Spring into action: Spring Reign edp by Katy Perry...

Spring Reign was the 2015 limited edition flanker for the Coty/Katy Perry perfume Killer Queen. I wanted to try as I was frustrated by how Killer Queen showed promise but didn't quite deliver it, so I wanted to see if Spring Reign could pull it off. I looked for Spring Reign on both the high street and online [Amazon, eBay], but couldn't find it in any stores or the sites I trust. I did forgot about it as the fragrance releases kept on coming through the year, so maybe it started out as an 'exclusive' to one store and gradually filtered through to others?

Anyway; Spring Reign is now readily available to buy from sites like eBay and Amazon. I would have preferred to be able to find it on the high street, so I could test it before committing to buy it, but it was cheap enough (£14 for 100ml) that I decided to risk it and make a blind buy.

Has Spring Reign pulled of the more grown-up-and-confident-but-still-fun-and-flirty type vibe I'd been looking for with Killer Queen, Royal Revolution and Mad Potion, but failed to find? Or have I poured my money away on another lackluster effort?

Spring Reign applies with a soft-but-fresh green, leafy burst, with a light and short-lived sprinkling of black currant. The fragrance then quickly settles into a uncomplicated rose-lead and gardenia powdered floral heart. I don't usually care for gardenia as it turns sour on my skin, but it it nice and creamy here rather then harsh and sharp. 

It's a shame that I don't get a sure impression of the violet though - violet is my favourite selling floral note and would have increased my fondness for this perfume, as  the fragrance is quite linear. The base of light woods, airy musk and what seems to me as a very light breeze of vanilla [although I guess this may just be the benzion] develops quickly and bleeds though into the florals.

Scent notes: pink freesia, black currant flowers, violets, May rose flowers, gardenia, Artemisia oil, benzoin, cashmeran and cedarwood oil.

I don't regret buying Spring Reign and I'm going to keep wearing it happily, but I admit that it is rather simple and goes close to the skin quickly and barely lasts five hours on me. I think it is nice, but I wouldn't say that it anything special that you need to try, as there are thousands of similar perfumes already out there that wear for longer. 

I do suggest giving it a try though if you see it at the price I did, know that you like the listed notes and you're looking for a quieter rose fragrance for everyday use. Bonus points for this not being overwhelmingly sweet and more adult then any of Katy Perry's other perfumes though - I can actually see Katy herself wearing this one.

I wanted to put this review out in time for Easter, as I was thinking of the gifting potential; I can't imagine anyone finding Spring Reign offensive, and the fragrance is largely ageless, so it'd make a good gift choice for a Katy Perry fan.

I won't post any site links here as they seem to change every few days, but if you type 'Spring Reign Katy Perry' in the search boxes on eBay or Amazon you'll find 100ml bottles of the perfume for around the £14 mark [including postage].They sell 50ml bottles too, but they cost double the price.