WHAT I SMELL: Lucienne’s opening is fresh with a light and airy citrus which moves quickly to a aqua magnolia that is framed by a starched and clean linen. The perfume starts off light and then seems to rapidly intensify while retaining its freshness. There’s a familiarity to the perfume that I can’t pinpoint, but there is something that reminds me of the way new clothes smell in an upscale store. Continuing on, the floral turn towards the “bathtastic” with all of the familiar scents that linger after a bubble bath has been taken…along with the slight humidity. Here the perfume is even more familiar as it takes me back to the 1970s and the smell of bathroom beads, bubble bath and shampoo. Lucienne is lovely in that it feels like an easy to wear old friend.
From the Liis website:
A Different Light.
Notes: Pomelo, Lemon Zest
Magnolia, Dragonfruit, Waterlily
Crisp Amber, Marine Accord
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: A well designed bathroom of yesteryear.
THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE LUCIENNNE: fresh, “bathtastic,” enjoyable
WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT LUCIENNE: No written reviews found.
BOTTOM LINE: Lucienne is a pretty and easy to wear perfume, but it’s also rather innocuous and I could see others asking what kind of shampoo you are using when you’re wearing it. But overall, Lucienne is a nice perfume and there’s nothing wrong with just being nice.
- Bone Rating: 3.5 out of possible 5 bones
- Scent: Floral
- Nose: Alissa Sullivan and Leslie Hendin
- Classification: Unisex, but leans a bit feminine
- Expense: $165 for 50 ml eau de parfum
WHAT I SMELL: Desiria opens with a soft and beautifully haunting magnolia that’s sheer, light and airy. It also feels as if it’s been infused with puffs of cotton as it’s warmed with a light ambered hue. As the perfume slowly exhales like a deep breath off the skin, a rounded rose quietly comes to the forefront as if a magic wand had been handed over from the magnolia to the rose. The rose is lightly sweetened, but for the most part, it stays mysteriously wrapped up in the sheer cotton just like the magnolia was. Here the perfume remains, projecting nicely but with an ethereal persona. Desiria isn’t complicated, but she’s sheer magic.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Rose colored feathers.
me that it was Desiria. I told her how nice it was but that I was surprised how soft it was for a perfume for men. Of course, not needing another perfume in my collection, I did what every perfumista does…I asked for a sample. When I got back home, I looked up the perfume on the Bvlgari website. Interestingly, it can’t be found on the US site, but it is available on the Bvlgari Mexican site (for international sales only?). I also found that there is Desiria for women (pictured up at top) and Desiria for men (see bottle to the left). In looking at the website copy it appears to be the same, but the notes are slightly different (but I do think it’s the same perfume). What is crazy is that the 100 ml for women is approximately $440 and the 100 ml for the men’s version is approximately $500. In any case, if anyone knows if they are the same I would love to know. And as much as this is a beautiful perfume, it does not justify anywhere near the price they are asking. I am so confused!
WHAT I SMELL: Opera Grande opens with fruit and berries that are lightly covered with a faint hair spray accord. The fruit and berries are candied sweet in a way that reminds me of hard candies that my grandmother used to have (and in which we didn’t want). In short time a rose enters and the combination of the fruit and rose make for a bit of an unnatural chemical mix. As the perfume continues to develop, a warmed ambered leather seems to slide in unexpectedly. The perfume has now moved from the fruity to this strange woody leather that is void of any moisture. The perfume, even with the fruit, was never juicy, but now it’s completely dry as it begins to quickly powder and project. Now the perfume feels like a chypre which to me makes it a bit more desirable, but there still resides this artificial biting note that I can’t put my finger on (maybe the nutmeg?). in the end Opera Grande slowly makes its way to a voluminous slightly soured patchouli/vanilla powder that is rather grand in size, but not necessarily in beauty.
WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Less Opera Grande and more Three Penny Opera.
The Scented Hound 