Anna Sui

I’m goth and have always wanted to have something Anna Sui. And my broke college bank account has finally gathered enough fund to impulse-buy a set of perfumes from her brand on mercari! This one in particular is comfort in a bottle. Starts with an impression of a nice, rose-scented bubble bath with a hint of clean accord like a fresh bar of soap. There are hints of tangy accords...generic fruity, blended well with the overarching florals. Like the person below me said, I also detect some chlorine-like smell. Then this scent develops into something that is reminiscent of my grandma’s favorite face cream...I still remember how she liked to dress to impress, and would put on the fanciest makeup while I slept in her bed! To me, the powdery note is where my impression of this perfume comes from; comfort and nostalgia. I’m not really sure, but at about 4-6 hours in, I detected some woody/green accord which also felt nostalgic, like a man’s aftershave. I’m not particularly a fan of that phase so that would be my only complaint. The scent disappears after 8 hours or so, and the last note is a beautiful, close-to-skin floral. Definitely a clean scent, but it’s more of “grandma’s vanity box/the scented bath goods she prepared for my stay” type of clean, which I really love! Overall, this was a great purchase! The silage is intimate to moderate, and I can imagine myself wearing this on both colder and warmer days to feel the comforting hug from this beauty! Edit; So, this perfume is officially my "memory" perfume. I wore this to The Offspring's concert last week. It really felt like a dream (they were my absolute FAV in high school!!) and I'm so happy I wore this. Truly my two dreams come true! My high school self would be so proud XD Even though I sweated a lot jumping and chanting, this scent made me smell clean and fresh throughout the night, aside from the obvious help from my deodorant. I recommend you not to limit the use of this scent to closed/seated occasions, since this truly is a good fresh scent with a vintage twist!

I must confess I rejected her at first, she was a gift that gathered dust on my shelf for about a year. (Shhh, I do not care for her looks, I admit, I have been shallow). I love oriental perfume, I adore spices, incense and ylang ylang. So at first I thought maybe she is too light, a little tacky judging by her attire. A confused lacy cowgirl goth. Erroneous costume design in a bad western movie with a rap soundtrack. Frilly CanCan knickers and nasty black suspenders. Well do you like rock or RnB? Country or opera?! So we have a conversation, a little spray here, a little squirt there. Just a little chat while I am getting dressed for the day. Its just between us. And we become friends. Sometimes life is morbid, disappointing. Maybe a western boot could work perhaps in the right circumstance. And I did just buy a little, all-lace black dress, very chic. Blackberry lips, yes please. Gradually I realise she is eclectic, adorable. She envelops me in a comforting, creamy powder cloud of rose, apricot and raspberry that blends smoothly with tonka bean, sandalwood and amber. A vanilla-like creaminess velvety soft, not the talcum powder kind. That would be too slovenly. This girl is playful and and generous. Cedar and bergamot prevent her from being too juicy-fruity or sugary-sweet. Iris helps give her an edge too. Towards the end she whispers quietly of sweet white flowers, jasmine and lilly. She knows who she is. Cute, warm and sensual.

So I haven't worn this in a while, and I only remembered it being pretty lightweight and somewhat airy. I'd sought it out as I totally loved the vintage, goth aesthetic, and based on the reviews, it sounded like something I would like. I just used it again last night, and yes, I still love it! Anna Sui is clean and a little soapy, a delicately sweet powder with a retro feel. This is a quirky goth in a silk slip with lace trims. I've never worn this outside, and I've come to associate it with the bedroom -- nothing naughty, just a little private time lounging about in bed. Still, I would love to give it a try outside when things are better. The fragrance seems to project more than I initially thought. When I used it before, I got the impression that it sat very close to the skin, but now I can smell it wafting about. It lasts longer than I thought too. I sprayed this about nine hours ago or so, and although the smell is now softer on the skin, it still wafts up from my shirt. Very pretty and comforting. Though I wouldn't put Anna Sui at the top of my list of favorites, it is something I would always like to have. Now that I've smelled it again, I might reach for it more often, especially with the weather getting hotter here. It is an easy fragrance, and I think I may try to snag another bottle as this small one I have now seems too little.

