Liquid Illusion

Background: I visited a local niche perfume shop which had this stocked. I tried many scents that day but this one kept me thinking about it for three days. I had never smelled anything like it. After googling other people’s collections to make myself feel better about buying such an expensive perfume I went back to the shop and bought it. Scent: Honestly, I think this scent is amazing. Its top notes are of sweet almonds and the subtle sugariness of Maraschino cherries. It has a juicy, almost syrupy characteristic that tingles my nose in a pleasant way. And yet it doesn’t quite hit that point of being too sweet. It is invigorating. Its heart notes are hard to define, perhaps because they are blended so well together; I get subtle florals etc. Nearing the dry down I get a subtle tonka bean note that’s been blended in nicely and something like a white musk; perhaps that is the Cetalox speaking? Of course the scent is not perfect, as very few are. The longevity of this fragrance is very poor for the price I paid (maybe three hours on my skin) and the projection is also poor. It is the type of juice that I essentially need to bath in for it to take full effect. It is also a small bottle (75ml) for such an extreme price. My verdict is that it smells divine and that it was worth the purchase. But perhaps more importantly, it smells interesting. Totally unisex.

This is one of my favorite scent profiles and I can tell you most assuredly - this is not an old lady scent. This is a beautiful, intoxicating variation on the purples & powder (violet/heliotrope/iris) accord and for me opens with something just a touch spicy - not at all what I would be looking for in this perfume profile - but here, it is done beautifully. Projection and sillage are above average for me. I feel far more sophisticated than my current sweatshirt and jeans would suggest. Additional points for the lovely packaging it arrived in (a hinged box with metal plaque affixed) and the gorgeous blue bottle with heavy gold cap. Though I regularly promise myself I have more than enough perfumes in my collection....it seems this line may just be one of those magical exceptions ;) Highly recommend. (PS - I get no cherry note but a greener almond may give that scent for some)

This is one of those perfumes I have a hard time describing. It’s light but a little obnoxious at the same time. It smells fresh and clean but not in the typical or expected way. It’s quite synthetic. It is a little bit bubblegum-y and reminds me of the dryer sheets or whatever laundry product my neighbor uses that wafts a plasticky but pleasant floral scent through the neighborhood when they are drying their clothes. It’s one of my top 5 favorite fragrances and I get a lot of compliments wearing this one. Probably not a safe blind buy since it seems to really offend a lot of people’s noses who pick up different notes than I do. To me it’s very unique but likeable, even my mom who hates perfume complimented me on this. Lasts a long time on skin and clothes for me.

Liquid Illusion is a basic powdery iris (in the best way!) where the almond is adding a powdery nuttiness cloud. This is a raw almond, not a gourmand almond. The sweetness that benzoin and tonka beans are supposed to add is very subtle. That chemical note that some people are referring to I believe is 'iris concrete', since I don't get any chemicals. The sillage and longevity are light to moderate. Unfortunately I don't get those long hours that people are getting, I get about 4hrs.

I love this. I don't have words, but this is my favorite scent out of all. I'm usually use it as a date night fragrance and I've received lots of compliments wearing it as a male. On my skin I got around 3-4 hours of longevity with quite good sillage and projection, after the 4 hours mark, it will become an intimate skin scent for about 6 more hours. I 100% recommend getting this if you're into powdery iris fragrances. To be fair, is a scent profile I could not find anywhere else.

This is a unique one. I definitely get ambroxan here, reminding me of Not a Perfume. Proves that a scent can be comforting without vanilla and gourmand notes. It's like being wrapped in a clean duvet that's been left outside to air in the spring sunshine. Liquid Illusion puts me in a good mood and the scent lingers remarkably long on my skin. Edit: if you like this, but want something more affordable or fruitier/sweeter, get Lipstick Fever

For those lamenting the discontinuation of Maison Martin Margiela Lipstick On, Juliette Has a Gun Liquid Illusion is a near dead-ringer (so much more so than JHAG Lipstick Fever is). Sampling them side-by-side, slight differences are: Lipstick On is a bit more unisex, and has a hint of cinnamon bun; Liquid Illusion is the more lipsticky one of the two.

