Secret Charm Victoria's Secret Eau de Toilette

I never thought I would find a fragrance at Victoria's Secret that felt tailor-made for me. I had been very skeptical about the brand's perfumes until now, although I’m not exactly sure where these prejudices came from. But I do know. VS is a successful lingerie label and could sell anything just because that name is on it, which everyone associates with flawless, winged top models. They don’t even have to put effort into the scent composition; it’s just commercialism to extract money from mainstream girls. That’s what I thought, anyway. After Secret Charm, I’m not so sure anymore.

When I stood in the VS store in front of the many bottles, I decided to give one of them a chance since I was already there. I chose Secret Charm because it was blue (my absolute favorite color) and the name sounded quite promising. So I sprayed it on and expected all my prejudices to be confirmed. I anticipated a sticky, artificial, kitschy sweetness and already envisioned myself walking out of the store empty-handed.

And then I cautiously sniffed my wrist...
...and was blown away.

Secret Charm is unpretentious, gentle, and natural. I really didn’t expect that. Restraint and sophistication, unpretentious elegance...from VS?!

The scent is very warm, light, and floral on me; honeysuckle and jasmine complement each other perfectly, and neither is synthetic but rather close to nature. It truly suits me and fits into my everyday life. That’s why I ended up buying it.

Not so praiseworthy is the longevity; the scent fades rather quickly, but I’m happy to overlook that for this fragrance. I can always reapply it, and I enjoy doing so.

By now, I’ve worn it several times and even received a compliment from my best friend.

“You smell amazing, what is that?”
Me: “Victoria's Secret.”
“What?!” she sniffed again, incredulously.
“Yeah, I never thought so either...” I smiled.