Imperial Ruby

I own the Imperial Sapphire and enjoy that one immensely. I've been so impressed with Charriol's fragrances, as the Imperial Sapphire has depth and lasts all day. I got curious about Imperial Ruby and it's Christmas so why not give myself a nice gift... Like the other one, this Ruby edition is just fabulous. The bottle is stunning, glowing red and heavy with detachable gold ring embellished with red crystals around the neck... It makes a good quality jewelry, as a ring or pendant with your own gold chain. Gah, I love good packaging and everything down to the box doesn't disappoint. It feels very Christmas-y and glam... Sillage is moderate and on me, it lasts around 6-8 hours.

I generally don't like perfumes that are too sweet and even though this one is rather sweet, I love it. It's a smell full of passion and flirt. I wear it at night, all year around, winter and fall especially. For me, it's sweet, woody and powdery, with a hint of soft cherry. Sexy.

Well, this is disappointing. I had my hopes up about this as I loved the discontinued Cartier Delices. Despite the resemblance, Delice stayed on for hours. I cannot say the same about Imperial Ruby. Lasting power is so weak. I need to reapply every two hours or so! Won't stay even on clothes. I never needed a perfume to stay more, that's the first time it happened to me. So disappointed.

I had high expectation from this fragrance while looking for a perfect juicy cherry. The good thing: it is not sweet cherry, no sickening almonds or tonka beans. However it has a aquatic violet note, which I hate. Seems it is very hard to make a fresh juicy cherry scent in perfumery and every non sweet fruit fragrance is packed in the red bottle and marketed as a cherry fragrance.

Imperial Ruby is a lightweight makeup bag powdery scent which lies somewhere in the Prada Candy, MM Lipstick On realm. That powdery rose, iris type scent which is easy to wear and comforting. Good for lounging and bedtime.