Cynthia Rowley

So there I was, face to face with another perfume being auctioned on eBay. Cynthia Rowley sounded more like a mother in law than a perfume, and apparently out of date as to her accolades, I was justifiably hesitant to place a bid. During periods of doubt, I come back here for a jumping point, and when I saw Lemon Verbena in the ingredients, I thought for sure this was going to be another Salvador Dali experience. Lemon Verbena has always been a bit of a misfit toy in my world, so often infusing candles and lotions meant to repel living creatures, my olfactory associations don't vary much from that of the insect world. Still, bargain bin prices and a reputable satisfaction score on this site inflated my courage, and away I went with another purchase. An opening of intense bergamot and lemony herbaceous notes sang through my sinuses with wire-like conductivity. I mean this in the most flattering way of course, for I felt instantly and absolutely invigorated! Not to be outdone, the brightest of freesia and honeysuckle, sparkled amongst white chords of neroli, and powdery clouds of heliotrope. Finally surrendering into the velvety sweetness of current kissed musk. Cyclamen presents itself only to encourage lingering whispers of lily of the valley and translucent honeysuckle nectar a lingering song, while a soapy cleanness clings to the skin in a ready position to wash away all the day's impurities of attitude and spirit. The journey is an optimistic phantasm. With agreeable top notes, and delightful depth, it is hard to imagine there would be any aversions to its scent. Although discreet, gentle reminders of synthetic ingredients present themselves around periodic bends, but aren't so aggressive as to pose a threat to the composure entire. It just goes to show greatness can exist anywhere, and in these moments of brave discovery, we command greatness too.

I'm ashamed to admit I've owned this lovely fragrance for years and have NEVER worn it. I bought it unsniffed, based on the notes alone, and then just never got around to spritzing....shame on me!! The notes that drew me in and inspired me to purchase were the bergamot (love love love bergamot), and the lily of the valley (I obviously love this note)....and I spent a lot of time sniffing the bottle and putting it back, unspritzed, because I felt it might give me a headache. I liked it, but....well, you know how it is. So today I went for it, and I have to say...the first sprays are citrusy and spicy...just a bit, not enough for headaches...and after about an hour the drydown seems to be mostly lily of the valley and a hint of freesia. Sillage is decent...nothing too strong but definitely noticeable, and it lasted about 11 hours before fading on me completely.... Oh? And the bottle? Adorable! I'm so ashamed that this gem sat in my perfume cupboard for so long untouched. I would definitely repurchase.

First 'fume of the summer and I couldn't be more pleased. It's like capturing late spring/early summer in a bottle before the really hot weather scorches the earth and makes everything unbearable (Love from Chicago, Everyone!). This fragrance is about delicate new sweet blossoms that have just been rained on and the scent is everywhere. For me, it's reminiscent of Coty's Muguet des Bois - by capturing a gentle floral scent but what Muguet does for lily of the valley, Cynthia Rowley does for lemon verbena and honeysuckle. A happy scent that captures the spirit of summer: working in the garden, reading books for fun, taking the dogs for long walks, being with someone you love - the SO, the kids, or BFF. This particular fragrance IS getting harder to find: Grab it while you can and it's still inexpensive. Better yet - it should be in every drugstore and easily available to everyone. Sillage is very good and lasts on me until the next morning! And yes, the bottle is so cute!

I was so disappointed when Bath and Body Works discontinued their Wild Honeysuckle. It was perfect for spring and a great light pretty everyday scent. It worked great for work too. I have been looking for something that was a strong honeysuckle note for a couple of years now and I saw that a several people compared Cynthia Rowley to Wild Honeysuckle. It is very affordable so I took a chance and ordered it off line. I am so glad I did! It was just what I was looking for, clean pretty floral with honeysuckle and freesia. Light,clean,casual, perfect for everyday or work. Cynthia Rowley is also perfect for when you just want a scent of honeysuckle and citrus. This was a blind buy for me but it just what I was looking for spring. I will certainly be buying this one again.

What a lovely scent. I was surprised that I like it so much. It reminds me very much of "L" by Gwen Stefani, which I love...in fact, it smells identical to "L" on me. This is a bonus for me as Cynthia Rowley is about 1/3 of the price of "L". Sillage is nice, not overpowering. It doesn't last as long as "L" but it is so inexpensive you can afford to reapply throughout the day. It's very floral and fresh, not too sweet. I don't get a lot of base notes. It seems mostly freesia from top to bottom, but that's okay with me, as I love freesia and how it reacts with my chemistry. This is a great casual weekend and/or workday addition to my wardrobe.

