Berber Blonde

I have the rollerball of this. When I first smelt it from the bottle at my friend's I wasn't that keen on it. I found it too 'spa-like'. It really reminded me of going to the spa on holiday somewhere tropical, so it wasn't a bad smell by any means but I didn't think it was very wearable. In fact, my friend agreed with me but gave it to me because I 'like perfumes' more than her! Then one day when it started getting warmer here I thought I'd just try it on my skin and see what I thought. (Now I have to put this disclaimer - I love a soapy, clean fragrance, and I've started really loving white florals like jasmine. So there's bias here for sure - if you don't love that kind of smell you probably won't love this) About 5 mins into putting this on my skin, the weird 'spa' feel disappears and I'm left with the most ethereal neroli. Super clean, it has that powdery, fluffy laundry detergent feel to it but it's embodied by the white flowers of neroli, so it turns away (in my opinion) from the overly-stuffy laundry smell and goes headlong into a heady fresh floral scent. Still got a spa-like feel to it, and sometimes I like to layer this with one of my laundry-clean fragrances if I want to feel extra luxurious, but it's really wearable and absolutely beautiful. It's now one of my all-time favourites, and makes me SO happy when I wear it. As it gets warmer here I find myself loving it even more. Don't think I'd like it so much in the cold, but this is going to be used up very quickly this summer!

The opening of Berber Blonde evokes the feeling of sitting under an orange tree, which I absolutely love. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I grew up with my parents who had a large orange tree in front of the house, where I would often sit. This fragrance captures that exact smell. It opens with a vibrant blend of green notes, strong orange, neroli, and orange blossom, reminiscent of my childhood memories of the orange tree. This lively opening lasts for about 30 minutes after application. After the first half hour, the fragrance transitions into a dry down that is very soapy and clean, lingering on my skin for roughly seven hours during both of my wearings. Overall, I do enjoy this scent, although I may be biased towards neroli fragrances due to my childhood associations. If you're a fan of neroli, this is worth trying to see if it resonates with you. It combines the neroli notes found in Neroli Portofino and the jasmine notes in Le Labo's Jasmine 17. I was pleasantly surprised by how long this fresh neroli fragrance lasts. As a fan of Neroli Portofino and 4711, I’m accustomed to these scents fading within the first hour. However, Sana Jardin has created a fresh neroli fragrance that projects well and stays on the skin. At a full retail price of $157 for 100ml, I believe this is a reasonable price for what you are getting.

Beautiful citrus—I instinctively call it 'light,' but the scent is profound and lingering, hence calling it 'light' feels wrong. The citrus is the first thing I am hit with but immediately after that there is the bergamot and neroli carrying that fresh spiciness. It settles fairly quickly and the slight sweetness of the orange blossom comes through. I rarely am adamant that a scent is ONLY night or day, but this is categorically a day scent. Specifically a spring or summer day scent. To me, there is a playfulness to this perfume—a sort of coyness that makes me think I'd be unlikely to wear this to work or university, but rather to weekend lunches or hot summer morning brunches. Refreshing and fundamentally pretty, I truly enjoy this scent and it is a shame I've decided to wear it on an overcast day. The next truly hot, sunny day I will be reaching for this!

Very refreshing. A true neroli and petitgrain scent. You need to like both if you want to love this scent. It is soapy as a neroli fragrance is most of the times. It is very authentic in its nature and I think it is a wonderful neroli fragrance. Although it is similar to Diptyque's Des Sens and Matière Première's Neroli Oranger, Berber Blonde is brighter and punchier in a good way of course. All three do have that soapy feeling. You need to like that aspect of neroli to enjoy all three. (I think people tend to forget that) Neroli Oranger is authentic in nature but slightly more floral and softer. Des Sens is also very authentic but you can also sense the other notes in its fragrance like the angelica and juniper. There is also a smidge of patchouli. All are gorgeous in my opinion and yes, I own all three.

I've smelt a lot of neroli centred fragrance and I think this one goes in my top 10. I love the scent of orange blossom. Neroli is more tricky. It almost has masculine tendencies. Neroli can easily be too harsh for many women to feel comfortable with. Here the orange blossom is queen and has been bolstered with the neroli. The clean musk is what retains a harmony. It softens and rounds out the neroli. I can pick out the other citrus notes in the background. The overall effect to me is as they say "shimmering Morrocan orange blossom. The petit grain is only evident on me when the scent starts to fade. Fabulous to wear on a warm summers evening. It is quite dreamy and intoxicating. I love it. I'm also impressed that it has above average sillage and longevity.