Opens up lipsticky. But then it develops as a bouquet of purple flowers with just a faint hint of sparkling amber & barely-there sweetness. It is that kind of perfume that has a "safe" character by being light, musky, clean, ozonic, casual, inoffensive, and simply intoxicating. For me, it is the lighter version of Molecule 01 + Iris

Interesting scents, powdery... smells in first spray powdery, modarete. Look like similar Juliette - not a parfume .nice and classy. Love it 10/10 . Great choice

Liquid illusion opens with sweet almond, almost like almond oil, cherry-like heliotrope, and a dusty iris. Tuberose is detectable, and smells a bit like grape soda or bubblegum, but the composition is still powdery and lightly sweet. However... there is something strong and astringent that just suffocates all the magic out of this. I suspect it’s either the amber or musk. Ambroxan? Cetalox? All JHAG scents have a synthetic aspect to them, but this one is verrry strong and does not blend well with the softness of the purple flowers. As someone below me said, it’s nice from afar, but like a shock to the brain when you try to get a closer sniff. This a huge disappointment because it’s an otherwise lovely perfume. I love it so much that I’ve tried to overlook that chemical note, but after the 5th wear I don’t think I can. Maybe it’s better on clothing?

I love the violet and iris opening so much as the iris is so beautiful in this perfume when first sprayed, and I keep looking for an iris perfume as it is such a beautiful note to me. Then sadly after a couple of minutes, it disappears and I am left with some powdery notes and something synthetic and cold, and it's hard for me to understand what is. The iris and violet softness disappear and these are the things I love in this note list. I also very much dislike the rootiness that orris gives and in general I think rooty notes destroy perfumes hahaha, so maybe it's the orris that gives that off sense. I keep reaching for this frag as I love how it opens and how soft, elegant it is but the base notes are too strong on me.

I can’t decide if I like this or not! From a distance, there’s something vaguely reminescent of Missing Person (Phlur), up close I almost get cherry car freshener? Like those cheap little trees you hang from the rearview, or those tubs that get rid of “smoke scent”. I’m a big fan of iris and violet, and those are very present here. I want to love this more but there is something about this that’s just... off. I think it’s the almond. The more I smell it, the more it makes my stomach feel a little weird, but I still don’t hate it.

this was a true surprise... it started with honeyed bitter almond and powdery floral combo... the honey reminds me to Masque Milano's Ray-flection. but the similarity ends there... Liquid illusion morphed into iris-tuberose forward fragrance, still with the bitter almond... then drying down powdery tonka amber. the evolution is quite entertaining. I truly enjoyed it. on skin, it didnt last very long on me. but on my clothes, i got wonderful fragrant whiff from time to time... just how i like it.

The initial spray in this smells so cherry like! I'm sure it's the almond note. It reminds me of Shaghaf oud Tonka/BDK Velvet Tonka. After about 5-10 minutes, I get a light minty or spicy note. Maybe the benzoin? After that, it's basically a light powdery skin scent. I like it. I think it's a safe blind buy if you like cherry or powdery notes.

Nice almondy scent with subtle sweetness and slightly animalic undertones (they are not unpleasant, but quite intense. It has both powdery and sweet aspects and a bit of metallic notes underneath. It’s very interesting, can’t really tell whenever I like it or hate it :) Follow me on IG: scent.guide

The most gorgeous opening - Iris and candied violets and orris on me, (my fav notes) it’s absolute perfection. As it dries I got plastic but full disclosure I absolutely love a plastic note so at this point I’m hyped! Sadly it fades so quickly (20 minutes?) and the only thing I’m left with is ISO

Cetalox is missing in the base notes! You can clearly smell this perfume's family ties with Not a Perfume. Heliotrope, orris root and cetalox are very prominent, get a little help from tonka beans, musk and violet and melt into a clean, powdery, slightly sweet scent that lasts 12h+

I really like it. Find it hard to describe, it is a pleasant, avit shampoo-like scent in a good way. Only a potty that the spillage and longevity are not there.

Nice, powdery. Iris and almond make lipstick scent from this. If you like lipstick perfumes you will like it, but this one is not so synthetic smell. Reccomend

There's something oddly clinical, yet enchanting about this... The least you could say is that it's interesting! I like it!