Eau Divine by Divine : Perfume Review & Sample Draw

There are only a handful of perfume lines that manage to inspire not only admiration but also deep love and devotion resulting in a fan base that is left longingly waiting for their next offering. Divine certainly is the personification of such a niche line, inspiring well-deserved adoration and dithyrambic tributes to their perfumes by perfume writers and critics. I have begun slowly acquiring everything that the brand has ever produced, having fallen deeply in love with each and every one of the perfumes upon first sniff. Even the homonymous Divine by Divine, which I originally shied away from (its strong nature left me with an inexplicable feeling of disquiet and sadness) eventually won me over and is by now one of my favorite evening perfumes. When I was offered the chance to sample their newest fragrance well ahead of its release for a possible review, I jumped at the chance.

Eau Divine is the line’s 9th offering, is name inspired by the fact that it marries freshness with sensuality. Being Divine’s first unisex scent, the contradicting elements do not stop there. This is a perfume that is envisioned to resemble both man and woman, their unique facets brought together in perfect harmony: “…luminous and intriguing, tender and sharp, delicate and provocative, a play of opposites to enhance the union of man with woman.”

This new unisex scent timely plays on the summery cologne theme, but elaborates, venturing further than then norm by adding spicy, sensual, almost oriental aspects, resulting in a beautiful spicy-hesperidic cocktail. Applied on pulse points, Eau Divine quickly fills my imagination with the sun-drenched vistas of the Mediterranean I so long for: Orange groves in the blinding noon light, soft aromatic breezes and a coast like lacework. Aah…! Sweet, juicy citrus with bracing, fresh accents and the citrus-tinged floral character of rosehip are buoyed by the frothiness of aldehydes. Perfectly complimentary, a ginger note - partly citrusy, partly spicy and earthy - helps marry the freshness of the opening with the sensual spicy notes of nutmeg and green cardamom that follow. These spicy notes quietly change the sensory perception of the opening which smoothly transitions from sharp and bracing to a rounder, more sensual heart. The freshness is still there, lively lending cheeriness and joyfulness to the scent, but the undercurrent is beautifully round, bearing the erotic signature of all Divine perfumes. My favorite flower for the warmest season of the year is orange blossom and this perfect summer scent incorporates neroli note in its heart. To help you get a feel for the scent, I’ll say that the neroli here is far more neutral than the effeminate orange blossom note in Fleur du Male as well as being magnificently light and airy, rendering it absolutely perfect for hot weather. The characteristic scent of violet subtly wafts in and out, never taking center stage or ever turning powdery but functioning as a mellower counterpoint to the dry character of the composition. The perfect dryness relents in the drydown, allowing gently sweet, absolutely gorgeous balsamic accents to show through. At this point it feels as though the wearer is no longer wearing any perfume, but as though the skin itself is magically lightly perfumed and exuding the most fabulously erotic musky, ambery scent.

The perfumes of the Divine line have captured my heart with their old-world glamour, with their elegance, their uncompromising femininity but most of all, with their incredibly erotic nature which is present in each and every one. This new unisex entry diverges from the house’s set norm, by presenting a perfume devoid of gender specifications and subsequently missing a great deal of the incredible, red-hot sex-appeal I’ve come to expect from the brand. This is completely understandable, considering Eau Divine is in the classic cologne style. However, those of you that like me love Divine’s perfumes for their animalic, musky bases can rest assured that despite being quieter and far more well behaved, Eau Divine has been infused with a beautiful musk that although perfectly suited to hot summer weather, nevertheless bears Divine’s signature without the shadow of a doubt. This is a true Divine: respectful and true to the classic style of French perfumery, elegant and yes, very much erotic in its own way. With the addition of a summer cologne, the house’s lineup comes ever closer to becoming a complete, high quality perfume wardrobe. Wonderful!

I am giving away three samples of this beautiful, perfect for summer scent that will not be available until the end of July. Simply commenting will automatically enter you in the draw. Due to vacation, I will only be able to post your samples after I return from Greece, however winners will be announced in the coming weekend.


The bottle is offered in both feminine (50 ml, 100 ml & 200 ml) and masculine (50 ml, 100 ml & 150ml) bottles, both styles pictured in this article.

Soul, Luv, Truth by Sharon Bolton : Perfume Reviews

I am back from my holiday and so I find you all again here on Fragrance Bouquet with replenished energy levels, newly charged batteries, big smiles and a miniscule tan, slowly built under protective layers of La Roche-Posay 50+ sunscreen. It will no doubt fade in a couple of weeks, unlike my good spirits which I plan to carefully nurture throughout the rest of the summer. Yes, my holiday might be over, but summer most certainly isn’t! We are only just on the brink of August and I am mentally willing the weather to keep being as good as it has been throughout this weekend. Trying on jeans in the ill-prepared for hot weather stores of Amsterdam (read: no airco) yesterday might have seemed like a short visit to hell, but a sparkling tipple enjoyed with friends on a terrace later in the evening was like rediscovering paradise. And that’s what it’s really all about, right? Extending the summer holiday spirit even when you’re back in the city, living it, breathing it. I promise to remind myself how lucky I am every single day I can still wear my sandals and freely wiggle my toes as I gleefully catch sunbeams on my hair and skin. To remind myself how wonderful it is to be able to wear tiny little shifts and no jacket while I still can. To make myself go to beach parties even when I’m tired, perhaps to even brave the murky, chilly, choppy North Sea for a swim, for I want to stretch this summer as far as possible!

