Avant Ruby

**UPDATE: Identical. This and Ash'aa Mauve are identical. When I need more, I'll just get whichever I can find cheaper since I love this DNA soooooo much and I regularly get compliments while wearing her. ____________________________________________ I currently have Ash'aa Mauve by Arabiyat Prestige and I LOVE it--so when I saw this for under $15 I jumped on it. Now, I don't have Carmina, and have NEVER smelled it. But in comparison to Ash'aa Mauve, I'm going to do a side by side and report back. But ladies: this is spring in a bottle. She is feminine, effortless, and a very easy grab for everyday wear. At first its juicy raspberry with like a musky feel, then dries down to a beautiful general floral smell. I live in the southern US and it doesn't get cloying or disappear in the heat. She does better in the spring/summer--but wore her in cooler weather and it was almost invigorating. She is more of a mature smell, but not in an old woman way--in more of a she's sweet, but not gourmand sweet. When I wear it, I regularly get compliments: the main one being "you smell like a flower shop!". What does this remind me of? A day off. Relaxing, doing things that are a WANT not a NEED. I really enjoy this scent profile.

I've been trialling this one for a few weeks, now, and I'm still kind of on the fence about it, but I think it's growing on me. The other rose-heavy perfumes in my collection are all on the heady, moody side, so I thought I should branch into the fresher side of things for something more wearable in the warmer months. For context: every bottle I buy is a blind buy as there are no shops near me, but it's served me well for the other dozen or so bottles on my shelf. This is the first one that I've sprayed and instantly thought "uh-oh, what have I done?". The citrus is REALLY sharp and loud off the hop, which isn't a bad thing if you like citrus, I'm just learning I may not like it as a prominent accord. That said, it does mellow out after ten or so minutes into a more floral-citrus than citrus-citrus, and the deep dry-down is soft and powdery. Like a really nice shampoo, almost, and what keeps bringing me back to it. Fresh, clean, and uplifting. My bottle is only a few months old, so perhaps the citrus will smooth out a little with time rather than clamouring over itself to be the first thing one notices. If it does, then I'll happily move this to a love.

Let me start by saying I absolutely dislike Creed Carmina! However this smells really good once you let it sit! This one has a more prominent cherry forward note to me. And it dries down to a beautiful soft rose scent. This is a great alternative to Creed Carmina for the price point. Do I think it’s a 1:1, no I don’t. But it’s a close cousin, but I like her better. I own this and the Avant Silk which is a dupe for Queen of Silk, that is spot on and smells divine! 🥰Maison Alhambra puts out some good juice without the hefty price point. I would give it a try. It’s only $25 on Amazon so you’re not losing a lot if you did.

Defos an amazing dupe to carmina , I have both bottles , bought this one to use on casual days , a tad more summery / brighter than carmina

Blind buy and with the first sniff I thought "oh nooo..." It had this kind of heavy rose oudy smell that makes me gag. I put it in time-out in my closet (that's not how feminine perfumes behave!!!) and every week I was bringing out , spraying a couple of times in the toilet bowl to help with the maceration process and so I can flush it down (that's how bad it smelled to my nose ) and put it back in the closet. I just brought it out after a month and it is a new fragrance!!! I sprayed on my wrist and immediately said : "Oh , hello!!". I smell jammy rose (like the marmalade Mediterranean grandmas make from rose petals) and citrus (mostly the sweet bitterness of the orange skin ) and lemon but from a homemade lemonade - not really sour. I'll come back for the dry down impressions.