Simply Belle

I LOVE THIS SCENT. *ducking the rotten tomatoes* All the hate on here for this fragrance has taught me one thing above all others: with fragrance, you absolutely CANNOT know whether or not you will like something unless you smell it yourself. You can make all the educated guesses and well-planned blind buys you like, and if you're lucky, at least half the time you'll be right, or at least pleasantly surprised. But if I were going by reviews posted on here, I wouldn't even CONSIDER blind buying Simply Belle. And that would be a shame, because on me, it turns into a beautiful, light, sparkling scent with staying power. Of all the notes listed, the only ones I'm getting clearly are musk and lily-of-the-valley, with an occasional whiff of jasmine or heliotrope. I don't claim to know what perfume would represent the Mid-Century Modern era, other than the ones that were so popular then -- Arpege, Chanel No. 5, Shalimar -- all good scents, but not what the midcentury modern woman applied right after a morning shower or spritzed on to run daytime errands. Somewhere in my childhood memories linger the Jergens colognes. They were inexpensive, sold in drug stores and dime stores, under fanciful names -- Pink Frosting, Marimba, Morning Glory. They were aimed at young teen girls, young women, and modern homemakers. They were safe to give in office or church Christmas exchanges, as teachers' gifts, or to nieces, grandmas, moms, aunts. They weren't perfumes in the sense that Arpege is a perfume, weren't as pronounced as Avon fragrances, made no pretense to being exotic or expensive or exclusive. They were literally cheap cologne, but they didn't *smell* cheap. They smelled clean, light, sparkling, and comforting. They evoked crisply ironed cotton dresses, ice cream socials, first dates, afternoon teas. You didn't expect them to last long or announce that you had entered the room -- the whole idea of these scents was to be pleasant, unobtrusive, and refreshing. In a word, charming. That's what I get from Simply Belle. I can spritz it on after my shower and feel like Loretta Young or Donna Reed, greeting the day smelling lovely and feeling refreshed. I don't need it to be a powerhouse from Chanel or Guerlain, and I don't need it to project a come-hither vibe like a Mugler or a niche-chouli. I have all those for that. I do wish it had a more fitting, funkier, MCM-flavored bottle -- something like the one for Britney Spears' VIP Private Show with its glitter Lucite top, or an aqua frosted teardrop bottle with tiny glittering gold atomic starbursts. And I also wish they'd quit giving away those damned free samples at F-net, just because it cheapens the appeal. But I do love Simply Belle, and if you have it in quantity and hate it, let me know and perhaps we can work something out.

Well, darn... I went and got that full sized bottle... and I LOVE it! There. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm going to be in that tiny minority here and say I like this fragrance very much. It's indeed a very clean (not sanitizer, more like Philosophy soaps) scent with predominantly violet-heliotrope-musk notes. I didn't get much of the other notes as listed, but then again, my "nose" is definitely that of an amateur frag lover. The scent lasts an incredibly short time, maybe 20 minutes tops, then you have to shove your nose into your wrist/elbow to find it barely detectable but, whatever is still detectable, is not bad at all... unless you dislike violet. Perhaps, if I come across another vial, I will apply it to a scarf or something, not skin, and maybe it will last longer. Anyhoo, I found this fragrance to be cute but in a good way, thankfully not resembling any of those syrupy sweet, sugar overload heavy vanilla concoctions of today that make me gag. Honestly, if Simply Belle was not so grossly overpriced for a skin scent, I would buy a full sized bottle.

This truly is simply belle! As someone who has tried easily over a thousand perfumes, I would still choose this for an everyday perfume, especially in the heat. I would receive the tiny samples in my fragrancenet orders and never really tried it on skin. One of my friends ended up buying a full bottle, and I tried hers, and instantly fell in love! If it weren't for her, I would never have really tried it! It is so clean and fresh, and makes you feel like you just hopped out of the shower, and is especially great on a hot day. If I'm feeling like I need to freshen up midday, this is the PERFECT scent for that. Instantly makes you feel clean, without a heavy burst of citrus, which a lot of freshies have. This is is going to be staple in my collection, because it's a beautiful clean musk, without being powdery as some white musks can do. Perfect balance of musky, clean, and slightly aquatic which provides that shower-clean feeling. If you ever get a sample in your fragrancenet order, I highly recommend actually trying this one!

I am also not understanding the hate. It's definitely a daytime perfume. For me, it's a Godsend because I work somewhere people get so offended if you wear any kind of perfume that they can smell. This is such a light fresh whitewater Floral that I can't imagine anybody thinking I'm wearing perfume almost. But I do suspect that I will get compliments for smelling nice. I will come and re-review this if I don't get compliments. One person said that it reminds them of mom perfume and maybe that's why I like it. It's just a very clean light scent but has some stay power, and I honestly would like to smell this scent if I gave someone a hug. I definitely wouldn't choose it for date night, but it is literally the ideal office scent if you don't want to offend anybody or scream that you're wearing perfume. I'm absolutely in love with this as my new daytime scent. And it certainly is worth it since I got it for under 30 dollars.

I bought it after getting a free sample. It's amazing how our chemistry works. Sniffing from the bottle gives you a fresh soapy smell. But when you put it on, this is where all magic happens. Sometimes I smell almond, other times strawberry. I put a lot over my clothes and hair. Throughout the day I feel fresh and enjoy the surprising notes. It's easy to mix with other perfumes too, make them all play together and explore :)