Adam Levine for Women

Everyone swoons over niche fragrances and designer scents. Just ask the people over at Tom Ford. Make the price unattainable to the masses; stir a sense of mystery, add a dash of elite pretension, and you have yourself a flash-over success story. Even if it doesn't blow one's hair back, the population of those who dislike your product, is automatically reduced, and considerably so. Most will try everything in their power to love a nuance or two, of that gas bill money they spent on a promise or a name. They will devote the better part of a year, pining for one redemption, one sweet nod or breath, to let them know their efforts haven't been entirely in vain. And when all hope is lost vindicating the purchase, at least they are noble in ownership. (Remember Jack Nicholson's coffee in the Bucket List?) It's human nature I suppose. Then there are the subterranean lot: those who hate to love, and love to hate conspicuous scents, for being just out of reach - both in wallet and in concept. Let's face it, good companies can still make bad choices. For the latter populous, perfumes that manage to be delicious, ostentatious and can hold their notes like a baritone built for Broadway, all the while offering budget-friendly, affordable prices, are indescribably delightful! Adam Levine just so happens to be that surprising! This 100 ml bottle was purchased for less than a pack of cigarettes, and although my impulse was to grab without regret for such a low price, I had some serious misgivings. To start, I couldn't give a toot about Adam Levine. He resides somewhere with Justin Bieber, The Spice Girls, and the Jonas Brothers, to name a few. Secondly, the bottle is ten shades of tacky! (I love it though - God help me, I love it!). But mostly, it was an unshakable annoyance of buying a scent that seemed too familiar. At first sniff, I could have sworn this was some knock off of Montana 80, which was already a dupe of Crystal Noir, which was kind of like Seduction Noir - and the band goes on and on. So, I've sat on it...till today. Feeling a little sullen on another grey day, I decided to see how closely related they were by conducting a little Pepsi challenge, and found them to be quite different. Adam Levine does have a vanilla and sandalwood creamy center, which makes it very reminiscent of coconut, but the 'clean' component is colder - sharper. Clever use of benzoin and marigold make this happen; peppery and frozen. "Spice notes" listed are vague both in script and in nose, not that they need to be more specific, for they do their job as counterbalance. Properly juxtaposed, and adding warmth by comparison. Strangely, the smell of saffron is distinguishable, as are the citrus notes, almost illuminating the dry down. Softer tones of jasmine and rose, deepening an already pleasing aroma, seem slightly soapy and clean. Sillage is mid range, which gives this a comfy, versatile swagger. I feel the scent absolutely gender neutral. But, sweet Baby Jesus! The longevity is tremendous! Even still, I indulgently reapplied for the sake of those purely happy top notes. So applause to Adam Levine for achieving something that's frankly wonderful, and with a different name, would have cost more than we'd admit to our priests. And if that simply won't celebrate this cheap and cheerful bounty, you can always use the bottle to serenade a masterpiece of your own. Don't be shy! Grab that mic, and own your space! I did, and it was fabulous! Besides, you just bought a Yann Vasnier for under $10! Hoo-Rah!

I HAVE BEEN SITTING ON THIS PIECE OF PERFECTION, AND I AM ASHAMED. I avoided (blind) buying this because of the top notes. Spices, marigold, saffron, and citruses doesn't sound like a mixture that delights me. Spices (sorry, SPICES) is wildly vague - just makes me think of an old pantry. Marigold as a perfume note confuse me. I grow marigolds in my garden, and my Dad was King of the Marigolds (No joke, they gathered as a bouquet and crowned him) and... they don't really have a fragrance aside from 'vegetation'. Saffron is a bit hit-or-miss for me. In "BR540", it's fine. In "Agent Provocateur", it's unnoticeably (but that smells like pink musk sticks to me, so take that with a grain of salt), and I don't enjoy it in "Black Saffron". Citrus after all the spices? Weird, man. I also avoided this because of Adam Levine, honestly. I'm not a big fan. Like, I don't despise the guy, but he's never won me over with his acutely irritating singing voice, his terrible tattoos, and the less said about that God-awful bleached hair era, the better, I say. But I don't despise him. THIS PERFUME, THOUGH. Sh*t, it's good. I've slowly been developing a love of certain spicy, woody, arguably-unisex scents such as "Stash", "Santal Blush", "Santal 33", and "Sensuous" (why do they all start with S?! Conspiracy rising), and this is most definitely the sweetest out of them! It's not a lolly/sugary sweet. This is warm, honeyed, smooth vanilla (and benzoin, I suppose). When I first bought it, I couldn't smell a thing. Not a single note. It had to sit a day or two to give off something. Truly, though, it has to sit on your skin to bloom. And bloom it does! It starts with a sweet, salivatory woodiness. Just warm, sweet, sexy, and womanly! Then it calms down a bit and becomes a *smidge* powdery...or even creamy! The florals come out a tiny bit. Oddly, it makes me think of individual jasmine flowers and rose petals floating in a bowl of warmed oil in a dimly-lit room. Quite oriental. All the time it has this beautiful sweetness that never overwhelms. It's so much better on skin, I can't tell you. I feel like I intoxicate the room when I wear this. Whether I do or not is irrelevant. It's gives me that buzz, and that's hella important. The box packaging is uninspiring, Jesus H. Christ. The bottle as a microphone is...understandable with a celebrity singer as the face, but still seems weird given the actual scent. As in, I don't understand what singing has to do with the perfume - is there an advertisement I don't know about that explains it all? Longevity is pretty good. Projection is okay - could be better. I want people in Antarctica to smell me when I wear this. Repurchase-worthy! *** Kitty rating: 9/10.

