Always Red

The opening of this fragrance is very fruity with the dark, luscious plum, sweet juicy orange and the bright, tart passionfruit. I enjoy that the fruits balance one another giving the fragrance both lightness and depth. Without the other fruits the plum could become cloying and weighed down, while the plum gives the lighter, tart fruits some needed depth. The rose is present very early and all the way into the drydown. Its is a rich red rose that combines with the fruits, becoming jammy and delicious. The combo almost smells like a rich red wine, especially with the addition of the woods. I don't notice the other florals at all. Also the base notes stay pretty far in the background. The praline contributes a bit of sticky sweetness. This is a sexy grown woman fragrance. It's not dated or old-fashioned but it has a level of maturity that may turn off the highschool and college crowd. It has a playful sultriness that makes it a great night out fragrance. I have worn this fragrance most of the year. It performs great in both cold and warm weather. I have never tried it on a really hot summer day though. I always worry it will become overly sweet and overwhelming in the hot humid summers where I live. The performance is excellent. It easily lasts all day (10+hours) and has moderate to strong projection for more than half of the wear. Even once it settles it still projects within arms length. When I have applied it for the evening, it is still present on my skin the next morning and in my hair and clothes until they are washed. The first time I smelled Always Red I noticed the similarity to Armani Si. The note breakdown is very different between the two, but they still seem to smell very similar...especially in the drydown. Always Red is much brighter and syrupy in the opening and mid, while Si has a woody note that is present throughout that I never notice in Always Red. It is even a little more similar to the Si Intenses and le Parfum which are all fruitier, though darker and richer than the original. The packing is fine. The red ombre is pretty and the bottle feels nice and sturdy with an unremarkable atomiser. The cap is garbage though. It fits very wonky/wobbly and loosely. This isn't a bottle that is safe to pick up by the cap. I also wouldn't travel with it because the cap will definitely come off in your bag. It seems it is getting harder to find so the great prices it has been available may be harder to come by. Overall, Always Red is a beautiful fragrance that is great value. I would repurchase if I should finish my current bottle.

This was a blind buy and I didn't like it at first, but it is growing on me. Let me give you an advice: do NOT blind buy this one! The way this perfume expressed itself seems very reliant on skin chemistry. On me, this is a boozy, woody praline perfume. Not too sweet, rather strong and assertive. Definitely giving Mugler vibes, but in an easier-to-handle way (this is no Angel), BUT -having said that- this perfume is definitely not for the faint-hearted! Thus is for people who enjoy loud perfumes, who want the world to know what they are wearing. You will get noticed with this one. Upon initial spray, I can smell the blood orange, with a strong undercurrent of sweetened woods and just a whisper of praline. At this stage, the scent reminds me of CK Euphoria. After about an hour comes the plum-jam phase: strong plummy and woody aromas mingle, giving a Marc Jacobs Decadence vibe. As the scent dries down, the praline becomes stronger and the woody notes retreat, so the fragrance mellows out, becomes more conventionally feminine. I don't get much floral in this, maybe just a hint of jasmine in the dry-down. To be honest, I enjoy the dry-down the most, because I am no Euphoria fan. Also, for those who want to blind buy this because of its alleged resemblance to Si: let me warm you, I hate Si and thank goodness this smells nothing like Si to my nose. Si smells like cassis and roses and vanilla. Always Red is strong woods, plum and praline - I fail to see the resemblance other than maybe a slight similarity in the late dry-down phase (praline+jasmin can read like spiced vanilla). To me this scent resembles Euphoria the most, but in my opinion it is nicer because the plum and praline rounds out the woody scent, so it is less 'brash', more lush and womanly. This is no scent for teenage girls, this is a scent for a self-assured grown-ass woman (pardon my French). It definitely smells more expensive than it is. It has great silage and longevity, and it is definitely not linear - this perfume has many-many layers and facets and it shows something different in every hour as time goes by. It definitely kept me interested and that's an accomplishment in itself because I am usually quite fickle and have a short attention span when it comes to frags. Not with this one! Proceed with caution. You'll either love it or hate it; there is no middle way.

Enchanting... I'm wearing this to bed on a warm summer night and this smells enchanting. The blast of the juiciest plum and blood orange combo you could think of in the opening followed by rose and praline- it all comes together so wonderfully to form a sweet (but not cloying), alluring, feminine and interesting fragrance. I couldn't detect any white florals, perhaps in cooler weather they won't be overpowered by the plum and blood orange. I'm glad there's no vanilla in the base else it would smell too familiar (Armani's Si). There's nothing extraordinarily special about this fragrance, but for the price, moderate performance, and its versatility, it works. Update: 11 months later and my views have changed. I have given this girl time to come out of her shell and now I can see that there is something special, deliciously feminine and alluring about this fragrance. If you will allow me to suggest the perfect time and scene to wear this. It's that time of the month when you start ovulating- you feel most attractive, like a juicy pear ready for picking. Put on your favourite red lipstick and a feel good outfit (no sweats), play Chris de Burg's Lady in Red on Spotify as background music, dim the room light and apply Always Red to your neck, wrist and elbow pulse points. Unfortunately, it has been discontinued.

I blind bought this because of the comparisons between it and Si intense in the black bottle which I also blind bought at the same time and they arrived one day apart. This definitely reminds me of the original Si. It is very harsh and sharp in the opening and I slightly struggled with the opening the first couple of times I wore it. The opening to Si intense (black bottle smells way different but the dry down is like 90% similar) For the price, I only paid 14 dollars (amazing deal) this is a steal and way worth the money. I did see that in the US you can purchase it for anywhere from $20-35. I don't stuggle with the opening anymore and quiet enjoy it now, i should mention that i also struggle with the weird opening of the original si as well. This is a very complex fragrance to me. It has so many stages even the deep dry down is different than the dry down, and yes it does last days and days on clothing and hair not just on me but my family and friends who went out and bought themselves a bottle. If this was packaged as a flanker of Si and was sold for over $100 it would be flying off the shelves like crazy. Get yourself a bottle and thank me later. Fruity bomb with some vanilla with great performance!

Right from the start, this perfume smells RED. It doesn't smell like bright cherry red either, it smells like a dark and syrupy blood red. On my skin, this perfume is a dark fruit syrup with a prominent plum note that's a bit sharp due to the blood orange at the top. Once it dries down, the sharpness of the blood orange starts to fade and you begin to get the smoothness of sweet wood faintly tinged with vanilla and praline. For me, the vibe this perfume gives is that of a Roman courtesan draped in blood red silks who smiles as she twirls a flute of poisoned wine in her delicate hands. It's like a treacherous princess in a crimson gown plotting her revenge as she stands watching the moon from a deserted castle garden. This isn't to say the perfume smells old or antiquated -- it smells quite modern in fact and would definitely fit the vibe of a dark haired woman in a black dress, red lipstick, and Louboutin heels. Really an underrated gem. Longevity: Around 5-6 hours Sillage: Definitely noticeable, but doesn't choke people around you Weather: It's a go to for cold weather, but special occasions or clubbing on warm nights also calls for this.