Alabaster

Must admit that Banana Republic never featured much as a major perfume interest where I'm from, not much hype around this perfumebrand here, unless I've been under a rock for wayyyy to long. So when I received a 100ml of Alabaster as a free gift,can you imagine to my utter astonishment why more has not been made about such a lovely fume. I think it's a rather pleasant & very delicate floral with rose & musk being most prominent. Yes I hear people saying there's millions of other florals out there, so what makes this one different? Well the way I see it, BR did something right with Alabaster as it is unique to my nose compared to most other florals out there. Although I love the packaging, the name Alabaster as well as the packaging can be rather deceiving of what the fragrance is all about. It still scores high points in my book. Try it if you tired of all the many heady florals out there.

How did I miss this one!? This is rose. If you love rose, you should LOVE this. I hate rose and this is lovely. It's watery, frail, and long lasting...for days on fabric! It's a lovely wedding perfume. I found it's more beautiful with less sprays. Too many are VERY obnoxious. It's light, but all OVER the place. A face that would do this justice is Karen Grassle. Her personality and fresh wholesome face on Little House is perfect for this scent. This is a bottle of the most lovely mom in the world. It's the scent of a baby in the room. It's very feminine. It's old fashioned rose perfume that isn't a funeral flower. Rose...it's just rose...but WHADDA ROSE!

I first came to know Alabaster somewhere around 2008ish. My friend had the lotion by her sink. I tried it and immediately went to the closest Banana Republic store. I bought the EDP in the wooden cylindrical box, as well as the body lotion. It was powerful and long-lasting. It was especially glorious in cold weather. I still have both, but over time, have begun to smell old. I recently bought another bottle of EDP from an outlet, not in the wooden box. It still smells just as heavenly, but not as strong. I'm normally a fresh/floral girl, but something about the richness of this just works for me. It makes me smile.

Another great scent from Banana Republic; it reminds me sooo much of 'Can Can by Paris Hilton' (a really fruity candy-like smell) but 'Alabaster' is a more sophisticated fruity smell. Agreat everyday, casual scent!

everyone tells me I smell delicious

The high school I attended in Texas possessed a dynamic that I imagine is rare in real life, but was common in 1980's coming-of-age movies. Although it was a public school, it was located adjacent to an extremely wealthy neighborhood-- we're talking mansions owned by Arab princes, professional athletes, old money... you get the idea. A mile or so down the main street from that neighborhood was *my* neighborhood, also zoned to the same high school. In my neighborhood, people lived in garage apartments and duplexes or flats above shops, and drove old, beat-up cars. This was in the '80's, as I mentioned, so you had punks and new-wave types and nerds from the down-to-earth neighborhood attending the same school as some of the wealthiest kids in the nation... these kids' parents would go for months at a time to Europe or wherever and leave them "supervised" by the housekeeper... driven to school by chauffeurs in Bentleys. Think of Pretty in Pink, with me being Molly Ringwald's character, Andie, going to school with Blaine and his friends. It really was just like that. Why do I tell you this story where I'm supposed to leave a review of a perfume? Alabaster, to me, smells like "the other girls"... the ones with the impossibly glossy hair and perfect skin, gliding down the hallways on clouds of scent that undoubtedly came from soaps and creams the parents had brought back from their last trip to France. In my reality, in contrast to the typical John Hughes film plot, I never mixed with those girls, so there never was any conflict or bullying... I was just invisible to them, and that was okay by me. I was content just to gaze in awe at them... they seemed so foreign. I was already in love with perfume by high school. My very favorite was Poison. I had a generous, sweet aunt who bought me a 1.7 oz bottle every Christmas. I also wore Ciara, Tabu, Emeraude... all spicy, dark types that meshed well with my overuse of black eyeliner an Manic Panic hair color. I loved how "those girls" smelled, but would never approach one to ask her what she had on, and it probably wan't perfume anyway, and had I been able to obtain it, it wouldn't have been "right" on me. These days, though, in my respectable little office job, I can pull it off nicely. It makes me feel pretty and popular. As far as notes go, Alabaster really is as simple as lotus, rose, and musk. The musk is definitely the "laundry" kind, the lotus adds a mildly green and fresh watery aspect, and the soft rose gives it that classic, natural femininity. Together, the effect is one of an expensive soap or shampoo, intensified. It even radiates from the skin the way something like that would after a shower, but for quite some time. Yes. I am going to say that Molly Ringwald's "Andie" smelled like LouLou by Cacharel, and the "other girls" smelled like Alabaster.

My mother had a small, pale green egg made of alabaster on her dresser; she displayed it on the mirrored tray where she kept her perfumes. I used to love how that small, smooth, round egg felt in my hand; so when I saw this perfume, I had to try it. I am ambivalent about this scent. It is a pretty floral musk, but there is an odd meaty note that rises up from my skin--I don't generally get indoles from either lotus or rose, but that's almost the scent I smell. There is also a strange quality to the musk; I got the same undercurrent when I tried the perfume Malachite from the same house. It's a very commercial, artificial smell--I don't know how else to describe it--like the smell of white tissue paper in a shirt box. Roman women used to apply the sweat of gladiators to their skin. Maybe banana republic uses the sweat of preppy GRE-test-takers when formulating their musk. In any case, it's odd and interferes with my ability to enjoy this scent. Sillage is low, longevity 4 hours max on my skin.

