Having my eldest daughter living with us has its advantages, one of them being that I can borrow her make up and perfumes if I want to. She turns twenty-one on Friday and is much more bothered about how she looks than I am, but I do like to try to be presentable! I have only got into wearing perfume over the last couple of years, but I have stuck to the kinds of fragrances launched by celebrities (Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera and Avril Lavigne to date) which cost around £20 a bottle. When I noticed my daughter had a Giorgio Armani fragrance, I knew I had to borrow it to give it a try and see if such a brand was really worth its high price tag.

She bought it from an airport to take advantage of the duty free. She bought it back in April and after six months' use, there is still half a bottle left. She thinks it is the 100ml bottle (though there is no indicator of this on the bottle) and she recalls paying around £40 for it. She says it was a bit of an impulse buy and she tried it on at the airport and liked it. She still likes it, but doesn't think it is "seductive" but more like "fresh". She thinks it is better for wearing when she is out with friends, rather than on a date.

Looking online for some idea of what the Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia is about, I came across this rather exaggerated description of its wonder. "Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia - the bottle is a crystal clear drop of water - simple and elegant. The shape expresses the sensual curves of a woman's body and the movement of the waves. The green emerald cap is a continuation of the flowing shape of the water droplet. At its heart, a deep blue-green colours the perfume."

Oh dear! What a load of hyperbole! To me, the bottle is incredibly plain looking. It is shaped in a kind of square with rounded edges and it is just clear glass. This means you can easily tell how much perfume is left, but it is hardly an inspiring or exciting design. The font is similarly dull and the fragrance itself isn't far off looking like plain water, just with a slight pale green tint. I can personally see nothing in this design which would suggest women's curves or the sea, but there we go, maybe I'm just cynical.

But of course, the main attraction of any perfume is its smell, so how does Acqua di Gioia perform here? Spraying it on my wrists, my first impressions are that it smells blue-green, quite like the sea in some way and it is a fresh, almost sporty smell. It is rather pleasant, though not amazing and doesn't smell at all floral or really very feminine at all. I don't think it is just a fragrance for young people either; it would be fine for any age in my opinion.

Another website suggests this perfume has "seductive sea aromas" and this is much more accurate a description. Acqua di Gioia was Giorgio Armani's new fragrance in 2010. Its official smells are described as "a blend of refreshing notes of crushed mint leaves and lemon Limone Primo Fiore Femminello from Calabria" along with "fresh citruses to a floral heart which encompasses aquatic jasmine, dewy peony and pink pepper, while a base closes with cedar, yellow sugar and labdanum." I can't really discern any of these individual smells myself though, but maybe the odd hint of citrus and mint at a push. I have no idea what labdanum is and I certainly don't think there is anything floral about it.

To check how long this lasts, I applied some on my left wrist. An hour later, it is quite faint; you can smell it if you sniff hard, but I doubt anyone else would notice it. Two hours later and you can't smell it at all. So for staying power, I would rate this quite low - and especially for the price of it.

So, on the subject of cost, how much does Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia cost then? Well, The Fragrance Shop website lists it for these prices - 30ml Eau de Parfum Spray £34.50, 50ml £44.99 and 100ml £61.50. The Fragrance Direct website is a bit cheaper, selling it for these prices - 30ml £29.99 (RRP £35), 50ml £38.99 (RRP £46) and 100ml £53.99 (RRP £62). They also sell the 150ml body lotion for £21.99 and Acqua di Gioia Gift sets for £32.50 and £39.99.

While I admit it is quite a nice fragrance, I definitely wouldn't buy this myself. I think it is overpriced and although Giorgio Armani is a prestigious brand, the bottle is so plain, it wouldn't look anything special on your dressing table. My daughter doesn't plan to buy it again either, so overall, this is quite disappointing, though not terrible.