 |
Victoria's Secret Love Rocks Eau de Parfum
by MalibuMands
- - - - - - - - - - - -
The fragrance
- - - - - - - - - - - -
LOVE ROCKS is a limited edition flanker to the popular Victoria's Secret Sexy Little Things EDP range. The other editions in the range are Sexy Little Things, Sexy Little Things Noir, Ooh La La, Ooh La La Noir, Noir Tease, Vixen and Love Me. ...
As I've mentioned before I love the fragrances, bath products and cosmetic ranges by Victoria's Secret, as the quality is great and the fact that the company doesn't have any U.K. stores ups the appeal [shallow, I know] and uniqueness factor. My family and friends love Victoria's Secret products too, but as I've had things stolen from my suitcase on two different U.S. trips (no, I wasn't over the limit) I tend to order things online as it's safer.
The first thing you should know about LOVE ROCKS is that it has powdered notes from top notes to base, as this has the most developed floral notes so far in the Sexy Little Things range. The peony is the strongest scent note on me and lets well into the heart notes, despite the powdered florals being strong there is also some fruity/sweet notes that stand out too. The raspberry note is also well-developed and is sweet and sharp at the same time, I'm not sure on what they mean by raspberry sorbet as the note smells fresh and natural to me. The bergamot is lost under the powdered peony and raspberry, I get a brief whiff occasionally but it's not strong enough to be really noticeable.
The peony note note must carry down because the powdery note doesn't fade and I don't usually find jasmine or sandalwood powdery. I suppose it could be the stephanotis, but I'm not sure. Either way the powdered scent compliments the warmth of the sandalwood and sweetness of the jasmine perfectly. Underneath the florals is the plum, but I can't pick up on the peach, which is a shame as it's a favorite scent of mine.
The base is a airy mix of powdered vanilla and musk. There is still a lingering plum note which burns down with the fragrance, but I can't detect the violet and I'd guess that 'golden amber' here is maybe honey: Vegetal amber is not used in perfume, 'amber' is actually oils taken from modern resins and tree gums [e.g. benzoin and labdanum] and mixed with other oils such as vanilla, clove or patchouli.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Official scent notes
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Bergamot, peony, raspberry sorbet, sandalwood blossom, jasmine, peach nectar, plum, stephanotis, vanilla, gold amber, violet and musk cashmere.
- - - - - - - -
The bottle
- - - - - - - -
The glass bottle is solid red and has a black atomizer. My atomizer hasn't broke, but it is pretty common for atomizers to do so. The bottle has a basic screw top though, so it is easy to transfer the juice to a different bottle should it break.
LOVE ROCKS is only sold in a 50ml bottle.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Other buying considerations
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
LOVE ROCKS has the best staying power out of the perfume that I've used in the Sexy Little Things fragrance range. It burns down within six to eight hours. It does go close to the skin after three hours, but other people still notice it.
I bought my bottle in winter when the powdered sandalwood, musk and vanilla makes a creamy and warming mix. The fruits are perfectly balanced in strength with the florals, so it didn't seem out of place for the time of year. I still wear it during spring/summer months too, this is when the perfume being close to the skin comes in handy as the sweetness remains light. The fruit notes also seem more apparent to me and prevent the florals and creamy powderiness from becoming cloying.
As well as being wearable all year round I also happily wear this perfume for casual days, work and some evenings out. The fragrance is subtle, so colleagues won't find it irritating at work and for nights out it is long lasting and defined, but is not loud and yelling "look at me".
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Would I buy it again?
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
This is a pleasant, all year round scent with good staying power, at a reasonable price; Plus the bottle is pretty and adds a nice decorative touch to a dressing table. It does smell similar to the earlier Sexy Little Things flanker Ooh La La, but is stronger and the florals are more developed. I've tried Sexy Little Things and three of the flankers and I think that LOVE ROCKS is the nicest one in the range so far.
If you like soft, vanilla based fruity/floral and gourmand fragrances, such as Ooh La La, Christina Aguilera By Night and Royal Desire, Vera Wang Princess, Paris Hilton Can Can, or Philosophy Falling In Love I'd say that it's a safe bet that you'll enjoy this too.
I'd buy this again as LOVE ROCKS is easy to wear, the price is reasonable, the bottle is pretty and the staying power is better than it's scent-a-likes.
- - - - -
Price
- - - - -
On Amazon UK a bottle costs £24, which is a great price for a 50ml bottle of a non-UK brand of EDP.
