Apparition

I have to admit to raising an eyebrow in surprise at the previous reviews, as this is my hands-down favourite perfume of the moment. You know, the kind you keep wafting your clothes madly trying to get a deeper sniff of; the kind that has your nose buried somewhere in your cleavage in a double-jointed attempt to keep on smelling throughout the day as the scent mellows with your body's chemistry. In short: the kind of perfume that rewards you with strangers stopping you in the street to ask what you're wearing, and the kind of perfume that has equal numbers of strangers looking at you oddly as you perform the above rituals of "just one more sniff!" At least, that's my story with this perfume, but I suppose what attracts us all to the world of fragrance is that each perfume we use becomes part of us when we wear it. Therefore, my personal favourite might make you wrinkle your nose in disgust, the next person smile with delight and the person after that shrug their shoulders as they can't for the life of them fathom what all the fuss is about... The first spray for me is all about pink pepper and sharp berries, which begins mellowing almost immediately into a riper raspberry tang. Then, perhaps half an hour into the wearing, it transforms yet again into a far deeper, more seductive elixir by far. This is the stage I love best, and which - happily for me! - lasts longest on my skin. I get oodles of cinnamon, nutmeg and maybe even a touch of clove, but the ripe raspberry bursts in slow motion (like one of those slowed-down nature documentaries showing a bud opening) to become a wealth of mouthwatering woodland berries. Somehow, this intoxicating mixture never becomes cloying or sickly or any of the things that have put other people off this perfume. This is one of the best balanced, truly well blended perfumes I have ever tried. It also lasts for an absolute age - literally a few sprays in the morning will last all day, sometimes until I wake up the next morning and shower. If I had to liken Apparition to another perfume (which, despite other people's assertions, is quite a challenged, as I find this a VERY unique fragrance) I would have to place this somewhere between Paco Rabanne's Black XS For Her and L'Artisan Parfumuer's Mure et Musc (both of which I own[ed] and have, at one time or another, adored). By the way, I am 35, so it's certainly not only for teenagers! I would like, at this point in my hyperbolic appreciation of this scent, to say something about the presentation of this perfume. For me, the bottle is entirely wrong. It's clunky, modernist and horribly dated looking, now. I would like to see this re-launched and in a bottle that speaks of the perfume inside - something organic and mysterious in nature, yet that wouldn't look at all out of place in a 1930's movie starlet's boudoir would be a good place to start. The name, again, causes problems. It brings to mind a willow-the-wisp of a scent - something that's all white flowers and faint trails of incense. This is certainly not the reality. Apparition is fatally addictive and will certainly haunt me for many years to come.

I love this perfume... One of the very few perfumes I have repurchased three times! No matter how I try to move on to other fragrances, I feel incomplete until Apparition is in my collection again. When I want a feminine fragrance that kicks ass, and takes numbers this is the one. It's sexy, a bit boozy, exudes warmth, yet is brightly composed. The top notes of raspberry and sweet pepper are an unusual and unforgettable combo. Although this is sweet, it is not syrupy drippy sweet. It satisfies my need for something youthful and whimsical in a classy, mature, unadulterated way. The Vanilla is light and ohhh sooo pure, it swirls around the raspberry liqueur and pepper like a iridescent, sugar spun cloud, gently elevating the beautiful heliotrope and tonka in luscious waves. The rose is ever present but always lurking in the shadows. The patchouli is veil like, it is used in discretion, unlike some of the patch bombs being marketed today. The bottle is heavy, a tad eccentric and the many colored facets catch and fragment the light in such a bright way. Sillage is bold and longevity is better than average. I get many compliments both male and female when wearing this fragrance. I think Apparition is best suited for evenings out and parties. If used very carefully and sparingly it could be worn for work, unless you work in a very close, tight environment with co workers. I love the name, Apparition...it is appropriate, as the fragrance is hauntingly beautiful.