Banana Republic ALABASTER opens as a fruity floral but all traces of fruit evaporate in the first few minutes as the fragrance morphs into a clean musky skin scent with reasonably good staying power in the edp. The florals are so subtle that some men might consider using this, although they may not like the floral-fruity opening, which bears similarities to some of the Victoria's Secret offerings. What distinguishes ALABASTER is that the fruity-floral stage is not the essence but only a diversionary prelude. Overall, ALABASTER is a high-quality clean musky skin scent for those who eschew loud parades of perfume. Some may perhaps find this fragrance a tad too discreet, but I like it, for what it is. ALABASTER is an apt name for a fragrance so subtle and light but which still has substance.

I am so satisfied with this blind buy! I had first experienced this in a magazine strip and fell in love. I will admit my impression of it then was more ozonic/aquatic than what I get now, but it could be my skin or that it is an older bottle now and those delicate elements have dissolved a bit. Anyway, after many years the idea of this perfume has stayed in my mind and today I finally received it and am surprised by how much I still like it. It is a musky rose with a cool aquatic atmosphere. The musk here goes very salty on my skin, something I experience with Stella by Stella McCartney. With the salty musk and rose combo it reminds me of Stella very much the only difference being that cool/wet lotus accord. It lasts at least 7hrs and I have already received compliments on it.

"I'm down' to earth" in a bottle! Lovely natural smelling flora musk. Its a great body scent for office wear. It like your own body's scent (after a shower) natural & clean. I do not smell rose at all. Skin Type: oily Office safe: yes Potency: light Timing: spring & summer days Projection: sits close to the body Longevity: 6hrs Price: about $ 9.99 USD for 50mls at Marshals Packaging: 9/10 I love the wooden box it comes in Will I Repurchase: undecided Disclaimer: my experience may be different from your experience based on my skin type, my chemistry, the season, and my personal tastes

I loved this when it first came out! I thought it was one of the most elegant scents I ever put my nose on. I had the solid perfume and loved it. I recently added it back in my collection and purchased the EDP. I hate to say, but the initial spray is a bit sharp and synthetic. I don’t remember that at all so perhaps it’s been reformulated. That said, the dry down is still very beautiful. Now that I’m older and have smelled a ton more fragrances, I don’t quite love it as much as I once did, but it’s still a great daytime scent for day to day wear!

Upon trying this a few times, I was amazed at 1. the very minimal amount of sillage - I could barely smell it even right after putting it on, and 2. the short lived nature of this perfume. Barely smells like anything (maybe some vague floweryness) and doesn't last? Might as well spray water on myself instead. Disappointment. I would love this fragrance if it smelled exactly the same, was 50x more powerful and actually lasted.

I cant decide that its my taste or not. Its quite mysterious, because it reminds me of the smelling of the fresh painted woods, but the very light lotus note makes it almost wearable. Some minutes later the lotus changes to an almost pine-y smelling. Very strange in an interesting way. For winter its defeinitely not for me, but I'll update this review on summer or spring.

Bought it for 6 bucks at Ross (3.4 oz), the box itself is worth the price. About the fragrance, it's a nice everyday frag that's unlikely to offend anyone. Simple, linear and office-safe. Try it, you may just like it if you enjoy florals.

I loved this while I was in high school. I got a bottle from TJ Maxx last year and I put it away for the winter months. Pulled it out the other day and I'm not sure I'm as excited about it now. Might have to let this one go.

Beautiful musky rose fragrance. I’m shocked to see people say this doesn’t have sillage below? I bought mine off fragrance net last year and get compliments galore... My coworkers even steal sprays

I love Alabaster- it is fresh and floral with just the perfect hint of soft fruit. It is super wearable and is perfect during the day when it is pretty outside.

It does last quite a while. There is a soft floral smell that stays with you and finishes with a cool note. Great day time fragrance, feminine and smart.

Opening is wet and synthetic aquatic to my nose. Lotus forward with a synthetic pot pourrie rose woven through. Stays quite linear. Alabaster suits the aesthetic of a Banana Republic. If I caught a scent trail, it would be from a young woman wearing ivory slacks, a Breton jumper and navy flat pumps doing a grocery run. Conventional, clean fresh aquatic, basic grab and go rose-adjacent floral. Scent on fabric is barely a whisper after about an hour or so.

To my untrained nose this smells like a generic magazine fragrance sample... right down to the plasticky, inky magazine paper smell. I usually love anything rose, but this is a bit too powdery/artificial to me I think. I keep having to touch my nose to my wrist to smell it and describe it, because I can only ever-so-slightly smell the fragrance from any other distance. I want to like this, but it's just meh to me...