Bigarade Jasmin

Oh - how I love this for the first hour - then it just goes away leaving the lightest of jasmine traces. Such a lovely citrusy bitter orange and floral opening - but it just doesn't last. :( Love the scent - but wish it was a bit more assertive and longer lasting.

Frustrating misfire! Imagine the scene: It's a school dance invigilated by very stern nuns. On one side of the room are the boys - the bitter-orange side of this scent - zesty and sharp and full of vigour, raring to go, bright with energy and enthusiasm. (Obviously bitter oranges smell far better than the average male teenager but you get my point.) Right at the far end of the vast school gymnasium are the girls, beautifully decked out in floral 50s-style dresses and smelling to the heavens of light, authentic, unsickly jasmine - the clean & clear kind, not the sort which evokes musky naughty night escapades. But the two sides are kept apart, and aren't really allowed to meet and mix. For about half an hour there's a frustrating pas de deux back and forth as your nose perceives jasmine - then orange - then jasmine - then orange - both ravishingly done, but somehow they just never merge in the same space to form an overall smellscape, a total picture. It doesn't mesh somehow. Like a squad of nuns in the middle of the room, keeping anyone from getting too close (or even any kind of close) to their opposite numbers, there's some sort of force keeping it all spaced out too far. It's relentlessly a game of two sides. Slowly, slowly, the two begin to creep imperceptibly towards each other, and the scent takes shape as a whole. And it's lovely: dewy and light, but with real smack and sourness on the citrus side, and an unusually subtle version of jasmine. As the mingling starts to happen, things get really beautiful, quite fast; the music (or the scent) is not loud, but intensely harmonious, and everything begins to dance together with innocent grace. For a little while. And just then, after about 10 to 15 minutes of the real fun, under an hour from first application of Jasmin Bigarade ... the nuns brusquely pull the plug on the sound system, flip the lights off and it's all over. The scent is gone. Not just paler, or fainter, but GONE. aaaargh! Fragonard are a bit of a pet house of mine for being underrated and well-priced and unpretentious - and as you can tell, I have no complaints at all with how this one smells. It's just beautiful - why can't they simply make it last? But be warned and try before you buy - if it has better longevity on you, it would not be a penny wasted.

I typically hate jasmine perfumes, but to me this is one done right. Being the single floral note, here natural, mellow jasmine can shine. A refreshing break from the jasmine+lily of the valley, jasmine+gardenia, jasmine+equally-strong-flower trend of the last decade. Opens up very citrusy, lingers on a lovey grapefruit smell with just little hints of creamy, light jasmine. maybe the addition of oakmoss is what makes it seem a little earthier, rather than synthetic floral that jasmine always seems to come off on my skin. Overall: fresh, clean, and lovely.

The opening is a pure grapefruit, so deliciously juicy, probably the best grapefruit scent I have ever tried. It is so vibrant. 10-15 minutes after the spraying, the jasmine note starts to develop more and it gives a light sweetness and coziness to the grapefruit. The perfume is so pretty and refreshing, ideal for a sunny summer day. Unfortunately it doesn’t stay on my skin for long - after an hour it’s practically gone.

Not my fave, but I like it. Unusual smell. It's quite strong, too.