Salvatore Ferragamo pour Femme

I'm very loyal to my perfumes. I've never had more than two or three in rotation at the same time, and I consider them my signature fragrances. So, when I first smelled Salvatore Ferragamo pour Femme in 2015, I liked it, but buying it never crossed my mind. I already had a fragrance that filled the same role: a bright, clean, fresh floral. That fragrance was Tommy Girl, which accompanied me through my everyday life. As fate would have it, I can't even remember when I bought my last bottle of Tommy Girl. Somehow, it ended up sitting half full until it eventually turned rancid. Clearly, I wasn't wearing it as often as I used to, although I never stopped to ask myself why. Only later did I discover that it had been reformulated. More recently, after seeing so many of my favorite perfumes reformulated, I began an extensive search for new fragrances. That's when I remembered the Ferragamo sample that had been forgotten in the back of a drawer. To my surprise, it was still perfect, just as fresh as it had been in 2015, unlike several other samples stored beside it, which had already gone bad. I went online to learn more and wasn't surprised to discover that it had been discontinued (as seems to happen with so many things I love). To my delight, however, old stock is still available at very reasonable prices. So I took the plunge. Since I had to import it because it's no longer available in my country, I bought two bottles. My sample had survived beautifully for ten years, so I felt confident that these remaining bottles had a good chance of being just as well preserved. They arrived today and, to my great happiness, they smell exactly as I had imagined. The fragrance opens with a beautiful bitter grapefruit, fresh and radiant, which gradually unfolds into a magnificent bouquet of flowers, alive with freshness, vibrant, and beautifully aromatic. I can clearly recognize the rose and the carnation. As for the peony, I'm not entirely sure because, honestly, I've never smelled one in real life. It's listed among the notes, though, so I assume it's there, perfectly blended with the other two flowers that I can identify. It's an ideal everyday fragrance because it's elegant and understated. It has a gentle presence that never overwhelms or takes over the room. And the gorgeous heavy glass bottle, with its name embossed on the glass and its metal cap, makes every application feel just a little more luxurious. I'm delighted to have 200 ml of a beautiful perfume that will become my everyday fragrance until the day it finally runs out and I begin, once again, the search for its successor.

I adore this scent so much. I have gone through bottle after bottle, and I always come back to it. Pure enough for the bride, mature enough for the bride's mother. Would not be out of place at a funeral or in the boardroom, or for comfy days at home. Elegant, classy, sophisticated, modern and timeless. Almost clean enough to appease the "clean girl" crowd, if she ditched the granola and brunched on organic wine and cheese instead. Yet, it has a naughty twist with the star anise keeping it just a bit dangerous and dirty, especially after warming on the skin til the 3- 4-hour mark, when it gets downright muddy. Probably would not be much loved by the younger girls, there's no sugar in it at all, just a hint of sweetness, but in a magnificent, cold kind of way. I can't pick out all of the notes. What I always can discern is slight greenery at the top, clean pepper and musk, a hint of Lily-of-the-Valley, a dryness from the iris that is more dry than it is powder, and that licorice note from the star anise that keeps it from going screechy. Always can be found at a bargain. The tall, slim bottle fits into the purse nicely. It's a Spring scent or office scent, won't hold up in the heat. I do like to re-spray midday to refresh my scent bubble with this one. Quite a classic and always lifts my mood. My advice, get a tester of this if you can. The licorice note is sluttier, but the top notes are also brighter. Longevity is not great with this type of frag, but the tester of this will last all day. I like to respray midday just to counter the star anise with the bright top notes, because the licorice, with all-day wear, becomes too dirty, like white flowers AND damp soil. Then again, that's what keeps me coming back for more.

This is another interesting one! It actually put me off, about 6 months ago, when I first picked it up, and I put it aside thinking I'd permanently give it to my daughter. But I pulled it out again, after finding it again in Susan Irvine's Perfume Guide, to give it another chance. Anyway, now I think now I really like it! I think Seaworthy, in a review below, hit on something that I notice, too -- a clean, fresh, warm spiciness that it shares with both Arden Beauty and, I would add, Alfred Sung Shi, both perfumes that I absolutely adore. But Salvatore Ferragamo is more bitter than either Arden Beauty or Shi. It must be the nutmeg, anise, black pepper, and "woody notes"; another reviewer below described it as "pencil shavings, including the graphite," and I see just what they mean, but I can get past that, especially since there are a lot of clean, green, and fresh florals, like lily of the valley, over top and throughout its development. Another recent discovery that I think has helped me understand this fragrance better is Murray & Lanman Florida Water cologne which has a similar fresh & spicy scent profile and that I've been enjoying spraying around my house when I clean and my daughter adds to her bath; it's inexpensive and great! It's so interesting that what initially struck me as kind of bitter and harsh -- talking about Salvatore Ferragamo again -- now seems fresh and elegant. It's fascinating to observe how taste changes and develops over time, especially as I make connections from one scent to the next; one or another scent helps me better understand new ones. :)

Just gave a review to Subtil by Ferragamo, now it is Pour Femme's turn :-) Pour Femme was a great surprise to me - lovely floral juice with a slice of fruit :-) Initially i thought I got the price tag wrong as I got a 100ml EDP bottle for $18.00 (just like I grabbed Subtil) and for that jokingly low price, I decided to buy it blind. And have no regrets! Pour Femme is a beautiful fragrance gentle enough to be worn to office or a Sunday roast with in laws :-) But it is distinct enough to draw compliments from people around you. Pour femme is my finishing touch to a smart suit as well as casual white linen trousers. It goes well with any clothing and will surely uplift your mood! I cannot tell you what particular notes I can detect as the whole fragrance is such a lovely balance of flowers, fruit and spices. None of them is screaming, yet all of them make you feel elegant, confident and soooooo feminine. I noticed that all Ferragamo fragrances last a good while on me and Pour femme is no exception. It has noticeable sillage and for $18.00 per 100ml EDP you would be silly to give it a miss!!!! If florals with a fruity echo are your cuppa, give it a go. You won't regret it! The quality is superb! My both thumbs and all toes up for Mr Cavallier!

I decided to give this fragrance another try after wanting to declutter this so many times. Mainly because the bottle is so tall and falls and knocks over my other bottles. I decided to keep it. It smells very clean, soapy and musky. I do not detect all the notes listed so maybe this perfume is just nicely blended. I wore this to work today and over sprayed thinking that it would be a light fragrance, but it does pack a punch, a very clean and smooth punch. The dry down is so nice, and I keep sniffing myself. It's a mature scent but not in a bad way, more in a classy way. I don't have anything like this in my collection. My Fiancé also loved this scent. She's a keeper! Update: I wore this to a work meeting because I needed a fragrance that wasn't overwhelming and wouldn't offend anyone in the conference room. This was the perfect scent. I was able to sniff my arm from time to time. It felt comforting at times of stress during the meeting, it was smooth, long lasting, clean but also warm. I think this is the perfect perfume for close quarters within the work setting. Very safe, yet beautiful and comforting.