Luminous

Initial thoughts: I wore this to bed and wondered why did I purchased this. It was harsh and reminded me of the perfumes my grandmother wore. I did not like it. It was so strong that I could not relax and go to sleep. I tried it again and was very careful not to over spray. I was shocked because I fell in love. I don’t know what changed. Luminous does open aggressively with a perfumy red current and aldehydic notes. It is a vintage scent profile, so I understand some of the criticism. But after that initial punch, the red current calms down to a sparkling tart berry. It is followed by a heavy powdery vintage cosmetic smell and then a very sweet amber and praline. This is sexy the way a movie star from the 1940s is sexy. And Luminous is classy the way black and white Christmas movies are classy. It is obviously a dupe of La Via Est Belle, and I would say they are 90% similar. Luminous seems like it was made in a different time, when women smoked cigarettes, wore evening gowns, and spoke with a Trans-Atlantic accent. La Via Est Belle is more contemporary; it’s something you will sample at Macy’s when shopping with your mother. The Praline is slightly less sweet than La Vie Est Belle. It also replaced the patchouli with amber, which makes Luminous smoother and easier to wear. The performance of this body spray is atomic. This will last until the next morning. This scent lifts off your skin and stays in the air. This is a body spray that will get you noticed. 9/10, this is one of my favorites from the bath and body works. For a layering suggestion try Luminous with Phulr’s Strawberry Letter. The red current and strawberry blend together beautifully. This is a mature winter combo with a fruity sexy edge.

It’s so funny how most fragrances I adore started with HATE 😭 and yes this is one of my “love at first hate” fragrances. Gosh I remember the utter disgust when I first sniffed this. It was the nastiest, antique, grandmother fumes that gave my nostrils an uppercut (HOW COULD A BODY MIST BE THIS STRONG??) After a few minutes, I completely forgot that I sprayed this on my wrist and wondered where that beautiful scent was coming from—pure sweetness and powdery goodness !! I reached for my water bottle and caught a whiff from my wrists. Ok, wow, who knew that wonderful aroma was actually from that dreaded grandmother fragrance. Excuse me, how did the gray-haired woman transform into a young lady wearing a sexy, long, red dress, black fur coat, and diamond jewelry? This scent is magnificent, it’s definitely how walking down the red carpet in 1930’s would feel like !! This is definitely one of BBW’s best scents. I love how it leans toward a perfume-y smell rather than their usual mists. It performs really well too !! This is one of their scents where I don’t find myself over-spraying in order to really smell it. Longevity? No problem !! It lasts me about 4-5 hours on clothes. + ofc I don’t mind reapplying once bc it’s affordable. I used to think this smells like Beyoncé heat but it took me some time to realize that it doesn’t, maybe it’s just the warm sweetness that gave me the impression. I’ve heard a lot of people say that this smells like LVEB tho !! If this is how LVEB smells like? I’ll surely love LVEB. Imagine layering it with luminous 🎀 A solid masterpiece from bbw !!

I got this hand soap for Christmas and was dying to smell it. It was love at first smell. This smells just like Sensual Amber before they reformulated it. I can't wait to get my hands on it🖤. Edit: So I got my hands on her. Everyone seems so polarized by her, but I LOVE IT. She's warm, cozy, sexy, and strong! I definitely smell major LVEB similarities. All smiles because I lovee LVEB. They seem to be discontinuing everything that I love or reformulating everything at BBW, so this was an awesome surprise. I still get og Sensual Amber with something sweeter in the background. I'm guessing that's the praline. I love how Praline has a nutty, cinnamon-like aspect going on. Kind of like the warm nuts you get at the carnival. I'm in love with this stuff. My new favorite ffm. I don't know how anyone could visualize this as "old woman?" She's an it girl that smells youthful but grown and sexy. An older woman could and should wear this. All age appropriate, yes. All season appropriate, check. But I definitely view this most dominate as a warm, sweater weather, cuddly snuggly, type vibe. I love me some sweet, juvenile scents as much as I love the refined and sophisticated, but this is definitely one of the more refined scents they have to offer. This is no Cotton Candy Clouds. I hope they keep it around. The dry down of this is almost uncanny to the dry down of LVEB. If you are looking for a cheap dupe, go for this. Or layer with it to last all day🖤.

