Katjuscha

A few minutes ago, I wrote a fragrance description for Poison Girl. Hypnotic Poison is, for me, the absolute opposite.
I can throw both fragrances on like a costume. Poison Girl transforms me into Lolita, innocent yet calculating.
Hypnotic Poison, on the other hand, turns me into the famous blonde poison from film noir, who hires a washed-up private detective because she believes someone wants to do her harm. Into a femme fatale who turns that private detective's head. A woman whose desires are evident, and who, in the best case, gets what she wants. A woman about whom monologues are delivered like

"It was one of those rainy Thursdays when she walked into my office. She had legs that reached to the sky, and the scent of her skin was like hypnotizing poison."

Hypnotic Poison is, for me, a very mature fragrance, without having that often bothersome grandeur of mature women's perfumes. Wearing this scent often reminds me of donning a red evening dress, which stands out among all the other dresses and people, drawing all eyes to it.

Especially the lily of the valley combined with jasmine gives Hypnotic Poison the volume to fill an entire room while still creating a pleasantly distant bubble. Personally, I would generally describe the fragrance as very floral. Perhaps it really is just the lily of the valley that I perceive as very strong.

Hypnotic Poison is, for me, a timeless classic; however, I feel that one must grow into the fragrance. At first, I couldn't really smell it at all (lily of the valley isn't really my thing), but I caught myself sniffing my wrist repeatedly throughout the day. So, do I like it after all? Seems so.

I can say that Hypnotic Poison is one of the more mature fragrances in my collection. It is my costume when I stride through the night as a demanding yet simultaneously distant femme fatale in a red evening dress.

"I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me."

The following text tends to exaggeration ;-)

Not long ago, I looked in the mirror and noticed how grown-up my face has become. No, I have no problem with aging, but something was different. Promptly, I took out my old ID card. That's right, my face has indeed become very mature. In my early 20s, I still had chubby cheeks and generally a round face. Well, there are 10 years, 35 kilograms less, more makeup routine, and plenty of party nights between my 20-year-old face and my current 30-year-old face.
Then I had to realize that I really like my face as it is now. With its high cheekbones and not-so-chubby cheeks anymore, it looks very feminine. When I get ready in front of the mirror, I like to feel like a classic diva.

Yes, I am no longer the round-faced child! I am a confident femme fatale.

But then I put on Poison Girl. And suddenly, I am Lolita, who with her innocent yet flirtatious aura turns men's heads and doesn't really understand what she is doing.

I don't mean to say that wearing Poison Girl makes you smell like a teenager (I smelled like synthetic strawberries and, surprise, vanilla as a teen).
No, rather it gives you the feeling of being innocent yet challenging and confident. You hide the true femme fatale behind the face of a child-woman.

For me, Poison Girl is not just a purely sweet scent. It carries something dark, mature with it, without becoming as grumpy as a "real women's perfume." It knows how to hide the darkness throughout the entire scent journey well, but not completely.
The scent does not change much, at least on my skin. From start to finish, it has this lascivious, provocative aura that makes it very interesting in my eyes.

Poison Girl is, for me, the Lolita among the Poison fragrances and definitely not just for young girls.

This fragrance is my first encounter with Guerlain. And it was not love at first sight.
At that time, I was looking for a Christmas gift for my husband, and since it turned out to be a perfume again, I received La Petite Robe Noire as a sample.
The sample then sat around for a while until it came back into my hands after a few days. I sprayed it on and shrugged my shoulders. The little black dress just didn't suit me. Had I perhaps eaten too many dominoes? This probably wouldn't work out for us.
At some point, hours later, when I wanted to rest my head in a thinking pose, the little black dress shot back into my nose.

What the heck? You're still here?
And suddenly, I fit into the little black dress, and it suited me perfectly, reminding me of dominoes again.

But why didn't I like it at first? The next day, I decided to give it another try. Was it the top notes? No, this time I really liked them, although I can't sniff out any lemon alongside the fruits.
Maybe it was indeed me? Perhaps I didn't have the right self-confidence to wear the little black dress in the morning. And why did I suddenly crave dominoes again?

One could say it was love at second sight. And I fell so deeply in love that La Petite Robe Noire has become my signature scent. Since I already wear black anyway, the little black dress also suits me at the office.

The longevity is insane. I sniff my wrist all day long, enjoying the sweet cherries, the savory almond that smells like marzipan to me, and the delicate rose.
In the base, the fragrance is very dark, which I like. Is it the smoky tea combined with the vanilla? In my opinion, it is the only fragrance in the entire line that fully deserves the name La Petite Robe Noire.

And now, every time the pre-Christmas season comes around, I buy 5 packs of dominoes and indulge myself in my little black dress.
Definitely a sight for the gods!

Yes, that was me. I was a delicate 16 and completely inexperienced. I had a crush on a young man. The age difference was already significant at that time, and I just wasn't ready. I didn't yet know what true love meant, and he wasn't looking for a real relationship either. So I let him move on. Let him make other girls happy and complete his "collection" with them.

I can only vaguely remember his name... was it Kay or Markus? What did he look like again? I think he had a big sports car... But I know he liked to smell Cool Water Woman by Davidoff on his companion.
And since I, at 16, obviously had no money for such luxury items as perfume, I would run to the perfume store every time we met and douse myself in it. (I confess!)
And like so many things that only become clear with growing up, I had to learn that this guy was certainly not the great love, and I can assume that his ex always used this perfume. The fact that I am not a fan of aquatic scents had already crystallized by then.

Years later, I actually bought a bottle of Cool Water Woman. Now I had experience and money. After the first spray, memories of that time came flooding back. I was so glad that I remembered my good upbringing in that crucial moment and let him go. Still, I fondly remember that time, and even though Cool Water Woman is an aquatic scent, I really like it.

I eventually only used the scent for sports, and when the bottle was empty, it ended up in my flacon "collection." It never became true love, but it was a nice time with him. Now it is in my collection, and I am ready for something serious.

For lovers of aquatic and fresh scents, Cool Water Woman is definitely a classic, and I enjoy it when it occasionally wafts into my nose.

Let him make other girls happy!

You can think what you want about drugstore fragrances. You can also think what you want about vanilla scents. And you can also think what you want about this, in my opinion, hideously ugly packaging.
But this fragrance surprised me. It is not like other vanilla scents that remind you of 90s disco and air fresheners. It doesn't just slap vanilla in your face, following the motto "Please, smell like a tipsy 15-year-old." No, you have to earn the vanilla in a subtle way.
It is there from the very beginning, but in its own way.

A princess who announces her arrival.
As a herald, she first sends forth the robust cloves and the less conspicuous cinnamon. Shortly after, the floral ladies-in-waiting, rose and jasmine, arrive, making the fragrance truly interesting. And only at the end does Princess Vanilla reveal herself. She had been hiding the whole time and shows herself in all her glory at the last moment.
Without being intrusive, she dances an entire evening with her court and disappears before she becomes embarrassing and persistent.

For me, this fragrance is one of the best vanilla scents I have ever tried (and unfortunately, I have tried many). I am glad that I did not let the packaging of the bottle and the shower gel box deter me. This fragrance is not as flat as one might initially expect.
Hopefully, Vanilla by Bettina Barty will not disappear from drugstores someday.