustable little charms, is no exception and has recently launched not one but three ‘Charm Club’ fragrances – Charm Kiss, Charm Rose and Charm Rose Intense. Each fragrance is packaged in a cute, 50s-style bottle with a charm around its neck and sold in the most adorable lined hat box.

I’ve given them all a good bash and my thoughts are as follows:

Charm Rose, a fruity floral, is ‘lightest/freshest’ of the lot thanks to a citrusy clementine top note. It’s heart is a mix of rare roses – Chinese, alpine and musk – along with magnolia and jasmine resting on a soft, creamy woody-vanilla base. Later, once it starts to dry down, it becomes a slightly soapy-musky floral. It’s the kind of scent I imagine a younger, girlie-girl wearing. She’s a breezy, flirty type who always has pink gelish on her nails and owns a blingy cell phone cover. Still, an older woman wanting to feel even younger could easily wear it too.

The second scent, Rose Intense, is a bit more grown up. Here the rose comes through loud and clear along with quite a lot of peach and a varied bouquet of white flowers that includes jasmine. The base, however, is a musky-patchouli-woody affair that lends the perfume a darker, heady more mysterious feel. While it doesn’t smell the same, it makes me think of another heavier, rose-centred fragrance,  Jo Malone Velvet Rose & Oud. It’s the kind of scent you’d wear on an overcast autumn day or at night and would suit someone a little older and more sophisticated than the Charm Rose girl. Maybe her Aunt who likes to go to the ballet wrapped up in a black velvet stole, her heavy Thomas Sabo charm bracelet jingling on her wrist.

Last but not least, we’ve got Charm Kiss. This is an interesting li’l scent with notes that include champagne, strawberries and chocolate. To my nose, however, its pure strawberries and chocolate and I find it a bit too sweet. Still, anyone who loves statement making gourmands like Thierry Mugler’s Angel might find themselves in seventh heaven. It’s kind of hard to nail down the imagined wearer further than that because, despite being sugary, it’s not exclusively for the young. But ja, I reckon this is a real love it or hate it scent and something you’d have to sniff for yourself.

If you’re keen, you’ll find Meneer Sabo’s new scents in Stuttafords as well as selected Edgars, Foschini, Truworths and Clicks stores going for a very reasonable R795 a pop.

Love, love

Leigh