Speedy Review: R.E.M. Cherry Eclipse edp, by Ariana Grande

 Irresistible. Addicting. Dreamy.  

R.E.M. Cherry Eclipse is a celebration of the rare and extraordinary, just like an eclipse. Redefine the every day and eclipse the ordinary with Ariana Grande's addicting new fragrance.

I was shocked by how poor the quality of Ariana Grande's last perfume was, so I wasn't interested in or paying attention to any news on whatever fragrance would be next - I just assumed it'd be something else from the Love Notes collection, or another Cloud flanker... 

Bam; one of my favourite perfume releases from her range has gotten a flanker. Boom; the flanker is focusing on one of my favourite fruit notes - cherry. So now I'm paying attention to the brand again. Well played Ariana, well played. 

 Like I said; cherry is a favourite fruit scent note of mine, but I had focused in on 'cherry' rather than 'cherry jubilee'; the cherry becomes lost under sugar, berries and a soft squeeze of citrus very quickly. Cherry Jubilee usually contains liquor, but I don't detect any boozy scent notes within the blend - a shame as that would have offered points fronto ou uniqueness within the Ariana Grande range of fragrances. 

The berry blend lasts into the soft floral & marshmallow heart, which is a strong throwback to Ari and Sweet Like Candy - I can only separate the two listed florals out briefly from the jumble, as the berries, sugar and marshmallow are all stronger.  The heart & base stages are hard to distinguish, with the only real difference is a touch of musk-wrapped sandalwood, as the longevity [4 hours on average] and projection [soft/close to the skin] make it hard to pick up on the individual scent notes - the fragrance would be undetectable by the time I'd returned home from shopping, every time I  had visited Superdrug to test Cherry Eclipse. 

Officially listed scent notes: Cherry Jubilee, Sugared Honeysuckle Petals, Jasmine Absolute, Marshmallow, Meringue, Glowing Amber, Warm Musks.

I'm once again underwhelmed with a Ariana Grande fragrance; there's nothing truely disagreeable here, but there's also no true stamp of individually on it, since this reminds me strongly of the Sweet Like Candy le flanker from 8 years ago, so this just doesn't leave any other memorable impression other then "been ther, done that". If the cherry was sharper and  the honeysuckle note was stronger & longer-lasting I probably would have enjoyed Cherry Eclipse mucha more, but as it is it is a annoying glimpse into what could have been a really enjoyable release.  Any liquor and meringue scent accords are unidentifiable on me.

I've recently downsized my perfume collection and I've passed along most of my Ariana Grande fragrances, with Sweet Like Candy le, R.E.M. & Thank U Next 2.0 being the only ones I've kept [my unopened backup of Cloud 2.0 is being saved for use as a Christmas gift]; the only time I've reached for most of them lately is when I've been testing layering combinations because although they are pleasant alone, most of them are not in any way unique or just have that special something that makes me reach for them for wearing alone anymore. 

You can find Cherry Eclipse in Superdrug. It's only available in a 50ml bottle right now, which costs q£45.