u/incognito-journey

(Photo from Google)

So I tried Lattafa Dalal today and I’m so glad I didn’t blind buy this beautiful full bottle. I’ve tried the original it’s based on (Paco Rabanne Million Gold For Her EDP) and remember finding the fragrance quite nice.

However, this was nearly a year ago and clearly my preferences have changed since then.

Will preface the following by saying this is not a review, just a rant fuelled by a raging headache and mild resentment towards perfume as a concept.

The top notes of Lattafa Dalal are Golden Delicious Apple and mandarin. Heart notes are ylang-ylang, jasmine and orange flower. Base notes are vanilla, musk and oakmoss.

Dalal smells very cohesive and perfumey to me. I’m unfortunately unable to detect specific notes in this perfume except that it’s broadly a fruity-floral gourmand. I literally did ONE spray and ended up with a headache within minutes. One spray. That’s all it took.

This has jasmine in it, which I’m guessing is the culprit because jasmine and I have a long-standing personal feud. I almost never do well with fragrances containing it, yet somehow I keep finding myself in situations like this. At this point, I need to start treating “jasmine” on a notes list as a threat rather than information.

I still think the perfume smells nice though! Just very much not something for me. Dalal smells elegant and is perfect for professional settings when you want to smell put-together.

If you can handle strong perfumes like Prada Paradoxe Intense, the Libre DNA, Chanel Coco Mademoiselle, Giorgio Armani My Way, etc., this is definitely something you should try. Dalal clearly needs a stronger soldier than me.

Every time I try a fragrance that gives me a headache, it temporarily puts me off perfume altogether. I was planning to review a few fragrances this week but honestly, I now want to practise social distancing from my entire perfume collection for a day or two because this headache is never-ending.

I tried washing it off a couple of times and I can still smell the fragrance in the air. Hours later. 😭

Anyway, Dalal: 1. Me: 0.

Swipe to see my latte 🥰

Recipe:
- 3g matcha (a mix of Okumidori, Tsuyuhikari and Saemidori cultivars)
- 30g hot water at 75°C for whisking
- 6g maple syrup
- 100g unsweetened almond milk
- 3 ice cubes

These are both new releases that I happened to try at Duty Free earlier this week and wanted to share my thoughts here. Both were tested on paper.

To preface the following, I really like both Burberry Goddess EDP and Gucci Flora Gorgeous Orchid EDP but haven’t had the opportunity to wear them much lately due to my nose being ultra-sensitive and the weather not complying. So I’m doing the following comparisons purely based on my memory of the EDPs.

Burberry Goddess Amber Vanilla has less lavender and more vanilla than the original Goddess (especially in the opening) without being too syrupy sweet. There’s a noticeable warmth to the vanilla here. I saw that there’s a maple syrup note in this flanker, which is an interesting addition though I wasn’t able to detect it much on paper. However, since I own like 300 ml of Goddess EDP (please don’t ask how) and personally cannot do proper gourmands anymore either, this is a skip for me.

Gorgeous Orchid Intense is basically the EDP on steroids (flanker name checks out). The banana-like vibe from the ozonic notes is much more obvious in this one. The cocoa personally wasn’t that noticeable to me, but perhaps I need to test this on skin to see if the note comes through better. I already own a travel spray of Gorgeous Orchid EDP, so this is probably a tad redundant to add to my collection. However, if you’re debating between the original Gorgeous Orchid and the Intense version, I’d definitely recommend testing both before deciding on one.

Have you tried either of these yet? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts below!

(Images from Google)

Saw that this one is releasing soon. The listed notes are Golden Apple, Vanilla Orchid, Amber, Vanilla and Sandalwood.

I am quite intrigued by the scent profile — just hoping that it isn’t too sweet. 🤞

Cheirosa 68 is one of my all-time favourites from Sol de Janeiro and probably the only scent with the Baccarat Rouge 540 DNA that I can appreciate. This is probably the third or fourth time I’ve reviewed this fragrance here but it just deserves all the love.

The key notes listed on the back of the bottle are Brazilian jasmine, pink dragonfruit and ocean air.

This is the perfect fruity-floral to take on vacations, if you ask me. Smells a bit sweet (without getting cloying), airy and fresh. Earlier, I used to carry Cheirosa 40 as my vacation mist but it doesn’t really work in all weather conditions so I went with 68 this time.

Cheirosa 68 usually has great longevity for me and I can smell it on my clothes until I discard them for laundry. A few months ago, I met a friend for brunch and she just so happened to be wearing this one as her hair perfume. The mist literally announced her arrival and this was with just 2 sprays.

Cheirosa 68 is pretty potent for a mist but generally, I find that SDJ mists last quite a while. This one has pretty steady projection throughout the wear as well.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this mist! Have you tried others from Sol de Janeiro?