Sakura

"Sakura" comes into bloom on my skin with the rose-almond note, and a glimpse of an amaretto, preventing the scent being too infantile or cloyingly sweet. I suppose this is what Francois Demachy envisaged as a Japanese cherry blossom. The green note comes later (there you have my nose doing a number on me again) with a LOTV-like facet. I do not complain as LOTV (lily-of-the-valley) is one of my all time favourite flowers and an avatar of the youthful spring. The heart becomes creamy and white floral, with fresh accords, and rose almost invisible, drowned in the tree blossoms' petals. The fragrance is light and indulgent, with skin close projection and beautiful undertones, glistening through the composition. Despite its sweet aroma, it is neither heavy nor suffocating, and the sugary note supplied by the rose is airy and unimposing. Mimosa is very nicely done, very realistic and not confined to its usual powdery-only facet. It is yellow, and fuzzy, and cute, blending and contrasting very well with delicate violet. Musk creates a light and fresh base, holding the florals together, like a white ribbon around the bouquet. "Sakura" should applied in several layers, if one wants a stronger projection and sillage, but even then it will not be overpowering or selfish. It is a most versatile fragrance for any time of the day, year and occasion, and can be tuned up or down at one's whim and pleasure. This is why I always have it in my travel bag - it never disappoints or feels out of place. This is not a fragrance of particular complexity, revolutionary or requiring astuteness to particular notes and styles. It is exceptionally easy, democratic even, transcending all ages and trends, feminine and joyous, and pretty. "Sakura" is not about geishas or femme fatale, but she is about the spring time in Japan or any other country, with blooming flowers and trees, golden sun in azure skies, joy of life and purity of spirit. It makes one's step lighter, eyes shinier and smile happier. It is just that moment in time when everything is perfect.

First impressions: I really enjoy the smell of this one. Sakura is light, fresh, end ever so slightly sweet. Very pink & white floral, I smell cherry blossom and clean jasmine. I also smell a whisper of fruitiness in the opening. There is nothing screechy or indolic about it at any point. As someone who doesn't love powdery notes in fragrances, I was a little nervous about all the powder mentions associated with Sakura. But I really don't get a powder here as an actual smell — not in the traditional sense. Though I could see describing the texture of the fragrance as powdery in some ways due to its softer vibe, I suppose. Interestingly, the scent is extremely familiar to me. It took me a few minutes, but I figured it out. Sakura bears an uncanny resemblance to the discontinued Bath & Body Works fragrance, Night Blooming Jasmine. Sakura is much more nicely done; it lasts longer, the scent is more balanced, and the musk is lovely and smells extremely high quality. The opening is also a touch fruitier than NBJ. But the similarity is very much there. It wears extremely soft and close to the skin, but it lasts. I put it on a couple sprays the night before and still got wafts of it when I woke up in the morning. I truly enjoy the Dior private line, and own a couple of the others. And I enjoy this scent a lot. However, I did struggle with whether or not to buy a full bottle. I had a hard time with the price because of the scent's likeness to Night Blooming Jasmine. But I also couldn't stop thinking about Sakura. I sprayed my sample on again and bought a bottle. EDIT: This also smells nearly identical to Dior Forever and Ever. I now own both this and F&E, and though there are some subtle differences, they are virtually interchangeable. Forever & Ever is much more reasonably priced though, so if you love Sakura but not the price tag, F&E is a great option.

Similiar to Rose Kabuki, especially in the opening (to me), but as with thr namesake, it differs and diverges by having Cherry blossome as its main accord that everything else is a supporter to. Overall it's clean soapy fresh Cherry Blossom scent profile with some rose beneath, and some very subtle powdery freshness, which is supplemented by an equally subtle musk that rounds out ot the fragrance, there isn't much else to it other than that on my skin, it's very much a minimalist fragrance in a way, just like Rose Kabuki in my opinion, which can make it boring to people as a scent profile which is understandable, but I personally like it in this case. In terms of projection, on my skin it lingers somewhere inbetween subtle and medium projecting on my skin, sometimes being quite prominent and other times barely noticeable, definitely a springtime and maybe summer fragrance (not hot days safe I'd imagine), it's definitely a feminine fragrance, but as a man I wouldn't mind wearing it once in a Blue moon around the house if I had a bottle or decant infeont of me. In terms of longevity I get around 6ish hours on my skin. As with a lot of the private line fragrances I've tried, I'm a fan of this as well, it's my first Cherry Blossom fragrance and I think the quality is definitely there, overall a very enjoyable scent profile. Final Verdict is an 8.1/10

I just got this delivered yesterday and it was a blind buy because it was available on a huge discount. I read up on the reviews like crazy and I was praying that I would like it. The first spray was on my 15 year old daughter and I was like what is that unusual yet interesting smell? I sprayed it on myself and I was like this is green, unfamiliar and not normally what intrigues me. I decided to be patient with it and see how it progresses. I kept getting wafts of it for the next two hours and it just kept demanding my attention to be sniffed closer. I have won it for an entire day and it has progressed from being disappointing to interesting to like already. Surprisingly, I can smell it on me for over 6 hours, so the longevity is better than I expected. I honestly can’t tell you what the notes I am smelling are since I don’t know what 🌸 cherry blossoms smell like. The notes are so well blended together that nothing stands out to dominate. I am looking forward to seeing what I can layer it with to make it even more unique but so far, I am not mad about getting Sakura. But I definitely won’t buy it at full price so grab it when it is heavily discounted. I got the 125mls of Sakura and La Colle Noire. For someone who loves heady, powerful scents with Oud and strong notes, it’s a lovely surprise to be captivated by this very soft yet pretty scent.

This is so beautiful yet simple. To me I think of cherry blossoms floating slowly down a clear blue creek with raindrops on the petals. It’s that fresh crisp smell of freshly rained Sakura. Wow I cannot live without this. It also reminds me something in my childhood but I can’t pin point exactly if a doll I had smelt like this? Probably. My SA told me to spray this on my pillow and I will sleep like a baby. I tired it and.... I had the best sleep of my life no doubt. I’ll have to get the biggest bottle next time. Update: My friend who was standing further away from me said “why does it smell like baby powder” and I said “oh it’s my fragrance”! He didn’t believe me until I said to come smell me. He said it’s super feminine and absolutely adores the scent. For sure it has some powdery touches. I showed this fragrance to my other friend and she loves it so much it will be her wedding scent. Sakura out of all of the fresh lighter scents from the private line seems to have the best projection and lasting power. This is my signature scent and cannot live without this effervescent scent. So clean, fresh and sparkling.