Oxygene

Hmm, I see that 'lactonic' seems to be the word of the moment on this thread! Almost every review recently posted for Oxygene seems to contain that word! Why not just say milky or creamy, or are those words deemed to be too commonplace and boring?! Anyhoo, this is a current review for Oxygene after my one from ages ago which may be lost in the mix now! I discovered Oxygene as an online blind buy a few years ago and it is easily one of my most successful blind buy purchases, and I made many of those and some were horrendous and stinky, despite some very positive reviews for them on here! Thank god Oxygene lived up to expectations and it's now a regular in my perfume collection and one I would hate to be without so I hope it's never discontinued! It's a great everyday, wear anywhere kind of perfume that's highly unlikely to annoy anyone who comes within sniffing range of it. It's clean but with personality and some uniqueness - one of my favourite types of perfume. At first spritz (and I usually only wear 1-2 spritzes of perfume as I like a light touch and don't want to reek of any perfume!) it's a bit peppery and flowery, which may sound weird but it's fine! Then, after half an hour or so on me that's when my favourite bit emerges and it becomes creamy and softer, very shower fresh and clean, lotion'y smelling. That lasts for hours and hours on me with no need to top-up, and the scent lasts even longer on my clothes so I can still smell it easily after 24+ hours. Some people seem to class Oxygene as an aquatic perfume, presumably because of the colour of the scent, but to me it absolutely isn't. It's just nice and creamy and clean smelling. To me, many aquatics come off as being a bit cold and lacking in personality, and Oxygene is the opposite. Also, as others have mentioned, the bottle is very nice. It's un-fussy, almost unisex, and ergonomic (if that can be said for a perfume bottle!), fitting neatly in the hand, and there's no lid to have to flaff around with! The price of Oxygene is also very reasonable for such a good quality perfume and no doubt it could easily cost 2-3 times, or more, the price if it was from a pricier perfume house such as Dior. So, all-in-all I highly recommend Oxygene for anyone seeking a creamy clean smelling, unique, wear anywhere, reasonably priced, nicely bottled perfume. It's a definite 10 out of 10!

As a HUGE fan of Oxygene (which has been one of my best blind buy perfumes so far in the past few years since I started buying perfumes online) I feel the need to clarify something: Oxygene is NOT (and I repeat ... NOT!!) an aquatic perfume. I've read over and over again reviews on here saying that it doesn't smell like an aquatic perfume, that the reviewers "didn't get the aquatic in this perfume", that aquatic scents don't work on them, etc, etc, etc. The only reason I can think of why anybody would assume this is an aquatic perfume is from a) misleading reviews and b) the colour of the scent itself which is a lovely 'tropical seas' shade of blue. Also, someone has compared Oxygene to Bath and Body Works Sea Island Cotton. I can see why that comparison may have sprung to mind BUT Oxygene is SOOO much better than Sea Island Cotton. I had a bottle of SIC (another blind internet buy!) and really didn't like it at all, even though I love clean smelling perfumes. It was very cheap smelling to my nose, very 'shrill' and just smelled of cheap fabric softener / dryer sheets. Oxygene is a perfume with a surprising peppery kick in the beginning, oddly straddling the florals, but that quickly dissipates (in about 5 minutes on me!), becoming a very soft, creamy yet floral, clean, fresh out of the shower, 'cuddly' perfume. On me it smells very much like an expensive, lovely creamy body lotion / triple milled, exquisite smelling soap. Despite being such a soft, clean smelling perfume, on me Oxygene lingers FOREVER (especially if I spritz a little in the small of my back or on my tummy) and outlasts many perfumes that are far more expensive (and overpriced!). I only need one or two spritzes and never need to reapply it because it lasts so long! It garners many compliments and is perfect for me to wear anytime, anywhere. I'd be lost now without my Oxygene and if I had to get rid of all of my numerous perfumes and only keep one this would be the one (well, OK, along with my Pacifica French Lilac perfume!!), even though I like to not stick to using just one perfume all the time. It's pretty much perfect for me and I love it now just as much as I did when I first encountered it several years ago!! It's a real gem. :-)

