Dolly Girl Lil' Starlet

This is so cute! It starts out very fresh, with a pronounced sweet lemon. I definitely get a beach vibe from this at the start - it makes me want to grab my bathing suit and head for the sand! Perhaps this one should have been called "at the beach" :P. Lil' Starlet dries down to a very pleasant flowery plum that is just a tad sweet. It does retain the freshness of the top notes, making it ideal for hot weather. And it is not at all sharp or cleaner-like, which is an issue I have with most citrusy scents. Longevity is moderate and sillage is moderate, which is pretty nice for as fresh and citrusy a fragrance as this is! And true to Anna Sui style, the bottle is to die for! Love!

After searching for a long ass time, finally I got this! I saw this online and without thinking twice, I bought it immediately. I used to want this perfume as a kid just because I love the original Dolly Girl and want to collect all of them. But sadly, it's quite hard to find Dolly Girl flankers in my country at the time. Also, I think Dolly Girl Lil Starlet will ease my longing for the original Dolly Girl, but it doesn't happen. It smells slightly different from the original Dolly Girl. When the perfume finally comes, I can't wait to smell it. But I am very disappointed. I think the scent has changed a lil bit. I agree with rickyfreaky13 comment saying that it smells like a rat pee because it smells just like that when I first spray it. It is sour, bitter, and musty just like a rat pee. I let it sit on my wrist just to observe whether there would be a change or not. After ten minutes, I got a lovely trail of sweet and fresh orange scent in the air but when I sniff my wrist to make sure if the scent comes from the perfume or not, all that I got is that rat pee scent again. I am mad and very very disappointed. BUT, after forty-five minutes, the scent changes into some light floral scent in the air. I try to sniff my wrist, but again, it still smells like a rat pee. With a curiosity, I turn my wrist and sniff it from the back of my hand. OMG! The smell is different when I sniff the back of my hand. I finally got that lovely floral scent from my hand. I predict that this one doesn't work on my skin. The next day, I spray it on my clothes just to prove that my body chemistry doesn't work well with this perfume as I predicted. And the result is, it smells lovely from the beginning when I spray it on my clothes! It opens up with a burst of citrusy notes and then change into a soft shampoo-ey floral scent. The dry down is lovely! Will I repurchase this? Maybe not because there's a lot of better shampoo-ey perfume out there. Love the bottle as always.

Proper quick review: I used a generous amount of perfume (I would say I used 10 to 15 sprays) this morning. The opening smelled like a fresh mix of pear and aldehydes (yes, I know, no aldehydes in there). After about 15 minutes, I smelled a very powdery and intense peony note which lasted for about an hour before Lil Starlet changed into a very creamy, feminine, and sweet (must be the plum) hint of perfume which stays very close to the skin. After 2+ hours only someone who hugged me would be able to smell it as there is just a hint of sweet, clean bodylotion left. After 4 hours the scent was no longer noticeable at all. I am ok with topping up during the day so it is a LIKE for me!

I like the initial burst of citrus,and I wouldn't say I disliked this,because I don't,but I'm not really getting many of the notes listed like plum,lily and peony,which is a shame as I love lily.What I am getting is a very savoury dry down almost like celery salt,perhaps this is the sea breeze element,but very masculine and spicy. I love Anna Sui fragrances normally but this isn't fruity or floral at all after about 2 minutes of a very brief opening. I love the Dolly Girl bottles I think they're original and have a great vintage 1920's jazz age look.

I thought I might like this, but I don't. I'm sure it could be great on someone else, but with my body chemistry, all I get for the first hour is a really sharp, almost sour citrus that burns my nose and ends up giving me a headache. After the dry down, there's still that piercing citrus but underneath it all a little hint of pear and plum. My daughter LOVES this perfume, but I just can't wear it.