Zowie

People describe this scent as safe, feminine, elegant, and suitable for daily wear. All of those are true. But do not negate it from being a delightful gem of perfumery. Delectable rose, peony, lychee, and subtle woods... it is sharp yet not quite fresh. The woods add a musky, warm quality.

I occupy a strange niche of being alternative, bold, and quirky in my style and pursuits, but possessing an English Rose kind of vibe. I find that this scent augments the latter aspect and even makes me feel pleasingly incongruent, which in turn makes an innocent, elegant scent feel naughty.

It's quite a strong fragrance. One spray is enough, and personally I like to have that spray lower down on my body so that it doesn't overwhelm me. What more to say? The scent is linear and delightful.

Wow, this is an interesting one. I remember the first time I sprayed this, I was so dissapointed by what seemed like a pissy undertone to the ambery vanilla. There's definitely something animalic going on there! I felt like I needed to give it another go though because on paper this fragrance should be something I would love. I highly recommend spraying this only once on your first wear, and being patient with it as it evolves. Don't sniff it super close-up. Allow the scent to come to you.

It opens with a juicy bergamot, lasciviously cuddled in a cloud of powdery iris and vanilla. There's something about the vanilla which is almost smoky or incensey, like you've entered an exclusive bar billowing with cigarette smoke. As it dries down, there is a dusty bookshelf vibe that emerges. I note jasmine, blossom, and the balsamic notes beginning to shine. I personally don't detect the rose in this. The more I sniff, I find a leather nuance (which is normally not my taste), and a hint of cedar.... exquisite.

It truly does have that powdery vintage glamour aura. But I am confounded as to when I could wear this honestly. To me this is not a day scent, and i'm not even sure if it's a "me" scent. There's something about the dustiness or animalic undertone that i'm not yet convinvced sits well on my skin. I can't deny though that it's really gorgeous in its decadence, and I can't stop spraying it.

You might ask me where on earth i've been all my life to not have smelled this before, but in my 3.5 decades, I can't place it. It's a cold, almost camphorous jasmine. Slightly medicinal. As a superfan of Ropion's Carnal Flower, I find this linear and notably less piercingly narcotic in comparison. Alien is creamier, more feminine, less complex, and on my skin, quite sunscreeny.

It might help that I was never subject to the marketing, but I don't get anything particularly "alien" about the scent. It is recognisably jasmine, embedded in an unobstrusive musky-woody amber. I would wear this any time, albeit quietly, 1-3 sprays max depending on the setting. It's morish, delicious, and an easy reach.

Very similar to Do Son by Diptque. There's pros and cons to both. Do Son has a slight biscuityness (think digestive biscuit) that I find distracting, but it's also somehow "brighter" than Bloom. This is a pleasant and light jasmine/tuberose. It's ever so slightly powdery as it dries down but in a way that is still very realisitic floral. I veer towards saying it's not exactly sweet, though others have described it that way. It's really just like walking into a greenhouse of white flowers on a sunny and dry day. It's not a complex or exciting fragrance, but it's elegant and fresh such that it's wearable for many occasions. I would wear this to the office or any formal occasion where a more flamboyant scent wouldn't be appropriate.

This is a difficult one for me. The rubbery, leathery saffron accord and strong nutmeg overwhelm everything else upon spraying. The rubberiness reminds me of everything I dislike about BR540. It's really hard to discern the floral notes, though it could just be the way it sits on my skin. As it settles I do get a hint of jammy rose but my nose struggles to find it, as it's drowning is a sea of rubber, oud, and cypriol. Such a shame because I expected to like this from the notes.