*~*Introduction and reason for purchase*~*

For some reason I received an abundance of 'Charlie' gift sets for Christmas last year and whilst I'm not complaining I just thought it was odd given I've never worn it in my life. All I can presume is there was some kind of special offer going on at the time as I received both gift sets and the EDT in singular form in a variety of different 'colours' of fragrances from several different friends and family members.

As I have a large stock of toiletries and beauty items I'm still making way through Christmas and Birthday gift sets from last year and the latest I opened was this EDT by Charlie. To be more specific it's the Charlie Red, and having used it for a few weeks now my review will now focus on my experience of using this..


*~*Price, packaging & availability*~*

Though this was a gift as mentioned, it is readily available from most chemists and shops/ supermarkets as the brand 'Charlie' has been around for a many number of years and is made by cosmetic giants Revlon. Charlie Red however was introduced back in 1993 where it has become one of the most popular of the 'colours' and costing a mere £4 upwards for a 100 ml bottle it's easy to understand why as it's a 'cheap and cheerful' scent to buy.

Charlie Red comes housed in a thick and sturdy transparent glass bottle. The bottle looks flat from the front view though it does actually have a triangular appearance as it veers to a point towards the back. With it's iconic logo of 'Charlie' and 'Red' emblazoned on the front there is little all else in the way of decoration with the bottle's design being overall a simplistic affair that is topped off with a narrow silver coloured lid perched directly on top.

The bottle is presented in a cardboard box which is a bright red in colour and also when on the shelf is far more eye catching than the bottle itself.



*~*The fragrance itself*~*

Charlie Red is classed as an Oriental/ Floral fragrance and is made up of the following:


**Top notes**
Orange blossom
Gardenia
Plum
Black currant
Violet
Peach

**Middle notes**
Carnation
Tuberose
Orchid
Jasmine
Ylang-ylang
Lily-of-the-valley
Rose

**Base notes**
Honey
Sandalwood
Amber
Musk
Cedar

So how does it fare when wearing it?



*~*My experience of wearing this EDT*~*

This is the 4th Charlie colour EDT that I have been bought and I have to say it's not my favourite. I'm quite a fan generally of oriental based fragrances but I find that there just seems to be so much going on here note wise that it's hard to pick out anything in particular.

The first thing I noticed when removing the lid was the initial scent that escaped via the nozzle and to be honest it reminded me slightly of hairspray. This obviously didn't stand it in good stead for wearing it as you can imagine so I already had low expectations at this point before even testing it out properly.

On pressing the nozzle down the EDT emits at a rapid pace and is very watery and heavy like - it doesn't come out in a fine mist at all and is quite cumbersome and plain awkward to apply as even the smallest of presses to the lid still causes a large soggy mess to emit.

Once applied to my skin I was relieved to find that the 'hairspray' aroma seemed to fade and more individual notes started to shine through and there was an obvious burst of fruitiness with the black currant and plum being noticeable. Once the EDT started to settle onto my skin the heart notes started to make themselves known and the fragrance starts to turn from fruity to very floral at this point making it slightly sickly and overpowering.

Charlie Red's saving grace for me are the base notes which once again change the direction of the EDT completely as once it starts to fade it also starts to develop into a much warmer and woody based scent. I could clearly pick out the honey as it offers a rich and succulent aroma that is quite captivating and makes the whole dry down well worth the wait once the 'hairspray' phase had passed!


*~*Recommended?*~*

On first applying this to my skin I was far from impressed I have to admit and the initial hairspray aroma was enough to put me off using this for life. After persevering though I was quite content with the warm woody aroma that was eventually left on my skin afterwards and it is far more pleasant than it first seems.

I really wouldn't describe this as being remotely oriental based at all really as it starts out with a fruity burst of mainly berries before turning floral then eventually woody. I do quite like woody, earthy fragrances but was disappointed that it's not as oriental as it promises so that is a bit of a let down.

Longevity this is actually quite impressive as a few spritzes of Charlie Red on my pulse points were enough to suffice for over 6 hours - for an EDT that is indeed impressive stuff as I have EDP's that don't last as long when applied, so for the money this is certainly good value as the 100 ml bottle seems *huge* and looks like it will last me forever at this rate.

Despite my reservations this is actually quite a nice scent once 'settled' though as stated it's not my favourite of the Charlie fragrances that I've tried up to date - Charlie Pink holds that title as it's the most beautiful that I've come across (so far). Charlie Red is a pleasant enough scent and does last when sprayed but it has a slight 'cheapness' scent wise about compared to some of the other Charlie EDT's that just lessens it's appeal unfortunately.

I will use this bottle up though as I'm not a wasteful person but it's not one that I would choose myself in the future and that's not a snobby opinion as I adore Charlie Pink, I just find this too overpowering and really not my cup of tea but it will suffice as a general daytime scent. I would say this is suited to the younger market more and is certainly not what I would class as an evening fragrance as it is too heavy and not in a good way.

This is a cheap and cheerful enough EDT yes, but unfortunately fragrance wise isn't for me at all and in comparison with some of the other Charlie fragrances this is a poor substitute.