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Friday, June 10, 2005

 

Betsey Johnson

Betsey Johnson

I have loved Betsey Johnson for several years, her style and designs are very original and very different from other designers. I remember seeing her and her designs on MTV and in many fashion magazines, both her and her daughter Lulu. Now, there isn't as much fanfare not like the 1990's. She has since overcome breast cancer and is moving on (in keeping with today's theme).

Trina from MUA bought the Betsey Johnson fragrance but couldn't hunt down any notes so she started "The Betsy Johnson Project." I had an emotional morning and didn't feel like wearing any fragrance until Trina's package arrived. It made me smile and changed my attitude. I was eager to see what Betsy Johnson was all about.

As there are no notes but this was what I believe I smelled when I applied it:

Top: Red Berries
Middle: Juniper, Jasmine
Bottom: Sandalwood, Incense, Amber, Vanilla and Musk

It starts off a fruity scent on me at first I was thinking cherries but after a while settled on red berries. I could be wrong, maybe it's red grapes that I'm smelling? I'm getting myself confused! There is something in the top notes that smells a bit medicinal on me but that went away after a while. Then I could smell evergreen, at first I thought pine but it was too soft for pine so I settled on juniper. There is something in the middle notes that I can smell but I can't figure it out just yet - I think it's jasmine! There is a hint of wood in here, maybe sandalwood? I'm really not sure but it's a dry wood that has a bit of smokiness to it, that is why I put down incense - these notes are very soft and didn't come out until wearing it for a while. The bottom is sweet with the vanilla, amber and musk.

This reminded me a little of BPAL's Tintagel, of course that is based on a memory of that fragrance from several months ago so I'll have to compare the two after I locate the sample. I think this fragrance would be nice year round, certainly as an evening fragrance in warmer months.

I sent an e-mail in the hope that they'll reveal the notes to this fragrance. It retails for $50/4.5 oz. and is sold at Betsey Johnson.

Comments:
WHEEEEE!!! Can't wait to get mine in the mail! :)
 
Excellent review! You did WAY better on the notes than I did! Now that you mentioned the red berries, I can definitely smell them; and I think the floral I can't put my finger on might indeed be jasmine. It's blended so well with the fruit that it's hard for me to differentiate. Great job sniffing, sweetie!
 
I can't wait until my nose is working better to wear my sample, too! It'll be so neat for us all to compare :) Just sniffing at the decant for now with my sniffly-allergy-ridden-getting-over-sick nose I get something fruity, too (might be red berries, but berry is a note that goes to die on my skin usually), definite jasmine, and a super subtle touch of pikake? Not sure. Work, nose, work!
 
Sorry, had to give it a try anyhow, nose or no nose. In addition to those other notes I perceived:

S, I find the amber, too, and the sandalwood, but it's not a strong dry sandalwood (I hope that makes sense), there's a tropical ylang ylang a little in there, and there is this one really brief tiny moment near the start where it has a note that smells exactly like the wisteria one in Givenchy's Extravagance. I'm not feeling real secure about the wisteria, though, as it could be a freesia, too, or it could be me just smelling illusions of non-existant notes. I'm not getting vanilla, or musk. I *do* get something that is vanillic, and I'm guessing at tonka bean. This is purely conjecture on my part, though.

Grrr. I will be patient and wait til my nose is working better before I bloviate on the subject again! Otherwise, next thing you know, I'll be telling you all there's a booger and Puffs Plus note in there.
 
Oh, man, I love the illustration on the bottle. I don't even care what's inside (well, almost not--but I *am* a juicegirl*).
 
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