Review: Royal Desire EDT by Christina Aguilera

I'm not a huge fan of the Christina Aguilera brands perfumes, but found last year's By Night pleasant, low priced and easy to find [pleasant as in comforting and easy to wear, but not anything original that I'd call a must-own].

Anyway; As the listed ROYAL DESIRE scent notes sounded like a combination between the ingredients used in Christina Aguilera and By Night I thought it'd be worth a try, so I collected several days worth of tester vials for a test...

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The fragrance
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When I first apply this the only note I smell is a lightly powdered vanilla note [white marshmallow] - it takes a few minutes for the blackberry to develop and when it does it is short-lived. I didn't pick up on any mandarin, which is a shame. I do love vanilla notes but it seems flat and therefore boring here.

The vanilla is strong enough to last throughout the whole fragrance and coupled with the rose notes it creates something similar to Turkish Delight, so the fragrance remains very sweet. The rose is the strongest note, but I can clearly make out the lily too and what I think is the slightest hint of honeysuckle [but since I knew to look for it I might just be kidding myself]. I can't find any reliable sources that clarify which 'herbs' are used but I can make out the slightest hint of something green and savory behind the listed florals.

There is no strong indication between the heart notes and the base, thanks to the ever-present vanilla. The sandalwood and musk are mingled closely together so it is a warm and creamy mix - combined with the lingering vanilla and you get the same general feel as the top and heart. I can't detect any cedar-wood.


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Scent notes
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White marshmallow, blackberry, mandarin, honeysuckle, herbs, rose, lily, sandalwood, musk and cedar.

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Other buying considerations
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The lasting power is the same as the previous Christina Aguilera fragrances = pretty bad for a EDP; It burns down within four hours and becomes close to the skin after one.

The vanilla, mild fruits and florals, paired with the warm musk and sandalwood in the base mean that this is a perfect choice for autumn/winter, whilst the fact that the fragrance is close to the skin means that the sweetness is soft enough to still appeal in spring/summer.

I think that this is best suited to daytime wear; both casual use and work. I personally think that it's too quiet for nights out, but I suppose it depends on what you have planned.


I think Royal Desire is much better than her self-named Christina Aguilera perfume [which is too watered down], but it can't be described as original; it reminds me of a few other fragrances. But as this is a 'celeb' release it is less expensive than most of its scent-a-likes, so it's worth trying out.

As it's already similar to perfumes I already own, I won't buy it myself, although it's nice enough that I would wear it if it were given to me as a gift. I also think that it would be a safe gift choice for someone, as it's easy to wear and none of the notes are strong enough to be disagreeable.


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Price
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30ml: £20
50ml: £27
100ml: £35