Can Can

I saw a tacky, hot pink body spray bottle titled Can Can in the clearance section of Walmart, and sprayed it on myself for shits and giggles, only to stop in a moment of silence, get home, and immediately order Can Can EDP online. After sampling many, many celebrity perfumes, I can confidently say this is truly the queen that should have occupied equivalent space in our cultural conscience that Fantasy by Britney Spears enjoys. In short, this is a damn good perfume I gravitate towards over, and over. The notes may seem generic, but Can Can is one of those rare gems that I can only describe as an experience. It smells like what I thought cool, popular teenagers who can drive smells like being in the 4th grade. It smells like my aunt in her party era, donning Victoria’s Secret merch. This is THE scent for a wild, 2000s and early 2010s party girl with messy makeup who still some how manages to look the hottest in the room. She’s decked out in pink and black, and has sparkly silver eye shadow. The juicy, succulent black current and nectarine opens with a freshly squeezed fruit juice entry, and almost mimics a poached pear that has been cooled. On my skin, it immediately moves towards an amber forward dry down, with the orange blossom playing a supporting role. The orchid is barely there, and mainly contributes towards creating a creamy transition for the amber to prevent it from being harsh, as is often the case (I’m looking at you Dolce and Gabbana The One for Her). I’m not the biggest fan of amber - but the amber dry down of Can Can is decadent, rich, a little powdery, a tiny bit sweet. It smells expensive. Although the atomizer and sillage are not the best - it is simply a delight to smell it on yourself as you won’t be able to stop. Very rarely does a perfume wow me - and this certainly did. WOW. And for only $23 CAD?! An absolute steal. Keep in mind that this is not a stereotypically sweet, gourmand, or edible desert perfume - but rather a day time sweet, sexy, creamy fruity floral that is made significantly more complex by amber while retaining it’s freshness. I love how complex and well blended it is. That’s it - rave review over. 10/10

This fragrance is perfect. I just got it recently and at first I wasn't sure. You should always give a new bottle a day or two, sometimes a week or two, to really develop and give it's true essence, after first spritz. I wasn't really getting the nectarine or the clementine notes at first, and only getting a sour note, possibly the black currant. However, that quickly resolved itself and I am in love with this perfume. It's beautiful. Best way to describe it is a peachy, fruity, citrus that dives into a candied, amber-sweet woodsy scent. The drydown lasts a long time on the skin, which is composed of the amber and woodsy notes. This reminds me of a warm, cozy campfire, mixed with the sweet amber resin, which mimics an almost vanilla, but darker, burnt brown sugar vibe. Not caramel, not marshmallow. Just smooth and cozy sweetened campfire without any overbearing musk, which I appreciate. I can compare this slightly to Midnight Fantasy and Moonlight but only due to the drydown mostly. The composition is similar, as far as an opening of fresh fruits, with a drydown of amber, woods and musk. But this is definitely a citrus fragrance. I appreciate that it's not an overwhelming citrus scent either. You've got to like peach and orange blossom, which the nectarine gives a peach vibe whilst the orange blossom is slightly similar to gardenia, but barely. I almost forgot to mention the wild orchid, which I think is a contributing factor in creating a powdery element, which, helps the fragrance travel, or transition, into the drydown base. With this being said, this is officially my new favorite and likely to replace my signature scent which is Moonlight, followed by Cloud. Definitely a Spring and Summer scent as well. I only wish that it was a bit stronger. To wrap up my review, I'll give it 5 stars. ✨💗💯✨

Oh, flowers-in-the-springtime...do not hang your head in shame! If you like a fragrance, then you like it! And it's okay! Regardless of whose name is on it or the name of the fragrance itself. (the rest of this is a general statement and not directed towards any particular person. if it was, I would say so!) I often see reviews on celebrity/"cheapy" fragrances where the reviewer who in fact really likes or even loves a fragrance, is all like "I'm ashamed" or "It's embarrassing" or "I don't normally wear 'these' types of fragrances". As if putting down the fragrance, being so distraught over liking it, or being flat out negative about the fragrance in any way makes it acceptable to have/wear it. If you like it, LIKE IT! Don't apologize. You don't need to justify what you like or don't like. For example, my signature scent is Meow by Katy Perry, something a lot of people scrutinize and don't take seriously. And I think Chanel No.5 is one of the worst things I've ever smelled, even though it's one of the most beloved perfumes of all time. I'm sure most people would think I have no taste and can't appreciate a "real perfume" and am a complete idiot. But you know...I don't care! No one should care! It doesn't bother me that most of the world adores No.5 and it shouldn't bother anyone if someone likes Can Can! Wear fragrances you like and don't wear fragrances you don't like. Period!

RASPBERRY COULIS Kryptonite! From the first sniff, this addictive scent had me hooked like a fish. Opens with a burst of syrupy raspberry that's evoked by nectarine, black-currant & clementine, and continues into a floral-gourmand heart of wild orchid & orange blossom, resting on a fluffy, sweet amber-woody base. Signed by perfumer Jean Claude Delville (Clinique Happy), this develops like raspberry cobbler: first the topping of sticky-sweet raspberry jam, and then the cookie base. Overall: Well above average performance, that becomes beast mode when layered over its matching body lotion. This has a beautiful gourmand scent profile, that's not too heavy to cloy. This is the perfect scent to wear as an addiction substitution. It's a love for me. 10/10 for a cheapie gem. Enjoy! Contrast to Pink Sugar Aquolina: These are different but there are some similarities with fruity vanilla. Can Can is more raspberry-jam forward while Pink-sugar is more vanilla forward. Both have a sticky-sweet vanilla aspect. Pink Sugar has beast mode performance. Update 07/26/24: Sprayed this on a forearm today after reading the article posted about raspberries. Wow this performs well in summer - either that or its performance has improved with age. I still get a raspberry compote/raspberry pie with this.

UPDATE: I learned a lesson about how finicky fragrances can be in reacting to skin health. I had to come back and change almost everything I had to say about this. I must have been under-hydrated or something because when I put it on today... Magic. I got a lot of sweet, powdery musk and citrus when I first applied it. On the dry-down, the sweet powder and a sort of caramel were left. Medium sillage and pretty good longevity by itself. Later, I added a spritz of Mix:Bar Vanilla Bourbon and it revived the Can Can's sweetness. Oddly there was a mild and faint under-note of something like Glossier's "You" or Mix:Bar's "Cloud Musk". I put on the Can Can around 11 today & added the Mix:Bar about 4 hours later and the layered fragrances lasted til now and it's about 8 pm. This is nice and I think it's going to become a favorite - especially layered with the Vanilla Bourbon. I don't get anything good or bad from this. It's so meh that I wonder if the tester I bought off eBay is the real deal. I get some of the mentioned notes but all are weak & nothing stands out. This is, so far my least favorite celebrity fragrance - with the exception of Mariah Carey's very forgettable Dreams.