Fragrance Friday is back! Sorry for the long wait between posts; I've been swamped with school starting and hadn't bothered to try any perfumes besides my usual. I had some free time earlier this week, though, and no place to be, so I sprayed on some perfume and sniffed away. The contenders: On the right arm, Juicy Couture Peace, Love & Juicy; it's hard to get past the fact that a company that sells $200 velour sweatsuits is trying to appeal to hippie types, but I'll do what I can. On the left arm, Paco Rabanne Lady Million, which seems to be aimed at Kim Kardashian types. Who will emerge triumphant?!
Okay, spoiler: neither. But let us examine their shortcomings one at a time:
Juicy Couture Peace, Love & Juicy
Besides being a ridiculous combination of design elements, PL&J's reputation isn't stellar, with only 3.5 stars on Sephora and a truly embarrassing 2.7 on MUA (and only 32% would buy again!). The first time I wore this was several months ago, and at the time, I didn't find anything offensive about it. It certainly wasn't about to become a staple for me, but I wasn't sure why it had received negative reactions. It's a floral-fruity fragrance, with notes of lemon, hyacinth, apple, jasmine, black currant, magnolia, patchouli, and musk, among others. The patchouli, which I'm sure they were hoping would appeal to the more alternative types, barely comes through at all, and I don't even think I would smell it if I didn't know it was supposed to be there. Most of what I get from it is the hyacinth and sweet lemon, not nearly as tart and fresh as citrus should be, but the real deal-breaker is the unpleasant undertone: it smells like airport bathrooms. Freshly cleaned airport bathrooms, sure, but still: bathrooms. It even makes me feel like I'm sleep-deprived, not wearing makeup, and lugging around a suitcase, which, I'm sorry, is a) not what I want to feel like when I'm wearing perfume, and b) not at all the sense they were going for. I'm sorry, Juicy Couture, but you're going in the trash.
$19 for 0.25 oz roll-on, $69 for 1.7 oz, $89 for 3.4 oz, available from Sephora
Paco Rabanne Lady Million
In a contest between these two perfumes, I would have to give the prize to Lady Million. Not because I like it, exactly; it's more that I dislike it less. Its packaging is just as bad as Juicy's, though in a completely different way: gaudy instead of the elegant luxury I'm sure they were going for. The scent is supposed to be a floral, with notes of orange, raspberry, jasmine, gardenia, honey, and (again!) patchouli, but it smells straight-up fruity to me. The honey is quite strong in it, which, when coupled with a synthetic raspberry smell (reminds me of overripe berries), makes it sickeningly-sweet and rather unappealing. The patchouli notes come through a little more than in PL&J, which helps anchor the scent some, but it's not enough to counteract the saccharinity (which is apparently actually a real word, who knew?). Honestly, it smells like something you would buy in a spray bottle at the mall as a stocking stuffer for your tween niece. And if that's what you're going for, you should just get something from Bath & Body Works for a fraction of the price! It probably wouldn't be as synthetic or cloying as Lady Million, either.
$20 for 0.34 oz roll-on, $65 for 1.7 oz, $88 for 2.7 oz, available from Sephora
Both scents are eau de parfums, and so in theory should last all day, but fortunately (since I didn't like either of them!) they only hung around for a couple of hours. It is something to keep in mind, though, if either of the scents appeal to you. And remember: what works on me may not work on you, and in this case, the reverse is also true! This is just my opinion on how these perfumes smell on my skin, and so should not be treated as anything beyond that.
Have you tried Peace, Love & Juicy or Lady Million? What do you think of them? Was I too harsh?
Juicy Couture Peace, Love & Juicy, Paco Rabanne Lady Million, images from Sephora
Okay, spoiler: neither. But let us examine their shortcomings one at a time:
Juicy Couture Peace, Love & Juicy
Besides being a ridiculous combination of design elements, PL&J's reputation isn't stellar, with only 3.5 stars on Sephora and a truly embarrassing 2.7 on MUA (and only 32% would buy again!). The first time I wore this was several months ago, and at the time, I didn't find anything offensive about it. It certainly wasn't about to become a staple for me, but I wasn't sure why it had received negative reactions. It's a floral-fruity fragrance, with notes of lemon, hyacinth, apple, jasmine, black currant, magnolia, patchouli, and musk, among others. The patchouli, which I'm sure they were hoping would appeal to the more alternative types, barely comes through at all, and I don't even think I would smell it if I didn't know it was supposed to be there. Most of what I get from it is the hyacinth and sweet lemon, not nearly as tart and fresh as citrus should be, but the real deal-breaker is the unpleasant undertone: it smells like airport bathrooms. Freshly cleaned airport bathrooms, sure, but still: bathrooms. It even makes me feel like I'm sleep-deprived, not wearing makeup, and lugging around a suitcase, which, I'm sorry, is a) not what I want to feel like when I'm wearing perfume, and b) not at all the sense they were going for. I'm sorry, Juicy Couture, but you're going in the trash.
$19 for 0.25 oz roll-on, $69 for 1.7 oz, $89 for 3.4 oz, available from Sephora
Paco Rabanne Lady Million
In a contest between these two perfumes, I would have to give the prize to Lady Million. Not because I like it, exactly; it's more that I dislike it less. Its packaging is just as bad as Juicy's, though in a completely different way: gaudy instead of the elegant luxury I'm sure they were going for. The scent is supposed to be a floral, with notes of orange, raspberry, jasmine, gardenia, honey, and (again!) patchouli, but it smells straight-up fruity to me. The honey is quite strong in it, which, when coupled with a synthetic raspberry smell (reminds me of overripe berries), makes it sickeningly-sweet and rather unappealing. The patchouli notes come through a little more than in PL&J, which helps anchor the scent some, but it's not enough to counteract the saccharinity (which is apparently actually a real word, who knew?). Honestly, it smells like something you would buy in a spray bottle at the mall as a stocking stuffer for your tween niece. And if that's what you're going for, you should just get something from Bath & Body Works for a fraction of the price! It probably wouldn't be as synthetic or cloying as Lady Million, either.
$20 for 0.34 oz roll-on, $65 for 1.7 oz, $88 for 2.7 oz, available from Sephora
Both scents are eau de parfums, and so in theory should last all day, but fortunately (since I didn't like either of them!) they only hung around for a couple of hours. It is something to keep in mind, though, if either of the scents appeal to you. And remember: what works on me may not work on you, and in this case, the reverse is also true! This is just my opinion on how these perfumes smell on my skin, and so should not be treated as anything beyond that.
Have you tried Peace, Love & Juicy or Lady Million? What do you think of them? Was I too harsh?