Until a few days ago, I had not seen, smelled, or owned this fragrance for a long time. However, it was always in the back of my mind. This was my everyday signature from 18-20 years old. I remember picking it up at a perfume outlet, and being smitten with the bottle. Not sure why, as it's really nothing I would even look at twice now days. I thought it smelled and looked very pretty, and I've never forgotten it. I don't necessarily agree with all of the gothic references, and I think those associations stem from the design of the bottle, and the fact that there is a strong and slightly cold Rose in this. Victorian? Ok, sure. Definitely a bygone era. Super feminine. Lace, lipstick, powder, Rose, purple flowers, and a bowl of fresh raspberries and apricots. I can detect woody notes later on, as well as the base all the way through. I might associate this in my mind with "Moulin Rouge", or what have you.... I think this can be worn by a woman/girl of any age, but it is a female's scent in my mind, for certain. I think it’s most suitable for Spring/Summer. It's not serious, but it's not silly either. At this point in my life, this is a "mood fragrance". But no lie...I've been spraying a little obsessively since I got my new bottle. And YES, it's because there is little to no longevity. (The only downside imo) .

I was lucky enough to find this perfume that I loved about fifteen years ago in a small perfumery near my home, at a very low price because I think it was the last one: Anna Sui edt. To my nose it comes across as a gothic, sensual and much more complex version of Ombre rose! Perhaps influenced by the color of the pack, I seem to smell like powdery violets, but I know that in reality it is iris together with raspberry (which is masterfully dosed here, in fact it is a note that I can't stand if it prevails, it tastes like cough syrup to me... Any reference to recent flankers of La vie est belle is purely coincidental 😬). Then I smell this note of rose liqueur, or dark, velvety, very sensual roses. In the base there is this lily of the valley type note, hyper feminine, almost erotic, in an amber echo, that Is soft and suffused, like the light of a lampshade edged with black lace. No excess of sweetness, no vanilla to make this scent more childish and playful which thus remains austere and elegant, despite its sensuality. I find it wonderful and original. It's a satisfaction for me to find these gems in a perfumery that doesn't have the ambition to define itself as artistic or niche!

I wore this as my signature scent, day in, day out, for many years. It is still my favorite, however I developed bronchitis three times during periods when I was wearing this more heavily due to special occasions. I became afraid that I have an allergy to the fragrance. The bronchitis was so severe one of those times that I was hospitalised and then lost much of my hair due to the stress my body endured at the time. I can't say with absolute certainty that this scent was to blame but I do not wear it now. I keep telling myself that if this pandemic ever ends, I will try my Anna Sui again. I have not worn it since 2010. This was the best jammy iris rose musk. Excellent longevity and strength on my skin. It was a match made in heaven. Or maybe something far more sinister. The Anna Sui site lists "aqueous flowers" as a note, which I think hits the nail on the head. There is a stagnant water in a vase of sunbleached florals with mulchy petals aspect. This, I truly love.

I brought a vintage, original 100 ml bottle of this perfume. I like the bottle, it’s cute and eye catching. According to Anna Sui it supposed to look like a mirror. I’ve just checked the notes on the official site of Anna Sui and Osmoz. Ozonic note is missing on Fragrantica. This perfume was created in the late nineties, more specifically in the year 1999. Ozonic perfumes were popular at that time. Most Fragrantica reviewers described this perfume as gothic. But i disagree. As soon as I sprayed this on my wrist, the smell of pool water and sunny morning air by the sea combined with the sweet apricot and something powdery hit my nose. This perfume is warm, sweet, powdery and ozonic at the same time. It’s smells beautiful in the summer morning. In the winter time i find this too aquatic. I’m happy to have this in my collection. This perfume is great example of the end of 90’ era.

I'm so glad this one is back in production! A very sexy dark "mysterious" sort of fragrance. The very best Anna Sui has to be the original. Woody, rose, musk. I just love this one. Dark, yet classy. Does anyone know if the ones being produced now still smell the same as the originals though????! If you know, please please let me know! Update 2018: It's been some years, the smell of the first bottle(pre-reproduction) I owned wasn't exactly the same. It smells as if it's part age and perhaps, although very difficult to say part reformulation? It does smell as if, Anna Sui has tried to stay close to the original. However, there does seem be something a bit shy off in terms of the silage it once had. Still, even its update in production the current aroma is the same scent if not extremely similar. Dark, mysterious but sensual and velvety.

