Prime time for some glam time: Love & Glamour EDP, by Jennifer Lopez.

Actress/singer Jennifer Lopez was one of the first celebrities to release her own fragrance and she had a fashion range - J.Lo - going at the time, so to be fair, releasing a fragrance to go with it did make sense.

Lets tick off her perfume releases so far; the first was Glow and it's millions of limited edition flankers [a slight exaggeration; I think there has been seven so far], Still [I think was her nicest fragrance to date  - I might buy another bottle for a review one day], Live and it's two limited flankers [Live Luxe and Live Platinum], Deseo, Deseo for Men, Deseo Forever [Asian market exclusive] and now there is LOVE & GLAMOUR...




LOVE AND GLAMOUR is pure sweet citrus for the first five minutes or so: I can't pick out the mandarin, guava or nectarine, it's all one long sweet-but-fresh note. I like that the tops notes mingle together into one long note that leans more towards fresh then sweet on me.

The jasmine is sheer and is almost hidden by the lingering citrus. In fact ALL of the florals appear underdeveloped in this fragrance, so the only other floral I can place with any certainty is the orange blossom. Sometimes when I wear this I think I can make out a hint of waterlily, but I can't be sure that I'm just imagining it because I know that it's meant to be there.

The base is where it fell totally apart: the sandalwood is so strong that it completely drowns out everything else, except for a breeze of musk. I enjoy sandalwood in perfume, but here it is too strong - it actually develops immediately and  lingers throughout LOVE & GLAMOUR'S wear, making everything else aflat and one dimensional. Considering the strength of the sandalwood, I was surprised by how quickly LOVE & GLAMOUR goes close to the skin; I think it wears as through it were a body spray - the scent notes are light, making the staying power poor for the price. After only four hours or so, I struggle to get more then a brief whiff of orange blossom and sandalwood.

Official scent notes: Italian mandarin, guava, nectarine pulp, water lily, coconut, orchid, orange blossom absolute, jasmine petals, sandalwood, sensual musk and amber.

LOVE & GLAMOUR is fine for daytime wear as it's fresh but sweet and light, so I'd say this is more of a girlie-but-casual accompaniment to jeans and a tee, rather then a sexy/grown up/statement/smart-wear/special occasion fragrance. I have worn it for work and received compliments on it, so it's not disagreeable with others in close contact. I best think of LOVE & GLAMOUR as being a nice-but-not-unique fruity/floral, that is best suited to a sunny spring/summer day. There's nothing that I dislike this fragrance and will continue to use my 75ml bottle as it was a gift, but it's not something I'd buy for myself, as it is just like every other generic fragrance out there. Another thing; I can't see how this represents glamour. Not a huge issue really, but how did they come up with the name - pulls phases from a hat?

Overall; I think that if you enjoy Jennifer's Glow fragrance you'll like this too, as the soft florals and skin musk are similar to it; it seems very clean, almost soapy to me, rather then the Hollywood glam image the makers were hoping for. If you're looking for a gift for someone who wears any of the other Jennifer Lopez perfumes this would be a safe choice. It's too mild to be disagreeable and isn't something that smells 'young' or 'old'.