Close

I can't express enough how much I didn't appreciate this perfume until I was at the end of the bottle. I bought this a few years ago at Marshalls for around $15 (50ml), and was drawn to the beautiful, minimalist iridescent white bottle, that looked like it could be a fragrance about as much as it could be lubricant or contact solution or some fancy serum for your face. I was home alone during quarantine spraying it without abandon until I got near the end and had the epiphany that every single time I wore it, people told me I smelled amazing. Not my perfume, but me. Even people in my life who I knew didn't like perfume (and for whom I wore for its inoffensiveness). And the more I started to think about that, the more I realized how unique and hard to replace this fragrance really is. Putting your nose to the bottle, you get some faint ozonic notes mixed with lemon biscotti, but not at all sweet or men's body spray-like, but the most comforting, subtle in-between -- like you really are at the beach eating a bland and refreshing biscuit. There's some "clean laundry" fragrance there too, but it isn't cheap or jarring. When I spray it on, I do get primarily fabric softener scent at first, but within 15 seconds it dies down to a subtle, zesty lemon, baby powder and almond. The jasmine really helps the scent from feeling like it's a gourmand or green fresh composition, and keeps it squarely as a clean, musky fresh skin scent with a subtle hint of 'baked dessert' warmth. I had the chance to buy this for cheaper when it was still flooding discount stores and that day is long gone. As much as I've been wrestling with the idea of buying an (overpriced!) bottle as my boyfriend seemed to love it so much on me, I really have to learn to let go, try new things, allow my taste to evolve and tie this unique scent to a chapter in my life I know I will look back on thoughtfully. Maybe one day on a busy street by chance, the odd combination will spur me to remember. It was a pleasure to be laundry biscuit lady.

This fragrance sat forgotten for years as I received it around Christmas 2009 at Secret Santa on the job I was then. I remember spraying it, thinking "Fresh, unremarkable, but I'll keep it" and forgetting about it. Well, now it's summer (2014, mind you) and I decided to try it again. Wow! Surprisingly complex compared to what I was expecting. On the opening I get freshness and something similar to sea breeze (reminds me of Navegar without all the wood and spices), plus something deeper which I cannot really describe. Could be the almond, an almond that is more almond peel in its slightly woody smell than sweet almond. As it dries it gets just a hint of flowers, very subtle and not very sweet, and a nice fresh powdery note without losing the sea breeze atmosphere and slight bright wood notes (compared to darker wood notes that orientals often have). I know it has more notes as I can smell something else behind this, but I cannot identify them. To me, it recalls waking up in early summer near the sea, open windows and a slight breeze, the air still neither cool nor warm. I really like it now! ----- Added: Comparison to Noa: In my mind, both this and Noa are "morning, clean, white, breezy" fragrances. Noa is more cool and fresh and airy, almost transparent, where this one is more powdery and sweet and salty, though never going into gourmand territory. I find both comforting and energizing (in a calm way) at the same time, and I wear one or the other quite often in the morning before going to work when I'm not in the mood for citrus, greens or soft florals. (I do love orientals and old-style chypres and even masculine wood scents, but in my mind they are more of a "going out" or "night at home" scents).

I am so obsessed with this perfume that I joined this website just to give it a good review. Weird, right? It's Gap, you can buy it at a mall, and it doesn't have a flashy bottle or an exciting celebrity campaign behind it. Yet since I first discovered Close three years ago, I've never looked for another scent. I think part of Close's appeal to me is its subtlety. I've always been extremely put off by the strong "chemical" scents in high end designer perfumes, and bold florals are nice on other people, but they give me headaches after extended wear. Close fits me like a glove. I spray some on my wrists, shirt, and hair in the morning and it still lingers when I go to bed. I wear it every day, and it feels to me like the way that I should smell naturally, rather than something overpowering and artificial. It's become something that my friends recognize me by since it always stays really well on jackets and scarves and pillows. It's subtle, which almost makes it more intimate. Guys love it too... In fact, I can name three different guys who commented on how good I smelled after romantic entanglements... in all three cases, I was wearing Close. Basically, I'm crazy about this perfume. If they ever discontinue it, I will probably cry. It is sweet and warm without being syrupy, light and fresh with good staying power, and the musk is gentle and soft. It smells like curling up by a fire in a comfy sweater with a gentle ocean breeze coming from the window. And all things equally poetic and artistic. Try it out!

Following years of disuse, this formula has suddenly grown on me. I purchased Close on impulse after smelling it in the air - it was calming and attractive. I brought it home and found it to be nothing more than overpowering salty musk... Tried getting used to it over the weeks, but some peers openly disliked it as well, so I just left it alone. I later realized that, at the store, it positively reminded me of my then long-term boyfriend. Curiously, it smells like white florals on his skin (or like "pretty, pretty flowers", as I originally stated). 4 years later: I now LOVE this. Dries down into a pleasantly feminine, sensual and clean scent. On my skin: Almond (not amaretto), salt, musk, vanilla and a hint of floral. No citrus to my nose. Smells like I hopped right out of the shower and started running... at the beach. I understand how it can seem "dirty" or "gross" to some noses, but I think that's because it smells much like a human being. Reminds me of hot summer days, but it's cozy effect could also be nice during the winter. Purchased the 15ml trio. They smell watered down. An employee pulled it out of nowhere and the package was very dented, so I'm assuming it's from an old batch. The "new", 1.7 onz bottles on display smell optimal.

I found this at Marshall's a few weeks back and have waited on doing a proper review because I hoped the words would come to me that would do this juice justice. When I hopped on Fragrantica to look up the notes I was underwhelmed, but the reviews were good as was the price so I snagged it up, took it to my car and tore into it like a rabid animal (this probably sounds familiar to all you bargain hunting perfume addicts out there lol) Instant love! Soft, lightly sweet,musky white floral. Delicate yet confidant. This reminds me of perfumes I have smelled on other girls/women over the years that conveys "This is a girl who knows what she's about. She may seem demure and sweet, but she is confidant in herself and knows her worth." And anytime I have detected "this kind" of scent I always thought it had to be expensive, or it wouldn't smell like that on me. Or...I'm too much of a mess to pull of sexy,sweet and sure all at the same time. But as it turns out, I can! Unfortunately everyone down the review chain is correct that siliage and longevity is quite poor- which is such a shame because the magic in this bottle lasts about as long as a distant memory but makes you smile just the same.