Projects

Friday, June 30, 2017

Fragrance Review-Love2Love Fresh Rose and Peach

Love2Love Fresh Rose+Peach was a $5.99 blind-buy at Marshalls last winter that I've just started wearing with the warmer weather. I cannot stop spraying myself (and everything from my linens to my shoes) with this easy-to-wear rose scent. I'm starting to worry this scent might have been a gamble that Coty discontinues before it ever becomes established, and I shall be stockpiling accordingly. My gym shoes never smelled so good.

Bulgarian rose and peach sound heavy on paper, but combined in Love2Love, they're quite light-almost too light and I find myself wishing it had a bit more ooomph. I realise that's asking a lot for $5.99. I apply generously, and re-apply after an hour which isn't something I'd ordinarily do, but that rose note is so delicious I have to keep reviving it rather than let the fragrance unfold and fade as intended. When left alone after one application, I get about four hours, but it is very faint after about three. There's a musk note at the base, but it doesn't stick around in a noticeable way. That's all for the good as Love2Love really doesn't need it.

There's a barely there geranium note which is so rose-like I can barely detect it apart from the Bulgarian rose. I have that trouble with geranium, at least in combination with rose notes. My own geranium plants don't smell of anything in the flowers, but rubbing the petals between my fingers I get a hint of what distilled geranium is like. Still, I have a hard time picking it out here other than to say it somewhat lightens the Bulgarian rose-if that makes any sense.

The peach in Love2Love is bright and floral avoiding that dead smell somewhere between unwashed hair and roadkill peach can sometimes develop. I'm not saying that's a bad thing-it has a place in perfumery (I'm looking at you, Mitsouko) but combined with Bulgarian rose and litchi, it might be, as my husband is fond of saying, "A bit much." Love2Love never approaches even a tiny "bit much."

I'm surprised I'm enjoying Love2Love so much. I don't typically like light fragrances of this sort, and litchi will always smell unpleasant to me, like a bottle of cheap, turned wine you wouldn't even cook with. Here, it just smells a tiny bit grape-like without the smell of grape chewing gum and cider vinegar. That said, around the second hour it does develop a slightly sharp note that I suspect is the litchi wearing off and the orris root taking over. The exchange is interesting-almost metallic. It doesn't last long, and this is generally the point where I get out the bottle and re-apply. The rose completely disappears, and without re-spraying you're left with a bowl of fruit sitting on the kitchen table with a slight scent of kitchen cleanser. Not a bad smell exactly, but I find myself missing the rose.

The nose behind Love2Love Fresh Rose+Peach is Calice Becker, best known (to me) for the re-launched version of Vent Vert in the 90's, and Tommy Girl. I despise Tommy Girl, but I thought the 90's Vent Vert was rather nice-so I'll call it 50/50 for me personally on Becker. J'Adore was also a Becker creation which I don't personally like on my skin, but find lovely on others. What I'm getting at is, Love2Love wasn't thrown together by an amateur.  At $5.99 you're getting the work of an experienced nose for one hell of a bargain. Do I wish the quality of the ingredients matched the skill of the nose? Sure, but again, it is so cheap you can re-apply as needed. A nice spray every couple of hours does seem to lift my mood.

Let's talk about the horrible bottle for a moment. The cap isn't a cap at all, but a silly design feature that leaves the sprayer open to the air. That's bad. Worse, the silly plastic "hat" if you will (as it reminds me of a sun visor) comes off easily when lifting the bottle sending it crashing into other items on the perfume tray. I really hate that. Either make a proper, secure cap, or don't make one at all. To have something that serves no purpose other than to annoy seems a waste. I'm starting to become irritated by bottles that don't play nice on the perfume tray, or take up unnecessary space with odd shapes.

What's in Love2Love Fresh Rose and Peach? Not all that much, actually.
Peach, litchi, Bulgarian rose, geranium, musk, currant buds, and orris root.

