Along the way, I wrote of the familiar, conventional scents that lead me here - florals and fruits. How pedestrian...I'm a fragrance nomad...I will travel to specialty shops just to discover little known brands. I'm way passed friendly, girly scents.
That's what I thought but as I stumbled across one of my favorite fragrance blogger's recommendation on her Facebook page - she told one of her friends to check out one of the latest department store offerings...
See by Chloe
I then asked her, "seriously?" This woman has discerning taste in fragrances that aren't quite mainstream. She then told me to just trust her and I'll never doubt her again. So when I found myself at my local Nordstrom, I saw the cute birdcage like glass bottle and smelled. Nothing really special but it wasn't offensive either - it didn't bother me. There's nothing really complex about this scent - with one spray you get woods, some lush white florals, and then a tart green apple bite. Before this can turn cloyingly sweet or overtly fruity, the musk kicks in and the dry down is milky with traces of vanilla. It has moderate projection, which makes it perfect for a day of back to back meetings at the office. It has impressive staying power - at least four hours. Then again I'm impressed if anything lasts longer than three hours on me.
This may be targeted to the young, feminine market but I learned a lot since immersing myself in the fragrance world. Such as, any fragrance can and should be embraced by all ages and genders.
I'm just glad I did let my guard down to stop and give this one a shot and I'm really glad I did. That'll teach me to think I'm uppity fragrance snob, especially since I still love a great coconutty or fruity Victoria Secrets body lotion in the Summertime! Plus, I'll never give away my giant bottle of (the epitome of sweet, floral and girly) Juicy Couture because it was the only scent I wanted to wear while pregnant with my daughter almost five years ago and it was a prop used by my husband to propose to me.
See by Chloe, released in 2013
Comes in three different sizes: 30, 50 and 75mls - $58-$98/USD
Created by Michel Almairac, also the nose behind Bottega Venetta, select Bond No. 9 scents, Burberry Body for Women and also Chloe and L'eau de Chloe.
Fragrance sample procured by yours truly from my local Nordstrom to review.
Hi Lexi,
ReplyDeleteIt's great to read your review! I'm not sure if we read the same review.... but I was also surprised by the reception to See by Chloe, so I had to try it too! Like you, I was pleasantly surprised by the milkiness. I'm not a big apple person (they're ok) so it wouldn't be for me... but it was a great sniff! I'm hoping to get my hands on a paper sample eventually so I can experience it more fully!
Thanks Dovey!! Fragrance writing is always so daunting to me. You know, I've never smelled it on paper either. That said, I'll have to spray some of my sample on a piece of paper and just really get a good whiff of all of the notes. If I were to buy a full bottle, it's nice to know that there's a 30ml option - just one a little bit without going whole hog. I wish more brands would offer that size option.
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