Bonbon

C'est si bonbon! I actually went to the store to sample this specific fragrance but hilariously enough the tester had ran out. I decided to purchase it anyway based on the notes, reviews, and - don't judge me please - the bottle design. This is so far my best blind buy, and I'd say it is a safe blind buy in general when you know what you want. The scent is indeed linear and doesn't evolve much which makes it a safe blind buy (if the fragrance is in your price range) because you pretty much get what you expect - there is no twist. It is for gourmand & caramel lovers. Caramel (which I believe to be prevailing) mixed with fruits and delicate woody notes in this one is just stellar. I get people who say it is not complex enough for the price, but perhaps the quality makes up for the lack of uniqueness. It doesn't smell like some cheap candy or generic body spray from your teenage years. I cannot think of any food to compare it with because frankly speaking I haven't ever eaten anything this delicious. Bonbon could be a dessert in a restaurant where they don't put prices on the menu. It starts off with a juicy blast of slightly synthetic sour peach that then blends into heavenly sweetness. I would've preferred photorealistic peach but otherwise it's perfect. Dries down to delicious fruity caramel with woody notes somewhere in the background making sure the scent isn't cloying. Average sillage and longevity, but if you really get close to the part you'd sprayed and inhale, it is definitely still there after half a day, and if you inhale deeply you'll feel like walking on soft pink clouds. The bottle feels very nice in your hand.

CREME CARAMEL topped with PEACHES. This golden gourmand beauty opens with a burst of syrupy peach that deepens into a creamy caramel heart with light touches of orange-blossom & jasmine, all resting on a amber-woody base with faint reminders of Hypnotic Poison in the long drydown. Well above average performance. Gourmand lovers will not be disappointed. Contrast to Gold Rush Paris Hilton: These are different but there are some similarities with both being super sweet gourmands. The openings are similar, but BonBon dries down more powdery almond, similar to Hypnotic Poison, while Gold Rush dries down more praline-vanilla. Contrast to Viva la Juicy Juicy Couture: These are different but there are some similarities with both being syrupy-fruity gourmands. Viva la Juicy has a faint licorice-y vibe in the drydown that I don't smell in Gold Rush. Both have excellent performance. Contrast to Casablanca Swiss Arabian: These are different, but there are similarities with both being syrupy sweet gourmands and a similar DNA. Casablanca is turbo-charged with oud & ambroxan underpinning it and it's trickier to wear. Overall: A sweet & creamy gourmand, this beauty delivers on its name, and it's much more affordable than many scents with similar profiles. Enjoy!

My bottle of BonBon by Viktor&Rolf represents, to this date, my first, and one of the best designer gourmands. Back in the 2010’s Viktor&Rolf was the IT brand with the release of Flowerbomb. But I was always very drawn to sweet, gourmand, delectable perfumes, so during the colder months BonBon was my favourite of their initial releases. If you’re looking for a caramelised peach, orange/mandarine jammy concoction, this juice is delicious. Doesn’t smell like the most expensive, elegant or elevated perfume ever created, but it’s very mass appealing, easy to understand and super likeable. I don’t particularly detect the flowers mentioned in the pyramid notes just caramelised peaches and a warm, cozy, creamy, woody base. Scrumptious to the point of becoming an overindulgent olfactive treat. Ten years later, we find ourselves in a market flooded with all kinds of delicious gourmands but I personally still love BonBon as much as I did when it was launched and I don’t find it immature or irrelevant. Might not be as hyped or as popular as it once was but it’s a good one for gourmands lovers!

Oh, Bonbon! This is the fragrance that started my gourmand obsession. There really is nothing else quite like it. Bonbon wraps you in a cloud of caramel sugar. It's warm, cozy, sweet, and decadent. At first glance, yes, it bears similarities to Fantasy. But Bonbon is much more rich, buttery, and long lasting. There's nothing "dark" about this one. Bonbon is very well-represented by the deep fuchsia color of the bottle. It's an undeniably feminine fragrance, delightful and young, more flirty than femme fatale. If you're on the fence because of the overwhelmingly sweet initial blast, spray it on an article of clothing and come back to it. That's what made me fall in love with it. There is a juicy complexity at play here--the peach and mandarin notes are so subtly well-blended that they can be hard to smell on oneself. It's worth noting that my boyfriend at the time, a notorious hater of ALL perfumes, leaned in and said, "Mmm...wait, what is that? You smell really good!" That's when I realized this was truly something special. Warm, gooey, sugary, juicy, delightful.

Love love love Bonbon. One of my first higher end perfumes, and it's the scent my boyfriend associates with me. Beautiful caramel, white floral, and orange. I always want to eat my skin when I wear Bonbon. However, sigh... she doesn't last. Her projection is.. decent. A while back when I would wear exclusively BB, I bought a few travel sprays to keep with me, and that definitely helped. Lasts moderately on clothes (5-6 hrs), super weak on skin (2 hrs max). Such a shame, too, because its such a wonderful frag. I will keep buying BB though, purely for the happiness it brings me. A perfume doesn't have to have outstanding performance for me to enjoy it. Sometimes its good to have more intimate scents. Love it for date night :). Perhaps I'll pick up some of her flankers sometime, an intense version would be wonderful. Bonbon couture, as I understand it, is stronger, but less sweet (my favorite part of og BB!). Oh well, I'll keep on loving it for what it is. Definitely a safe blind-buy to me if you like gourmands.