WHAT I SMELL:  How can you not love a perfume’s opening when it’s rounded and buttery and topped with bergamot and orange?!  Sublime’s opening is incredibly full, rich and succulent, almost as if it’s an exotic fruit full of juice and ready to explode.   The perfume is heady without being completely over the top and the ylang-ylang is deliciously creamy.  After a few minutes, a light dust of oak moss appears, but it sits quietly under the wafting flowers and a light vanilla.  The perfume smells like it’s plucked from the heart of the Caribbean, but at the same time, there’s something incredibly cool and controlled about it that removes it from that locale.  As the perfume develops, it becomes more powdery, but no less radiant. After 20 minutes or so, the perfume softens, the florals become lighter, the powder becomes more pronounced and the warmed base becomes more prevalent.  What doesn’t change is that the perfume remains an incredible beauty.  In the end, you’re left with a golden dusty floral that is just the right amount of proper and just the right amount of pretty.

From the Jean Patou website:

SUBLIME is a joyous floral explosion, rich and rounded in contour and soft in texture. Its secret resides in the heart notes where floral notes are played against each other – rose and jasmine are combined with lily-of-the-valley and orange blossom, enhanced by warm notes of vetiver, sandalwood and oak moss. A vibrant cocktail of orange and mandarin provides sparkle and freshness, married with Ylang-Ylang from the Comoro Islands. The femininity and sensuality of Sublime gently emerges in the Vanilla base note.

Flight: Bergamot, Mandarin, Orange, Ylang Ylang
Fullness: Rose, Jasmine, Lily of the Valley, Orange Blossom
Wake: Madagascar Vanilla, Amber, Sandalwood

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Ellen Farner as Madeleine in the “Umbrellas of Cherbourg”…an unassuming classic beauty.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE SUBLIME: gorgeous, contained, sublime

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT SUBLIME: The Non-Blonde, AustralianPerfumeJunkies

BOTTOM LINE:  Sublime seems to take the back seat to Jean Patou’s Joy and 1000; but this understated floral beauty should be second to none.  Not as big as 1000 and not as taut at Joy, Sublime is a perfectly named perfume that in my book is an easier wear than both 1000 and Joy.

• Bone Rating:  4.5 out of possible 5 bones
• Scent:  Oriental Floral
• Nose: Jean Kerleo
• Classification: Feminine
• Expense: Prices vary greatly online, but can be found for around $50 for 1.7 oz. eau de parfum.  Review based on current eau de parfum version.