SWEET DARLING (Kylie Minogue: Sweet Darling, Eau de Toilette)

Member Name: Butterfly-Wings

Product:	Kylie Minogue: Sweet Darling, Eau de Toilette
Date:	30/12/08 (273 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: smells gorgeous, longlasting scent

Disadvantages: some people may dislike the sweet composition

Sweet Darling is a fragrance which was launched by Kylie Minogue in August 2007; following the success of her first perfume which was named Darling. As well as the Sweet Darling perfume you can also purchase the complimentary bath and body products such as the shower gel and shimmering body lotion which both have the same gorgeous sweet scent as the perfume. The complimentary bath and body products help to layer the scent of the perfume upon your skin therefore increasing the longevity of the scent. People who have dry or oily skin and find that the scent of perfumes don't really last on their skin may benefit from using the complimentary bath and body products before applying the perfume; as this would give the scent a base to layer itself upon therefore increasing the longevity of the scent. Everyone's skin types are different and each individual may experience a different reaction in the staying power or the actual scent of the perfume on their skin because everyone's skin is different.

As you can see from the picture at the top of this review the bottle of perfume is supplied in a lovely lilac pearlescent effect box which has black edging around it which sort of adds a somewhat classy and feminine appearance to the design of the packaging. The pearlescent effect on the box is carried onto the colouring of the perfume bottle, even although the perfume bottle is a pearlescent colour and looks somewhat smoky and cloudy in appearance you can still easily see the amount of perfume which remains inside the bottle; this in my opinion is particularly useful as you can easily identify how much of the perfume you are using and how much is remaining inside the bottle at a glance. The lid in the bottle is a nice size and is made from a sturdy black plastic material; the lid also fits snugly on top of the bottle and doesn't come off if you are carrying the perfume around in your handbag. Sometimes with some perfumes I find that the lids come off when I have them in my handbag, but with this particular perfume I don't find this problem.

==FRAGRANCE NOTES==

Kylie Minogue Sweet Darling Eau De Toilette is described as having the following fragrance notes -

_Top Notes of Passion Fruit, Freesia and Lychee_
The top notes are the first phase of the perfume; they are usually the most volatile and evaporate from the skin very quickly. The top notes are usually very light and refreshing and their scent usually lasts for anything between five seconds and ninety minutes.

_Heart Notes of Boronia, and Cotton Candy_
The middle notes of a scent are therapeutic and balancing oils, sometimes the middle notes are often referred to as the heart notes of a scent. The middle notes are not always evident and can take between thirty and sixty minutes to develop on your skin, and they last for anything between two to four hours

_Base Notes of Australian Sandalwood, Patchouli and Vanilla_
The base notes are the longest lasting notes in a fragrance, most perfumes use the same base notes. This is because they give the perfume more staying power and stop the top and middle notes from evaporating from your skin as quickly

==THE SCENT==

As soon as Kylie Minogue Sweet Darling Eau De Toilette is first sprayed onto your skin you will immediately detect an extremely sweet and slightly strong fruity aroma. Approximately two to three minutes after the fragrance is first sprayed onto your skin the scent of the perfume settles down an awful lot and now smells a lot lighter and sweeter than it previously did. I was really surprised by how quickly the scent of the perfume settled down considering it was as strong smelling a first. However this scent is absolutely gorgeous and when it is completely settled it has a gorgeous light and airy composition which I'm sure most women would love the scent of.

The strong fruity top notes which you can smell as soon as the perfume is sprayed onto your skin are that of Passion Fruit and Lychee, the Passion Fruit and Lychee have a really natural scent which isn't at all synthetic or fake smelling. I think that the scent of both the Passion Fruit and Lychee complement each other perfectly as they are both very sweet and juicy smelling, and the Passion Fruit adds a somewhat tropical twist to the aroma of the perfume. The fruity top notes are also complimented nicely by the addition of sweet Freesia which adds an ever so slight floral twist to the fruity cocktail of top notes, the floral top note of the Freesia also detracts from the fruitiness somewhat giving the scent a little more depth and warmth.

The top notes of Kylie Minogue Sweet Darling last for quite some time on my skin, I would say that they last on my skin for approximately 2 hours or so before they are completely faded away and blended in with the base notes of the fragrance. Even although this perfume is an Eau De Toilette fragrance I would say that the top notes lingered on my skin for the same length of time as an Eau De Parfum fragrance. The top notes which lingered on my skin for the longest length of time were that of the Passion Fruit and the sweet Freesia.

The middle notes of Sweet Darling are completely different to the sweet fruity top notes of the scent; the middle notes have more of a sweet, floral and slightly spicy aroma. Even although the middle notes of the fragrance are slightly floral it doesn't make the perfume have an overly floral aroma which is a good thing for those whom aren't particularly fond of floral aromas. The middle note which adds the floral aroma with a spicy undertone is that of Boronia, which has a slightly spicy floral aroma with slightly sweet undertones. The Boronia is complimented perfectly with the addition of Cotton Candy which adds a sugary sweet tone to the composition of the middle notes of the scent. I think that the spicy sweet combination adds depth and richness to the scent giving it more body. The middle note which is the most prominent is that of the Cotton Candy as the sugary sweet nature of this aroma seems to somewhat overpower the aroma of the Boronia. Some people who don't really like sickly sweet perfumes certainly won't like this scent as the Cotton Candy note is really sweet smelling and quite strong. Again the middle notes of this scent last for quite some length of time considering this perfume is an Eau De Toilette, I would say that on average the middle notes linger for almost 4 hours before they start to fade away and blend in with the base notes of the fragrance.

