Walk of Shame

Cedar, sweet floral, musk. It's fairly sweet and reminds me of a hope chest filled with violet sachets and lady stuff. Maybe heliotrope? as someone else mentioned. Could be tuberose, as that would play into the whole "after-sex" vibe. Very pretty and somewhat subtle, depending on application. Not a scent that really makes me think of naughtiness. Just kind of a "skin" scent, but I've also never done the "walk of shame" so not sure I am any kind of authority there! Reminds me of another perfume I've smelled, but I can't put a thumb on it. EDIT: Hints of ozone...and iris. This one has grown on me, but the opening is the best part of this, I feel, because of its crisp, peppery snap. The longer it's on, the more it reminds me of something else that STILL eludes my memory. Maybe a violet-scented soap? I generally *really* dislike soap notes, but I keep coming back to this one. I sprayed it over some solid perfume of plain violet and it still smells lovely. 2nd EDIT: This sorta has the same feel as Prada's Infusion d'Iris (edp). Gonna go out on a limb and say it might be the iris. It's lacking the heavier cedar note that d'Iris has, but this might be a more allergy-tolerable way to get it.

Based on usage of a small sample - There are no notes listed here, hmm, I cannot compare my thoughts with the listed notes, and the smell bent website doesn't list the notes either. OK so I will have a go at my interpretation of what I think I can smell, or how it smells like to me! Nervous now in case the notes are listed and I am way off! I would say the notes were something like: Opening - almond, pepper, heliotrope, ?coriander/something slightly tickly prickly woody/?cedar/?vetiver (can't quite place this note) Heart - almond, ?ylang, ?rose, ?blossom (something floral of this kind of nature not 100% sure what), heliotrope, pepper, musk, violet. Base - almond, musk,cedar, pepper, violet. That is what I *think* I am smelling! Hopefully that is useful! This opens to me with a strong almond, supported by pepper, heliotrope and a slightly prickly woody type note, something like coriander, cedar, vetiver..I think possibly cedar. Strong projection at this stage, my partner was sat about 5 feet away from me when I came into the room about 30mins after spraying, and he asked if I was "playing with my perfumes again" :) Over the next couple of hours this begins to soften and warm on the skin, revealing an almond dominant slightly floral heart - I cannot quite place the floral note - is it blossom of some kind, is it rose, is it ylang, is it all or none of the above?! Well this is the impression for me! There is also a peekaboo violet note in there I think and some heliotrope possibly. This also starts to develop a clean musk too after about 2 hours - I had worried this might become a skanky musk, with the name of the scent and all, but it remains clean on me. The peppery smell is still there but calmer at this stage, as projection starts to reduce and the musk comes to soften the edges. After a few hours, into the drydown this is lovely, the almond note remains, with a clean musk, a light floral note (possible violet/blossom)and a woody note, cedar or vetiver. Sillage is moderate at this stage, not yet a skin scent but not projecting madly. You'd only smell this if you came close I think (though it is hard to tell after several hours wear). Overall I'd say longevity was reasonable, probably about 6-8 hours, with moderate sillage - pretty strong for the first 2 hours, sitting close to skin thereafter. I actually think this smell is quite similar to My Queen Alexander McQueen. I like it. Would definitely have a bottle if I saw it for a good price, and will enjoy my sample, but it isn't going to the top of my purchase pile just yet. It is going on it though!

update on previous (long!) review below: Well, now being on my second sample bottle of this (I feel a full bottle in my future....!) and having done some more sampling and side by side comparison tests I feel that this does compare quite well with My Queen, I also found another scent that sits in the same "field" and that is L'eau d'Hiver. I find they are like the 3 points on a triangle and share a lot of similar features, therefore if you like one or both of the others I think you will like this too.

Notes: Overcast skies, the chill of cold concrete, a waft of bodega blossoms, and a bit of morning-after musk

It's nice but nothing that feels new or exciting. I get mostly musk with a bit of floral. The sillage is pretty sad and it doesn't last very long. I put this on in the morning and by the next hour I could no longer smell it on my designated "for sampling purposes" skin spot.