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Sensuous by Estee Lauder

July 5th, 2008 | Perfume review, Perfumes 

Over the past few weeks I’ve sampled small bits of Sensuous because one of the local store’s SAs was sharing her own small purse size with customers. I liked it well enough to try a larger spritz when the full size bottle came in.

I’ve had a love/hate affair with Lauder fragrances through the years. One of the nicest combos, which never fails to get me compliments, is layering Cinnabar with White Linen. They are better together on me, than separate. But it is big and bold.

My late mother-in-law smelled amazing in Estee, which does nothing on me. Another relative used way too much Private Collection for my taste. Rooms where she had been still held her fragrance after she left.

My sister wears Beautiful wonderfully! That is her Lauder signature fragrance.

For the most part Lauder fragrances are too in-your-face for my tastes. They just don’t soften down on me. For example, Knowing, in very small amounts is OK. Unfortunately most people that wear it wear it far too heavily. I know one woman who wears it extremely well, and if it smelled like that on me, it would be my Holy Grail scent.

What I find interesting about Sensuous is that I cannot smell it at first. I have to get right on top of myself to catch even the smallest whiff. (College Girl said she could smell it right away, and she liked it. She feels it is an evening scent.) But the longer I wear it (it’s been on about 5 hours now) the better it smells and the more I can smell it. It stays close to the skin, but if I move quickly I know I’m wearing it. Right now I feel elegantly wrapped in the scent. It is not too strong or sweet. It isn’t cloying or flowery. Classified as woody amber, it is a lush wood, with a hint of amber. Both of which smell real, not artificial or like plastic. In a way, it has a caramel aspect to it, a kind of gourmand. I suspect it is the honey that gives it that richness. But as I said, it is not sweet.

The notes of Sensuous are:
Ghost Lily Accord, Magnolia, Jasmine, Molten Woods, Amber, Black Pepper, Mandarin Pulp and Honey.

Who knows what molten woods are! Perhaps it is giving the impression that it is not woods on a snowy night, nor woods that are burning in your fireplace, but if you could melt them, so that they permeate the recipe you are preparing (or eating), that gives you a sense of it.

Warm, lush, sensuous with an understated elegance. I think it’s a winner. Sensuous was created by perfumer, Annie Buzantian at Firmenich.

I would not purchase a fragrance, if I didn’t like the opening. If I have to hold my breath for the first few minutes to get to a drydown that I like, I have too many perfumes that I like from the get-go to bother. But this fragrance sneaks up on me. I don’t care that I can’t smell the beginning. It doesn’t offend me. And I really, really like the dry down.

I would love to smell this on a man.

There is an upcoming gwp at Neiman Marcus, a perfect time to get it, but you’ll have to wait until August 3. OTOH, you can pre-order and they will throw in something else to the gift.

Karin

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Perfume review, Perfumes



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1 comment so far ↓
#1 College Girl on 07.05.08 at 8:23 pm

I really like this perfume. I don’t wear a lot because I usually find them very “grandmother vintage” smelling, like your old lady neighbor’s house and I prefer scents that are fresh (new/modern) smelling.

Sensuous is a fragrance I can wear with pleasure. I would wear it at night or going out on a date. It’s delightful in its amber woodsy smell. If you haven’t you should go spray it on one of the ribbons and wear it like a scented bracelet all day.

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