L'Excellente

This opens woody and I would imagine this is how mahogany could smell - like red wood. I know it is from the berries and fruit but I really love it. I would say it is a very feminine wood smell - intense but romantic. After a few minutes the wood note becomes less prominent and I mostly smell sweet berries around me. If I smell my wrist then I can also feel a bit of patchouli but it is well blended with the fruit so it is quite nice. Later it turns into a powdery floral note - mostly orchid to my nose. Sadly the dry-down I don't feel well - maybe a soft amber when sniffing my wrist. Downside is that it does not last long - about 2h at most. At that price point reapplying wouldn't be an issue but I would love it if the wooden note lasted longer as well as the perfume in general. Upside is that my husband like this a lot, he has complemented this every time I have worn it and I cannot say that for most of my fragrances. So I think this would be great for a date night and it also proves that the sillage is also decent!

Although the packaging looks inspired by CK Euphoria, the fragrance reminds me rather of Black XS EDT that I own (I am definitely biased here because I know Black XS very well, and I wouldn’t recognise Euphoria from a blind sniffing). The scent is bittersweet-sour like red currant or cranberry. I can imagine pomegranate here but only after remembering the pyramid of Euphoria. The note of patchouli is prominent to me here. Many La Rive fragrances get sickly sweet on my warm skin except for those with patchouli. And this one dries down to something classy on my skin. I would say that the fragrance is surprisingly good for the price. Yes, it isn’t unique and one may not need it if there is already some “fruitchouli” in the collection.

Quite pleasant - very similar to CK Euphoria, maybe a bit sweeter. Great for its price.

This is a soft and a bit aquatic scent. The opening smells a bit cheap, but later, it gets more pleasant. It’s fresh, not overly sweet and elegant. Has a certain 90’s vibe to it. Not my cup of tea, but it’s nice. Try it if you are looking for a relaxing scent.