I got the gist of this parfume from the reviews, so I bought it for casual winter wear. Even though Apparition received quite a few negative reviews I still purchased it blindly, because after trying and really enjoing 3 fragrances from Ungaro, I had a lot of confidence in this house. The only perplexing thing about Apparition is that neither its name nor the bottle design make no sense whatsoever. Smelling this perfume you would imagine the bottle to be deep red or maroon, but not a transparent weird-looking avangard rectangle. But the contents actually exceeded my expectations. Apparition smells like dark, thick raspberry liquer of the most expensive and luxurious quality, spiced with pepper and infused with rose. Nothing sticky, sickening or overwhelming, but very rich and enjoyable. I would say it could be even worn for a special occasion on a cold winter night. Sillage is great, lasting power is avearage...around 3-4 hours, but the peppery drydown is still noticeable and lingers beyond 3 hours.

I used to wear this in 2004 when it was first launched, and then I bought another bottle in 2009 for nostalgia since this was my first "grown-up" scent after using Victoria's Secret Pink. I'm revisiting it again for the second time, and I feel like I'm finally able to really pick apart what this perfume is about. First applied, you get this sweet, spicy bite of red pepper with a quiet rose and a splash of what smells like blackcurrant liqueur, but it's really passion flower! I was not able to detect the raspberry on it's own at all, but I think that it helped to tone down the pepper in the beginning. After around an hour, the patchouli, vanilla, and tonka unfold uniformly without silencing the flowers present. I'm mostly thrilled that it's exactly how I remembered it, and now I can truly appreciate it. This is truly my signature scent, after all this time.

I wear fragrances very lightly so I may be missing nuances that a heavier application would reveal. On me, this is a warm and cozy scent, without being overtly vanilla. The raspberry is very gentle and well blended and makes me think 'yum' without making me feel like a sticky sweet fruit dessert. I don't really get a pyramid effect-after a very few minutes the berry predominates and the vanilla/tonka are present; as the raspberry diminishes slightly over time I detect the amber and a bit of powder; the raspberries hang around until the fragrance fades away completely (on me, 4-5 hours). Apparition isn't my usual type, but I like it quite a lot, more than any other fruity fragrance I have tried (except for Feerie which I also like very much even though they don't smell a bit alike to me).

I find this to be a very enjoyable fragrance to wear, it hits many of the points I like in a perfume. Yes, it is rather sweet, but not in a candy-like manner, more like a decadent dessert that you only need a few bites of to feel satisfied. It starts off with a rather pronounced raspberry note, but is soon rounded out nicely with the tonka and amber. Every time I wear it I enjoy it more. I do think it may be a bit much in the heat of summer but in the cold weather it feels like I'm wrapped in an essence of deliciousness. As a side note, I recently purchased Yves Rocher Rose Absolue and find them to be very similar in structure and feel. One always reminds me of the other, yet I don't regret owning both of them!!

Better than expected for a reasonably low price. Fruity in an inoffensive way, in the same way that Guerlain’s French Kiss might be considered fruity (although this is not like FK), rather than the screechy fruit cocktails that abound today. The berry doesn’t hang around long, what does is a sense of juicy florals with a slight caramel note. The Parfum sprays like an unctuous oil, which allows it to cling nicely on the skin. You may not write home about this one, even though it’s quite lovely. It certainly feels gorgeous smoothing on. Nothing cheap or hurriedly put together here, this is composed and elegant.

my impression from this one is a cross btwn tresor top notes or fantasme and blue nivea traditional scent... it ́s fruity and cute, someone refered before to baby wipes and I agree it has something in common, because it is slightly powdery... for me it lacks some heavier drydown, the top notes are cute but the drydown is quite inexpressive on my skin...but I like it, anyways.

i had this 3 years ago my cousin gifted it to me and i was very thankful for that. If i could sum up this scent in two words i would say: spicy raspberry. The patchouli and the pepper team up in this fragrance and give it a nice twist making it an exellent grown up gourmant. In the dry down there's a delicious amber note. A very original scent for a very original woman.

