Bella Flower

denotes coming of age to me because i first got this at eighteen years old and have continued to use it throughout my uni days. i get that it's more of a date night frag because of its lushness, but personally this is my indisputable go-to. it's a crazy sweet and intense vanilla, and it's kind of in your face about it, but it manages to not be cloying all the while. it's sexy as a whole, but the freshness of the floral notes keeps it from being too warm. one spritz of this in your hair or at your pulse points, and you'll still smell it lingering the next day. it’s the intimate, close-to-skin type so projection is not 10/10 here. this plays with the idea of a thick-bodied, intense gourmand but safely does so.

Curiosity made me blind-buy it! A discount site offered a great price - that plus the coffee note highlighted above, and no reviews on Fragrantica... well I just had to check it out. Today's my first wear and I'm on the fence. It does have a coffee note up front but it is not the dominant coffee that I was hoping for. This comes across very sweet. I think it's right at my max-sweetness limit. (For comparison with something well-known, I really like and enjoy Elie Saab Girl of Now, but that one sits firmly at my sweetness limit and is not an every-day fragrance for me.) Bella Flower is lighter and brighter than I really expected. The main accords (coffee and warm spicy) as listed above don't capture it for me. I'm still figuring this one out and will update... but for now, it's pleasant and interesting. I don't dislike it, it's just not what I expected. The bottle is heavy and nice. But if it stays in my collection, I might not keep the big bow :) EDIT / Later in the day.... Yes I think this one is just a bit youthful and overly sweet for me - I don't think I'm the target market for it (I'm a Gen X). I'm glad I tried it though...