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Bvlgari Jasmin Noir Eau de Parfum
by Lydsabug
I spend a lot of my waiting time in airports in the duty free shop, planning what I would buy if I had the funds on my return leg of my holiday, this time was no exception really. I had tried a lot of perfumes to the point that my nose was exhausted with the various smells and I could no longer distinguish between them all, so I gave up ... and decided I would have a sniff of those in the US duty free shop in Orlando. I didnt have to wait until then as wandering around Epcot, I stumbled upon the Bvlgari shop and smelt Jasmine Noir for the first time. I couldnt believe how lovely and fresh this smelt but I was shocked, nay, startled by the price tag of $83 plus tax and left it well alone.
My neice who was with me on this journey had noted that I like the perfume and to cut a rather long story short, she bought me this for Christmas on our return which means I cannot tell you how much this particular bottle cost, it was 100mls and retails for around £50 ish, depending where you would purchase it from.
---- The Bottle -----
This perfume comes in a black box with gold writing, very elegant to look at and oozes luxury, cellophane covered, it obviosly feels heavy with its 100mls bottle inside and the inside of the box has the white insert that also need to be opened to get to the bottle. The bottle itself is squat and square with some shaping around the base of the neck, it is black and not transparent. The bottle top is gold coloured and pushes onto the neck of the bottle itself, it is a snug fit and looks every part a beautifully expensive item. Its not the easiest of bottles to hold when using due to its small structure, it sits awkwardly in the hand to spray, this bottle has also a gold coloured spray button and I find two hands are needed to direct and spray. It has a thick base to the bottle, which for me give a sense of quality and one which i like, it stays put on a surface and isnt easily knocked over.
---- The Smell -----
I have always loved Bvlgari perfumes but tend to veer towards the Omni varieties, namely Crystalline so for me this was a different choice. Its not a perfume to wear in the day for me as its too musky and warm but that said, I get such a lot of compliments when wearing it that if I put just a little on when going about the day, it smells lighter. I spray two squirts on each side of my neck and one on each wrist for an evening and just one either side of my neck for day wear if I have an interview with a client or meeting someone...otherwise its the lighter perfumes I would chose.
I can liken this scent to Coco Madamoiselle by Chanel and originally, that was the perfume I was wanting, this smells less mature than Coco and may be a little more pricey..........Its a clean yet heady perfume and one which carries its smell for the entire time you are wearing it. Lovely.
Jasmine Noir smells floral to begin with but then dries to a musky woody scent that is lighter than the Vetyver type perfumes but remains as warm, it is a little citrus smelling also but this disappears pretty quickly. There is an almond base to this perfume which i did pick up but not the vanilla advertised thankfully, I really dislike vanilla smells and wouldnt have worn this if it had smelt of it. I have used Jasmine perfumes before and I have to be honest, this doesnt really give off that sort of smell, more of a wood than flowers but with a base of sweet flowers sitting in the background.
The smell of this perfume is divine but I wouldnt go by the name of it as a deciding factor, make sure you smell it before you buy as its not all you would think from the name Jasmine....Noir gives an indication of dark and some could descrbe the initial application as this but the dry down is stunning. It will always smell different on different women so at the price, try first and leave for a few hours before you purchase.
----- My Thoughts -----
I would buy this perfume again in a heartbeat, for evening wear it would be my signature fragrance, but not really for the day. The whole packaging suggests an exquisite product and the price is good for the lasting power of this fragrance, I can honestly say I can still smell this on me the morning after the evening I have worn it. The bigger bottles are better value and for the amount of time I wear this it makes sense to spend the extra and have it last, I wouldnt want to run out!
A great fragrance that is well presented and packaged
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Bvlgari Femme Eau de Parfum
by walsha11
This perfume comes in a beautifully elegant little glass bottle which is rectangular in shape. It has a gold coloured metal lid which is reminiscent of roman pillars to me, those whole thing speaks of very classic architecture. The elegance of this square cut bottle is softened by a curved glass base inside the form which hold the ... perfume. The bottle feels heavy and this just adds to the feeling of luxury you get when you look at it or hold it. The whole things screams expensive which means it has real wow factor as a gift.
The perfume inside is a light almost pinky goldy colour which is really quite stunning. I alway worry with yellowy coloured perfumes that they begin to look a little like urine but this one has a really stunning light, ethereal colour to it which is enhanced by the pinky/gold tones of the bottle and the box. The whole thing is very pretty and feminine, without having to be pink all over.
The perfume has a strong smell initially and it is mostly florals and fruits that hit your right away. This is my favourite style of scent so I was very pleased when I first smelt it because it has a beautiful mix of my two favourite types of fragrances. The first notes you get are carnations, violets, raspberries, bergamot and orange blossom. These combine to give a heady mixture of fruity floral notes with and underbelly of citrus kick. I love this mixture as it is sexy, light, fresh and a little mysterious.
The heart notes for this fragrance are violets, jasmine, orris, heliotrope, rose, lily of the valley and green tea. These are just about all my favourite things so the centre of the perfume for me is the best bit because it has that beautiful powdery floral fragrance that is so elegant and timeless and so appropriate for day or night, or any event.
The fragrance then mellows out and towards the end you get a beautiful combination of woody and musky scents with an undertone of sweet vanilla. This deepens the scent and gives it a really rich body and spiciness which adds yet another level of interest. I love this undercurrent of spice because it makes the perfume really sensual and sexy, and matures it a little bit which is great because it makes it feel very classic.
