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Notorious by Ralph Lauren

NOTES: black currant, pink peppercorn, bergamot, chocolate cosmos, white frost peonies, carnation, patchouli musk, vanilla, iris

Being completely honest here, I would not under any circumstance sample this perfume when I was at the mall on a random outing. Everything about this fragrance points to fragrance that I do not like. However, as it is featured in September’s edition of Glamour magazine, I decided to give it a try, because hey… you just never know.

CLASSIFICATION: Floriental, slightly spicy, slightly sweet

AGE GROUP: Mature

SIMILAR SCENT(s): N/A

FORM: Eau de Parfum

Let me just say, I have never smelled a more consistent fragrance in my entire life. From initial spray, to the moment hours later when I was desperately scrubbing my wrist, this scent smelled exactly the same. Not one note presented itself differently to my sensitive nose from the first application to way after the dry down. I wish Escada fragrances were like this, let me tell you!

The fragrance is a classic Floriental, with a bit of spice. Up close and personal, a bit of a powdery cocoa scent can be detected. The earthy aroma of the patchouli isn’t really as bad as can be expected; where I did end up washing this fragrance off a few hours after application, I wasn’t attempting to sever my arms off with a hacksaw. And that’s a good thing, because frankly… that’s what I was expecting. I even sterilized said hacksaw just in case.

As I am a fan of perfumes that are girly and fruity, this perfume did strike me as mysterious, which is what I believe Ralph Lauren is going for. I have absolutely no problem imagining a 1940’s actress wearing this perfume; I think everything about the marketing was on target, from the description to the actual photo ad.

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