I admit that I, too, was drawn to the design of the bottle and, as a result, ended up blind buying one. It was hatred on first spray - old lady, dust, musty library, wilted flowers. Who would want to smell like this? I put it away, where it sat on a dark shelf for years, undisturbed. Then came a day when I decided to purge everything I had no practical use for in my life. I pulled the beautiful flacon out from its cardboard tomb and sprayed it again, one last time, just to make sure I remained as repulsed by it as I was back then. I fell in love. Yes, it might seem old-fashioned, and it still smells like a bouquet of dust-covered, withering flowers, but therein lies its beauty, suspended in time. When I wear this, I feel like a porcelain doll, forgotten and motionless, sitting on the floor of a sunless attic.

Smells like a thrift shop that primarily sells dusty books. (the one you go to biweekly because the cute alternative/goth girl works there.) There's a bouquet of browning Bulgarian roses beside the cash register. The initial hit of alcohol kind of scared me. Then there's some citrus fruit. Gets reaaaally floral after 10 minutes. The raspberry lingers in the background for a while. After 30 minutes it gets powdery, but not in a heavy way. In a your-moms-cheap-makeup-from-the-'90s-that's-most-definitely-expired way. To me that's a bit disappointing because I love a heavy fragrance, but it does make for a very nostalgic scent. I do think that it is quite tame in comparison to what the flacon might suggest. Nonetheless, I think it's a pleasant fragrance inside a romantic bottle. Amazing quality-price ratio.

I'm shocked this one was discontinued. It's a beautiful, feminine scent that makes me think of a dressing table in a boudoir full of crimson roses and powder. It's heavy and beguiling, like a white fur stole wrapped around your shoulders on a rainy night. The biggest note I detect is rose, and I swear that I smell violet flowers, not iris. Then lots of powder and a slightly sweetened, woody, musky base. I believe this scent has an uncanny ability to make a young & naiive woman seem more sophisticated yet make a mature woman seem young & fresh. It's a beautiful scent for any woman who wants to bask in her femininity. Sillage and longevity are both huge! Edit—new bottles are very weak, nowhere near as potent as my older bottles. This was my signature for years. It’s gone now :(

I wear this when I want to smell like beautiful baby powder and roses. Imagine a scene in a vintage movie where the freshly-bathed heroine is lounging in a negligee and marabou feather-trimmed robe in fluffy kitten heels, sitting on a pink velvet and gold trimmed stool at a matching vanity table. She takes an enormous fuzzy powder pouf from an ornate round box, elegantly shrugging off her robe to reveal her shoulders and decollete which she delicately dusts. The fine-milled powder creates a luminous haze around her, and the scent is THIS perfume. The fragrance is creamy, powdery and dense but not stuffy. I'd say it's more Noir than Goth, more Old Hollywood than old-fashioned. It's romantic, nostalgic and somehow... a little camp? She's never going out of style. I love her.

This makes me feel like the movie version of the Anabelle doll. I also read somewhere on a thread that this is reminiscent of Victorian ghosts in the attic, and I agree with that as well. Powdery, slightly dusty iris. I think if I wanted something with a sort of “goth” feel for the warmer days this would be a good choice. It’s both dark and light at the same time. I think it disappears a little bit in cold weather so it’s not really worth wearing it then. This doesn’t smell super vintage to me. I think it smells modern with a nod to vintage perfumery. Very pretty scent. Not super strong or long lasting, but I think that adds to its appeal.

I was a goth in the late '90's, early '00's and yes, this was my favourite scent. Rediscovered it many years later and it smelled just as good as before. I still have a bottle, and I still love it, but at nearly 40 years old, I'm slowly maturing out of it. It still smells amazing on my skin though, and I've never come across another perfume that was so spot on. 100% match with my skin, it lasts all day, no weird notes, makes me feel feminine and sexy, and I love the gothy vibes of the bottle (genuinly loved it back then, still a guilty pleasure now).

At first I thought this was just straightforward baby powder. Clean and dainty. I think this would suit a pastel goth, it's definitely got a Victorian porcelain doll vibe going on. Once it settles on my skin it smells gorgeous - I can smell amber, sandalwood and some fruity notes. The powdery, dewy iris/violet is still there but now there's a soft, sweet, warm smell. The kind of smell that would make me want to cuddle someone and bury my nose in their neck. It's a lovely, everyday perfume. It's unique but inoffensive.