The overall feel of the perfume is of luxury and sophistication. I tend to wear it out in the evening because it has such a lovely sensual nature to it which for me seems to suit the night. That said, the fresh and fruity notes do make it a nice one for day time and especially warmer weather. Though it is expensive and therefore strong I do find that it has a real softness and delicacy to it which is really lovely and makes it seem ultra feminine.
This perfume is available for around £25 for 30ml which isn't too bad considering how expensive perfumes can be these days. I would probably avoid paying this much ordinarily but this is a lovely scent and very versatile.
Overall, a very nice perfume but beware the price.
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Bvlgari Blv Eau de Parfum
by redhead78
Several years ago a very generous friend bought me a bottle of Bulgari BLV Notte perfume for my birthday and I fell in love with it straight away. It was exactly the kind of fragrance I like not too light but not too heavy, woody with a hint of musk and just generally beautiful. My lovely mum knew how much I liked it so bought me a ... replacement for it from Duty Free when she knew I was running low. Unfortunately, she saw a stand with this Bulgari BLV on, saw the name and didn't realise the Notte was missing from the end and got me the wrong perfume, doh!
I wasn't really bothered initially as I thought I would love this one as much as the other, but oh how wrong I was. I haven't had the heart to tell my mum but this is the least favourite perfume I've EVER tried, and I've tried plenty in my time! In fact I've now had this bottle for a good three years and even though I do try and wear it just so as not to waste it, it seems to be neverending and I just can't get rid of it!
The Bulgari BLV comes in a 40ml bottle (probably why it's lasting so blinking long!) which I really don't like. It's very difficult to describe but the picture above does do it some justice. To look at from the front it's square but the base of it is sort of an elongated egg shape making it wider at the bottom and tapering to a thin top with the "squirt" part sticking out of the top. The shape of it makes it very difficult to hold and spray perfume using only the one hand as the bottle is quite wide (4 inches) and tall (again, 4 inches). Now, I'm 5 foot ten inches tall and have quite large hands for a female but I can only just grip this bottle and it is by now means comfortable to do so and the only way I can reach the nozzle with a finger from the same hand is to hold the to of the bottle which doesn't feel as safe and feels like I'm going to drop it. So, for me to use this perfume I have to hold it in onehand and squirt it with the other hand. I know this doesn't sound like a major issue, but have you ever had a perfume (or aftershave, gents!) where you've had to use two hands?!
Another negative as regards bottle design for me is that face that it is blue. It's not a nice subtle blue, it's a very vivid royal blue. Most other perfume bottles I have are nice neutral, pastelly coloured bottles so I like to have them out on the bookcase in the bedroom as decoration rather than hiding them away, but this one I tend to keep hidden in my makeup drawer as it just stands out way too much. There is no way you would be able to call this a subtle bottle at all.
The absolute worst part of the packaging as a whole, though, is that when you squirt this perfume, it doesn't come out in a nice fine mist, it comes out as a stream of liquid which literally ends up slipping down my wrists. Whether or not this is just a fault with my particular bottle or if it's a common occurence with this perfume I don't know but it took me ages to get the hang of pressing the nozzle just enough so that only a little stream of liquid comes out rather than a river!
Now, if I loved the fragrance of this perfume then all of the above probably wouldn't bother me as much. Unfortunately though it just does absolutely nothing for me. When I first spray it my initial impressions are of quite an old fashioned soapy smell that is quite sharp and just generally too sweet for me. It is a very strong perfume and often, especially if it's early in the morning that I apply it, can give me a bit of a headache. It's only redeeming feature for me is the fact that it does settle down eventually into something a bit more mellow, but it's still way too floral and old-fashioned for me. As far as longevity is concerned, it does last well and I don't reapply during the day, but that is mainly because I prefer the fragrance when it has faded a bit rather than when it's at it's most powerful.
For me, this is definitely a day time perfume. It's too sweet and floral for me to wear on an evening and I've since bought myself another bottle of the Notte to wear on nights out. I would also say it's quite a "mature" fragrance and more suited to older generations rather than the younger ones. My mum has tried it and, to be honest, it does quite suit her but I still prefer her trademark "Beautiful" fragrance which to me will always scream Mum!
Looking on the Bulgari website I see that the top notes of this scent are Wisteria, Ginger and Acacia and the base notes are Flax Flower and Vanilla which would explain all of the things I don't like about it - the sweetness, the florals and the sharpness. Bizarrely though it says it belongs to the "floral woody musk" family which I can't pick up at all. The florals yes, the woody musk, not at all. But, overall, this is not a perfume I like using as the fragrance just isn't me at all and I definitely won't be repurchasing when I run out.
I don't know how much my mum paid for this but it currently sells on cheapsmells.com for £24.95 reduced from £44 and as far as I'm concerned the reduced price is too expensive let alone the full price.
In conclusion then, coming from a well-known luxury brand like Bulgari I expected much better quality with regards to the design of the bottle and have been incredibly disappointed with this. All of that would probably have been bearable, however, had the perfume been one I loved, but unfortunately I don't. For me it's too sweet, too powerful and too sharp and re-reading my review now I'm not quite sure why I insist on using it all up!! I'm sure some people will absolutely love this fragrance and disagree with me completely, but for me this only gets 2 stars...I don't like the fragrance and the bottle design leaves A LOT to be desired, however it does settle down to be more bearable and is longlasting.
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