I have a bunch of this. BBW clearance gift sets for $4.50 (what?!) & many BOGO’s & coupons & I was just drawn to it like “My Precious”...😭😝 It is a scent profile I love so idk why I’m always so puzzled when I can’t think of “where have I smelled this before...?”! It is 100% the BBW version of LVEB. Which, if you love that, you need this. BECAUSE...layering. It has a depth that imho the LVEB shower gelee & lotions (I own) honestly do not. If I add this I get more compliments! It works in the summer heat. I actually think that it smells even more like Sofia Vergara’s (unfortunately discontinued) Sofia than LVEB. The plum is prominent & jammy. There is more almond which makes it a bit more powdery than Lancôme’s Iris Pallida (?) whatever (imo), & powder just leaves tracks! So add this lotion & body spray & it just lasts & lasts. 🙌👍 If your skin eats scent like mine does, you’ll understand why it will make you (& your debit card) swoon with joy. If you like this, you’d probably enjoy Avon’s Imari Seduction or Bodycology’s Sweet Vanilla Wish (Walmart-super affordable & awesome body spray (or room freshener & body wash), or the OG LVEB. Thank you so much for reading my review! 🌷🫶🏻

I was sold on Luminous the moment I saw it being compared to La Vie Est Belle and Flowerbomb because I love both these fragrances. In fact on the day I received the Luminous mist I was wearing La Vie Est Belle Florale layered with Sensual Amber with a spritz of Flowerbomb added for oomph and if I may say so myself, I was smelling delicious. Maybe that’s why when I sprayed Luminous, I couldn’t tell the difference. I set it aside and didn’t think much about it. But today, having decided to give Luminous its own spot in the limelight, I sprayed the mist. At first I got the similarities again, but as it dried down, the praline shone through, making this deeper and warmer and generally more delectable. The iris in here is the same iris in Dolce Gabbana The Only One, and even if The Only One has caramel instead of praline, I think Luminous gives the same effect. Take away the sharpness of La Vie Est Belle, possibly from the patchouli, and replace it with a smooth amber and you have gorgeous Luminous. I have just placed an order for the EDP, the shower gel and the body butter and I can’t wait to bask in its sweet decadent warmth.

I recently discovered this scent with the hand sanitizer. I smelled it briefly, liked it, and bought it. After actually using it, I went back and reopened it and really gave it a good whiff, and instantly wanted more! As soon as I could I went back and got the body mist, the body cream, and a couple of the hand creams. I would love it if they made an Eau de Parfum, but will definitely be trying the La Vie Est Belle from the other recommendations here. Blackcurrant, Iris, and Amber are listed as the main notes, and I mostly get the Blackcurrant and Amber on me. Iris might add to the creaminess of this scent, but it's not at all powdery or cosmetic smelling, or particularly floral, at least on me. It's warm and sensual, yet gentle enough for everyday use. I love Blackcurrant in fragrances, and have recently started liking Amber in the mix, and this blend is just perfect. It reminds me, just a little bit, of Rihanna's R'ebel Fleur......Like Luminous is the much fainter, easy going, day version and R'ebel Fleur is the darker, sexier, evening version. Kind of.

Can we take a moment to admire the performance of this “mist”? Honestly Luminous puts 95% of EDTs and 85% of perfumes out there to shame. Two sprays of this mist lasted on my skin for 8+ hours with excellent sillage (for more than half the duration). It lasted for 2 days on my clothes. I didn’t even drench them like with the regular mist. As for the scent itself, yes there is an uncanny resemblance to LVEB but there are some differences. Believe it or not LVEB has a lighter opening! Or maybe brighter is the more accurate description. Probably due to the pear and white florals there. Luminous starts similar to the heart and dry down of LVEB. And although patchouli is not lised here I can still sense it but in a lower dose. This is only for cold weather use; it can truly overwhelm in the heat. You can it use for layering but LVEB doesn’t really need it. Maybe with Flowerbomb (which is weak on my skin) or Sofia SV. But Luminous can stand tall and proud all on its own. This is perfume quality in a ffm bottle ❤️

I finally got around to sniffing this today and I was not expecting to like it as much as I do. It smelled oddly familiar and I was racking my brain trying to figure out what it was reminding me of when it occurred to me: Bodycology's Pink Vanilla Wish scent. Something in this reminds me of the spiciness in Pink Vanilla Wish and it's similarly sweet, but overall it smells cleaner, more sophisticated and doesn't have the annoying burnt vape note. This is what I imagine PVW was trying to be, while I don't reach for it often I can already tell I'll be wearing this one a lot. I ended up buying the body mist and am pleasantly surprised by the sillage and longevity, it's stronger than any other body mist I have from BBW.