There's something very kawaii cute faded babydoll about this fragrance. It's a dark, goth baby-doll. The iris is really beautiful too. The iris leans into the powdery notes well. A little bit funeral vibes between the scent and design. Yet it's really feminine too, but I understand what people mean when they say it smells like it's from another era. It's a scent that has a variety of facets and unique personality.

I love this little gem of a perfume, and I am so happy it is rereleased. And at such a nice price! It is the perfume I keep on swapping, getting rid of, and then repurchasing because I just need to have it in my life! It's powdery, rosy, just perfect. It has a slight metallic note that makes me think of vampires. I am planning on getting a bottle again, to keep it in my purse.

This was my first "signature" perfume and I am totally in love with it. I found it in an Anthropologie store. I use it very sparingly since it's long been discontinued and I am afraid of falling into the trap of buying a fake.. anyways, lovely and transporting. Reminiscient of introverted and thoughtful rainy days. Extremely feminine and demure, and the bottle is to DIE for.

I would describe this as: purple, gothic, sweet, innocent, playful and seductive. I have worn this for ages, actually I DONT wear it that often but I always have a bottle around, I think it's just an amazing scent because it makes me feel all these conflicting feelings at the same time. Its also unoffensive so you could wear it anywhere in my opinion. I love it.

one of the most beautiful scent I have ever owned. I don't know if they will make sense but I would describe it as Victorian. When I smell this I think of a lovely Victorian home in maybe Savannah or somewhere southern and maybe even a feeling of an earlier time period, this fragrance just has an antique, unique, lovely kinda of smell to it.

Very special! I love it. And the bottle is so beautiful. I bought it online after reading the reviews here, and boy am I happy I got it. There are so many things going on in it. It is sweet and floral, and also dark and smokey. I must say WOW. I reminds me of Pepper Jasmine Gaiac Wood Passion Fruit by Korres - but Anna Sui is more floral.

this perfume is very witchy, dark and light at the same time. there is something nostalgic about it too, which takes me back to my childhood. i don't remember it from that time, but it is kind of nostalgic nonetheless. it is not childish, but not mature either. the scent is hard to place, which makes it interesting. i love it!

I owned bottles of this beauty years ago. My best friend and I wore it. Back then we felt dark and edgy wearing it. For whatever reason now I don't really care for it anymore. I see Violet from S1 AHS rocking something like this. It does have this playful come-hither quality about it...at least how I remember.

This is the perfume you steal from your mother while putting on your Disney princess heels longing to be an adult. Wearing Anna Sui I feel like I’ve stepped into those heels again, the mixture of porcelain nostalgia and the warmth of watching your mother put on her makeup before school. Beautiful.

Gothic, not in my view. I envision a dance hall in the Montmartre section of Paris, with burlesque dancers and women wearing lace and red lipstick. Warm, seductive but also fun. A jammy rose with a few iris flowers leaning towards powdery. Wearable day or night if you like the aesthetic.

I bought a lot powdery perfume want to have one smells like old fashioned face powder, this is exatcly! But I am not sure this is I smelled an amazing perfume 10 years before when I was primary school kid.

This is a sweet raspberry and iris powder bomb. The image I get is of crushed smarties candies or pixie dust a woody base drydown. This is a Gothic fairy type of scent. Enchanting.

Fell in love with this scent over 10 years ago when I was given a free miniature. The smell is dark, subtle and long lasting. I love the gothic inspired bottle it comes in.

Complex, sultry, dark, a bit mysterious. Yet decidedly American, somehow. Brings to mind being snuggled up to your lover in a dark booth of a New Orleans coffee shop.

Absolutely gorgeous floral perfume! It literally lasted for hours on my skin through my date! So feminine and romantic.

It smells like vintage makeup powder.Stunning yet subtle, not really loud. Classic and elegant lady should have one!

I first fell in love with this perfume when it first came out and even now...10 years on it still smells lovely

It's like a cross between two of my favorite Cacharel fragrances--Amor Amor and LouLou. I love it!

I found Anna sui to be surprisingly enchanting. I wonder why I haven’t tried it before.

