Karl Ikonik Pour Femme

This is nothing like Fame. It also doesn't smell like bubblegum. This is a hybrid of Beyond Romance by Ralph Lauren and a hazelnut version of Poison Girl EDT in Ikonik's early stages, with elements from tonka-myrrh heavy scents at the later drydown, like Police Potion Arsenic cuz myrrh smells resinous, earthy and nutty and Ikonik becomes woody, green, musky with the vetiver, hazelnut,musk as in animalic and it's very nutty by the macarons too from the opening. At some point in the later drydown I get a hint of Indi Katy Perry (alot sweeter tho, not as deep and without the fresh tea note). Its core is the girly ambery fruity candy like sweetness of Beyond Romance by RL which I love, and my nose didn't trick me as they share the mandarin, rose, jasmine, musk, vanilla, plus the cashmeran-vanilla of Beyond Romance create a similar sweet ambery/balsamic smooth and woody effect to the macaron and hazelnut here, but this has an intense ambery almond accord from the macaron that Beyond Romance lacks and that's the part that smells like Poison Girl the light EDT. It's easy to tell that it belongs in that nutty oriental almondy Poison Girl league at least in the opening and early drydown, even by the notes: the presence of mandarin and rose with white florals esp jasmine, and a woody ambery base. The hazelnut note here adds a praline-like woody ambery balsamic warmth that we also get from the cashmeran and caramel of Poison Girl EDT where the result is a tad bitter scent but intensely sweet, nutty, woody and balsamic. That's the vibe here at first. The hazelnut, sugared macarons and rose notes here to me act like the heliotrope, caramel and rose in Poison Girl EDT because Ikonik is as balsamic and heady as that. The macarons note is usually a vanilla sugar almond blend (the cookies are made with almond flour) and it explains why I get almond in this especially in the opening but throughout too. It's also powdery with a sugared vanilla scent. So along with the sugared almond essence, the opening is heady rosey and very sweet juicy by the raspberry, slightly pungent the way raspberry can be since it's an intensely sweet note. I also get the mandarin creating that oriental warm scent blending with the rose. It's also waxy especially in the opening by the vetiver (CO2-extracted vetiver often features distinct waxy, balsamic qualities). I get the sandalwood in the opening as well as throughout, a bit like pencil shavings at first, dry - from the geranium influence I think. It's also reminiscent of the sandalwood in Girl of Now EDP (a greener pistachio rose-free oriental scent). This oriental clan uses a woody ambery base so yea that's the feel here too. I really love how woody waxy Ikonik is, kinda like cashmeran but more attractive to me. The rose is more faint at the drydown so the Poison Girl EDT element is toned down. The raspberry candy-like sweetness makes it youthful and feminine with the Beyond Romance flair to it and it's dominant even after 7 hrs even after I wake up. It's also balsamic ambery right off the bat. The macarons as I said create an almond impression and mixed with the hazelnut it becomes more savory, woody, deep and rich. The Mandarin orange/orange or bitter orange with jasmine and rose is the standard oriental recipe along with nutty notes, but Ikonik is much lighter, not as sharp-mature and as oriental. It's smoother more youthful. The macaron - hazelnut makes it thicker, powdery, ambery-warm at first and along with the raspberry, it's also in the same league as Live Irrésistible Délicieuse Givenchy with the french pastries note, the cherry and the powdery orris embracing the almond and rose of that perfume. And again that one is in this oriental almondy balsamic group, altho very stuffy and heavy due to the pastries, cherry and orris with the caramel clashing. Ikonik follows the pattern of Live Irresistible Delicieuse featuring a dessert note in its nutty oriental character, yet it's not as pungent and the notes coexist seamlessly. The tuberose offers an aromatic dewy green nuance paired with the woody musky drydown - it makes it colder later on. The projection is wonderful. The geranium-tuberose, vetiver (it ain't dusty or smoky here) and sandalwood also render it more green, fresh at the later drydown. This aromatic smooth green, deep waxy woody blend mingles with the savory hazelnut and the balsamic sweet notes - the result is addicting. The later drydown with the vetiver is so woody, deep, musky nutty yet sweet that it's like the tonka-myrrh of Poison Arsenic. The vetiver is a note I love when it's not the smoky dusty type, it makes scents deliciously woody, earthy, green and here paired with the hazelnut it's delicious - the reason I blind bought it. So I absolutely love the woody drydown of Ikonik with the Beyond Romance sweetness of the raspberry. Its heady ambery oriental rose/mandarin isn't my favorite element of it but I love the candy-like raspberry sweetness so the RL Beyond Romance/Poison Arsenic vein definitely elevates it. It's like Poison Girl meets Beyond Romance and when Poison Girl fades, Poison Arsenic takes over to play with Beyond. I bought the 100ml for 30 euros plus a 2ml of it free. Super cheap. Also it's not like La vie Est Belle to me which is not nutty, or woody like that or balsamic oriental - rosey, no raspberry sweetness, no fresh woody vetiver. Totally different vibe with the spicy overly warm vein it's got and the doll-like sweet iris and pear, similar to One Direction Between Us and in the heavy league of Flowerbomb which has tea and freesia patch spice, plus vanilla like the Korres Vanilla Freesia. I also smell no tea and there's none here.

It's something across lveb with spice tea, but definitely very nice and modern.

The bottle reminds of the Harajuku Lovers, so it is nothing new, just ugly. Actually I think they are actually targeting a very young audience? I have seen many 10-12 year old girls wearing sneakers and tote bags with the same Karl cartoon figure printed on them. No one older than 12 would walk around with this cartoon on them. Anyway, in respect for the work of the perfumer, I would like to give it try if I find it in a store. I pass by 2 schools quite often and about 2-4 years ago (maybe, I don’t remember exactly), almost all the girls were wearing something with the Karl cartoon.

What in the name of Karl Lagerfeld is this awfulness? A light fragrance in a kitsch bottle? That stuff is supposed to represent the soul of KL? The Classic remains the best bottle design of the entire house (if you don't consider Chloé and Narcisse) A pass for me

I tried this scent in our local store and immediately liked it. Yes, it is simple, but it is warm and cozy, I ended up buying a bottle with 20% discount. The longevity is quite good, definitely good value for money.

As a 40-year-old who would/does wear the Karl cartoon, I disagree about the target audience for this perfume. That said, it looks boring. THAT said, I still want it 🤷

Fame and Phantom bottle design vibes. A far cry from my beloved Chloe by Karl Lagerfeld.

Smells like a berry bubble gum. It is okay.