Bon Vivant

[grifyn_whiffs]

An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry.

From the imp: Smells just as advertised! YAY!

Mmm, frothy sort of strawberry scent, but not fake plastic or candy -- ripe, fresh juicy berries. I wish I had some now! The bubbly champagne sort of glitters in the background on this scent.

As it dries, it smells like it might fade a little. Instead, that strawberry keeps going and gets richer. It's a very PINK smell, very playful.

To my relief, the strawberry doesn't go unnatural at all. The champagne smell stays effervescent to my nose throughout, as subtle as it is during the last phase.

This faded to a light strawberry smell after a little over an hour, which with my skin is about average on the non-incensy scents.

Anyway, I'm in love, with a 5ml incoming!

[myoubi]

Body Shop strawberries. with a hint of something fizzy trying to fight its way through the suffocating plastic fruit.

 

fruity blends hate my skin, apparently. not for me.

[chrisann]

Ohhh this is so very bad on me! I have and love Strawberry Moon, and thought that this too would work on me. This is not the case. On me, it's a mix of plastic strawberries, cheap strawberry candles, and dots candies. I cannot wait to wash this off. UGH.

[phedre]

In vial: exactly like its description: champagne and sweet strawberries

 

wet: the sweetness steps back immediately. The champagne is definitely coming out more.

 

drydown: pretty much the same as the wet. More champagne than strawberry, but still lots of berry.

 

later: more strawberry, less champagne. This seems to go in cycles. I like it, and will keep the imp for when I'm in the mood for something fruity. It's one of the few berry scents that doesn't turn to candy on me.

[Holly]

in the imp: over ripe strawberries...sort of reminds me of a lip gloss I had in middle school...I hated middle school

 

wet: some of the sweetness backs off, which is nice

 

dry: becomes increasingly boozy as it dries down, but still too sweet for me. my skin actually turns the strawberry note into something more artificial smelling.

 

not at all for me.

[little_galaxie]

Whoever said this smelled like strawberry erasers is right on the mark...Dang, I hope Strawberry Moon works better on me!

[glass_cat]

I absolutely love strawberry scents in general, so I of course have really been itching to try a BPAL with a dominant strawberry note in it. Plus, I adore the name of this. I consider myself to be the walking, talking definition of a bon vivant, so it easily made it into my cart the last time I placed and order.

 

This is very very sweet and fruity... very. If you are one of those people who hate sweet and fruity, stay away from this. It's not your friend. However, if you actually prefer that the way I do... especially if you like very girly, cheerful blends... you might like this one, too. It kind of falls into the same mental family as Juliet actually, even though I wouldn't really say it smells anything like it.

 

It does smell like a lot like champagne to me. It actually even smells "fizzy" although I can't imagine how anything could actually do that. The strawberry is definitely there, but it's extremely sweet and carries with it an undertone of something that smells almost foody... more as if I am having the champagne with a strawberry tart or strawberry cookies instead of actually eating fresh, juicy fruit. That's not a bad thing at all though. Overall, I really do like this scent, and I'm glad I went for the bottle right away. It certianly isn't for everyone though. Definitely one of those blends that's either you or it's not.

[nancybridget]

Smells like a little girl's sweet perfume. Reminiscent of strawberry roll on lipgloss that everyone licked off their lips in the 80's. I think it was called Kissing Potion! This is dead on for that...mmmmm....

[mspixieears]

This really does smell like YSL’s Yvresse (formerly Champagne) which I loved but seeing as YSL has no animal cruelty-free policies (as far as I’m aware), I did not become too attached to the fragrance and decided to forget it. This really does smell like champagne – or a high-quality champagne cocktail! It’s blissful! It’s slightly fruity, sharp, crisp, snazzy and extremely sophisticated, having none of the head-banging intensity of the commercial equivalent. I cannot wait for an elegant, classy occasion or reason to wear this out. It dries down and reveals a hint of soapiness, lasting roughly for about four or so hours.

Edited March 8, 2007 by mspixieears

[ariosa]

Bright, light and fizzy... smells just like you'd imagine a scent with strawberries and champagne to smell like! It's quite boozy when wet, but as it dries down, it smells like a sparkling strawberry drink. Light and refreshing, and I'm looking forward to using this imp a bit more once the weather warms up!

[labeth]

First order, third imp I tried, first review:

 

I have to say I wasn't a fan of this one. I get a very strong, almost floral scent out of it right out of the bottle, and immediately applied it was almost stifling. My fiancee took a sniff of it and agreed on the floral smell.

 

I'm now several hours in, and the smell has mellowed quite a bit into a much more pleasant smell that is a bit more like how I thought it would smell. I can even detect the strawberry notes, which were clouded previously by the indeterminable floral odor. However, it just doesn't seem "me" regardless, so I'll probably trade this one away.

[Em-]

Very very fresh effervescent sweet champagne and strawberry. This is a light berry, not a sweet candy-berry, wearable for me, even where I could wear say 2005's Pink and Strawberry Moons. This is lighter and sweeter than what I normally wear, but I can see keeping an imp of this around for the summer.

[isabella]

bubbly and happy. strawberry is real sweet but im thinking that maybe alcohol type notes dont like me at all

[TrinitySydney]

Based on the smell straight from the bottle I was thinking it was going to be pretty boring..straight champagne, meh.

 

But on, I immediately get sugared strawberries on top of the champagne. And they're kept under check BY the champagne. There's also something I can't quite identify...something slightly floral. Perrrrfect. Really good all around.

 

It seems very innocent, despite the obvious alcohol smell, and I think this will be perfect for light breezy summer days. I'm so glad this turned out better than the first impression it gave.

