I have an abundance of perfumes given to me over the years and as a result it often takes me years to get through a whole bottle. Nevertheless, this does not deter me from buying new perfume, particularly when I know the bottle will look lovely on my dressing table. This perfume is one such example. Browsing through the airport duty free a few weeks ago, I saw a bottle of this Nina Fantasy. The cute girly design instantly drew me in and when I took a sniff I fell in love. My husband, the kind man that he is obviously took note of this, because on my Birthday I received a bottle neatly wrapped which came as a complete surprise because I hadn't expected him to take note.

--The Product and Packaging--

Ok, so enough of the sentimental stuff and on to the facts...

This perfume comes packaged in a rather lovely and almost fairytale like square box. The predominant colour of this box is white however, the front illustrates the name of the perfume 'Nina Fantasy' written inside a gold lined pink apple and various gold outlined characters are scattered around the box including a fawn, a lady holding a rose, trees and an ornate mirror. The illustrations are clever in my opinion, as the gold makes them subtle but when you study the box closely the pictures fold themselves around the sides and back of the box, each telling a story including on the back of the box where you are left with an empty tree swing and a pair of birds. The colours used on the box are typically feminine with pale greens, gold and highlights of blush pink making the whole presentation very girly and quite young.

Once the top of the box has been opened there is a small leaflet of pictures, again in the same colour theme as the box which show scenes of Paris and the lady on the front of the box. This is a nice touch in my opinion particularly for a younger market. Underneath, lies the bottle and this nestles inside the box being positioned within a holdall of white card. The bottle is apple shaped and to me this represents the very fairytale aspect of the box design. The apple is solid white in colour and is decorated with a plethora of pink animations including a pink apple, birds and fawn. The bottle is topped with a gold pop open lid which is detailed with lovely gold leaves which are quite solid in construction and therefore unlikely to break off. The detail of the leaves is excellent as each of the three contains a ridge down the centre to mimic an actual leaf and the Nina Ricci logo is imprinted into one of the leaves which I feel looks rather quality in design.

Once the lid of the bottle has been pulled off, the spritzer inside is also gold in colour and is simple to use by simply pressing down to release the perfume. This detail is good quality and in my experience is very unlikely to break; instead the spritzer delivers a strong jet of perfume when pressed. The only drawback to the bottle design is the lid, which when pulled off is quite likely to get lost, particularly as the rounded shape means that is can roll away quite quickly if left on the side.

--The Perfume--

A quick look online indicates that this fragrance is made up of various scents and these are as follows:

"A fruity and floral perfume, opening with top notes of bergamot, mandarin and pear, flowing into a heart of heliotrope, rose and cherry blossom, all of which sits on top of a base of vanilla and brown sugar"

Now I am no fragrance expert and am not particularly accustom to differentiating different notes within a fragrance. My usual test usually involves a quick squirt, a few ums and aahs and if I like the smell then I will be happy to wear it. However, for the purposes of this review I will try and write what I smell. When first sprayed I can definitely smell the mandarin and pear notes which smell fruity and sweet against my skin. As the day wears on I find that the floral scents begin to come through with the cherry blossom being noticeable and soft. After a few hours this perfume is still recognisable but less strong with the sweet sugary smell remaining. This is definitely a very sweet scent and I initially did wonder whether it might be too young for me, but the girl at heart loves this smell and it is very distinguishable in my very male dominated office.

This perfume comes in a 50ml bottle and this is the size that I own. Despite looking around online I have not been able to find another size and therefore conclude that this is the only size option. To me this does not matter, as I find that a little goes a long way and the delicate looking bottle might be compromised if manufactured in a larger size.

--Price and Availability--

A bottle of this perfume will set you back anywhere between £31.95 (Fragrance Direct) to £44.40 (Life and Looks) and it is well worth shopping around for the best deal in my opinion. Obviously if you can get it in duty free then you will save the extra VAT however many online retailers do great prices too. This price is pretty standard for a good bottle of perfume in my experience and is a price that I would happily pay again in the future.

--My Experience--

As my review will indicate, I am a lover of this perfume both in terms of the beautiful packaging and the sweet and feminine fragrance. The bottle design scores top marks as a result of the girly design and cute animated images. The fact that these animations are transferred onto the bottle inside means that the entire set is completely colour coordinated and therefore the bottle looks great sat atop the box on my dressing table. The scent of this perfume is sweet and typically girly and may be considered too sweet for some. In my opinion this makes this perfume perfect for the younger wearer, and the box would look very pretty sat in a girl's bedroom. Although I was initially sceptical that I may be too old to wear such a sweet scent, the fruity notes make this scent very wearable and it sits comfortably in my range of perfumes being that I find certain scents suit certain occasions. This is a great everyday scent as it is light and fruity however too many sprays of it might make for an overkill of sweetness and so I limit the sprays to just a couple.

I would definitely recommend this perfume, if not for you then as a gift as the box makes it a beautiful perfume to own. This perfume scores an excellent five stars from me and I will be buying it again in the future, that is when I eventually get through an entire bottle and find myself needing a new one.

I hope this review has been of some help and thanks for reading. x