Amoureuse

Thank God I can still write, because this stuff almost leaves me speechless. Maker's list of notes: Tangerine,cardamom,tuberose,jasmine,cedar, moss, and honey, and it's supposed to smell like a box tree. MY list of notes (in order of appearance): tangerine runs by squeaking as it's being chased by a herd of bloodthirsty bipolar jasmine and tuberose waving their spears. When they thunder by again, it is apparent that the tangerine peed on them as it expired. They continue to stampede back and forth several more times before returning a final time, collapsing in a sweaty heap on me, and then they stay. They stay and stay and STAY. Cardamom shows up, hangs out a little while, then continues on his journey to Nepal, dude. Box tree shows up, wrinkles its nose in disgust, and moves on. The stinky indole note continues to amplify for another hour. It becomes clear at this point that the herd has decided to camp out for the night, and has thoughtfully dug latrines. The rest of my night is spent sleeping fitfully while the herd sings drinking songs, entertains hoochie mamas, and fights. The next morning they are still there, sleeping in after their night of debauchery. They wake up and leave one by one, until by late afternoon only the latrines remain. At this point, the sweet honeyed note makes its tardy appearance, and it's a real lulu combined with the latrines. An additional hour, and it's all gone except for a faint echo--and the memories. Yes, folks, well over 24 hours of olfactory mayhem from one large spritz! So, you ask, why did I award this high marks ? Oddly enough, I really love this stuff. It is truly the most big-girl, uber-femme perfume in the world---sex gone wild, like Mae West with rabies. The secret for me is to use just one---ONE!---drop in my cleavage. It is much more manageable that way, and you get only a small amount of the animalic molecules--just enough to attract attention from men. Good attention! :-D One bottle will last 1,573,494,058 years. (Reviewed by Baybe on MUA 12/7/2005 --- since the review is spot on and hilarious to boot, I am reposting it here)

I think this fragrance is incredibly beautiful. If it were jewelry, it would be Schlumberger's Bird on a Rock with a Tiffany yellow diamond, and also Schlumberger's iconic Two Bees ring, with a diamond at the center. Amoureuse has curvilinear rhythms like Art Nouveau snakes, and it seems to blast white light, and white noise as it highlights the interconnectivity of natural and manufactured. A note that permeates throughout wear reminds me of waxy pollen on the anther of a clematis; sweet,and sticky. The animalic characters of jasmine and tuberose are intensified by cardamom and moss, and slight touches of honey warm this oddly chilling fragrance. I know this is classified as a Floral, but on my skin it's a musky-woody-chypre. It's incredibly heavy (think Aromatics Elixir-heavy), but its overall spotlight on linden makes it completely irresistible to me. I'd rather smell it, than wear it though, which doesn't make much sense. When we talk about fragrance "taking you to another place", it's perfumes like Amoureuse that inspire this reaction. Amoureuse has so much intensity, it seems like it could take over, like some changeling soul snatcher. Amoureuse has a power that seems almost supernatural, because its so very strong and evocative. It's undoubtedly a work of genius, and, to me, its even more beautiful than Perfume de Therese. Houdini would give this to Bess.

Amoureuse is a beautiful and an unusual perfume. Not at all what I expected. The top notes are rather amazing, I get sweet honeyed juicy tangerines with freshly crushed cardamon. Luckily for me, the top notes last and last and last, good 3-4 hours and this stage is very addictive as I have to keep sniffing my top/wrist/wherever I applied to get this spicy juicy yumminess. At this stage, it reminds of of a spicy fruity tea my lovely fragrantican friend sent me from Greece. Eventually, the tangerine goes (damm!!!) and jasmine comes through, accompanied by oakmoss and a bit of tuberose, some cardamon still in the background but quite faint and by this point, the tangerine has run away booohooooo. Eventually (after many hours), the scent turns into a floral soap scent with a very faint hint of spice. It lingers on clothes for a day or two. As for application, 3-4 squirts is enough to last the day in the office, perhaps couple more in the evening, or if you are brave but I feel 3-4 is optimum. I find myself adding couple of squirts after the opening notes start fading, but this is only because these notes are sooo addictive. Over the top application tends to result in suffocating, almost bitter, scent that will clear the room, so beware. In conclusion, I am bagging myself this beauty, despite a heavy price tag......I will be skint but I will smell divine.

It was cold this morning and I wanted a "pick me up" and I did not hesitate in spritzing Amoureuse. This fragrance is perfect if you need a lift or want to brighten your day and at the same time it remains strongly footed in the terra firma. My first whiff every time I wear this perfume is popping bubbles of sweet, tingly spice like cinnamon and I am brought back to the days of soaking toothpicks in cinnamon oil. This spice remains for quite a while, but then comes the powder. I don't see iris, so I have no idea where the powder is coming from, but it is there for me and I love it along with the white flowers and a drop of honey. This perfume is not too sweet as most white florals lean and I tend to shy away from white florals because of the sweet factor. Maybe the oak moss is balancing out the sweetness. This is a long lasting scent that I believe can be worn from morning to night but it does have a weensy bit of skank, which I LOVE! This is one of my favorite perfumes and I am truly not a white flower person..so yeah!

This perfume develops nicely from an intense white floral (I mostly smell lily) to a mellow combination of sandalwood, honey, and jasmine. Initially I did not like how the strong floral reminded me of discount perfumes like Giorgio Beverly Hills, but the drydown was a very redeeming surprise as I love honey and sandalwood, and this is a combination I do not stumble upon often. I would like to be able to smell some cardamom, but I do not. I also don't get anything fruity--no tangerine at all. Great perfume for white floral lovers. Don't know why, but it reminds me of Roman women with flowing togas walking among the columns of an ancient temple. The air and dirt are very dry, and the sun is unforgiving. There is something whimsically ancient about this scent. I have Bois de Paradis, and I would not mind owning this DelRae as well.