Cristal Royal Passion

I came across this perfume while browsing online. The beautiful bottle and the perfume house intrigued me. I purchased a small sample vial online and was excited to test it. Sniffing the bottle, my first impression was of a somewhat generic-smelling fragrance. Not cheap, but nothing special. Again, that was just my *first* impression, before even spraying it. I think I could identify the top notes of apple and bergamot, but they are very fleeting top notes. On the initial spray, I immediately pick up jasmine and tuberose. On my skin, the top notes completely vanish. Tuberose can be an iffy fragrance note for me, as I'm one of the unfortunate people who pick up the rotten-meat facet when smelling real-life tuberose blossoms. Yet, I remember liking Bora Bora by Liz Claiborne, which has a prominent tuberose note. Tuberose is also at the forefront of Cristal Royal Passion, but it's so soft, gentle, and powdery; blending well with the jasmine, this perfume brings out all the pleasant facets of tuberose without any of the unpleasant. I'm impressed! :) Later, the base notes gently emerge: praline, vanilla, and just a tiny hint of sandalwood. Considering the almond note, when I focus on it, it is more like a base note than a middle note. As the florals fade to the background, the almond comes out and lingers through the base notes' arrival. Overall, it's a very soft and powdery fragrance. I used to think I didn't like powdery - and maybe I used to not - but now in my early 30's, I find perfumes I like only to learn that they indeed have powdery facets in them, and they're so pleasant to me now! The sillage is very soft; the fragrance sits very close to my skin without a trail, but it's SUCH a pleasant gentle fragrance! Mature - yes, but not "old-lady-ish." Office friendly - definitely! My husband has an extremely sensitive sense of smell, so most perfumes overwhelm him. This perfume is not loud or strong by any means, so it is not unpleasant to him once it dries and the warm notes begin to emerge. I think this is a safe one for many settings - especially if powdery scents are appealing to you. The longevity leaves something to be desired, unfortunately. The fragrance is so pleasant - I wish it would last longer. I'm sparingly using my little sample vial, but I don't think it's going to last long! (Update: Spraying this on a warmer day and being more liberal with it has significantly increased the longevity of this fragrance on my skin! It's lasted 6 hours this time! That's a considerable improvement from <2! The sillage is still very soft.) Upon writing this review, I think I will change my initial "Like" to "Love" -- even though this only struck me as a "Like," the fact that I can't seem to get enough of the fragrance tells me that perhaps this is a "LOVE" instead! Even more of a pleasant surprise with this fragrance! :)

I love this. It is a deep, warm, almond vanilla bomb with a creamy jasmine and a soft tuberose lingering amongst the deliciousness. A sophisticated smelling cozy gourmand. It is definitely sweet, but not cloying. You could definitely get away with wearing this in the spring or even on a summer night even though the "vibe" is a cold weather fragrance. I only bought a sample vial, but I need to get a full bottle of this for fall / winter. On the dry down, I get a lot of CH Good Girl similarity but without the heady florals. Just the deep, rich, intriguing, sweet haziness of CH Good Girl. Rating for me is 8.5/10.

Nice scent! I can smell nuts, almonds and vanilla. It's very delicious and tender fragrance. Longevity and sillage are very good - twenty four hours on my clothes. Bergamot and jasmine are at the background making the fragrance lighter and more pleasant. The bottle is gorgeous, like a precious stone. I like both - bottle and its content. Good work of Marina de Bourbon!

To me this is another very nice smelling generic fragrance in a gorgeous bottle. It didn’t disappoint me (another blind buy), but it also didn’t impress me much. With a Passion in the name one could expect of something more deep in the substance. Don’t know, maybe I need to wait few hours when this would emerge? Meanwhile, on me it’s a light sweet flowery slightly fruity scent... I’m definitely keeping it. As I said, it’s a nice fragrance, and the bottle is so pretty!

candy rose & tropical tuberose syrup and praline