Many years ago I used to babysit for an adorable little baby whose mother had an absolutely amazing sense of style and who I longed to emulate "when I grew up"! One of the most striking things about her was how fabulous she always smelt so on day I plicked up the courage to ask what perfume she wore and it turned out to be this Dolce and Gabbana EDT (which I call red but which I think goes simply by the name of Dolce and Gabbana).

Obviously as soon as I could I rushed out to by myself a bottle so I could smell just like her...sad I know! But that was over 15 years ago now and I still wear this perfume on a regular basis so it was obviously a good choice!

It used to be widely available but rumour has it that it has now been discontinued and so I can currently only find it online. You can get it from the trusty Amazon for £33 for 50ml or £64.99 for the 100ml. As I am currently halfway down a 50ml bottle that I was bought four years ago I don't think I'd ever invest in the larger bottle, but if you go through a lot of perfume then it would probably be worth doing.

This perfume comes beautifully packaged in a vivid red box with has an almost suedette feel to it. It looks and feels very stylish and luxurious without being too ott about it. The bottle inside is a tall, thin, elegant looking thing which is mainly clear and topped by a gold band and again, a red lid. I don't normally like the brighter colours but I do really like this bottle. It looks timeless, stylish and classic whilst still being quite simple. The only wording on the bottle is "Dolce & Gabbana" in gold on the front. Although on the bottom there is a little sticker telling us how much is inside the bottle and that the glass shouldn't be disposed of "in the environment" after finishing.

In use the lid clips on very nicely and attaches itself firmly enough that it doesn't drop off in my handbag, leaving everything in there smelling of the perfume, but also not too tightly that it's difficult to get off. This lid covers the pump action squirty nozzle thing through which the perfume is dispensed. Again, this works well and dispenses a nice find mist of the perfume rather than in droplets or, even worse, a shower!

As soon as you take the lid off you can instantly smell the perfume. It is one of the strongest I've ever used and seems to permeate everything around it and linger for ages. For example, I sprayed some of this on last night before going out for dinner and I can still smell it when I walk into the bedroom this morning. It really does have tremendous staying power and longevity of strength.

As far as the fragrance itself goes, this is a combination of basil, tangerine, orange flowers, carnation, marigold and vanilla which is quite a surprise to me. From the list of notes blended into it I would have expected it to be sweeter than it is but to me this is a really quite spicy, oriental kind of smell and although you can definitely detect a hint of the vanilla coming through it's not too overpowering as I don't really like the smell of vanilla on it's own. I'm surprised though, that there aren't more spices included in this.

Whatever the ingredients are they blend perfectly to make, for me anyway, a perfect perfume for evenings, going out or special occasions. It's the ideal combination of muskiness, exoticism, sweet and spicy and I absolutely love it. I find it to be a really classic, sophisticated perfume (and one that I probably shouldn't have been wearing at one 18!) that makes me feel like a lady every time I wear it.

The only slight downside for me is how strong it is. While it is good to have a powerful, longlasting perfume, this one is so strong that I soon learnt not to actually spray it onto my wrists and throat but to spray a spritz of it in the air in front of me and then walk through it. If I do spray it directly onto my skin I can, literally, smell it until the next time I shower and whilst this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as I said it really is a fragrance better suited to evening wear and so isn't the best thing to be smelling of whilst doing the weekly shop!

In conclusion, I absolutely adore this perfume and have done so for many years. It's my regular perfume for evenings out or special occasions and even my husband now says he knows we must be going out if he can smell this perfume when he gets home! For me it's the perfect blend of fragrances that create something sophisticated yet wearable and it makes me feel special each and every time I wear it. You can always tell a good perfume by how many compliments you get on it and practically every time I wear it somebody comments on how nice I smell. I'll be devastated if the rumours are true and it is being discontinued but as it still seems to widely available on the internet I might add a bottle to my xmas list just to make sure I don't run out for a very long time!