Paradis Provence

I really, really love Paradis Provence. It is currently one of my very favorite fragrances to wear. It is a green, fresh, slightly sharp, herbal aromatic fragrance. If you have experience with sunflowers, you can probably identify with this scent profile. Sunflowers put off a pleasant but subtle green, grassy and slightly sweet hay-like smell. In my opinion, Paradis Provence centers around that sunflower accord, and it is extremely natural and organic smelling. I don't pick up any synthetic vibes whatsoever. It smells fresh and outdoorsy, and very comforting to me because of how and where I grew up. My mom's favorite flower was definitely the sunflower, because of her pride in what it represented in her culture and its ties to her ethnicity. The sunflower is happy, vibrant, colorful, joyful and optimistic. It portrays the sun's life-giving energy. It is hopeful. Well, when I see sunflowers I think of my mom, and that makes me happy. And when I smell Paradis Provence, I am transported back to my youth, in our yard by a lake ... swimming, fishing, playing on a jungle gym, and having a picnic surrounded by a garden of my mom's sunflowers 🌻 ... times that were happy, joyful, optimistic and hopeful. That is how Paradis Provence makes me feel. Large areas around our home were covered with various crops and greenery, and Paradis Provence also really reminds me of driving on cool summer evenings with the windows and sunroof open, and the fresh smells of hay, grass, corn, tomato, dill, geranium, rosemary, linden blossoms and lavender mixing in the air. In addition to a sweet hay-like sunflower accord, I definitely smell other aromatics, especially lavender and thyme. Indeed, this fragrance's namesake is Provence. The lavender is gorgeous and natural. It is not overly sweet like Tom Ford Lavender Extreme, Chanel Jersey, Ormaie Le Passant, or Vero Profumo Kiki. With Paradis Provence, you can close your eyes and literally smell, see and feel the Valensole Plateau. The white floral notes are subtle and take a back seat to the herbal aromatics, but they do add a touch of elegance and grace, and perhaps reduce a bit of herbal bitterness. And finally, a woodsy base anchors the fragrance, a uniquely pleasant wood that apparently represents olive wood. Longevity, sillage and projection for me are all above average for a Parfum. This could absolutely be a daily wear, work/office scent, or signature scent. It could be dressed up for a formal or special occasion, or I could see myself wearing it with a white t-shirt and jeans running errands. It is extremely versatile. I think it can be worn in any season or climate. It was made to shine in the sunlight of the morning and afternoon, but it can be worn in the evening as well. It is definitively unisex. I don't think it leans one way or the other. In the end, this fragrance is extremely satisfying to me. I feel like it portrays a part of who I am and where I came from, and isn't that reason enough to love it? 10/10 and a Fragrantica score of 4.8 for me, one of the highest scores I have ever given a fragrance. Is it worth its price? I think it is. 🌻

This does smell like Provence, with the olive wood well prominent in the opening, and the lavender, and the thyme. It's a very different, intriguing scent, that improves with time. The olive wood stays in the background but the scent becomes more floral. The flowers are fresh wildflowers, herbaceous and delicate. The dry down is the best part of this scent, powdery, woody and floral. It doesn't smell like any other fragrance I've tried before and it reminds me of entering one of these shops selling soap and olive wood artifacts in Provence. It's just perfect. The projection is moderate, and the longevity is good. For the price, this should be a tattoo :) In my opinion, this is unisex and it would be very sexy in a man.

I agree with other reviewers: This is a masterpiece indeed. The most beautiful interpretation of lavender/Provençal herbs I’ve ever put my nose on. Bright, feminine, sunny and yet soothing. I can’t tease out the sunflower or orange blossom individually, but they are there to lift, smooth and slightly sweeten otherwise sharp aromatic ingredients. Lasting power is phenomenal and sillage is arm’s length. A joy to wear! I will treasure my 5 little mLs.

I can smell every single note, and they meld beautifully together. I don't recall smelling olive tree as a note before, and it's so much better than I expected. If this is how Provence smells, I need to go. Lasts 9+ hours on me too.

Fresh herbal lavender tempered by a bitter thyme, aerated and lifted by the white florals. Very vibrant and natural, but while reasonably balanced the thyme is just a smidge too medicinal for my tastes. :( Moderately soft projection for 2-3hr, longevity 10-12hr.

Paradis Provence is the first Shalini release I have not liked. The perfume is meant to be an evocation of a Mediterranean floral garden. It includes notes of lavender, thyme, orange blossom, sunflower, jasmine and olive leaves. The perfume settles into a clean detergent like powder on my skin. A bit disappointing considering the luxury price tag it comes with. I wish I could like this more since there are quality ingredients here but they don’t blend well together into an evocative scent. Unisex scent with moderate sillage and longevity. A disappointment.

A friend of mine invited me to the launch of Paradis Provence at The Pierre hotel! Magical evening in the South of France. One of most memorable evenings in New York city. Shalini spoke for a few minutes about all her parfums and described her inspirations. What an incredible woman! She inspired me as a creative woman. I have been enjoying wearing the fragrance since that evening and I really love the sunny quality of the orange. It is a unisex fragrance and my boyfriend has been borrowing it when I am not looking.

I met the lovely Shalini at Bergdorf Goodman. She introduced Paradis Provence to me and spoke about her summers in Provence. I immediately fell in love with the beautiful fragrance and have been wearing it for several weeks now! The quality of the ingredients and the beautiful composition of parfum is exquisite. It is bringing sunshine to my days as Shalini spoke about the parfum. It is my favorite of the Shalini parfums. I love Shalini, the first parfum a lot as well.

I find it odd that a couple of reviewers raving about this only own Shalini fragrances and have only reviewed Shalini fragrances. As for this I will sample and update however given the few but excellent reviews I thought this was a noteworthy detail for the people reading. Update: I did sample this and tbh to me its quite similar to Insolence EDP which I’m also quite familiar with. Higher quality here but oh my lord at what price!

Shalini has created a masterpiece with Paradis Provence. The blue lavender is lush and sensual. The orange blossom and thyme add a joie de vivre that is everything I love about Provence. Think warm sunny days, beautiful sunflowers, crisp rose and the Mediterranean. Paradis Provence takes you there. One of my all-time favorite parfums. Priceless!

Love love love this fragrance!!!