And here is always Ebay too, where I've ordered Victoria's Secret perfumes from US sellers and the occasional UK seller with no problems.
Read the complete review |
 |
Victoria's Secret Ooh La La Eau de Parfum
by MalibuMands
- - - - - - - - - - -
The fragrance
- - - - - - - - - - -
The Victoria's Secret store on New York's 57th street is my dream store; The ground floor is stocked with perfume, cosmetics and toiletries [the actual underwear is on the first floor], so when I go on trips to the US I tend to go insane as soon as I go ... through the door - every product is honestly so nice and the quality is good too, so I stock up and always get requests for products from my family and friends too. If customs should ever stop me I'm done for*.
Anyway I was searching for UK suppliers to save on weight and space for next month's trip and found that a few perfumes are indeed available on UK based sites, so I present you with OOH LA LA, which is also one of my favourites...
The perfume applies lightly and fruity/sweet; The mandarin is the dominant note on my skin, but the sweet-but-tart apple note also stands out. I'm not sure on what they mean by dewfruit, do they mean honeydew melon? This would fit as the top notes do seem watery to me.
The floral notes never seem to fully develop - with is fine by me as I'm not a huge floral perfume wearer - and are mild and semi-masked by lingering mandarin. The peony is the easiest to separate and there is also a hint of white blossoms. When the perfumers say that the buttercream accord is pink they mean strawberry; Strawberries and cream notes softly drown out most of the florals. The perfume goes close to the skin though, so the sweetness isn't heavy.
The cream notes carry down to the base and mingle with the vanilla, so the creamy note is the main note on my skin and the musk is hidden. In fact all I can smell is vanilla and cream so this is what the perfumers interpretation of meringue must be. The whole fragrance is light and airy, so it does bring meringue to mind.
** There are five perfumes in the Sexy Little Things line: Sexy Little Things, Ooh La La, Sexy Little Things Noir, Love Rocks and Noir Tease **
- - - - - - - - - -
Scent notes
- - - - - - - - - -
Lady apple gala, mandarin, dewfruit, diamond orchid, cherry blossom, pink peony, pink buttercream, vanilla, musk and meringue.
- - - - - - - -
The bottle
- - - - - - - -
The glass bottle is clear, so the cheerful pink shade to the juice is clearly visible.
The bottle has a atomizer. While mine hasn't broke, it is common for atomizers to do so. The bottle has a basic screw though, so it is easy to transfer the juice to a different bottle should it break.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Other buying considerations
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
As mentioned above OOH LA LA is light, close to the skin and seems watery, so it was no real surprise that the fragrance burns down within about four hours. Not great by any means, but not the worst.
I bought my bottle in winter as the buttercream and vanilla is a comforting and warming mix. The fruits were nicely mingled with delicate florals, so it didn't seem out of place for the time of year. I continued to wear it as the weather improved and became warmer; This is when the perfume being close to the skin comes in handy as the sweetness remains light - it has never become cloying on me. The fruit notes also seem more apparent to me.
As well as being wearable all year round I also happily wear this perfume for casual days, work and some evenings out. The fragrance is subtle, so colleagues won't find it irritating at work and on many nights out I prefer something quieter as I get scent-headaches in crowds and/or when I get overheated.
- - - - - - - - - -
My thoughts
- - - - - - - - - -
This is a pleasant, all year round scent with good staying power, at a reasonable price; Plus the bottle is pretty and adds a nice decorative touch to a dressing table.
OOH LA LA is only let down by it's similarity Vera Wang Princess, Paris Hilton Can Can and Philosophy Falling In Love. If you like like any of those perfumes I'd say that it's a safe bet that you'll enjoy this too.
I'd buy this again as - while it's not great - the staying power is better than it's scent-a-likes, plus it's also a slightly cheaper option than Princess.
* True story; Whilst customs has never stopped me, security has stopped me on three separate trips. Once [at the ferry port to visit the Statue of Liberty] because I had traces of cocaine on my chair (most have come from the taxi cab's boot) and the other two were because the moisturizer I'd used showed up as explosive material on their scans [airport security swabbed my hands]. Yes - I did scrub my hands raw after moisturizing after the first incident.
- - - - -
Price
- - - - -
On Cheapsmells.com [I've used this site before and have never had a problem] a 50ml bottle costs £30. Of course there is always Ebay too, where I've ordered from US sellers [also with no problems] and the occasional UK seller too.
Read the complete review |