Again after the middle notes of the fragrance have faded away the scent smells slightly different again which is a good thing for those who don't particularly like floral or sweet scents. The scent changes from being sickly sweet to more of a musky/sweet composition. The sweet musky scent which is most prominent in this phase of the perfume is that of Sandalwood combined with that of Vanilla. I would say that it is definitely the vanilla which adds the sweetness to that of the musky aroma from the Sandalwood. The Sandalwood and Vanilla combination is complimented nicely with the earthy scent of Patchouli which adds depth and richness to the sweet musky scent.

The base notes of this scent linger for the longest length of time in comparison to the middle and top notes of the fragrance. I would say that the base note which lingers for the longest length of time is that of the Sandal wood and Vanilla. On average I would say that the Base notes linger for approximately 5 hours or so before they are completely faded away and the perfume needs to be reapplied again.


==PERFUME INFORMATION==

All perfumes smell slightly different on different people, and this is due to us having different oils in our skin. The staying power of a scent also differs from person to person because we have different types of skin oils too. I said in the review that this perfume lasts for about three or four hours on me, but it could last a longer or shorter amount of time on you.

People who have dry skin types will notice that perfumes don't last long on their skin. If you have dry skin and have this problem you should try layering the scent of a perfume by using the matching body lotion or shower gel before applying the perfume. By doing this you are layering the scent and applying a base for the perfume to layer itself upon, so you should notice that the fragrance will last a lot longer on your skin.

If you like the sound of this perfume then I advise that you go into your local perfume store and test it before you buy it. When testing the scent spray it onto your wrist and wear it for a few hours before you decide whether you like it or not, because the scent changes the longer you wear it due to the different notes which make up the fragrance.

When testing a perfume don't smell the scent on a perfume card because it might smell lovely on the card and when you buy it and wear it at home it might smell totally different and you might not like the scent you are wearing. I made this mistake a few times in the past and wasted £30 on a fragrance which I didn't wear again and put in the bin.

==STAYING POWER==

Kylie Minogue Sweet Darling Eau De Toilette has excellent staying power considering it is an Eau De Toilette scent. I would say that this scent has the same length of staying power as an Eau De Parfum scent does; saying that I have some Eau De Parfum scents which have a shorter staying power than this scent does. This scent lingers on my skin for between 9-10 hours before it needs reapplied again, this is a good thing as you can easily spray a few squirts of this in the morning before you go to work and you can be certain that the scent of the perfume will linger on your skin throughout the whole day. You also have the added benefit of not needing to carry it around with you so as you can top the scent up through the day resulting in you using less perfume and the bottle lasting you twice as long.

When I am using the perfume I find that three or four sprays at any one given time is more than enough; as if you use too much of this fragrance it has a somewhat cloying almost powdery aroma which is quite intoxicating and overpowering. Less is definitely more with this perfume as it can also smell sort of cheap if you are wearing too much of it.

==PRINCE AND AVAILABILITY==

Kylie Minogue Sweet Darling Eau De Toilette is available to purchase in larger department stores such as Boots and Debenhams; although you can also purchase it online from some perfume retailers and also EBay at a slightly cheaper price. The price you pay for the perfume will differ greatly depending on where you purchase it from; so I would advise having a look around and finding the cheapest deal possible. Most of the time I usually purchase my perfumes online as they are substantially cheaper compared to shopping in store.

As well as the Kylie Minogue Eau De Toilette perfume you can also purchase the fragranced shower gel and body lotion which will layer the scent of the perfume increasing the longevity a little. People whom find that the perfume doesn't last long on their skin would benefit from using the body lotion and shower gel before applying the perfume as this acts as a base for the perfume to layer itself upon therefore increasing the longevity of the fragrance on your skin.

The prices for Kylie Minogue Eau De Toilette as well as the complimentary bath and body products are as follows -

30ml EDT - £19.09
50ml EDT - £25.45
150ml Body Lotion - £12.23
200ml Shower Gel - £15.86

==MY OPINION==

I think that Kylie Minogue Sweet Darling is a gorgeous fragrance which I'm sure will be quite popular with a lot of people of all ages. As the name of the perfume suggests this scent is a very sexy and sweet smelling scent, so if you aren't particularly fond of sweet scents then I would stay well clear of this one. The only bad thing about this perfume is the fact that it can smell too cheap and cloying if you spray too much of it onto yourself; apart from that I think that it is a fantastic scent which is very flexible and can be worn for any occasion as well as your casual wear scent.

If you like sweet fragrances which are slightly musky then I'm sure that you will be a fan of this one too. If you like the sound of this but don't like the sweet aspect of it then you could try Darling which isn't as sweet as this one.

© Butterfly-Wings
2008

review written by me and also posted on Ciao

Summary: I love the perfume but im not a Kylie fan