Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Bitter Peach by Tom Ford and New York Nights Bond No 9

Bitter Peach by Tom Ford 

You can't get away from hearing about Tom Ford scents especially if you are a fragrance fan and it seems like every scent that he puts out, gets overhyped to the max. I asked in my local Nordstrom's if they had Bitter Peach because I been hearing about it from literally every fragrance vlogger. She told me they got it last week and it was already sold out. Good grief, are people drinking the stuff? She had the tester so I was able to sample it. Since I heard it was all about peach and I LOVE scents with peach notes, I figured it was a sure winner for me since I tried number of Tom Ford scents by now and most failed to impress me. 

Notes from Fragrantica: peach, blood orange, cardamom, heliotrope, rum, cognac, davana, jasmine, sandalwood, patchouli, cashmeran, tonka bean, vanilla, labdanum, styrax, benzoin and vetiver.

Well, it doesn't smell like what I expected, not even close. There ARE peach notes in the opening but it's more of a "drunken" peach that had too much rum and fell into the bunches of flowers and spices to sleep off the hangover. Basically a peach alcoholic drink, with spice. It IS sweet so it you don't like sweet fragrances, don't even bother.  I sprayed it on my wrist in the store, and 2 hours later it was gone. I just resprayed it from my sample because I wanted to see how lasting power is but I am not holding my breath. I guess the jury is still out whether I will actually like it-right now I am on the fence. Although for me personally, its not worth $350 price tag.



New York Nights Bond No.9

My local Bloomingdales has a huge selection of scents so if I shop in regular retailer, thats the place I will usually go. And it seems like the closest place to me that sells Bond.  Out of all niche brands I prefer Bond and Mancera because those have unique fragrances with good lasting power(generally speaking). I bought Gold Coast recently because I just fell in love with it(more on that later) and I didn't intend to buy anything but wanted to see if they had anything else I may like for later. SA suggested New York Nights when I told her I like sweet fragrances as a rule. I loved it at first sniff. Before we go into description, notes according to Fragrantica as follow:

Gardenia, jasmine, carnation

Patchouli, sea notes, sandalwood

Caramel, coffee.

I would have never guessed there was gardenia in this because my nose is usually finely tuned to it and I couldn't smell it for the life of me. It's smells sweet and creamy which I guess is where all the white flowers went and fresh, most likely fresh note is from sea notes. Most Bond fragrances marketed as unisex but I don't see it on a man, to me its way too feminine but whatever rocks your boat. Lasting power has been pretty decent. I sprayed once in the store and it's still lingering on my hand 3 hours later with one very light spray. Love that! I think this one is going on my "want" list. Right now it retails for $260 at Bloomingdales for 1.7 oz


Sunday, November 8, 2020

NEW FRAGRANT OFFERINGS FROM VICTORIA SECRET



Victoria Secret has several new fragrances this fall.  I have to say that their body mist and lotion collection rotate in and out so quickly that you can blink and you will miss it. They still carry their classics like Love Spell and Pure Seduction as well as Amber Romance and Coconut Passion but the rest changes at the drop of a hat.

As far as their fragrance collection, I seen so many Bombshell flankers when I went in to VS the other day, that it was ridiculous. Bombshell is their best seller and I can see why-its very fresh crisp floral that actually reminds me of Bright Crystal by Versace. Suitable for all ages and always appropriate. Generally their flankers still retain Bombshell DNA but have some minute differences.

They have one new flanker which stood out to me more than the rest, called Bombshell Gold. According to Fragrantica site, notes are as follow: litchi, vanilla, peony, sugar and wood notes. This actually smells NOTHING like the original for a change which I was happy to see. It's warm sweet light floral oriental. 

Few months ago, VS had lotion and body spray called Gold Struck which smells IDENTICAL and I mean IDENTICAL to new Bombshell Gold-sweet citrusy, slightly fruity vanilla scent. I haven't seen it in stores so they probably done away with it as they do with most of their scents. I couldn't resist and picked up Bombshell Gold Fine Fragrance Mist because they are having 2 for $25 sale. Lasting power is meh as usual. If you like sweet citrusy vanilla go no further.  And of course packaging is always top notch. I think their edt has gone up in price because right now it is $57 dollars for 1.7 oz -close to department store price. If you like a flanker, and don't want to shell out your coins for full price, I highly recommend waiting several months because they will go on sale before being axed out.




Another notable mention is Bombshell Seduction -they changed the color of the bottle but otherwise its a same scent. Note from Fragrantica: sage, tuberose, musk. VS site also mentions white peony. This scent stood out a bit from the rest because its very fresh and clean. It still retains Bombshell DNA but I think tuberose makes a difference. I actually like it a lot and wish lasting power wasn't so poor. I also prefer the new lighter peach color bottle as it compliments the scent. However, I do not see anything remotely "seductive " here.  It is a great everyday scent.