Hannya

In the bottle: Immediate now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t blast of citrus that leaves behind a heavy, heavy scent of what can only be described as ”generic perfume”. Wet: Ack! The gardenias have ganged up with the roses to form something that goes straight for my sinuses. The jasmine and vanilla are sensibly keeping out of the way of the rampage. Dry: Why, hello there, vanilla. You took your sweet time showing up. The scent mellows considerably over time and turns into something that is definitely wearable – just not by me. On me, the florals lose their individual characteristics, and mingle into something I can only describe as “flower garden in direct sunlight on the hottest day of the year”. Addendum: Huh. Another half hour, and the whole thing is gone, leaving only lingering traces of gardenias and vanilla.

In the bottle: Oh dear…very floral. Danger, Will Robinson. Wet: Oh, I think I like this - which is weird since I normally don’t like florals. It’s overlaid by a sharp…something that keeps me from getting at the individual notes. It does have considerable throw, though. As I type this, I keep getting little wafts of pure, delicate white flower yum, but when I get my wrist up close for a sniff, the sharpness takes over again. Tres annoying. Dry: The sharpness is finally gone, and as advertised it is all water lily and carnation, with sweet pea lingering around the edges. Very, very nice. A May and early June sort of scent that makes me want to put on floaty clothes and go wandering through meadows at dawn – a mildly disconcerting thought for one as desperately ungirly as I. Unfortunately, it zooms right past this stage before settling into soap. Good soap, mind, but nevertheless…soap. Still, it was wonderful while it lasted, and it would no doubt be very good on someone whose skin isn’t inclined to do brutal things to florals. Nota bene: Previous posters are not kidding about the staying power of this thing. The base note’s latched on to my skin and is hanging on for dear life.