As a longtime devotee of the original EL Sensuous, I'm always looking for similar scents that I might like as much or better, so I put aside my aversion to Adam Levine's music and overall mien after hearing that his juice was remarkably like Sensuous, and I bought a bottle blind (in my defense, it was heavily discounted online). I find the bottle slightly cheesy (a microphone: you're a singer, I get it, but please don't remind me) but the packaging was weirdly nice and highly functional for a cheapie, and the fragrance is indeed a hell of a lot like Sensuous, something I really did not want to admit. It might even be a bit stronger than the current formulation of Sensuous, which doesn't seem to last on me nearly as long as it did back when my FIL gave me my first bottle, in 2008 or 2009 or thereabouts. (I don't wear it that often, so I know it's not anosmia by overuse). And perhaps most like Sensuous, Adam Levine for Women has a name that I find deeply embarrassing to say out loud, should anyone ask me what scent I'm wearing. For years Sensuous was the only scent quite like it, but it would appear that AL and others have bit its steez. Fine by me, because I really like that sweet balsamic peppery sandalwood note on my skin. It's a bit of a break from my usual ultra-femme florals, and I like to reset my olfactory receptors sometimes. The two fragrances are not exactly the same. ALfW has (at least to my nose) a more dominant jasmine note in the drydown, with somewhat less honey and pepper. Sensuous smells a bit drier and less "perfumey," and I think the sandalwood accord might be composed of slightly better ingredients (not that I am capable of discerning necessarily). I'm pretty sure they are both discontinued now (EL Sensuous is for sure), but one is heavily discounted and the other is more expensive than ever and likely to get more so as the supply shrinks. I feel less compelled to look for backups of Sensuous knowing that alternatives exist, cheaper ones with names that are only equally embarrassing. Update: I just looked up the nose, and it's Yann Vasnier. I like that so much I am going to refer to this perfume as Yann Vasnier for Women. Problem solved! Update: I ordered a larger bottle because this actually outperforms Sensuous in its current formulation, and I'd say I like it about 85% to 90% as much as Sensuous in its glory days, so what the hell? I have enough room in the cold locker.

I have three tiny sample bottles of this and I am absolutely in love with it! I've worn it for a week straight and I'm into my second vial already, I will definitely be getting several bottles of this as I can see it being one of my signature scents. The juice in my samples is a light peach colour, I've seen some bottles which are a deep amber shade. On my skin it is a beautiful warm, sweet sandalwood with some light florals and a lovely vanilla base that never gets cloying (for me). I don't personally find it to be all that spicy, on my skin any spice in this seems to just translate as warmth and cosiness. I initally detected a note I didn't enjoy too much, maybe the marigold? However it doesn't bother me anymore and I love it from start to finish, it's just a gorgeous cosy sandalwood. Perfumer Yann Vasnier created Tom Ford Santal Blush in 2011, and then this in 2013. I can see Santal Blush is currently the most similar in the "this perfume reminds me of" section. I haven't ever smelled Santal Blush, but I have a copy of it from Superdrug (Artiscent Atelier Exotique Musk) which I LOVE, but the longevity isn't too great. I get maybe 4 hours from it, it's a creamy, soft, cosy and warm sandalwood (not really any spice) with maybe a touch of florals, I don't know how similar it is to Tom Ford but I love it. The Superdrug copy and Adam Levine are very similar but Adam Levine is more floral and "perfumey". What I really appreciate about it is that whilst it's warm and cosy, the vanilla is never too much. In some fragrances I have (Mon Guerlain + flankers, Dior Addict, Dior Hypnotic Poison, NR Musc Noir Rose), I can find the vanilla to become too rich, cloying, sickly and heavy. This is cosy and warm but it's never once veered into cloying territory and I REALLY appreciate that! This feels gorgeous, warm and classy. It's also really making me want to sample Tom Ford Santal Blush!

Contemporary EXOTIC SANDALWOOD. Signed by perfumer Yann Vasnier, this baby opens with a burst of spicy, buttery marigold with faint aromatic & citrus nuances, that deepens into a creamy sandalwood heart with floral touches from jasmine & rose, all resting on a benzoin-vanilla base. On the skin, I get additional creamy nutmeg, honey & ylang (not listed). Requires a few months of dark storage after first sprays, even with aged vanilla, for the sandalwood to be consistent (new bottle was touchy, sometimes pulling dill), and performance to develop. Above average performance with fantastic projection. Overall: beautiful sandalwood scent profile, this is the perfect scent to wear for an exotic vibe. Totally Addictive. It's a love for me. Enjoy! Contrast to Sensuous EDP Estee Lauder: These are different but there are some similarities. Adam Levine for Women has a much bolder approach with aromatic touches, Sensuous starts softer, building momentum, and dries down with more honey and a smoother approach. Adam Levine for Women projects better in the opening, but both have good longevity. Update 12/12/24: Sprayed this on yesterday and today. Love this deep, warm, sandalwood scent in this cold weather we're having. Something so comforting here. There's a mix of creamy sweet sandalwood and dry sandalwood here, and although it's predominantly a sandalwood-vanilla scent, but I'm also enjoying the spice blend - a mix of cardamom, cinnamon, pepper and others if I had to guess. It's not a beast, but has quite good performance nevertheless. The juice is a dark caramel colour and lasts about 12 hours on my skin with good projection for the first 4-6, and 24 hours on clothing. Still a love.