I love this. It's one of my top favourites from B&BW. The amber makes it smell so frickin' expensive. I can't detect any iris, but the currant note is also strong. It smells quite similar to Ballet Nights as the plum and amber in it have a similar combination as Luminous. Not to mention, the projection is so, so strong. It can even be smelled beyond arms' length by some people. It lasts long and really sticks onto clothing. I cannot stop smelling myself when I wear this. It's so sexy, gorgeous, and it boosts my confidence. As any strong amber scent, though, this is best worn on cool weather. 9.95/10 for me.

This is my current favorite, and also my currant favorite lol. I love amber notes and complexity and Luminous delivers those with a giant hose of scent that will not wear off all night, literally. I have this in a liquid soap, and when I wash with it I can still smell it on my hands the next day. It's impervious like a big amber tank track-crunching through a field of irises and firing praline shells left and right. Don't use it on your face or you won't be able to smell anything. Love it, 10/10, will stock up on all its forms like it's the TP aisle during panic buying week.

i love this perfume so much i never expected to like something like this but when i smelt it it was identical to some perfume or sample my mom or grandma had laying around when i was kid so it was full of nostalgia, but there’s this random note maybe it’s the amber idk but it’s so addicting to me it like scratches some part of my brain that his the dopamine receptors or something, this is definitely just a me thing i have no idea if anyone else will enjoy this perfume but i think whatever i smelled as a kid has wired my brain into needing this

I absolutely love this!!!! I recently purchased this when BBW was having their $4.25 sale on body mists, I blind bought this on their site and I’m so happy I did! For the people who are saying this smells like their grandma probably did not let the mist dry down, perfumes/mists never smell like their first initial spray because the dry down on this scent is beautiful & sexy! It has a hint of sweetness and that warm cozy amber, this is perfection! Great for date nights and cooler weather.

This was a blind buy item when BBW had a sale and I decided to try some new ones for fall. Very Impressed! I also purchased the body butter. I showered one night and used this, it had my skin glowing...LUMINOUS is the perfect name for the body butter because it has very faint sparkles. The smell was impressive too, afterwards I sprayed the body mist. It went on like a strong perfume and settled into this gorgeous sexiness. I woke up and could still smell it. Happy blind buy!

I'm pleasantly surprised that I like/love this so much It's nice elegantly blended with dominant amber and what seems like redcurrant(love)/ruby currant Can't wait to use it up...it's that good and the packaging is like old Russian renaissance esthetic..it makes using the products even a more exiting experience I inhale this like there is no tomorrow .... The body wash alone is more projecting and lasting on skin than most perfumes This scent is unique

Funny but I lit the Luminous candle in my bathroom right before our party the other night. It smelled great and then I spritzed the mist so it would land on the bath carpet and hang around... I then went on to spray Flowerbomb Ruby Orchid on myself (in a different room). They are so similar that all night I kept trying to decide if I was smelling Ruby or Lumi? Ruby? Lumi? Very close members of the same family for sure! Love them both!

This is a beautiful fragrance! I have the candle burning and it smells luxurious. I also have the body spray and the body lotion. The bottle is so pretty, the cap is the icing on the cake. This is amber and powder and red currant to it's core. It smells more expensive than it is and I believe it to be unisex for sure. This smells so good on my husband.

I just wear this every chance I get. The praline and amber notes make it smell so sophisticated, animalic, yet gourmand and fun, and the most "perfumey" of the body mists. Lasts long on my skin, my friends love it, it's sexy and alluring, and if that parfum version comes back again I'm getting it. Luminous is one of their best scents

I only have this fragrance in lotion form but it smells incredible! I was sniffing it at the store and it reminded me of a bodycology mist that I was obsessed with during my freshman year of highschool called pink vanilla wish! It’s an exact dupe imo. Highly recommend 😊.

LVEB body mist is what this is. If you don’t wanna spend the coin on the real deal but still want that expensive smell, get it. Even better, if you have sample sprays of LVEB, layer it with Luminous and experience how expensive you will smell.

This is if La Vie Est Belle release a body mist, still strong but the strength has been cut down some level so you might wear this happily and liberally without offending someone's nose lol