PrisAloha

Last night after dinner, my boyfriend and I went shopping - doing the big weekly grocery shopping. Because it's so nice and quiet in the evening after 8 PM, so late.

For my boyfriend, shopping in the evening is more pleasant because we shop very differently:
I get distracted by every little thing, looking at children's toys - neither of us has a child - Advent calendars with tools inside, various types of vinegar - I am what one now calls a foodie - colorful synthetic socks that I would never buy, simply everything I would love to look at, examine, and ponder forever whether I need it, or just want to buy it for the sake of it.
That stresses him.

He already goes through the order of the items on the escalator, to then race through the aisles at breakneck speed, throwing everything into the cart and trying to set a new record in the discipline of 'quick shopping'.
That stresses me.

"I'm just quickly at the make-up section, looking for a new eyebrow pencil," I say to him while he grabs tissues and shower gel, and I head off - I already know that I will probably take a bit longer than for the actual search for an eyebrow pencil, as my 'regular product' has unfortunately been discontinued.
Upon arriving in the department, a limited edition catches my eye at a counter - in Christmas colors. And something that looks like a perfume! My curiosity is piqued once again.
In front of the perfume box yawns an unfortunately empty spot where the tester should be. Hm, should I stand around forever and think, or should I - we both agreed to make an effort while shopping to minimize stress - pull myself together and decide more quickly. So I quickly put the box in the cart, along with the things I really need.
When unpacking the goods, he holds the box in his hand, glances at it briefly, seems to wonder only for a moment, and places it on the conveyor belt at the checkout.

This morning it was finally time, my boyfriend is already out of the house, I have duty later and test the new scent.
As I learned at home, the scent is supposed to smell like cranberry. I love cranberries, I even like to cook cranberry sauce for savory dishes in winter. Right after spraying it on, it begins!
But _this_ berry was not mentioned?! More fitting for this specimen would be Cryberry, or in German, Brüllbeere.
It overpowers everything else for almost two hours:
The other listed notes in the top and heart notes, and even my beloved smoked Earl Grey tea (the one for drinking, not a perfume). With every movement, berry and I am already tempted to wash it off; it annoys me.
But I hold on. The berry does too.
It sings at full volume: "My sister's name is Polyester, she’s been sucking on the same yellow plastic candy for almost 9 years!".

After almost two hours, the berry seems tired, it fades, only humming softly to itself, snuggling into a soft blanket of vanilla and lots and lots of caramel, and finally falls asleep.
The tonka bean apparently couldn't take it and, before I could discover it, disappeared without a trace. But that's okay.

Well then. Pleasant. This is how we can tolerate each other.
At least at home. Sometimes. Okay, probably only very rarely. And only when it's just the two of us. Then maybe the Cryberry can come out of its plain little flacon again, because I unfortunately find it a bit too difficult to get through the previous phase.

In summary:

The scent delivers what it promises. It costs under 5 euros and the packaging states exactly what it offers, namely berry and vanilla. That's okay.

The box is in matte red. On it is a green leaf wreath, in its inner white center, the name of the perfume is in shiny gold lettering.
Around the entire area of the green wreath and the white circle, you can see small white snowflakes.
Pretty, I like the packaging.
On the back, in two Christmas ornaments, it says "get your special christmas feeling with me!" and "magical berry & vanilla notes".
I only read both after the test - to be precise, at the moment I turned the box around to describe it here.

The flacon is simple, with rounded corners, and the scent inside has a minimal pink tint.
The spray unit, however, is fine and does not look cheap.
Unfortunately, the flacon overall does not seem particularly high-quality, as the cap does not close properly and slips off very easily.

The longevity is quite okay for a scent in this price range.
Unfortunately, I cannot assess the sillage, as I perceived the cranberry as so strong that I cannot distinguish whether the intensity was due to my perception or focus on it, or if the sillage of the scent is indeed that expansive.

So where does 'The Balance in Person' in the title come from?
I don't mean the scent, but my boyfriend.
He already knows at the checkout in the supermarket that I won't really wear the scent, but will continue with my beloved Lehmann scents, Serge Lutens, and other tried and true ones; I just want to take it out of curiosity for everything that smells.
Nevertheless, he doesn't complain, but accepts me, my quirks, and allows me my joy in little things like this drugstore scent.

Actually, I just wanted to sign up for a fragrance reading at the Serge Lutens counter. Well, _actually_...
Since I was already there, I let myself be advised by the Shiseido lady. And she did a good job.

She 'warned' me beforehand that the scent was sweet and smelled of chocolate, asking if I still wanted to try it, but initially revealed nothing specific about the fragrance pyramid. While I have some of Serge Lutens' scents in my head, this one I did not.

So after the alcohol evaporated, I clearly had coffee in my mind first. Coffee with a creamy note, sweet but not sticky. I don’t notice any chocolate, however.

As with many Lutens scents, spices cannot be missing here either. However, they are not 'In Yo' Face!' as initially with some of his other creations, but rather implemented like in Chai:
Spicy, but creamy - I suspect the coconut here - not sparkling or piercing. I had expected that from the licorice after reading the fragrance pyramid, but it completely hides from me and doesn’t show itself at all.

I must admit that I cannot recognize much of a scent development. For me, it doesn’t really change, but smells very lightly, a bit sweet, and so gentle.
I cannot perceive anything sweaty, or even rat cage - I used to have some - at all. However, I think it could be the slightly yeasty milk note, which I associate with comfort.