As I have mentioned before here on Fragrance Bouquet, there’s nothing –bar good weather itself of course- that truly makes me experience the joys of summer like a good, sultry, hot-weather scent can. I shall definitely need the help of great summery scents in my quest to ensure that I can keep on riding this beautiful summery wave I have brought with me from my holiday, and Sharon Bolton’s gorgeous scents are the perfect ticket to tropical bliss! The niche Santa Barbara based perfume line seems to specialize in distilling and bottling the essence of happy holiday vibes and high spirits. Every single one of the three scents on offer is a beautiful travelogue of sandy beaches, palm trees, sarongs, flowers and fruit orchards bathed in pure sunlight.

Soul: Edible, succulent, addictive and a host of other delicious-sounding adjectives is the only way to describe Soul. If soul was a moment in time, it would be the very instant you strip of your gauzy caftan in front of your sun-lounger, under the forest of grass-top umbrellas on a beautiful beach, gleefully getting ready to jump in the turquoise waters. It is the scent that permeates the air: suntan oils and Piña Colladas. It opens with a very realistic note of freshly cut juicy pineapple and the luscious, lightly sweet and rather peachy aroma of papaya fruit resting on creamy coconut. As time goes by, the intensity of the fruit slightly recedes and the loveliness of the coconut comes more to the fore, blending with the smell of cool clean musk. Intensely tropical and absolutely delicious, this is one summer fruit that’s going to keep me company till late September, always transporting me back to a sandy beach.

Luv: An absolutely beautiful floral bouquet that feels wild as though it was handpicked, rather than arranged by a florist. It contains the beauty of a rainforest, despite the fact that its blooms are unmistakably cultivated. Gardenias and lilies wrapped in luscious, juicy saplings and vines, gorgeously combining creamy sweetness with nectar and slightly sour elements that make the lips pucker like sparkling summer wine. Delicious! The drydown in turn, takes us from high-pitched joyous song and splashes of bright color on silk to something smooth and dry, the equivalent of a little black dress: versatile as well as sexy and demure at the same time. This is the perfect scent to bring out in the beginning of spring in order to rejoice the end of winter and one to keep wearing until late October, stretching those all important feel-good moments with the perfect companion.

Truth: I never thought it possible, but I am actually on a citrus kick lately (more on that later!), so Sharon Bolton’s Truth couldn’t have come at a better moment. Truth’s opening is intensely fresh, a soapy citrus whose perfect moment in time is that precious hour of rest when you step out of the shower and lie down on a shady, crisply made bed deliciously exhausted from the sun and sea. Neither ravenous hunger pangs nor the buzz from outside can rouse you yet, for all that matters is resting the body, if only for a little bit. There, engulfed in coolness, a tangle of wet hair and beautiful just-out-of-the-shower smell, and the sound of the crushing waves still in your ears, a moment of pure bliss. That’s Truth in a nutshell. Sea-breeze, foam, lemon, lime and orange shavings, a lone ray of sunlight passing through the shade and a feeling of calm, bottled in a tiny container. Truth, like all of Sharon’s scents is a memory captured. I could let it pierce my heart like a melancholy arrow for I wish the moment would have lasted for ever and ever into infinity, or I could be glad I get to take a scented manifestation of the moment home with me, like seashells gathered, carefully cleaned, their colors coming to life with a coat of varnish. I choose to do the latter.

The Sharon Bolton scents are long-lasting perfume oils that come in 1/8 oz. roller ball bottles, making them perfect not only for keeping in our purses, but also for traveling, even in these high-security times. The packaging is 100% recyclable and the presentation truly delightful! Samples can be purchased from the official website for 2$ per sample.

I am planning to write about a few more summery scents as we enter August, paying special attention to coconut and orange scents. Do you still have your summer holiday to look forward to, or are you like me, back already? Most importantly, have you made any new discoveries this summer?

L’Homme de Coer by Divine : Perfume Review

Happy father’s day everyone! Tomorrow I am leaving for Paris and I will be back on Wednesday evening, but there is still time for one more review this week. I decided to focus on yet another of the beautiful Divine fragrances, this time L’Homme de Coer. It is appropriate for the day insofar that it is a masculine fragrance, but it is not a scent that reminds me of my own dad and the reasons I chose it are not sentimental: it is simply a wonderful male scent I’d been planning to review for a while now.

