Truth Beauty Freedom Love

After very many years of lurking on Fragrantica, this is the perfume that got me to finally register and write a review. I blind-bought a small bottle of Truth Beauty Freedom Love because the notes sounded right up my alley. I'm always on the lookout for a good apricot, a powdery apricot would be even better. I smell neither apricot nor powder. And I'm not even remotely disappointed. This scent brought me right back to my childhood. It's the first whiff of a newly opened bag of red laces candy. Do they still even make that stuff? Red laces are long thin strings of "strawberry" flavored red "licorice." To my mind there's nothing else like it. Twizzlers, Red Vines and other types of red licorice are too thick, too heavy, too plastic. Red laces are an artificially flavored strawberry candy, at least you can tell they were aiming for strawberry, but I'm not sure they actually make any strawberry claims. I guess the candy comes from a time when "natural" was not a popular marketing term. There are no "natural" strawberry notes, there is a vague floral flavor in the mix that makes red laces different from other types of red licorice. It tastes like the the last century's idea of the strawberry of the future. This perfume is exactly that. And I love it. I've only worn it a handful of times, but the more I wear it the more I love it. I've already purchased a new bottle. I rarely buy back-ups of anything and almost never pay full price for anything. In this case it just had to be done.

Sophisticated bag of candy including Pez, C. Howard Violets and Trolli gummy apricots with a little brightness added. The notes are all melded in so well, I do wish it projected more but it’s not a deal breaker. Very femme!

While trying this, I thought that it smelt similar to another one of Sarah's creations. This isn't exactly surprising as a lot of 4160 Tuesdays fragrances are elaborations, refinements or differently tuned versions of one another. This seems to be built around vanilla and a scratchy cedar or oak base. It's not unpleasant, but the woods are a little bit on the ISO E side of things. Around this is a very beautiful honeyed apricot with mild powdery iris and a bit of green hay (think Paris 1948's hay). If I had to guess, I'd say a similar base that was used for Be Careful What You Wish For was used here. They're not really similar at all but the woodsy base notes hint at some of the same ingredients being used.

This is really pretty. Feminine, sweet, powdery, fruity. It reminds me of powdery sweet-tarts with a fruity twist. And it kinda reminds me of Jimmy Choo Iris Crush.. which also smells like powdery sweet-tarts. But TBFL is much more fruity. I get the the top notes immediately, but apricot is the most prominent. Once it starts drying down I get the hay with the apricot and iris. The base notes give it a little depth but it remains a sweet, powdery and fruity throughout the whole wear time for me. It's really beautiful and I just might spring for a full bottle. That apricot note has me hooked!

This is so pretty in the opening as I get a field of irises. On me it’s iris dominant, but these irises aren’t too powdery, they’re perky, fresh and vibrant. The entire blend is so well done that all other notes don’t stand out per se, they are just harmoniously blended. It’s happy, feminine beauty with sunshine-filled irises in a bottle. This is the scent you want sprayed all over your costume period-drama bodice. This is what the billowing gowns in Bridgerton smell like.