I love anything with iris so I’m biased. really cute femme fragrance

This is so feminine and beautiful. Really really delightful.

I have always admired Anna Sui's gothic-princess aesthetic from her eclectic vintage-inflected designs to the stunning Victorian noir packaging that adorns her makeup and perfume line. Sadly, not many of her perfumes live up to that aesthetic. Many of them are insipid watery "fruity-floral" concoctions that smell more shampoo than perfume. Perhaps one of the only ones that smell "Anna Sui" to me is the original Anna Sui. Let me preface this review by saying I love all things Victorian, as I think the fashion and architecture of the era was just plush and beautiful. Anna Sui is a chilling perfume, it smells downright cold to me. The petals of rose and iris smell dried, not potpourri, but as if it is past their time and they fallen off the stem. In my imagination, it is almost winter and dead flower petals cascade down in front of an abandoned Victorian castle. Perhaps it is the black roses on the packaging that brings to mind the Victorian image but anytime I wish to re-visit this haunting panorama, I put on this perfume. From that description, you might imagine it to be a bleak and desolate perfume and why would anyone in their right mind want to smell like dead flowers? But far from that Anna Sui is delicate and feminine and wears like an expensive silk slip on the skin. There is a touch of powder in the mix and it renders the perfume an antique and somewhat dusty touch, like an exquisite ballgown that has just been re-discovered in a forgotten chest in someone's attic among troves of pearls, old love letters and secrets. This not to say it's a heavy perfume, as Anna Sui retains a soft luminous touch throughout. My only gripe with this perfume is its low sillage, after an hour it is barely a whisper on my skin. Some would say Anna Sui dated and old, in but I would say it is timeless with a historical touch.

A beautiful Gothic feeling scent as described, featuring my two favourite flowers - rose and iris. Sadly disappears on my skin in under 30 minutes! I swear I didn't receive a 'bad' bottle or anything, as I tested it in two stores. I get the top and middle notes; but none of the base. It's invisible. Would absolutely adore this if it lasted. Another "too faint on it's own - need to find something to layer it with" fragrance. Pretty and pointless; yet too gorgeous to pass up. For now, I shall just admire the pretty bottle *sigh* I don't know how people say they wear this out to clubs. A barely detectable scent; amongst all those other smells, there's NO WAY anyone would smell this fragrance on you! Update: Maybe this used to last years ago; but sadly not any more because this is one of the fastest disappearing scents I own. Tested this again from another store; with a new tester bottle. At first I thought it smelt a little stronger on the paper strip and on skin; but when I got home and compared the two, both fragrances had this unfortunate disappearing act. Sprayed onto clothing it lasts a bit longer. So must be a skin thing. Tried layering with a rose scented body lotion; same problem. Started off cold and sharp, developed into the the powdery rose-iris combo I love; then just fades away. Somebody said Anna's makeup has this same scent. Honestly I would rather invest in one of her gorgeously packaged lipsticks because this fragrance is useless. At least I know I love rose and iris together even more now; I can find similar fragrances. A nice bottle for collectors but sadly that's it. Gothic indeed, like a ghost that appears briefly before disappearing into the night.

Maybe that unique gothic fragrance mentioned in most of the reviews below is a vintage version of Anna Sui. I just bought my bottle and maybe I got a modern reformulation. Or maybe I can't perceive many of its nuances, which is sad... It may be considered "gothic" and decadent because of the colours of the bottle and/or maybe its design (beautiful, but doesn't it owe more to Sui's Chinese origin?), or maybe because it smells like vintage cosmetics (?) For me Anna Sui is above all what we conventionally call "a very feminine fragrance", that is: a pleasant floral, delicately sensual and not without its unavoidable dose of sweetness. What makes this fragrance more special for me is the way in which the iris-rose combo, which makes this juice powdery and somewhat mysterious, combines with the more refreshing, luminous and uplifting nuances provided by the fruity notes. This is what makes me want a bigger bottle, but it's going to be difficult because since its discontinuation in my country we can only find 30 ml bottles like mine. Anna Sui is very powdery and delicate, but revitalising and fresh too. In fact the bottle itself suggests a feeling of transparency that is very much like the fragrance it contains. It's too weak for me, with very poor sillage and lasting power (2 hours on my skin). And yet in its first 20 minutes, while it is still intense, it's a real beauty. Maybe the phase that comes afterwards, leading to its gradual, but relentless, disappearance, is what makes this scent a gothic fragrance. All the beauty vanishes and in a couple of hours it will be nothing but a memory. Tempus fugit.