Knowing that this is a male fragrance based on the iris, I was quite prepared for that first sniff to transport me to a silvery-gray landscape, glistening with rain of liquid zinc and sparkling powder. This image was shattered into pieces that fell through my waiting hands when I finally smelled the actual perfume... My initial surprise never did turn into disappointment though, for my interest was immediately grabbed by the unexpected green opening. One has to be quick to smell the pungent juniper, that when attended to will be very reminiscent of a dry martini, with its gin-like smell. As interesting as it might be though, I can’t help but be glad that it quickly calms and merges with the scent of cypress to provide a calmer interlude before the scent of pine takes over, enhancing everything with its brighter character. There is a strong sense of freshness now, something that makes me think of aftershave... And even though I would normally reserve the word ‘aftershave’ to describe a male fragrance in derogatory terms, in this case it happens to be my way of conveying the impossible sexiness of this stage. Invigorating and crisp, my heart skips a beat and I feel desire building up deep in my abdomen. There is a slow accession of something previously buried under the evergreen foliage, the advent of the softest sweet, yet still clean smell. A musky sweetness like a neck still steaming from the shower, a neck I wish to bite and taste. And still this warmth builds, the naked chest of a man who’s long not been a boy. His chest is moist with peppery, musky angelica and all I want is to be held by him, all pretences left behind. I won’t mind his chest hair against my cheek, I’ll gladly rub my face against it. L'Homme de Coer is now inducing not just vivid images in my mind, but is positively acting like the hormone oxytocin, inducing undiluted feelings of trust, bonding, calmness and well being... What is happening to me? I remain in this warm, comforting embrace, following the development with eyes only half-open as if in a haze. The iris is now in bloom, soft and beautiful but not as powdery as I know it. It is at once masculine and pretty, splendidly accentuated by ambergris which lends it an unexpected soft marine accord. From this point on, the scent lingers close to the skin, never bracing, never aggressive. It melds with the skin, becoming personal, like something seeping effortlessly from the pores in small quantities throughout the day. It is the scent of a secure man that has lived and knows how to love and give selflessly. It is the scent I’d like to imagine is worn only for me.

Images sourced from www.amazoniaflowers.com and www.worth1000.com

Laura by Laura Biagiotti : Perfume Review

I remember the day I first smelled Laura by Laura Biagiotti very clearly. I was fourteen years old, out for a cup of coffee with a good friend and she, knowing that I loved fragrance samples brought me several her sister had brought back with her from a trip to Italy. We tried most of the samples together, right there at the cafe and the verdict was unanimous: Laura was the best one of them all. My sample did not make it through the weekend; the scent haunted me and I had to have it. I do not even remember how I purchased my first bottle. Did I buy it with my allowance? Was it a gift? A Christmas present perhaps? I do not know anymore, all I remember was that first day I experienced it, and the fact that I was so openly enthusiastic about it, my family kept gifting me with the fragrance every birthday thereafter for many, many years, ensuring a constant supply. I am down to my last bottle now and it has been a great while since anyone has presented me with the familiar oblong box – they know my tastes have changed. I do not wish to be without it, but part of me suspects I will not repurchase sweet Laura when she imparts her last dewdrop on my skin. We have simply grown apart. Yet it is time I pay a small tribute to her, my friend of early adolescence.

Laura is a fresh aquatic-floral that was launched in 1994. The bottle, like many others in the Biagiotti fragrance line, was designed by Joel Desgrippes (Boucheron by Boucheron, Jungle L'Éléphant by Kenzo etc). It is a lovely flacon, which stands out on my perfume display. Its long, delicate, feminine lines perfectly match the scent of the jus within. Laura starts out fruity and fresh, with top notes of peach, plum and lychee. The addition of watermelon at the top imparts a moist, aquatic feel to the perfume’s character, while bergamot oil adds crisp, green freshness. The fruits are never tangy, for which I am grateful. They marry perfectly with the flowery middle notes of carnation, violet, cyclamen, jasmine, muguet and waterlilly. The freesia is probably my favorite of the middle notes, serving to extend the life of the juicy waterfruit with its dewy nature. Even though Laura is a light perfume, one must take care to not overapply. I find that there is a note that can be slightly dominant if it is applied too liberally. The base notes consist of sandalwood, musk, cedar, vetiver and slightly powdery orris.

I do realize that the notes might sound quite overwhelming, but Laura is anything but. It is an ethereal gossamer veil, perfect for a spring day, quenching the skin with its refreshing qualities. It is romantic and delicate and never fails to make me feel girly and innocent. Not only by association of the youthful period in which I first wore it, no. It is its character itself that lends the wearer improbable grace and femininity. It might appear quiet and inoffensive to the ones not tuned in to its peaceful love song. But for those that care to listen, it will whisper and hint at romance and profoundly tender reveries. For those that care to listen, the wearer will shed her armor and come forward unarmed, with palms open, offering flowers as well as her heart.

Pictures courtesy of www.dana.ru and http://harbingergallery.net respectively.