Botanical Essence No. 20

I love the Liz Earle line of fragrances with No15 being a wadrobe staple for the autumn/winter months for me, when I was visiting Salisbury I saw that Liz Earle products were all subjected to a promotion in Boots and the fragrances were selling for £32, I initially wanted Botanical Essence No100 but since that wasn't available I got No20 instead, what was even better was I had enough points on my Boots Advantage Card to get it for free! Like all the other scents in Liz Earles portfolio, the packaging is beautiful with a book-like opening which has a magnetic closure with beautiful illustrations of the notes on the box and a notes list on the inner opening of the box, the bottle is the same style as the other scents but it is in a powdery shade of pink and the lid fits snugly over the sprayer meaning its good for travelling with. The opening is bright due to the mandarin and bergamot and slightly spikey from the pink pepper but after the initial hit, the citruses soften and a clean, powdery rose emerges which is pretty much how No20 smells throughout wear, despite the notes listed I'd say this is in a similar vein to Stella McCartney Stella (which was a CRIME to discontinue!), by that I mean it has a bright freshness but for the most part, rose is the main attraction however, it isn't quite as dewy and "vintage" feeling as Stella is, however, if you are a Stella fan, it could be a worthy replacement to try. The longevity is excelllent with me getting 8hrs from 3 spritzes and a moderate silage, it never becomes irritating or cloying and in no way smells matronly or "old", I really like this and It'll be a perfect easy reach for the spring and summer months due to its airy bright nature, I really love this and I'm glad I blindly picked this up!

Good thing I didn’t let the reviews put me off. This is luxury at a complete steal! This is lady Rose from Downtown Abbey in a beautiful white dress. Such a beautiful, feminine, smooth, lightly sweet creamy perfume! The pink pepper is very subtle and sweetened with the orange/bergamot that is smooth and refreshing. The sandalwood is blended superbly it is so creamy with the rose and vanilla then there’s a slight resinous note like a sweet amber. This reminds me so much of the new Jadore d’Eau as it’s luxurious, feminine and creamy with a very natural smelling scent profile. The only difference is this one has sweet rose and by that I mean the orange juice silky smooth sweetness to the rose (similar to Dior Rose & Roses type rose) and jasmine so it’s not overly floral. But it has the same jasmine as in d’Eau. Definitely a hidden gem! 10/10 this is a sophisticated scent why certainly!

Pink and boring like lots of other pink flower and pepper perfumes. Very linear with no surprises in the dry down and I struggle to smell the sandalwood. I am also struggling to smell it beyond my skin after 15 mins and I was very generous with application. On the plus side it is not sickly sweet. I have a couple of applications left that I will save for summer and try again.

Tried this today and it's lovely, as are all these Liz Earle perfumes. I think it smells like the original Cerruti 1881, myself, so I was surprised to see there's no chamomile listed here. I'm also laughing my ass off and totally impressed by my best (male) friend - when I held the card under his nose he said he smelled carrots. I'm seeing carrot seeds in the notes above now and basically bowing down to my pal. My hero. 🥕😂

Unfortunately I find this rather disappointing. I’m always looking for a rose perfume that works. This is not it. It just gets smothered by sandalwood and vanilla, like so many others. The overall impression is a soft warm blandness