Absolutely Vital Diana Vreeland 2014

All lovers of this fragrance please forgive me - this little water absolutely does not suit my taste!

The sandalwood note is very present from the start; at least I now know that this is by no means my most beloved ingredient. The beginning also leaves a slightly bitter impression; looking at the fragrance pyramid, I suspect this could most likely be attributed to the myrrh. What follows leaves me puzzled given the decent price: sandalwood, and nothing but that. However, here it is in a softer form than the opening suggested. By the way, the note strongly reminds me of Dita von Teese's "Erotique" (yep, there's about 130 bucks between them), but I actually find the latter more interesting because of the leather accord.

Lastly, I am irritated that I cannot identify "Absolutely Vital" as a "perfume" at all - generally, I find it nice when a perfume blends well with the skin and thus does not smell forced and artificially "perfumy." But to me, "Absolutely Vital" smells like a cardigan that was resting on the back of a chair near a burning sandalwood incense stick and that you throw on again the next day. What a shame...