Oscar Blue Velvet

I bought this perfume blind together with blue orchid, because both were scandalously cheap. Though I understand why other reviewers dislike the aquatic note you get on first spray I personally adore it. I perceive it as very gentle yet fresh. I’m not really into ‘fresh’ fragrances and perceive fresh notes often as screechy and sharp and I don’t have that with this one. It’s very present after first application, but feels very happy, lively and watery, yet gentle. I think this note may have been popular in the 90s/00s (?) which is why people experience it as dated? I’m not sure, to me it feels like a note that would work well on teenagers, so to me it feels young and playful, like trinkling water.. but then again I was a teenager in the late 90s - 00s, so perhaps my perception of ‘Young’ is dated now 😂 Anyway the aquatic note is indeed very strong on first application, and if it’s not your cup of tea, or doesn’t work well on your skin then this scent is likely to be a big fat NOPE. Not recommended as a blind buy, but cheap enough to take the risk. The aquatic note settles fairly quickly and makes room for a wonderful bouquet of white flowers. The name of the scent is apt, because it’s VERY velvety. It makes me think of a thick cream, like the kind that’s marketed as a décolleté cream, not a sunscreen type of creamy scent, it’s thicker and more mature. Without the aquatic note I might find the tuberose and Jasmine too overwhelming. They are so intense and enveloping, yet there’s always this hint of the cascalone to keep it lively and fresh. The vanilla is also clearly there. It seems to come and go a bit. It’s VERY present on first application, but then moves to the background to support the white flower bouquet. After a while I get hints of black current too. It seems to pop up, and then fade, only to pop back up again. I don’t distinguish the mandarin as a separate note, but I feel like it’s blended into one with the cascalone, if that makes sense. It might be why the cascalone doesn’t feel sharp to me. Even though it’s not listed I get hints of a peppery note too. Perhaps it’s some zestiness from the mandarin combined with cascalone? I would swear there’s some pepper in there though. All in all I adore this scent. It’s soft, velvet and creamy, yet with a playful freshness that keeps it from feeling stale. To me it feels like a mature and classy lady who hasn’t lost her mischievousness and spark. I think I bought this bottle a year ago and rarely used it, because the scent confused me. I have tried it again, because I just made an account to give reviews and absolutely adore it. I’m not sure if it’s the scent that has ‘matured’ or my taste that has changed a bit, or maybe it helps that it’s winter, cause this isn’t a summery fragrance. Anyway it seems to help to let it sit for a while. I so admire people who write reviews with a beginning, middle and end, instead of getting lost in all kinds of random ramblings 🫠🫠 Update: I get whiffs of sweet mandarin later on in the dry down. A bit odd for a top note, but this whole scent has all the notes dancing around and randomly expressing themselves. It keeps surprising me.

At first I smell mandarin, orange blossom and freesia. Then a sort of strange smell interrupts my delight...like an egg-like smell. This reminded me immediately to L’eau d’Issey which I used to wear back in 2006...the same egg-like smell. I really don’t know which notes are responsible for this. But they are weird. And then, suddenly the beautiful tuberose begins to develop in my skin. It’s such a real tuberose note, that I can imagine myself sniffing the flowers instead of my hand. Then the jasmine comes along and both notes remain there dancing together. I really don’t get the other notes. In my skin the scent remains intimate, close to skin. I would love for it to have some sillage. You have to come real close to notice I am wearing perfume. Alas, it only lasts 1 hour on me. Then I have to reapply it. However, when I spray it before going to bed, I wake up smelling (sniffing very closely to my skin) a nice soft bouquet of white flowers. Delicious. I like this perfume, although I would love it if it lasted longer on me.

Update: I’m wearing this again and it’s fairly cold winter weather. Either my nose has changed, or is the cold, but the cascalone is a lot more subdued now. It’s hardly noticeable at any point, just a very subtle hint of freshness. It might be that this scent wears best in winter. It’s so warm and deep! I wore Narciso Rodriguez EDT two days ago and they’re actually quite similar, but blue velvet has the subtle fruity top notes and the hint of aquatic freshness on top of all the warm musky goodness. It also reminds me of Bvlgari Goldea (a lot actually), although I don’t actually own that fragrance right now. They have a similar warm but light feel to it. Both are super classy whereas NR is a bit more sexy and carnal. Maybe if Goldea and NR had a baby in the sea 😆 they’re all quite different, yet with some overlap and a similar vibe (especially Goldea and blue velvet).

This version of Oscar maintains the harmonious notes of Original Oscar, but it's deeper, creamier and distinctively different with it's dry down, a more seductive feel all round. The notes are all singing together and it's finish is indeed Velvet. A really nice special occasion and very sensual. It lasts well and you can always get a 5,10 or 30ml for your purse.

Once this darn cascalone dies up a bit, this is a delicious non-tropical aquatic. And it lasts and lasts... It reminds me of Calvin Klein 'Reveal', but CK is more powdery.

I really wanted to like it, but the overdose of cascalone ruined it for me. It seemed exactly what I was looking for - woody scent with whiffs of patchouli and sandalwood, gorgeous freesia and cassis. Unfortunately very blunt and noisy aquatic note made it... how shall I put it... dated? Strange? Pity, such a beautiful bottle though.

Not my cup of tea, to be honest....according to the notes I imagined a different smell....first spray is horrible, dated, old fashioned, sharp, unpleasant smell, but if you wait a few minutes, it becomes milder and sweeter, woodsy floral...I can’t detect any individual notes...suitable for autumn/winter...