It’s fragrance review time!

When Juicy Couture’s Oui Juicy Couture EDP (R1 199 for 50ml and R1 499 for 100ml) arrived I braced myself for the headache-inducing explosion of caramel you’ll find in so many of the brand’s scents, but this one’s nothing like her sisters and – surprise – I really like her. While Juicy reckons Oui is a ‘bold, statement-making scent’, I actually find it more elegant and demure.

The notes: ‘Waterlemon’ (a fusion of watermelon and lemon), acai berry, tea, pear, jasmine absolute, wild tuberose, honeysuckle, ‘techno woods’, amber and musk.
It smells: Soft and clean as well as a lot more green than fruity, but I do pick up on a little sweetness thanks to the watermelon. I can also smell the pear, which I usually don’t like, but it’s a slightly sweet pear as opposed to a flat, ‘hairspray pear’. This is the only sugar you’ll find in Oui and its a quarter teaspoon max. For the most part, it’s a subtle green-floral that reminds me of a younger version of Elizabeth Arden’s Untold.
Wear it: Day or night in warm weather. If Oui were a dress code, it would be smart-casual.

Next up, we’ve got Jennifer Aniston Near Dusk EDP (price TBA). I’m a big fan of Jen’s original fragrance. It smelled like a better version of Bobbi Brown’s Beach and is one of very few celebrity fragrances I actually like so I was very interested to sniff another.

The notes: Pink pepper, nectarine, coconut water, sea spray, flowers, orange blossoms, jasmine, peony, musk, white amber, blonde woods and vanilla.
It smells: Musky and warm. Initially, I get a blast of nectarine and wish it would linger longer as it’s lovely. If there’s any sea spray or white flowers in there, I can’t pick them out at all as the coconut and musk sweep in fast. The coconut’s the creamy kind that reminds me of sunscreen and the musk is ever so slightly animalic in that it’s close to Kiehl’s musk than the The Body Shop’s, if that makes sense. I can also smell coloured pencil shavings which sounds completely mad, but there you have it. This (oddly) and the vanilla make the fragrance rather comforting.
Wear it: Day or night in any season. I know Jen intended this to be an evening fragrance, but it’s light and inoffensive enough to wear when it’s warm yet warm enough to wear when it’s cold.

Now let’s chat about Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers Summer Air EDT (R445 for 100ml). The brand’s created so many Sunflower flankers I can’t keep up. I think this one is the fifth.

The notes: Lemon, apple, Vert de Mandarin Orpur (ja, I have no idea what that is either), cyclamen, ozone, rose, osmanthus, jasmine, cedarwood, musk and amber.
It smells: A lot like the original Sunflowers, which I despise, but very watered down. Happily, in its diluted form, ‘watery Sunflowers’ is very pleasant, provided you like apricot-y scent of osmanthus. This initially comes through loud and clear but soon dries down to become a soft echo of its initial burst, beautifully blurred by airy ozone.
Wear it: In the height of summer on a very casual day or when you’re running around doing errands. Summer Air captures a blue sky day where the sun is at it’s peak and everything in the garden (particularly the apricot tree) is heady and ripe. Then, to prevent it from being overwhelming, they add a whack of ozone. The overall effect is the the scent of a sunny summer garden carried in on a breeze.

Lastly, let’s take a look at Britney Spears Prerogative EDP (R485 for 30ml, R585 for 50ml and R685 for 100ml). Is this her ten millionth fragrance? I think Ms Spears is going to end up like Elizabeth Taylor and launch fragrances from her death bed.

The notes: Pink pepper, goji berries, apricot, red calla lily, latex petals, espresso foam, saffron cream, sandalwood and amberwood.
It smells: Like a more intense, ‘night time version’ of Britney’s Private Show that reminds me of YSL Black Opium. It opens super-duper sweet and I immediately think of red lollypops and then it gets more interesting as the creamy, coffee-notes develop. When I review a fragrance I wear it several times and some days I can smell quite a lot of lily and others not at all. The latex petals, however, have never shown up and for that I’m rather grateful. Ultimately, the dry down is a sweet, creamy coffee that, weirdly, reminds me a lot of Hug In A Mug’s super yummy Hazelnut variant.
Wear it: In colder weather or at night, but only if you’ve got a sweet tooth and are in your twenties or younger. Also, don’t douse yourself in it as it’s incredibly strong. Of all the fragrances I’ve chatted about in this post, Prerogative has the best staying power.

See anything you’d like to try for yourself? Have you sniffed any and have your own opinion? Feel free to chat to me in the comments section.

Love, love

Leigh