Rebecca Minkoff

Wow, I've been working on this one for a couple of days now. To begin, it's a gorgeous scent. But how it unfolds is very interesting and seems to be dependent on several factors: temperature, humidity and pH. Also upon examining it closer, there are some wonderfully unique notes that appear dependent on the above circumstances. I found this at TJ Maxx in an open box, so I tried it in the store. I sprayed it on the cardboard of the box and was kinda meh on how the scent unfolded. It was very sharp at first and stayed very crisp and acrid on the paper. On skin it behaves entirely different: still opens sharp with green notes but while the notes listed are cardamom and coriander, I can't help but notice a very strong anise note. This licorice vibe and the bergamot are very sharp when anchored by the leather and tonka. At first spray I wasn't sold but figured it was worth the purchase based on the Reminds Me Of bar. Anyway, as this scent dried down the creamiest of woods emerged and presented in a very sexy yet very daytime wearable fragrance. The temperature and humidity really do elevate this especially with projection: yesterday was 75 and sunny in South Florida and I was able to get wafts of this off of my arm for hours. There are two noses on this fragrance and Rodrigo Flores-Roux is behind some of my favorite perfumes of all time: Tom Ford Neroli Portofino and Clinique Happy, so I was surprised and impressed to see him behind this one as well. I'm surprised by the below review that describes this scent as smelling druggy -- I barely get any tobacco notes here, what is apparent on my skin is so well blended that it just seamlessly presents alongside the patchouli and leather. A very strong cigarette tobacco scent would be Amethyst by Elizabeth and James. That is truly a fresh Gauloise or a pouch of American Spirit. Here I really don't get any cannabis or cigarette vibes whatsoever. It does remind me a bit of Kat Von D Sinner (2017 bottle) which is a nod to YSL Black Opium and does have elements of Mugler's Alien which I guess comes down to smoky patchouli. I think this is a safe buy if you enjoy woodsy patchoulis but totally office safe unless you work with a bunch of prudes who go into anaphylactic shock if they smell anything stronger than copier paper.

A lovely lady reviewer sent me a box of samples and among them was Rebecca Minkoff. I was in love at first sniff. Heavy tobacco isn't alluring to me, but this one has the softest hint of tobacco that reminded me of my late uncle's pipe smoke wafting through the room. Everything about it is just soft. It smells heavenly on my skin, not sweet, but tobacco with some warmth and a hint of spice. I find I really love spicy vanilla and tonka fragrances. It does not list vanilla, but I get some of that. Longevity is okay, no more than 4 hours, I guess, maybe layering with an oil or body cream would hold the scent longer. After using the gifted sample almost up, I have ordered a full bottle of it. I know some say it's a winter fragrance, but it is such a soft warmth, not overbearing in any aspect, seems to me it could be worn year-round unless you live where temps exceed 100*. That's me, the woman wearing what many would think are wholly inappropriate heavy gourmands in summer, LOL. This is not that, however, not heavy in any way, shape or form, not super sweet and not a teenager's fragrance, IMO. This is just very pleasant and I'm becoming more and more picky in what I purchase these days. Got this at Walmart online, if you can believe it, for a $38 for the largest bottle. I do not live near any store where I can sniff fragrances (rural mountains), only have a very crappy TJ Maxx in the next town that has almost nothing fragrance-wise so almost everything is a blind buy, but I wasn't unhappy paying more than my usual (yes, that is high for me, never paid more than that for any fragrance, frugal here), but at least this was not a blind buy and I know I will love it and use it. Later: I have been wearing this a lot this summer. It's just so lovely. I have found that it layers beautifully with the inexpensive Cremo Spice & Black Vanilla which is marketed to men and has a nice tobacco note as well along with cardamom, cashmeran and vanilla.

Wow, this is so nostalgic for me - I love it. It takes me to the 90s when I was a young adult, waiting tables, hanging out with my bartender boyfriend, making it on my own. Not that this smells like a 90s scent - it doesn't at all! I keep my little vintage mini of Tresor in a memory box for that. With this one it's the soft combination of notes plus tobacco that are so evocative of a different time in my life. (Several have said below that they don't smell the tobacco, which is interesting because for me it is there and in the best way.) When I close my eyes I go back in time. I am walking, in my biker boots, through crunchy autumn leaves to my boyfriend's apartment, a chill in the air. We both worked late, made money last night and we're going to go to brunch. He's waiting for me with a lit cigarette and a pack of Marlboro reds. We'll have coffee. Then a few beers as the day melts back in to evening. We're both off tomorrow so it doesn't really matter what we do. "Fade Into You" by Mazzy Star plays at the bar we've moved on to. And "Round Here", by the Counting Crows. I do wish this scent lasted longer - I'll overspray and reapply a lot to keep it going, and try layering it with the Living Lalique body lotion I picked up recently, which gives me a similar vibe. Maybe I'll spray it on the inside of one of my jackets this November. I really, really love this. Edit / Addition, January 2024: Just felt like publicly reaffirming my love for this fragrance! It has become a great fall-back option for me for everyday wear this winter. When I don't know what to wear, I often choose this and enjoy it every time. It is very versatile. I had blind-bought the much-loved Stash, but it didn't work for me (which surprised me, I thought I'd love it). Rebecca Minkoff is similar, but softer and more gentle. On me, it is more feminine than Stash. The more I wear it, the more I love it! Highly recommend - and so very affordable!

This is a very nice, light year round scent, I immediately loved it at first sniff! Received a little sample with a perfume order from Macy’s, sprayed it a couple of times on my wrist and went right back online to purchase a full bottle! If you’re looking for a power house, this one may not be for you. I own many strong perfumes, but this one is just lovely! Sits close to the skin, projection as well as longevity are on the moderate to lower end of the spectrum. But this one is perfect for intimate settings, very light and safe. Plus since I’ve been working from home for the past year, there are days where I prefer something a little less intense. (Yes, I wear perfume everyday even though I barely leave my house 😂) I don’t get much of the bergamot in the beginning, and the tobacco scent is somewhat present, I do sense a bit of the jasmine, but the tonka bean and patchouli are really prominent in the dry down on my skin, with just a touch of the leather. I feel like the listed notes are pretty well balanced, I could definitely see this being somewhat of a unisex scent. If they ever come out with an Intense version, I’m definitely getting it!!

Rebecca Minkoff is, to my nose, mostly a soft jasmine scent, after a warm cardamom + tobacco opening (but the tobacco is subtly in the background, too, throughout the fragrance). While it does bear a resemblance to Banana Republic Tobacco & Tonka, that one smells more strongly of tobacco, and also features a rich plum note; RM is far more softly floral than that. In its floral jasmine heart, it bears a resemblance to Black Opium, and Fine'ry dupe, Midnight Cafe, though their openings are quite different -- RM is cardamom/tobacco and MC is sweet, milky coffee. Overall, Rebecca Minkoff is a warm and beautiful fragrance, lightly cocooning and never overwhelming, as appropriate for warm weather as for cool. The one thing I'm not sure about, however, is its longevity. It could be that I'm trying too many things at once, in order to compare fragrances, and RM -- being a somewhat gentle scent -- is getting lost in the shuffle... Incidentally, I found a big 3.4 mL bottle in the cheap scents section of Marshall's for $20; it's definitely worth grabbing a bottle if you see one!