Yum! This is such a dreamy scent! The raspberry with the passion flower and tonka bean, it's so perfect! I'm not getting any patchouli. The sweetness of the vanilla and amber in this fragrance makes it borderline powdery in the dry down but the raspberry stands strong all the way through to the end. Most fruity scents are not my taste but I love this one!

I received this perfume as a gift from my boyfriend because when I tried this in shop I was totally in love with it and hypnotized!!! It is a big huge raspberry, I feel like in a fairy tale when I smell it on me. And I absolutlely love that bottle!!! I feel very happy, optimistic and girly with that scent :) And my boyfriend loves this perfume on me ;-)

Loving this one that I bought after watching a YouTube review. A fruitchouli gourmand beauty that is unique for a designer fragrance and does what the celeb fragrances are trying to do but better. a sweet fruity patchouli gourmand bomb; raspberry, tonka and patchouli rule the fragrance with a little floral component

By far one of the most intriguing fragrances I have ever smelled. Warm and feminine, sweet though not sickening, elegant and sophisticated, a perfect combination of wood and spice, that ultimately does not give out "cheap". A very unusual scent, I strongly recommend you test it twice with a sample before buying it.

One of my all time favorites! I just love smelling this one. It's young (not childish), fresh, sweet and very sexy at the same time. This smell is very personal and unique.

yeah it is sweet and intense definitly for cold weather, i feel that its alittle bit oily on my skin i don't know why? ,the scent is lovely but the bottle is awful

This is sweet and spicy,very feminine,happines. I feel raspberry i spicey rose.I love i love this,longevity and sillage is ok. I recommend,bravo Ungaro.

If you want this and can't find this exact bottle buy appaition in gold it's the exact same perfume just with gold facets on the bottle.

I adore this perfume! It makes me feel good, like expecting something pleasant. Very optimistic fragrance!

This scent is for the sophisticated woman-child. The lady who's a girl at heart. The classy coquette. Raspberry lovers only. A joyful, flirtatious yet very elegant raspberry. If you are looking for a grown-up raspberry, but found Hot Couture edp too mature, dark and dirty, and Tresor Midnight Rose too young, generic and overpriced, then this is a good (inexpensive!) bet. It's light-hearted yet rich. The raspberry-rose-pimento combo is juicy, red, playful and jammy, but you have a clean and classy woodsy-vanillic base anchoring the fruitiness. The ever-so-optimistic passionflower makes it a bright scent rather than a dark one, though this is definitely sophisticated enough for night-time. It was my signature 5 years ago when I turned 25, and I will be revisiting this again soon. I wore it all year round, but best to save it for evening wear in warmer weather. Longevity is decent (6-7 hours), sillage moderate but very noticeable to those who come within a few feet from you. Packaging = awful, tacky...should be in a red or fuchsia colored bottle. Price = amazing, can't be beat for the quality you get, it smells more elegant and expensive than Tresor Midnight Rose eventhough I can get it for half the price.

The more I wear it, the more I like it. It's definitely a gourmand for grown-ups; such a vibrant, optimistic scent, but with an added crisp element of sophistication. You really must like raspberries to appreciate it. Intensely feminine with an attention-grabbing sillage. Its 'bright optimism' reminds me alot of Hypnose (surely the passion flower + vanilla combo), just add a ton of raspberry liquor, a dash of patch and a pinch of spice , and you get Apparition. Not a scent for sensitive noses or haters of sweet scents. It makes me think of swanky cocktail parties or light-hearted soirees, where giggling pretty ladies are in colorful little satin dresses, gents are in their casual suits, and the air is thick with fun, flirtation and laughter. I can get this scent for real cheap in my country, and very few women wear it or even know about it (thanks to the bottle I'm guessing, it tempts no one to try the juice!), so I really love it for that. I just really don't get why the bottle has to be so damn hideous, I would be embarrassed to carry it around, too clunky and awkward looking. Update: The raspberry in this is much better than Tresor Midnight Rose, and even the base notes are much better.