L'Amour Fou L'Elixir

This really is something special. Zingy ginger with bite - imagine a finely sliced sliver of fresh ginger resting on your tongue and the heat it would radiate - melding with decadent, no, perhaps more wicked in its decadence, rascally, vanilla. Oh my goodness it is enticing! I was enraptured by this beauty all day yesterday, and I still have faint traces of it on my pulse points today. When the lemon blossom peeked through during the heart phase I experienced an overwhelming sense of awe towards the mastery behind it. I felt as if the perfumer was communicating with me and me alone! I replied, "Yes, Veronique, I hear you as you whisper to me, I get it, I understand your talent!" Something like that. The semi-sweetened pear keeps the evolution from leaning towards becoming strictly spicy in nature, as it (the pear) lends a carnal musky feel sitting underneath the insanely addictive dark vanilla theme. I agree lulu169 any man would rock this as he would any perfume he finds appealing irrespective of whom it's marketed towards. (I try not to assign gender to perfumery, but sometimes environmental conditioning can get in the way!). The other outstanding bonus is, this perfume retails for under forty AUD for 100mls. I really can't compare it to any other perfume in my collection and I don't get anything remotely similar to Alien on my skin. Mysterious, playful and superbly crafted.

Please, pardon my French... This shits all over the original EDP of this scent. I thought that the original was OK. I wore it twice in the house. But it was all fuzz with no focus, while this version, on the other hand (not literally. I sold my 100ml of the original a while ago on eBay) is that same fuzz as a backdrop for a far better scent. The ginger - on paper - sounded great, but the reviews made me apprehensive because I worried that this might just be the same scent in a different bottle. When I saw a deal that was too good to miss I took the bait, finally, and it has more than paid off. This is woodier. A Hell of a lot woodier. The pear and ginger make for a really luscious combination with that wood, sitting on a more vanillic fluffy cloud of the original scent. For me the original fell flat, felt dull & boring. Nothing but sweet & soapy nectarine fuzz. Unfinished. With the tart and tangy ginger and pear taking the forefront here amid the additional woods that round it all off, a scent that was all fuzz and no focus has become delightfully demure, a touch more brazen and brash. The floral note is also prominent in a slightly heady way, but it doesn't really smell like jasmine to my nose, not really. Maybe it's because the ginger and pear are taking the lead. I'm just not sure I'd have specifically ever said that this flower note was jasmine. So, there you have it. The regular edp is in my dislikes. This one's a love. I kept the other for years on the off chance that I might wear it but I never did. This one will be used up and repurchased in no time. If the original feels lacking but pleasant, buy this. This is the finished piece (and it lasts for up to four hours with a noticeable, but gentle protection).

@cinsot and @soofiya - Thank you both for your reviews of this. Based on them, the listed notes and the "people who like this also like..." recommendations, I blind bought a 50ml bottle from a reputable seller on eBay UK for just under £12 GBP (inc P&P). The bottle itself is quite weighty and doesn't look or feel at all cheap, although the outer black box does. I don't really care about the packaging a perfume comes in, to be honest (just thought I'd mention it, for the sake of interest) as the boxes go straight in the bin and the bottles are stored in a dark cupboard to preserve their content. It's warm and humid here in SE England; I've sprayed a little on my left wrist - didn't want to scrub my entire body if it wasn't for me! What a pleasant surprise this is - and proof, if it were needed, that there is no need to spend a huge amount to own a lovely perfume. I am not sure it'll last that long on me - but at this price, I'll happily respray it several times a day. It opens with a fresh but warm fruity zing, which I assume to be the ginger and pear working together; this then morphs into a delightful warm and slightly spicy floral. Just lovely and a safe blind buy, if the notes are ones which appeal to you. Edit: Longevity about 4 hours, although it is a skin scent by then. Sillage heavy on first application but reduces to arm's length after an hour or so; definitely office friendly.

Soozatska gifted me a full bottle of this beautiful juice, which I've been wanting to try for some time. Given her misfortune with the scent I was apprehensive about trying it but couldn't resist spraying it liberally upon receiving it. At first spray I was greeted with a well mixed blend of spicy, fresh ginger swirled with a fizzy accord: quite refreshing for summer but not what was expected. This top note stage lasted for 45 minutes or so when jasmine bloomed full force. Sweet, potent, picked from the garden jasmine with a lemony hint in the backdrop mingled well with the last remains of the gingery notes. The jasmine stayed on my skin for 3 hours or more. Assuming this was it I chalked the scent up as a fresh, summery floral. It isn't at all what I would call fruity, as I detected no pear. Then the dry down emerged; soft, powdery vanilla and cashmere embraced me like a sheer veil for hours. Cuddly, delicate, creamy, but not sugary sweet. The scent as a whole is ultimately a white floral, rather than a vanilla based scent to my nose. This is not the sweet gourmand I had expected but I do like it more everytime I wear it. I will be wearing the heck out of this when warm weather comes my way!

Update: I have worn this a few times recently now that the weather has warmed a bit. This is the most deliciously refreshing fizzy granita and jasmine scent with a bright hint of fresh lemon blossom! Its a wonderful mood lifter! I had been contemplating swapping it but ultimately decided against it. This is a definate keeper for spring and summer: an absolutely beautiful juice in a lovely bottle! I can't wait to wear it in the heat of July.