 

Bottle on the horizon!

[Carmencita]

In all its stages on me it's musty perfume mixed with plastic strawberries.

[MurderOfCrows]

Catergory: Bewitching Brews

 

In the Vial: Light, bubbly-- crystal. I can't catch a whiff of strawberries, though. Just the clear notes of champagne. Am I gonna smell like a wedding crasher after this?

 

On Wet: Oh, hello strawberries! You were just shy, weren't you? The stuff stays pretty subtle, though, wet -- it seems like it's going to all quiet and light and fizzy, and that's kinda nice. Was hoping for a little more, though. Maybe my skin ate it.

 

Drydown: Oh HELLO strawberries. Apparently you had to get very snockered on the champagne and loosen those inhibitions. It's not a very boozy scent, but it does sort of flirt with being one -- strawberries are most prominent, though, but mingle nicely with the strawberries. It's a sweet, bubbly scent. Definitely a keeper, and a bottle's in my future.

[GoldenRubee]

I really wanted to like this but unfortunately it is way too sweet and smells like the old Strawberry Stortcake Dolls that used to be all the rage years ago. This is just too fruity for me, but my daughter will love it!

[Jheya]

In the imp: Strawberry with an ever so slightly alcoholic base.

 

On skin: This is a surprisingly warm scent on me. Fresh on, the strawberry it quite faint, adding character to the scent rather than dominating it. It's sweet, but not as sweet as I thought it would be. It's more of a natural fruity sweetness than in a sugary way.

 

Unfortunately as it dries it starts smelling...odd. I'm not exactly sure how to describe it, but something is definitely not quite right. I'm used to strawberry going slightly artificial on me, but this time it smells as if it's gone slightly rotten, with a bit of a soapy edge thrown in for good measure.

 

Thankfully the slightly rotten note fades during drydown. Ah, and I know why my head connects soap to this scent, as it puts me in mind of Lush's Rock Star soap. There's still an odd edge to the scent that I'm not so sure about, though.

 

Potentially a keeper, but I think this needs a retest in a couple of weeks to be sure. If I keep getting a strange 'off' note from this, I think it may have to go to swaps after all.

[porcelina]

straight up champagne, bubbly and refreshing. mmmmmm.

[ladybird]

Exactly what it says it is Bright, bubbly strawberries, sweet and fruity, but cut enough by the champagne note so as not to get too overpowering.

 

Despite the luxurious associations of strawberries and champagne, this feels like a very casual scent to me - not something I'd wear when I'm getting dressed up for a formal occasion, but fun enough for a party.

[kwsix]

Through all the stages, this is sweet and fizzy, just as described. The fizziness helps keep the sugary fruit in check, so it ends up being sweet-tart on me rather than too sticky sweet. I get a candy strawberries instead of fresh fruit, which is fine with me. I like candy.

 

Bon Vivant is appropriately a playful, lighthearted blend that would be great for warm weather.

Edited June 6, 2007 by evilmistressoftoast

[Jenesis]

Imp: Urk. Cheap shower gel.

 

Wet/Drydown: This really doesn't change on me much - sickly fruit and heady champagne.

 

Dry: I don't know how it did it, but this smells exactly like some cheap, sickly, pink Barbie bubble bath I had when I was a little girl. It wasn't nice then, and it's not nice now. Ick.

 

Verdict: Instead of the sweet fruit and bubbly champagne, all I get is cheap shower gel or bubble bath.

 

Rating: An icky 1/5

[willowtreeling]

Wet: at first it smelled exactly like the Victoria's Secret Strawberries and Champagne body spray my college friend used to wear, so it brought back some pleasant memories:) It wasn't anything I would normally put on as it smelled a bit artificial, but I was pleased to have something that smelled like Cat and even thought of sending it to her.

 

 

To my horror, later in the day, the smell of fermenting fruit wafted up at me. Blech! No thanks. I sniffed again and it smelled like the same old VS Strawberry/ Champagne duo-but with a sort of undercurrent of fermented fruit--sort of sickening and vinegary--you know what i mean, Bon Vivant--don't pretend like you don't.

 

Conclusion: Bon Vivant and my skin chemistry do not play well together...

[modernsaints]

In the imp this is The Best Scent Known To Man, perfect glimmering strawberry champagne, OMG, WANT WANT WANT

 

On me it goes to a sort of dull soft pink, with a glittery background. Not strawberry, just... PINK. If that makes sense. It's nice enough on me, so I'm keeping the imp, but, omg, I need a scent locket yesterday so I can wear the imp version. Because. Wow.

[Nimthiriel]

In the vial (initial impression):

Mmm - it truly is a spectacular blend of champagne and strawberries! Wow!

 

Initially on (wet):

It starts out surprisingly green - it makes me think of fresh fruit, or a freshly made fruit salad, but not strawberries per se. And then there's a hint of champagne in the background.

 

Wearing it (dry):

10-20 mins after application, I get a warm sort of mix of champagne, strawberries, random fruit and something that smells a bit like soap. It's oddly pleasant.

 

20-30 mins after application, strawberry champagne and soap is an odd mix, but it's still pleasant, even though I wish the soap thing would just die down.

 

An hour later, I'm getting high on strawberries and champagne. ^^ It's a wonderfully intoxicating scent.

 

6 hours later, the scent has softened into a mix that reminds me of roses, oddly enough. Very pleasant and soft.

 

Finally:

8 hours and still going, but pretty faded - not bad. I'm a little unsure about this one. It might be nice for new years, but - I dunno. (Ended up swapping it.)