This little gem is getting harder to find, but you can usually get it for a song when you do find it. Which is amazing to me because Cynthia Rowley is really a lovely and true floral scent that smells like a fresh bouquet you just picked from your garden. If you enjoy realistic floral scents with a minimum of sweetness, Cynthia Rowley will fit the bill. It's a perfect breath of fresh Spring air, and the bottle is gorgeous, too!

This goes into the 'love' pile for me!!! I love the smell of honeysuckle and this one has it is spades! It is backed up by a lovely bouquet of flowers that just makes this another hit from Cynthia! I have 'Petal', and I am convinced she knows her way around a perfume! The lasting power is amazing because 2 sprays went for 12 hours on me!! Not overpowering and a joy to wear. I'm happy about it!

This definitely a sharp green floral concoction and I love it!!! I keep picking up marigold in this although not listed here... I've had my bottle 4 about 5 yrs now and drag it out every spring lol :) if ur looking 4 a sharp floral with a edge give this one a try... The amber makes 4 a nice drydown too!!!

I love this.It is such a nice scent to carry with you on hot summer days.I always seem to get something that others do not, but with that said,I get iced tea with Lemon.Arizona Iced tea with lemon to be exact, and I love it!

So bright and lovely! Floral with some citrus. Youthful, but not immature. Love it! Puts a smile on my face.

I revisited this scent today after years of neglect; it was one that I wore quite a bit when I first purchased it, then tucked into a drawer after I got tired of it and always inwardly groaned when I thought of trying it again; I think I just got burnt out on it! My memory was of a linear, uncomplicated sweet honeysuckle that would make me feel like a teenager again-- not exactly the vibe I'm going for. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I revisited it, and forgot why I had grown tired of it in the first place. Sure, it's not the most complex, interesting, challenging fragrance out there, so maybe wearing it day after day was overkill on my part, but it's perfect for summer. I get lots of bright bergamot, neroli, and lemon in it, alongside the honeysuckle and lily. In fact, when I first sprayed it I thought it smelled like tea before my brain kicked in and started thinking about the individual notes, rather than the overall impression. The honeysuckle in this is prominent, but not as overwhelming as I had remembered it being. I'm not sure if this is a change in my (admittedly old) bottle, or my perception of it, as I feel like a few years ago quite a few scents started smelling different to me, but I get the lily and honeysuckle in equal measure. The florals seem to check one another. On their own, I usually find both lily and honeysuckle difficult, but when joined the honeysuckle keeps the lily from reading too green, and the lily prevents the honeysuckle from becoming cloyingly sweet. I caught a whiff of this a few hours after putting it on (lasting power is decent!), and I was transported back to a tea room/ antique shop I used to visit in my hometown. The impression of tea, marmalade, and scones mixing with old perfume bottles (this is the only antique shop I remember sniffing old bottles in), antique furniture and vintage clothing... I'm afraid this is a very personal scent memory that may not resonate for many reading this, but I hope it helps to give you an impression of what this fragrance is like. I'll happily reach for this on those sweltering hot summer days where I want to smell pretty and refreshed.

I'm a sucker for honeysuckle! This was a successful (and quite cheap) blind buy based on the notes. On first sniff this is crisply lemony and fresh-sweet. I also smell tea. Like a very light chilled iced green tea which keeps this from being cloying. The lemon retreats a bit to reveal sweet honeysuckle. Gentle, airy, and pretty. I can definitely see the similarities to BBW's Wild Honeysuckle here although this is nicer - not so astringent and more complex, with the addition of citrus and gentle green notes. This is a summer mood-lifter for sure. Longevity and sillage aren't superb but I got it for cheap so I don't mind respraying. Actually I think you could douse yourself in this and probably not offend anyone. A very sunny-day-in-a-sundress sort of scent. I like it.

This is lovely-its a light hearted cheerful happy fragrance. There is a touch of sweetness to it but its not sickly sweet, and instead it is sweetly fresh like flowers rather than gourmand sweet. For me, the initial notes were bergamot and a lemony note, but it wasn't a sharp citrus. Then it became a gorgeous honeysuckle and light lily. The sillage is close to the skin, but it lasted about 4 hours worn on a warm but humid day. This is a summer or spring time day fragrance-its young without being girlish, and innocent without being ingenue. This gave me a lovely mood uplift, it made me smile.