Hands down the cleanest creamy fragrance I’ve ever sniffed! Creamy but super clean and fresh. This seems very unisex to me as there’s nothing that veers in either direction, it’s fresh out of the shower clean skin smell. Mind you it’s also strong and I can really smell it in the room. Can’t wait to wear this and will come back with a wear test review! I persuaded my Fiancé to test this with me too because it's pretty unisex. On him the top notes hung around in the dry down but on me this was sweet and powdery in a slight baby powder way. Lactonic on both and absolutely amazing on us both. We will share this one! One of the most stand alone creations in my collection, really fascinating and addictive! Nov 2022 - This is just such a stunner. It's super comforting and although it is a very unique scent that's hard to compare to others, I think if you like Cerutti 1881 and Cacherel Noa, maybe even Burberry Brit Rhythm, then this would probably float your boat. It's got a bar soapy / body cream sort of musk that the milk note really rounds out. The sandalwood is powdery and not at all sharp or overtly woody. It's also very sweet but not in a vanilla way - I feel the notes should include sugar! There is something slightly violet-like and on me but it's just generally a touch floral and the pepper just gives a slight spicy warmth. It's less peppery on me than (for instance) Salvatore Ferragamo Signorina, which I couldn't stand the pepper in! I've smelt a fresh bottle of Oxygene as well as an old one that had clearly gone bad and the bad bottle was hyper peppery, so this is one that's best not to get second hand! This is a powerhouse on me and last for hours. I think there is quite a big scent bubble with this considering it's a fresh and clean sorta scent. I'm very aware I'm wearing Oxygene and I adore it! Hubby isn't even getting a look-in 'cause this one is MINE! Haha!

I just read Hedward's review which says ".... Before I start talking about the scent itself I must quote a reviewer (guest_Vie Cafe) here: "In early 2000s, perfumes, it seems, were created and blended in a way where all the notes were coming at you in one punch of nondescript recognizable scent. You could tell what someone was wearing by name, but you could not identify any note". Spot on. Lanvin Oxygene is no exception - it's blended to absolute perfection. Yes, I can name some of the notes: musk, sandalwood, hints of spacey iris and peppery gardenia... the thing is however that they form an unison ...." The one word which leapt out to me from the quote from _Vie Cafe is "nondescript". That to me is not at all apt for Oxygene. Nondescript means "lacking distinctive or interesting features or characteristics" but Oxygene DOES have interesting features and characteristics, mainly the contrast between the pepperiness of the opening and the creaminess and floral combo. Also, at least some of the notes in Oxygene CAN be easily defined, plus Oxygene is not a perfume many people would be able to know by name what the wearer is wearing unlike, say, Poison, Angel, etc, which ARE more 'slap you around the face' kind of perfumes and are far more ubiquitous (very unfortunately, in the case of Angel which I detest and which totally turns my stomach!!). So, just because a perfume is more subtle and less immediately definable than the stinkbomb types does NOT mean it's nondescript!! It's the kind of distinction, say, between sexy and slutty - one is more toned down and subtle, the other is in-your-face and brazen! Personally, I prefer wearing perfumes that are not so definable that 99.9% of people who smell me would immediately know exactly what I was wearing .... better to have some mystery!

This perfume reminds me of Unzipped by Perfumer's workshop, it is a scent with a similar composition, floral, with some musk. Unzipped has roses, jasmine, magnolia with cocoa, chocolate. This scent is floral, with gardenia, roses and iris. I can feel it to be well blended, it is indeed creamy, milky, it does have the effect, the gardenia is a rather mushroom one, a rather ripe one, the iris is so present providing powdery floral support, the musk and pepper is there supporting the flowers. First I smell the ripe gardenia, and now after drying it is rosy, the rose is somehow standing out. It's blended but I can tell the notes apart by smelling it, the pepper is spicy- pleasant and not offensive, the musk is good. Overall good, pleasant, floral, I bought it for the gardenia, its there but does not take center stage but is in a bouquet with rose and the flowers are in woody, musky, semi-spicy vase, if you can visualize it. I seek gardenia, it is there again, ripe, mushroom-like and good, but again it veers to towards a mix with the powdery iris and rose, just like Unzipped which also has rose, iris and magnolia instead of gardenia. These are my initial impressions and have yet to keep sensing and smelling it, overall its good and pleasant, rosy, floral, musky. The rose is very present, as is the iris, all floral notes are present and put together, in a milky, creamy fluid of a scent, sprinkled with spicy pepper, and set in musk and wooden cup. I guess what captures me is the unique milk note, the musk and the gardenia combination, so little perfumes have the milk note, its the milk note that makes this stand out. Please see Unzipped by perfumers workshop. fragrantica.com/perfume/Perfumer-s-Workshop/Unzipped-Woman-5502.html