Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Daisy by Marc Jacobs : Perfume Review


I have been saving my sample of Daisy for a couple of weeks now, with the prospect of using it for this month’s Tried and Tested feature. It struck me though, that perhaps something a little more elaborate is needed in this instance: many of you are likely to be wondering what this actually smells like and whether a visit to the closest department store is in order, since the cute-as-a-button bottle has garnered so much attention.

Well, let me start off by saying that I can hardly believe the nose that created the lovely, subtle and oh-so-thoughtful Bulgari Blu is the same nose behind this scent! The first whiff is quite nice – I get a quite interesting blend of honeysuckle and green foliage from it. Rapidly though, the pleasant green scent gets replaced by an intense wave of fruit. On a paper strip the only fruit I can detect is strawberry, on my skin though, I smell a whole range of red fruit, including pomegranate. Unfortunately, this little fruit salad is rather bland – there is no spice to make it interesting, no dash of a smooth liqueur or even a dollop of cream to make it more palatable: Just some citrus juice to keep the fruit from going brown and a sprig of mint for presentation. And even that tiny sprig of mint spoils it for me: quickly the jus starts reminding me of chewing gum. The type of chewing gum that remains slightly ambivalent where flavor is concerned, uncomfortably hovering between full fruitiness and freshness. As the white florals (jasmine, gardenia) rise to the top, it all goes downhill. Daisy quickly starts smelling completely unoriginal – in fact, it is indistinguishable from other generic fruity-floral concoctions. Too, despite the high intensity of the opening, the entire funfair fizzles out relatively quickly. Daisy lovers will have to reapply frequently: an hour and a half later there is but a trace of musky fruitiness remaining and I practically have to exert effort to discern it. Well, at least the bottle is gorgeous right? Truly, the bottle is very photogenic, but it failed to wow me in real life. I mean, of course it is a beautiful bottle, just not the radiant, whimsical little jewel I was prepared to find judging from the images I had seen. But to be fair, Daisy does have some saving graces. It does not fall into the pitfall of being overly sweet, like many of her sisters do. And once again unlike many other fruity-florals, this one does not smell chemical. It is not likely to be classified as a scrubber by many, nor is it likely to offend anyone. It’s just highly unremarkable and generic. You’ve smelled it all before.

All in all, I have to say that with a name and bottle like this one, I consider this to be an opportunity lost for Marc Jacobs. For me, Daisy would have ideally been a truly innocent, transparent scent for everyday wear. Freshly cut grass and chamomile for example, would have done it for me. They would have perfectly described the feeling of laying lazily on a grassy field studded with tiny daisies on a sunny day. I find fruit to have been a bad choice for a fragrance trying to evoke such images. Not to mention the fact that jasmine and gardenia are both too heavy to be associated with anything daisy-like.

Sorry Marc – Love the shoes.


14 comments:

tmp00 said...

I actually like the bottle better in person than in print- the squoshy little daisies and the little belt it too charming.

The juice however, oy vey.

rosarita said...

I haven't smelled this because I truly despise a pomengranate note, and I don't usually fall for a bottle (exception: Fendi Palazzo). I'm just checking in because I'm a fan of Bvlgari Blv, too :). Too bad about all the fruitiness in MJ's latest; I thought Blush was a rather unique fresh take on jasmine, but MJ's disappointed me ever since.

Anonymous said...

what an interesting review! I so agree with you on your last sentence. :)

thanks for dropping by!

Gaia said...

I got a very similar impression, and as Tom summed it up: Oy vey. I think it culd have been a scrubber if it had lasted longer and had a bit more teeth. At its current state, it's just a yawner. Like you said: we've smelled it before.

Divina said...

I don't think you are the only one you feels this way, Tom! I've heard from other people too that they like the bottle better in person than in the images! And I don't want to make it seems like I don't like it: sure, it is a beautiful thing.. I just found that it is not as elegant in real life. Perhaps the little belt is to blame, perhaps it makes it too busy? I don't know, but it was not what I was expecting to find. I am still certain the bottle is gonna sell the perfume like crazy! :P

Divina said...

Anita, I am coming to the sad realization I might hate pomegranate in perfume as well. It is a thought that has been in the back of my mind for a while now, but one I dreaded to admit even to myself. I love pomegranate as a fruit, I love its smell, I love the juice, etc. I am growing a little tree at the moment even! It is one of my most favorite little trees, deeply connected with beautiful childhood memories. To find that it bothers me in perfume is almost a betrayal! I will persevere and test this thought a little longer, although I am pretty certain the conclusion I am going to reach is going to be that it is a note that ruins a frag for me.. *sigh*

Divina said...

Hi Snippets :) So good you dropped by as well! I know, aren't the shoes wonderful? I am currently debating whether I need the cute little ballet flats with the zipper rose..

Divina said...

You are totally right, G. I completely agree, it would have been a scrubber that way! Very well put.

Anonymous said...

I really think it would have been smarter if Daisy smelled the way you describe such a scent should smell - innocent, transparent, grassy...it suits the Marc Jacobs "image" better, I think.
Thank you for the lovely review of this not-so-lovely scent.

Divina said...

Thank you so much for the kind words Joyti!

Anonymous said...

I think it smells like cheap shampoo!

Divina said...

hahaha :)

Missy1019 said...

I only heard about it this week and went to check it out at the department stores. It's been out for this long?!! Anyways, my opinion was that is smells like Exclamation and rather acrid, but as it fades becomes nice and disappears, but what do you do to get it to that point? Maybe spraying it a day before??

Divina said...

Not worth the trouble and frustration of waiting in my opinion... The fadeout scent you enjoy is basically a vanilic woody-musky drydown, very often found in department store scents. My suggestion would be to try and find a nice woody vanilic scent you enjoy from start to finish. I know Coty has a woody vanilla, but we do not have it here in Europe so I cannot vouch on how good it smells. I can certently vouch for Serge Lutens' Un Bois Vanille however, which is lovely!