"Cynthia Rowley" is for those who are tired of all those sugar bombs of overripe fruit with smack-you-in-the-head sillage. "CR" is a subtle blend of citrus and flowers. A slightly soapy note keeps it fresh and clean. Not sweet or girly, "CR" is down to earth, fun, and energetic. Surprizing longevity for a perfume that is so light and rather delicate. This is not an expensive perfume so buy it for that beautiful bottle if nothing else, it's worthy of display.

This is a really lovely scent however, it's not one of those that I reach for over and over. I has a nice scent on the skin a few hours after it's been applied. I found it years ago at a Bath and Body Works of all places. I should really wear this more often.

Very flowery, with a hint of citrus. Casual; it's an everyday scent...perfect to use it when chilling around the house or to run errands (you still have to smell good, isn't it right?).

I like this! Very, very, tart, fresh, natural lemon and floral. Good clean smell for those who do like citrus. Just got this online so will save this for spring/summer.

My first impression is not favorable. I wanted a honeysuckle perfume in my collection, and had my eye on Le Chevrefeuille by Annick Goutal. I saw this as a much cheaper alternative. Sometimes less expensive doesn't mean lesser quality. But this is a chemical mess. It is a very youthful fragrance, and I suppose I can see the allure to some, but for me, it's a no go. I hesitate to say I dislike it, but it is a very weak like at best. This has a potential future as an air freshener for my closet, but nothing more.

I had this perfume years ago when it first came out and loved it at first, but then I decided to wear it to work for the first time and was told by the men around me that it smelled like bug spray. Unfortunately, even though I myself liked it, I never had the courage to wear it again.

I bought this blind because of the adorable bottle and positive reviews. I'm still on the fence about it though. At first I get a bright honeysuckle, then it mixes with freesia and becomes slightly green. It starts to get muskier and then becomes soapy with a scent that reminds me of salty black licorice. There is something lush and green, bright yet warm about this fragrance but that weird soapy/licorice note is killing it for me. I wear fragrance daily and so the people I encounter will usually comment on it. Everyone else seems to really like this one. I feel like I'm missing out.

Tried this one again today since I have a whole bottle...my opinion hasn't changed. Cheap smelling, fusty/musty apricot hay with heavy dated rose center. Yuck.

Let me just say, WOW! Cynthia Rowley is Lovely, The first thought that comes to mind, is a green house after a good misting. Warm, humid, ozone, filled with the aroma of stemy, leafy flowers dripping with dew, and the natural sweet scent of wet earth. Berganot mingles nicely with the lemon verbena, (which are definately the prominent top notes here) giving the scent an extra pinch of citric tartness. Cynthia Rowley is probably not a scent that all will appretiate, due to its sharp and green earthiness. For me however, this one is pure heaven! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.

I wasn't sure about this perfume when I purchased it.. I bought it online and it was a blind buy. When I got it and sprayed it, I still wasn't sure.. After wearing it once or twice, I really have grown fond of this scent. I got it at a really great price so I didn't expect the sillage to be great but it has longevity!! I would definitely buy this fragrance again and am happy that I tried this without having smelled it first. I give this scent a 7.5 out of 10 and I am a tough customer. Very few fragrances rate a 10 with me.. You won't be sorry if you buy this

I bought this based on the comparisons to Bath & Body Works Wild Honeysuckle. Compared to what I remember of the BBW lotion, this is thinner, watery, and as indicated on the note pyramid, contains many notes other than honeysuckle - I would say to the point where you get a real honeysuckle scent accented by a bouquet of other flowers. If you're looking for the strong, almost cloying BBW scent, this isn't it. If you just want to smell like you're standing near real flowers, you might enjoy this.

I have a half empty bottle I bought from TJ Maxx maybe 12 years ago. The juice is still clear. It’s really held up! Probably because there’s not many fruits or citrus. Those tend to go rancid faster. It’s fresh, clean, floral. Not heavy or cloying. The kind of perfume to start your day. Lasts very well too. Moderate sillage, but it holds onto your skin. The only reason I didn’t use it up is because I had too many others.

This is quite pretty. Like a previous poster, I too get a lovely tea note; more black tea than green for me and with a touch of citrusy floral. Honeysuckle can get quite screechy on me but this is not sweet or cloying at all. Sheer and work-appropriate.

I like Lipglossjunkie purchased and failed to open it. I now have this on a little table near my front door so I can spritz on my way out. This is a great summertime fragrance.

i bought this years ago i gave it away and i should have kept it for i cannot find it online anymore but i bought eva longoria and it reminds me of this.