Open Heart

So I blind bought the rollerball and received today because I really admire Jane, have had the pleasure of speaking to her, and want to support her ventures. I am happy to report it's not cloying or headache-inducing, although my very first impression was that it is very reminiscent of your typical department store costmetics fragraces. I can't quite put my finger on it but it smells like an Estee Lauder or Lancome frangrance, just not as loud. It's a pleasant floral, although I can't really pick out any of the notes except the pink peony, but that's only if I'm thinking about it and trying to detect things. To an untrained nose, it would just smell like generic florals. I really can't smell the pear at all. After about 30 minutes, I got kind of a crisp, green smell, but it's one of those things you detect on one sniff and not the next. Sillage is a little below average, after about 4-5 hours, I could faintly smell it, but would catch it in whiffs and it was nice. But for the price, I suppose that's pretty good. Then again, I'm not the best critic of sillage because if I love a fragrance enough, it's longevity doesn't play a huge role. I'll just savor the base notes while I can and reapply if I want. On the dry down, you get the slightest hint of musk, or the "cashmere wood", but it's not very noticeable, and I had hoped for a lot more notes to make themselves known out of the base. I'm not going to return it even though I can. However I usually don't go for something as solely-floral as this is; I prefer woody, earthy fragrances with white florals. Overall, I am pretty underwhelmed, I was hoping it would be a unique floral, but because it smells so much like a generic Lancome/Lauder fragrance crossover, it's a bit disappointing. Overall, I do like that it's not cloying, it wears pretty close to the skin and my fiance said it smelled nice, "pretty good, classy and comforting" (we're both 26) and he's a tough critic of everything, and he would say if it was disagreeable. Because it's sort of comforting and reminds me of Jane and being a little girl watching Dr. Quinn, even still today, this seems best for me to apply after a nice bath as I go to bed or when I'm relaxing around the house.

I really enjoy this perfume. I think it smells a lot like La Vie Est Belle... But this is lighter and sweeter. More Floral, much less patchouli or other base notes. Both have a Pear note opening, hence me thinking they smell similar. The dry down the two separate... Open Heart gets more floral, La Vie Est Belle gets more musky. Both are winners, They are both well-rounded with nice top, mid and low notes. La Vie has deeper base notes. But Open Heart is still sophisticated and mature, the suede note compliments the floral notes. This smells more spring/summery than La Vie. One could almost wear the 2 together!

Not my favorite...a little too strong for my taste and smells to my nose like the lovechild of Estée Lauder's Beautiful and Fred Hayman's 273 Rodeo Drive...very floral 80's vibe. It does soften up on the drydown, but still unpleasant. Sadly, I will be returning both this and the man's version, which reminds me of Polo. I love Jane Seymour and hope she will create something a little more subtle in the future.