Bombay Bling!

Oh Bombay Bling...How can I even begin to honor you as you deserve be honored? When Neela released her first three, of now five epic India-themed fragrances I sent off right away for the sampler set. I just KNEW that I would love Trayee, because I'm an incense fiend (and I was right, AND even more pleasantly suprised!) Mohur was an immediate love affair for me. I LOVE FRESH ROSES, Bertrand and Neela captured that aliveness so brilliantly. That being said, I was afraid that I would hate Bombay Bling simply based on it's name. The concept of "Bling" to me had grandiose ideas attatched thereupon. I soon learned that my intolerance of an "idea" would be unfounded. Reluctantly I sprayed some on my wrist. It's opening. Simply sublime. See? I was wrong! Rather than my notions of "Bling" and all it's connotations, it took me to a mango grove, ripe with fruit and greenery. The white flowers were so delicately done that I could smell the jasmine vines wafting their fragrance in from fence rows and lattice work. It's ripe fruity sweetness, blends so naturally with those perfectly selected flowers. The sandalwood begins it's journey in after about an hour or so, and really rounds out the fragrance and makes it wearable for the long run. Such a fun creation! I really reserve this for fun times, colorful clothing and good friends. It's a Bling I can definitely get into, and should be worn with pride! Love it!

What a pretty perfume this is. Complex, subtle, yes reminiscent of the plethora of exotic/tropical/floral feminine leaning perfumes out there but if you can't smell the inherent quality and craftsmanship of Bombay bling, I can't help you. I love the opening, it's big but not brash, you get that smooth Indian spice, and cardamom AGAIN! (This line is full of cardamom but used to different effects) Then there's a tropic fruit and frangipani accord but it's not like some cheesy shampoo bullshit, smells really natural to me as does the frangipani. Then the unrelentling vanillic sandalwood and amber base which is very tenacious. I get it. If you are well versed in feminine leaning trop/exotic floral/heavy creamy vanilla woods/amber perfumes then I don't doubt you can pick something up which approximates this, hell it might even be made by Dachaufour, but I think this is some fine perfumery right here. However, for all my praise it's a little too vanillic and sickly with the santal at the finish there for me, after the fresher fruits, florals and spices have retreated. Basically I feel it's a feminine perfume and I wear Coco and all sorts of stuff like that, so this says something. Bombay Bling! just has that energy for me, nothing wrong, I enjoyed it immensely and I have to say it's yet another fantastic perfume in this line, I've tried four others at this point and they've all been really good.

I love it and am moderately obsessed. Bombay Bling manages to be bright, fruity, floral, and clean, yet evolves into a glorious, slightly powdery, amber, skin-scent dry down. It’s magical and perfect for the heat. It’s definitely a fun, brightly colored - pink, yellow, and orange- yet perfectly balanced affair. It’s intoxicating and addictive. It is a bit sweet, but from the perspective of someone who does not enjoy sweet fragrances at all, I don’t find the sweetness central or juvenile. Something in the composition that is slightly bitter, crisp, and dry, perhaps the labdanum, grounds the sweetness of the fruits and heady florals rendering the whole an elegant and sophisticated feminine leaning fragrance, not a cloying, mango girlie-pop. It’s as sweet and sophisticated as Amouage Sunshine Woman, but less dense. Though these juices are in completely different categories, the slightly sweet, amber dry down of BB reminds me of the dry down of MFK Grand Soir every time I wear it. Douchafour is a genius with fruity fragrances. If you like this, you may also enjoy his La Belle Helene, a stunning pear chypre composition. Douchafour is one of my favorite perfumers.

A vibrantly coloured blend of fruits, florals and spice, BOMBAY BLING is the perfect carefree summer scent ☀️ The fragrance opens with a burst of ripe mango and blackcurrant with just the slightest hint of cardamom and cumin. As the fragrance develops a melange of rich florals including Turkish rose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, tuberose, frangipani and gardenia add an exotic touch to the fragrance. Despite the excess of florals used here a strong base of tobacco, sandalwood, cedar and patchouli firmly ground the fragrance in unisex territory. Simply, BOMBAY BLING is hedonistic and addictive. I find myself craving it’s electric buzz on warm sunny days, and when I do reach for it I cannot get enough 👏🏻 BOMBAY BLING is undoubtedly the best mango-centric fragrance I have come across (yes, it’s better than CRUZ DEL SUR II). So, if you are looking for a beautifully rich, complex and balanced fruity fragrance do yourself a favour and get your nose on this ASAP and thank me later 😉 Performance on BOMBAY BLING is also fantastic. On my skin, I get around 8 hour longevity and a moderate sillage which drop’s down to a skin scent around the 6 hour mark. IG @Nathan__Jamesj

I always find floral ambers challenging... there's something about having two high-femme, heavily rich accords vying for your admiration that feels rather like watching fearfully as two 8-foot tall Amazonians glare at you from above. Duchaufour attempt to solve this problem by adding a third warrioress to the mix - in this case a fruity note of mango - and so Bombay Bling arrives at a quite cluttered final composition which is floral, fruity, ambery and above all very very SWEET. It smells extremely "golden", a tiny bit of spice works in the background to lend some texture, but I think the quality of the ingredients is what saves this from becoming too much. It is a rare frag I find too femme to wear myself, but I do genuinely like the way it smells - it has the same "bigness" as such classic sweets as Arabie by Lutens - it's one of those huge frags which dominates and takes no prisoners. It's really beautiful, and quite different from other tuberoses I've smelled, but like I say it's a challenging composition and you must have a high tolerance for (masterfully done) feminine sweetness to get one of these.