Bazar

First, let me confess, ever since CL's Eau Florale hit me like a lilac Bush to the face almost 15 years ago, i've been a sucker for anything I can find on the cheap that is from this House. I regularly stop in to Ross and TJ Maxx to see what treasure I might be able to pick up for under $20 to increase my already ridiculous perfume collection. I was just about to turn and leave the store when I saw this strange little cylindrical container and one of their plastic security boxes on the third shelf down in the back. It took me a couple of seconds to be able to decipher the faint embossing on the container before I realized what I had in my hands and immediately got on the Fragrantica website to make sure I wasn't picking up the one lemon out of the entire collection. Skimming through the reviews, and seeing that most of them held positive promise, I immediately got in the line to check out with my little find. Once I got home, I immediately put one sprits on my neck/chest area and sat back and waited. The sweet, citrusy, floral notes immediately brought to mind to fragrances from last century: Clinique's original Happy ( which I can no longer wear because the new formulation gives me a splitting headache within three minutes) and Shiseido's "We're" which was given to me as a birthday gift while I was living in Japan and have been unable to find reviews of it on this website. 20 minutes after my first spray, all I can say is this is a definitely a spirit lifting thrill of a find and I can't wait until my husband comes home from his road trip to give me his take on it. Again, if Christian LaCroix made a perfume that smelled like a spruce tree car deodorizer, I would probably buy it. Luckily, this is one of my more precious and unique additions to my perfume collection.

The first notes literally made my head recoil - an absolutely HUGE hit of spicy citrus - to me at least much more the bitterest Lemons rather than Oranges. Then, it becomes the lemon slice floating in your G&T - losing it's edginess but not its character. The Lemon stays for an hour or two on me - gradually allowing something like the wet tangle of nettle leaves to come to the fore. No sting to these nettles though - just the warming comfort of a day in nature - a joy in the smells of the natural world sitting on your arm. Lasts 4 to 6 hours on me, never really projects but is lovely to snuggle up to - even if only with yourself :-) In it's own little aroma space this feels like a little masterpiece - grab some if you see it. BTW I am a man in my 60's and I would say this is strongly Unisex - throw off your preconceptions - anyone can wear this. I wouldn't really call it a 'freshy' however, this feels like an unusual, but blended perfume balance and, ultimately, a beautiful creation. I LOVE this scent. Another great perfume lost to the mists of time were it not for its many supporters on places like Fragrantica. I haven't really smelled anything quite like this - I'm sure it's not entirely unique but it certainly proudly struts its stuff as far from usual.

Bazar is getting harder to find, prompting me to buy my first bottle blind. I’ve always been curious as this perfume is often compared to a longtime favorite, the original In Love Again by Jean-Claude Elena. So how do they compare? The most obvious difference is that Bazar has a dominant pepper note in the opening, while ILA has the tomato leaf note. They are both fruity florals with similar structures, but the notes—and how they are combined—separate them. I like them both equally; one does not replace the other. Neither smells dated to me. I consider Bazar more niche as it feels like it’s sitting just outside mainstream perfumery. A little bit of a weirdo, reflected in the bottle design, name and mix of two maestros: Elena and Duchaufour, and a third Emilie Copperman. Maybe three chefs stirring the creative pot resulted in the “Bazar” effect. Anyhow it works, and Bazar is fun to wear, performance is decent, silage stays close. The obvious crowd pleaser is In Love Again, a more acceptable, easy to love perfume. This one will always take me back to my late 90s broken heart, when I was not “In Love” but wanted to be.

☀️🍑🌼🍹 Oooohhhh I like this a lot! I had to comment immediately, but will try to come back and update soon with more wear testing... it is a bomb of juicy nectarine for me from the first spray, powerful and beautiful from the get go, but not at all linear or boring! very slight edge of spice amongst sparkling, dewy florals with green notes poking through and although I get the gin and tonic comment someone below mentioned, I would say a much more exciting, slightly tropical cocktail! I was wondering if it would be too powdery for me and too ‘powdery floral’ but it’s not at all, it’s blended beautifully and it’s fresh, sexy (in a casual way), and happy! It is giving me Friday cocktails in the sunshine vibes - even though it’s a freezing and grey Friday in feb here! It was a blind buy and a random choice from me, something intrigued me about it, and it’s a fairly rare find I’ve not heard of before, but I’m glad I decided to take the risk. Also I don’t believe anyone could find this overpowering or offensive, so it’s a winner for me - hoping it lasts and will update ☀️🍑🌼🍹

Its pretty obvious that I love the fragrances BD creates. I would not have blind bought if it wasnt a BD creation. This is very nice and on the opening I can immediately see the YSL ILA similarity but this is a much more woody and less sweet. Fresh, fruity floral with some kick from the peppery notes. Lovely for warm days. Most definitely fresh with a touch of fruit and flowers. For a minute or two I thought there was a bit of tomato leaf but its not listed. It must be an illusion created by the cassia. There is the perfect amount of pepper and nasturtium to give the right amount of kick to balance the sweetness of the fruit notes. This is an excellent quality cheapy and its so sad that it is discontinued. Good sillage and longevity.