S Shakira 2010

Today I received my package from Sephora with my Shalimar OaV Sur la route du Mexique. An amazing scent - but that's not what this is about. Included in the package were some samples, including "S by Shakira," made by Puig, Barcelona.

Just as Coty in the USA focuses on celebrity fragrances, Puig does the same in Spain and has achieved, to my surprise, just as much success in Europe as Coty has across the Atlantic.

I can't understand or even comprehend it. With such "fragrances," the idea of perfume is taken to absurdity. After all, it's not about covering up unpleasant odors with perfume - which doesn't work anyway - but about smelling good and pleasant! For oneself, but also for the people around you!

So I took the plunge and tested the first sample, S by Shakira. I wish I hadn't! S by Shakira is painfully artificial, extremely sweet, and sticky. Nothing in nature smells like this! My nose burns and my head starts to ache. Who on earth would want to wear something like this? Shakira definitely wouldn't!

Neither would I!