That might be the shortest list of notes I've typed out in some time. Interesting to me is the absence of citrus notes. I'd swear there was a Mandarin note in there, but I haven't found it listed anywhere. I wonder if that's my nose, or my brain thinking it ought to be there. Spend enough years thinking about perfume and sometimes your brain takes over your nose.

I haven't tried any of the other fragrances in the range, but they sound interesting. Bluebell+White Tea, Freesia+Violet Petals, Jasmine+Sparkling Mimosa, and Orange Blossom+White Musk. They're such inexpensive fragrances I can't see any reason to skip them other than the increasingly troublesome lack of storage space for my collection. At worst, they can be deployed around the house as air freshener. I'm not the only runner in this family with stinky shoes.



8 comments:

  1. This sounds really lovely. It's a shame it fades though, as I am partial to heady, stay with you fragrances.

    The others in the range sound really lovely too, I adore the smell of bluebells, freesias are wonderful and of course jasmine is my all time favourite. I'm not overly fond of fruit scents in perfume, but orange is scrumptious with patchouli, there's a Lush perfume that has both which I used to love before they introduced the jasmine one.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wordsmith that I am by vocation, I do appreciate a finely crafted description of a smell: "...without re-spraying you're left with a bowl of fruit sitting on the kitchen table with a slight scent of kitchen cleanser." Lacking a perfumer's nose, I still believe I know what L2LFRP is about -- an how interesting that you know who created it!

    About the bottle battle on the perfume tray -- this is why I'm attracted to the minis. Ahem. Might we have a peek at your tray someday?

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Melanie
    I'm not sure I know what bluebells smell like-I really ought to seek that one out. I know what you mean about liking a heady fragrance-it does seem a shame they couldn't do something about the longevity.

    @Beth
    Tray? Er...Trays. And a few hatboxes. I'm seriously in it these days and I'll be the first to confess it is madness. I like the minis as well, but then I just go out looking for a full bottle because I like it. I'm completely hopeless. Most days I wear Courreges in Blue or Parure-the rest are just to be sniffed or worn a few times for entertainment.

    I will try to get a good photo of the three, "current rotation" trays. One is just a printer's letter-type box that hold the smaller bottles and decants perfectly.

    Today, I came home with a sealed box of the Tom Ford re-do of Youth Dew, and a Vera Bradley (of the purses fame)perfume for $1.99. I couldn't refuse, but what the heck I'm going to do with two more full bottles of perfume I'm not sure I like...well, you know. Some people do drugs, I buy perfume.

    Anything you're looking for that I can send you some decants? I have some oddball stuff, though sadly, no Antelope though I've been keeping my eye out for a vintage bottle for you.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hmmm. The notes make this 'fume sound like a dupe for Dolce & Gabbana's Rose The One-
    Top Notes -Blackcurrant, Pink grapefruit, Mandarin
    Heart Notes -Lily of the valley, Rose, Lychee, Peony, Madonna lily
    Base notes- Ambrette seed, Sandalwood, Musk, Vanilla

    Amazon shows bottles with a more practical but equally cheap & ugly cap.
    Being a floral/wood/musk lover I'd love to try all of these. They all sound fabulous for use in these hot monsoon months as fridge spritzers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. @Bibi
    I'm not sure about Rose The One-I've never smelled it. It sounds a bit more complex than L2L, but sometimes what we smell isn't even close to the listed notes. Anyway, something to try next time I'm in a department store, so thanks for the heads-up.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I don't know the first thing about scents, but I always enjoy reading your descriptions which often make me want to go out and buy it. This one sounds great for summer, although it's a pity it seems to fade so soon. I'm with you on the cap thing, they often look great but many do not serve their purpose. xxx

    ReplyDelete
  7. I agree with Ann, I know nothing about perfume but love the way you describe yours.
    Bluebells smell like a mixture of sugar and rain, quite lovely! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  8. That sounds really nice - and Bibi's comment about Rose The One has got me thinking. I've got a riend who wears that, and it smells really good on her, though I didn't pay much attention to it beyond noticing she smelled nice. Peaches and rose is such a lovely combination.

    ReplyDelete