Reviewed by
Mary
Perfume is such a personal thing, and being able to try out different scents to see how they suit you is very useful, especially if you are searching for a signature scent or scents.
Secret Scent Box sends you three spray vials of perfume every month, along with scent notes cards, which is a very useful guide to figuring out what you like, and perhaps don’t like! The sizes are perfect for your handbag or travel too.
Elizabeth Arden – My Fifth Avenue
This is a floral scent, but not in a sweet or flowery way. The citrus and ozone gives it a wonderful lightness and freshness, and the base notes in the dry down give it a sophisticated edge. At first sniff it seems light and girlish, but the layers of musk and amber make it much more interesting.
Dolce & Gabbana – Light Blue Italian Love
In complete contrast to the Elizabeth Arden, this fragrance, new for this year, has almost no florals.It opens with a bright citrus hit which is fresh and summery, and then the amber, wood, and musk give it some wonderful depth and smoothness without being heavy. While this feels like it is perfect for summer, the base notes make it suitable for just about any time of year.
Hollister – Festival Nite
My first thought on smelling this was pina colada! The immediate sweet coconut is really to the fore, and as long as you like coconut, which I do, it’s a great start. The blackcurrant middle note can be slightly sharp, but it does dry down to the lovely vanilla and marshmallow. This is a very sweet scent, almost candy-like, but somehow the combination of accords stops it being sickly. I do think that while it would be an obvious summer scent, because of the fruit and coconut, it has a warmth that works very well for colder weather, it’s somehow rather comforting.