Anna Sui is so far still my favourite from this house. It has the melancholy romantic pretty Anna Sui style in a bottle. Anna Sui starts with lemon (as in lemon biscuit or lemon cheesecake) and light rose scent, it’s not uplifting, but pretty enough, and projects well the purple characteristic of Anna Sui juice inside the gothic bottle; it is not a immediate ‘wow’, but instantly like and I feel nothing against it at all (unlike some other perfumes, I would smell something too ‘plastic’/synthetic). Soon it goes softer, smells like sugar water, rose water and soap combined; it makes me feel cold a little bit, I guess it’s due to the iris, but this is not the coldness which makes you feel uneasy or sad, instead, it makes me feel calm and thinking about having a cup of tea while watching the snow falling from the sky in a silent winter night, when it’s warm and fuzzy inside. Just like all the other Anna Sui fragrances I’ve tried, it doesn’t last long. Within two hours, what I can smell is something really close to the skin, powdery, cosy, slightly rosy, a tiny bit almond-y, pretty and feminie, but no sillage at all. Overall, Anna Sui is quite a likable fragrance and I’ve got compliments from both genders, I guess it has the charm as the lovely bottle suggests. I would recommend it to anyone at any age who want something that’s just pretty, and wouldn’t mind to reapply often, or just want have some ‘skin scent’.

This smells to me very blended, a ball of dried lilacs, with faint green scent of leaves, a healthy dusting of powdery iris and a few drops of apricot juice. The base is well-balanced, and the raspberry is very, very subtle. I like the opening, the bergamot and orange make this scent vivacious, spritely-they don't fade away immediately, because they don't stick out too much in the first place. It becomes more powdery, yet girlish at the same time as it fades. This is a pretty scent-pretty and very young-for a fairy or pixie-type girl. It's not a scent I would wear when I want to make a serious impression on someone, but it smells nice enough and focuses on iris without smelling too powdery, or dated. I'm glad to have a mini of this, but this won't become one of my frequent wear fragrances-its just too predictable as a scented experience-pleasant, but surely boring to many, and not addictive to my nose....

This scent got me so confused that i am giving it my highest mark already for this ! It is something utterly unexpected and unexplainable: it is warm, and yet you feel a chill in your bones that urges you to reach for a warm shawl to wrap yourself into, it's like a soft caress of a feather against your cheek followed by a slight movement of cool air, as if something unrevealed just crossed your path... It is truly gothic without being vamp, cartoonish or S&M-related: it is melancholy, enchanting, it's full of this rare comfortable loneliness one sometimes experiences, often in November, and puts one in a reflective mood: I just want to stay indoors, drink coffee, flick through old photo albums and succumb to nostalgia, reminiscing on times and people long gone. So original, unlike any scent out there, a true masterpiece but not for everyone. Hoping to be never without a bottle.

Anna Sui smells like raspberries, roses, black lace, deep kisses, and purple, just like the juice inside. It's vintage with a modern edge. The first thing that jumps out at me is raspberry and black currant. The berry notes aren't overly ripe or tart but earthy and warm. Nectarine and green apple add just a slight juicy scent. It's a flower party in here, folks! The attendees are lily of the valley, jasmine, violet, iris makes a cameo appearance, and a big bright pink Bulgarian rose is our host. It's a mellow party with good conversation, a few bottles of red wine, Billy Holiday playing in the background, and plenty of smoldering glances across the room. At the base, I smell cedar, amber, and tonka bean. The dry down is sexy and powdery. The woman that wears this knows how to keep a secret and has plenty of them. She's definitely harboring some vampire fantasies too.