The entire scent strikes me as very subtle overall.
I don’t know Serge like this, but I find it absolutely wonderful. The scent is really only for the wearer themselves.
For me, it’s more of an association than an actual scent. It’s there, yet also not, almost unreal.
And it reminds me of my partner's skin when he jumps into the water from the boat in summer and is dried off. He then lies on the boat in the sun and smells like Jeux de Peau. Or Jeux de Peau like him? I don’t know. It doesn’t matter. I’m in love. With both.

When I asked my boyfriend in the evening after the test what he smelled and held my wrist to his nose, he said he barely noticed anything. Bas de Soi on the other arm, however, he immediately recognized as floral and liked it even though he usually likes floral scents less.

In short:

The bottle is the usual elegant, simple square bottle made of transparent glass found in the 'older' Serge Lutens scents and carries a light label.

The scent is definitely sweet, fortunately not syrupy-sticky, and very gentle.

The sillage or projection is, in my perception, almost non-existent. Just as it is perfect for me with this scent.

The longevity is, as is typical for Serge Lutens, long, but not so long that it lasts into the next day when you might want to wear a different scent, perhaps the same coat as the day before.

During my waiting time in a drugstore, I noticed this perfume - marked with its siblings in silver-metallic and red-metallic with a red 'NEW' sign. Given the price, I was skeptical, but I didn't want to be too biased, so I tested By Night.

The handling of the bottle proved to be quite difficult:
According to the label at the bottom, you have to turn the lower edge of the bottle to the right to open it. Then, a kind of spray head twists out from the top. I tried pressing it several times without anything happening until it turned out that it has to be _exactly_ centered, otherwise it gets stuck - which is not visible from the outside - for it to do something resembling spraying at all.
It looks like the closures of some deodorant spray cans. In my opinion, inappropriate for a perfume.

Applied to the skin and the test strip, I found it quite uncomfortable to go into another store where I still had errands to run. The scent is, for me - if one likes perfumes in this direction - indeed something for 'dressing up' for the evening, so 'by night'.

Yes, I have to admit, I think you can tell that the perfume is very 'cheap'. Nevertheless, I believe I can detect a hint of sandalwood. Vanilla is clear and distinct, and of course, jasmine had to be included. There's also something fruity that I can't identify more precisely no matter how hard I try.
Everything about this scent screams 'I am SEXY!', unfortunately in a very vulgar, nerve-wracking way.
Nonetheless, By Night is more bearable for me than its two siblings in red and silver.

During my wait in a drugstore, this perfume caught my attention - marked with its siblings in silver-metallic and blue-metallic with a red 'NEW' sign. Although I was skeptical given the price, I didn't want to be too biased, so I tested Vanilla Kiss.

Even handling the bottle proved to be difficult:
According to the label on the bottom, you have to twist the bottom edge of the bottle to the right to open it. After that, a sort of spray nozzle pops out from the top. I tried pressing it several times without anything happening, until it turned out that it must be positioned _exactly_ in the center, as otherwise it gets stuck - which is not visible from the outside - so that it can do something resembling spraying at all.
It looks like the closures of some deodorant spray cans. In my opinion, inappropriate for a perfume.

There is no trace of the bergamot indicated in the fragrance pyramid.
The other components blend into a sort of breath-stealing Smellzilla of the cheapest - yes, exactly, not the affordable - kind:
Sweet, heavy, and syrupy sticky. Vanilla can be distinguished, while something else cloying is present - I think that’s supposed to be the jasmine note. It reminds me more of something dead that is rotting away.

For younger people who might just be taking their first steps towards perfume, and for whom other cheap drugstore scents may indeed have their justification, I find the fragrance too heavy; for older individuals, it seems too vulgar to me. And above all, this carrion note.
So unfortunately, I have no idea who should wear something like this headache-inducing scent. I, for one, am glad that it is not particularly long-lasting and can be easily removed with a treatment of cooking oil and soap.

During my waiting time in a drugstore, I noticed this perfume - marked with its siblings in red metallic and blue metallic, with a red 'NEW' label. Although I was skeptical given the price, I didn't want to be too biased, so I tested Flower Explosion.
... unfortunately, I must say.

Even handling the bottle proved to be difficult:
According to the label at the bottom, you have to twist the lower edge of the bottle to the right to open it. Then, a kind of spray head twists out from the top. I tried pressing it several times without anything happening, until it turned out that it must be positioned _exactly_ in the center, as otherwise it gets stuck - which is not visible from the outside - for it to do anything resembling spraying.
It looks like the closures of some deodorant spray cans. In my opinion, inappropriate for a perfume.

Once the scent is on the test strip and the skin, a synthetic sweetness spreads, yet it is a cold cloud.

I didn't know the fragrance pyramid while testing. I often like scents with rose - I even own monothematic ones. Here, I could and can’t recognize any rose, try as I might.
Something floral, yes, okay, but unfortunately that’s about it. There’s nothing reminiscent of a 'nice' summer meadow that doesn’t hurt anyone, like some other drugstore scents suggest, nor of an elegant, carefully designed garden, and - fortunately - not of any other floral perfume that I know.

Here in Berlin, there is a huge Asian 'market hall' or several halls. Artificial flowers are sold there, ranging from cheap to high quality. In winter, it’s relatively cold in these halls. I can imagine the cheap version of these artificial flowers, which emit quite strong plasticizers, in the middle of winter, yes, with this scent. Not for me, or anyone near me, anyway.

I have not the faintest idea what could be 'exploded' here, but certainly not flowers. At most, a sauce of nasty musk and all the components that the manufacturer has categorized under 'cheap', I’m afraid I can’t express it more diplomatically.