21 Bonaparte

21 Bonaparte, the new perfume by famed Paris based American couturier Vicky Tiel is classified as Oriental Floral. It is more than that, it is sensual, elegant, refined, a woman’s perfume. Launched in 2013 its creation stretches back many years to a glittering night in the South of France. The night Elizabeth Taylor won her second Oscar for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The star did not attend the awards in Los Angeles, she was in the south of France and Vicky was with her. When her husband Richard Burton lost the best actor award Elizabeth was very upset and stormed out of the villa heading down the stone steps that plunged into the Mediterranean Sea. Vicky was worried for her friend and followed her to see if she was alright. As she followed she noticed the night was filled with the scent of Jasmine, Gardenias and Tuberose. She stopped and looked about to find that she was surrounded on either side of the marble staircase by the very flowers she filled her senses. She made a mental note on the spot that some day she would make a perfume from that impression. She then continued down to the sea to find Elizabeth. It took some time, 47 years to finally realize the perfume in memory of that night. The name 21 Bonaparte is for the address of the dress boutique in Paris she owned with Taylor. The bottle is a regal beauty worthy of Taylor’s inspiration, the color, purple which Elizabeth loved. The perfume opens a tad sweet and spicy with black current, Mandarin Orange and star Anise. And at first it seemed to me to be a little too sweet. But in moments that sailed away leaving the perfume to become in every way that garden on the French Rivera in 1966. The middle notes are glorious, Jasmine, Gardenia and tuberose. Now it should be noted that true gardenia scent is impossible to extract from the flower and must be created with the expert blending of other white florals. Often times the attempt by perfumers fails to delver a believable facsimile of the scent, but in 21 Bonaparte we have a photo-realistic Gardenia blooming and lush. Here in the middle of the life of the perfume these flowers are joined buy a very subtle smoky vanilla, It seems to waft into the white midnight garden like an exotic incense. The dry down consists of Patchouli, Vanilla and smooth, woody and rich, sandalwood. The Patchouli brings a certain masculine vibe along with the sandalwood making 21 Bonaparte accessible to men. But only those who appreciate the indolic joys of white flowers on skin. The perfume lasts a very long time, around ten to twelve hours with a heavy sillage in the fist quarter of its lifespan. 21 Bonaparte is exclusive to and only sold on HSN. I have tried other perfumes by Vicky Tiel and found Sirene to be very nice, Ulysse for Men stunning, but 21 Bonaparte to me is her grand opus, a fine tribute to her friendship with Elizabeth Taylor and quite simply her best perfume to date. FIVE GOLD STARS ***** (FOR THE STORY THAT GOES WITH THIS REVIEW CHECK OUT MY BLOG SCENTS MEMORY)

Really, Really pretty fragrance. Sort of deep and dark to my nose. A noir type with a hint of "grown up" Fruity sweetness. The first spritz is misleading... overtly grapey somehow. But that quickly goes away and it's quite beautiful. The silage and longevity were surprisingly decent for the price point! And my skin doesn't typically hold even the most intense fragrances for more than two hours tops with very minimal silage. This one lasted about 4 hours with arms length silage the first hour. The price point on this is absolutely unbeatable. Inexpensive without smelling so. I highly recommend testing it out. Perfumania allowed me to test it on my skin before buying and I went back and bought the full bottle. 25 bucks I think on managers special. It smells far more expensive than that though! I often keep my "cheapies" & celebrity scents for days when I'm home alone, but this isn't a fragrance that announces it's low price or that you'd be embarrassed to wear outside the house. It's actually really, surprisingly classy and unique. I would definitely encourage others to test it out. It's quite beautiful! Bonaparte 21 is 100% a night fragrance in my eyes. The enormous silage and dark depth would be ill fitting for daytime use. I love the purple and gold bottle. Royal colors seems suitable. The concept is perfect though the bottle is slightly less impressive up close. But for the price this is just over all really nice. Totally Underrated fragrance in my opinion. Perfumania will happily allow you to test it out if you're looking to try before you buy.

21 Bonaparte is a classy beauty. Smooth, rich, creamy skin scent that lasts until you wash it off. It has good projection, wafting around you like a gentle cloud. No matter how much you spray, you can't overdo this fragrance. It remains non offensive, controlled and civilized. The flowers are very minimal, wrapped in soft deep vanilla. It's hard to detect individual flowers, since they are melded together in what appear to be equal minimal amounts. The vanilla is sweet, but not sugar sweet. Sandalwood is strong, very mellow, rich and deep. The anise is so well blended that it's virtually undetectable. This scent opens with a taste of mandarin and black currant, but that quickly fades. 12 Bonaparte morphs into a super long lasting very upscale blend, NOT "perfumey", flowery, or soapy at all. It's more like a natural clean skin scent. I do not find it even remotely "powdery". It's creamy, NOT powdery at all. This fragrance works very well in all seasons, all temperatures. Hot humid weather slightly enhances the subtle flowers blend. No matter where or how you wear this, 21 Bonaparte remains a restrained, high class, sophisticated, clean, expensive smelling skin scent that's noticeable but not offensive in any way. This is such a clean smooth non-flowery skin scent that it could easily be unisex. It's also good for layering with other perfumes to help give them long lasting power. 21 Bonaparte is unique, perfect for all occasions, from very formal to casual, and definitely a keeper !

Beautiful grown up perfume. Unfortunately the longevity is poor and the projection is weak. Smells really nice on the skin but it's over in an hour or less! It's a perfume that can only be detected up close by one other person. It's a romantic and exotic jasmine perfume. To my nose, this is mostly white jasmine and patchouli, but too toned down to be a real Oriental scent. The opening is blackcurrant with a slight sour and fruity vibe. There's some spicy anise note thrown in there. The white flowers are tuberose gardenia and jasmine but it's not a white flower bomb. It's mainly a discreet jasmine. Then it goes into the patchouli musk and vanilla. The vanilla is very warm and nice. This scent is good for fall and winter. It's elegant, feminine, classy, and perfect for dinner dates and romantic evenings.

I bought this today based on reviews and a desire to move away from so many fruits and flowers scents. It is sophisticated and warm. I'm new to it, sure, but I believe in love at first sight (smell) . It is warm and lovely and not as strong as I feared. Love is in the air.