Wayyy back when I got this in a swap I didn't know what to think of it. The orris root was extremely dominant, the rose dusty and moldy, the other notes fairly non-existent to me. It could be the bottle had been stored improperly. Or it could be that the scent didn't live up to my dreams of Anna Sui clothes one day becoming my full wardrobe. Ahhhh.... So, I put if away for about ten years, it turned out, not thinking much about it in all that time. When I dug it back out, it hit me. MORTICIA ADDAMS. She of the lopping-off-the-buds of roses and keeping the stems in a vase. Anna Sui isn't green, though. It's those lopped-off rose heads, whose blood, long drained out, has dried and left a stain that adds to its beauty rather than marring it. Wearable? Yes. But I admit to being in a dark mood if I don't layer it with sandalwood, vanilla, or patchouli.

28F. Recently blind bought this out of intrigue and I’m glad for the discovery. A clean, powdery, vintage-inspired scent that I would describe as “storybook goth”. Like faded flowers, dusty purple velvet and black lace – the archetypal mysterious alternative feminine with a penchant for attics and poetry. It brings to my mind Ava Cadavra from the Sims 2 DS game, Lydia Deetz from Beetlejuice, Violet Baudelaire from A Series of Unfortunate Events, and the novel Poison by Chris Wooding (super niche references I know, but it’s a very specifically evocative fragrance which keeps my imagination fascinated by it). It wears a decent ~6 hours on skin, longer on clothes, needing only 1-2 sprays for moderate projection. More suited to cooler weather. Perfect to wear while reading moody fiction or listening to dark cabaret music.

I always loved the bottle - there is something Middle Ages and gothic in the curves and decoration of this lovely vessel.Marguerite of Navarra could have such a bottle in her chambers - which possibly contained her lover`s blood or some witch potion. The juice , in my opinion, is not suited for such vial. It is soft, feminine,very "iris", and the aromatic berries are the ones that grow near the window of a Red Riding Hood.There is nothing dark about it, it is quite seductive, but in a shy, girly way. Like a pink umbrella, this scent is made to protect it`s owner from realities of everyday life and take her to a magic kingdom full of unicorns and rainbows. Even though I adore the bottle, I will not get it for myself. But it would make a glorious first fragrance for a young girl!

This is one I've been wanting to try for a while. I own a few other Anna Sui perfumes, which I quite enjoy. And all the reviews describing it as a "gothic" rose, as well as the note listing itself, and I just knew that I had to have it. Well... on me, it's kind of just a dusty rose... not a fresh-cut one, but one that's starting to lose its petals. Not gothic in the least. Which is ok, not what I was looking for, but still a pretty scent nonetheless and I do like it. However, the longevity and sillage on me are absolutely abysmal. Gone in under an hour after a good dozen (at least) sprays. I can't see reaching for this all that often, to be honest - I don't generally have the inclination to spray myself every hour or two, particularly with a fragrance that is just a "like".

Original first Anna Sui is the only perfume from the whole Anna Sui's line of perfumes that I like. I had a small bottle many years ago and loved it! I actually found it too dark for everyday use, but it was such a lovely strong floral and romantic scent! Raspberry was quite a new note at that time. Anyway I'm happy that it is not a raspberry fragrance. It was much much more complex than that and also slightly powdery. Both sweet and mysterious, it was a dreamy scent for me. Then I became a little bored with it, especially in summer heat. I could never find it again, but I found so many other Anna Sui's instead, all terrible, harsh and cheap to my nose! Oh, and that scaring doll series... brr!! Only the first one smelled good.

Today I just ordered another, larger bottle of Anna Sui. I've only had this fragrance for a day, but I am in love with it. Something about it reminds me of small shops in my favorite city in the US -- New Orleans, LA. Shops wherein flowers are drying in the rafters, herbs and powders (medicinal?) are filling apothocary jars on the counters. The notes are, to me, as listed above. I find the Tonka Bean in this so delicious! It has Rose, my usual nemesis, but in AS, it is very pretty and does not go sour on me. This fragrance is not for everyone... but if you lean toward the dark a bit, I highly suggest it.

Does anyone know if the vintage Anna Sui from 1999 (larger bottle I hear) still exists? I have read so many reviews including SuzySchnabel's, the one I have is the typical reformulated 30ml bottle found everywhere which doesn't last AT ALL or have the old notes. I would love to find this elusive vintage. PS> If anyone remembers, was the vintage in a clear bottle with black rose print around the edges printed on the actual bottle, instead of this purple-tinted bottle with the thick black plastic edges on the reformulated design? Similar black rose topper with gold band?