Top Notes 
Heart Notes 
Base Notes 
08/09/2023
Exciter76
77 Reviews
Exciter76
2
Britney's Believe Without Personality Or Patchouli
Originally reviewed on July 19, 2012:
I know there are "celebuscent" naysayers who turn a stuffed nostril on all that are endorsed by celebrities. I am not one of the naysayers. Even if I despised Jennifer Lopez, I cannot imagine her donning a white lab coat, tinkering with Iso-E-Super and other extracts, and debating the finer points of vintage oakmoss with Gabriela Chelariu as they collaborated on Glow After Dark. At best, I would suppose J. Lo gives a vague description of her dream perfume and, at the end of the creation process, gives a thumbs up or down. So my endorsement or rejection of a "celebuscent" is unrelated to my feelings for said celebrity. I am all about what’s in the bottle. (2023 me wants to know if that disclaimer is over or not? We good? Okay!)
Say what you will about any of Jennifer Lopez’s fragrances, they all have one common trait that sets them apart from all other "celebuscents": longevity. I like most of J. Lo’s offerings—heck, Miami Glow is a favorite of mine. Love & Glamour does not garner that kind of adoration from me but I do like it a lot. It’s thick with guava and a pinch of sandalwood here and a sprinkling of water lily and musk there. Really, it’s guava juice. I love tropical fruits so it’s a win for me. To smell it, one would think it would be a fleeting fancy of a fruit cocktail but, like most J. Lo offerings, it has some heavy-duty endurance. I find this particular scent to be great for the unforgiving heat and humidity that’s been plaguing Southern California. Lately, it has earnestly won me over. There is no such thing as a ‘safe blind-buy’ but I do believe tropical fruit/guava lovers will not be disappointed with L&G.
Updated thoughts on August 9, 2023:
I received a bottle of Love and Glamour from a corporate executive who wanted to thank me for doing my job, being a low level cosmetics support manager at a few Macy's counters. I thought it was out of pure benevolence but someone told someone else at the executive level that I loved writing perfume reviews online. So, positive free press? Goodness, I was so naïve. It doesn't matter. I still got a free bottle out of the deal, so there's that perk. Just know the thoughts above were honest, even if I didn't make the connection that a free bottle would lead to free positive word-of-mouth endorsements.
It just hit me: this was Believe without the heavy patchouli, which gave Believe its personality and made it interesting. I was just beyond the targeted age demographic when I tried this. I still enjoyed it. It was a simple summery guava perfume that had lasting power. For the price point they were requesting, it was kind of absurd. For a period of time, it was found at discounters for a great price, and that price point was just right. I would go on to discover other prestige fruity florals (Champs-Élysées Eau de Toilette, I'm looking at you) and niche offerings (ahem, Traversée du Bosphore, ahem), which would make Love and Glamour pale in comparison. I'd eventually pass this along in a swap at some point and never look to replace it.
It's a divine scent if you love guava and can find a bottle for less than $20. If you cannot answer yes to both of those conditions, don't bother. I assume it has been discontinued, hence the rising prices on eBay. That's no excuse to spend more than $20USD for this. Anything above $20USD is swindling.
I know there are "celebuscent" naysayers who turn a stuffed nostril on all that are endorsed by celebrities. I am not one of the naysayers. Even if I despised Jennifer Lopez, I cannot imagine her donning a white lab coat, tinkering with Iso-E-Super and other extracts, and debating the finer points of vintage oakmoss with Gabriela Chelariu as they collaborated on Glow After Dark. At best, I would suppose J. Lo gives a vague description of her dream perfume and, at the end of the creation process, gives a thumbs up or down. So my endorsement or rejection of a "celebuscent" is unrelated to my feelings for said celebrity. I am all about what’s in the bottle. (2023 me wants to know if that disclaimer is over or not? We good? Okay!)
Say what you will about any of Jennifer Lopez’s fragrances, they all have one common trait that sets them apart from all other "celebuscents": longevity. I like most of J. Lo’s offerings—heck, Miami Glow is a favorite of mine. Love & Glamour does not garner that kind of adoration from me but I do like it a lot. It’s thick with guava and a pinch of sandalwood here and a sprinkling of water lily and musk there. Really, it’s guava juice. I love tropical fruits so it’s a win for me. To smell it, one would think it would be a fleeting fancy of a fruit cocktail but, like most J. Lo offerings, it has some heavy-duty endurance. I find this particular scent to be great for the unforgiving heat and humidity that’s been plaguing Southern California. Lately, it has earnestly won me over. There is no such thing as a ‘safe blind-buy’ but I do believe tropical fruit/guava lovers will not be disappointed with L&G.
Updated thoughts on August 9, 2023:
I received a bottle of Love and Glamour from a corporate executive who wanted to thank me for doing my job, being a low level cosmetics support manager at a few Macy's counters. I thought it was out of pure benevolence but someone told someone else at the executive level that I loved writing perfume reviews online. So, positive free press? Goodness, I was so naïve. It doesn't matter. I still got a free bottle out of the deal, so there's that perk. Just know the thoughts above were honest, even if I didn't make the connection that a free bottle would lead to free positive word-of-mouth endorsements.
It just hit me: this was Believe without the heavy patchouli, which gave Believe its personality and made it interesting. I was just beyond the targeted age demographic when I tried this. I still enjoyed it. It was a simple summery guava perfume that had lasting power. For the price point they were requesting, it was kind of absurd. For a period of time, it was found at discounters for a great price, and that price point was just right. I would go on to discover other prestige fruity florals (Champs-Élysées Eau de Toilette, I'm looking at you) and niche offerings (ahem, Traversée du Bosphore, ahem), which would make Love and Glamour pale in comparison. I'd eventually pass this along in a swap at some point and never look to replace it.
It's a divine scent if you love guava and can find a bottle for less than $20. If you cannot answer yes to both of those conditions, don't bother. I assume it has been discontinued, hence the rising prices on eBay. That's no excuse to spend more than $20USD for this. Anything above $20USD is swindling.
