Review; Passport in Paris, Eau de Toilette by Paris Hilton

Advantages: low price, long lasting, easy to wear, suitable all year round,

Disadvantages: unoriginal.

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The fragrance
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Here comes my standard opening statement; PASSPORT PARIS is a fruity/floral, so that, the low price and the fact that it's a 'Celebrity Scent' - and being released by Paris Hilton - makes this the perfect target for mockery by 'serious' fragrance devotees. But hey; if it smells nice and you enjoy wearing it, then who cares whose name is on it and if it's 'only' a fruity/floral?

Now that's out of the way, lets move on to the actual fragrance...


Immediately upon application I can pick on the lightly powdered vanilla note and a hint of peach. I thought that this would be a overpoweringly sweet combination, but the sweetness is surprisingly light and subtle. After a couple of minutes what I think is a raspberry note starts to develop - I can't pull out any other berry notes, but let's be honest and admit that all berries smell similar when used in perfumes. I didn't pick up on any mandarin, which is a shame as more juicy and watery notes might have made the vanilla disperse so the fruit notes got more time to develop.

One of the great things about PASSPORT PARIS is that I can pick out the three key floral notes, my theory is this is because the vanilla is laced throughout the whole fragrance and provides a solid but light base for the florals to develop on. On me the peony note is the strongest out of the florals and as this is a favorite floral scent of mine I'm pleased. The honeysuckle is nearly as strong as the peony, but is still delicate, while the jasmine is subtle and seems slightly watery. I catch occasional hints of other florals and maybe some fruits too, but nothing else is strong enough for me to take even a solid guess at.

There is no strong indication between the heart notes and the base, thanks to the ever-present vanilla. The amber, patchouli 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 notes. The overall sweetness and creaminess is very reminiscent of coconut at times, more so in warmer weather as my skin heats up.


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Scent notes
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Mandarin, red berries, peach, Sambac jasmine, honeysuckle, peony, vanilla, amber, patchouli and creamy white musk.


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The bottle
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The perfume bottle is the same plastic capped cylinder shape as Paris Hilton For Women and Just Me. But, whilst the bottle shape is the same as her first adult releases, the bottle and outer packaging seems to be aimed towards younger customers; the bottle's label features a anmie rendition of Paris Hilton. Very Harajuku Lovers.

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Other buying considerations
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The best thing about PASSPORT PARIS is definitely the lasting power. It burns down within six to eight hours on skin. It does go fairly close to the skin after three hours, but other people still notice it. I sometimes wear it to bed and will still smell it when I wake up the next day. My bra and tee still smell all vanilla/peachy after a few days, so yeah, this packs a lot more punch then I thought a EDT would be capable of doing.


I got my bottle just before Christmas, because sandalwood, musk and vanilla based fragrances appeal to me in cold weather. As the fruits are perfectly balanced in strength with the florals, so it didn't seem out of place for the time of year. I don't usually wear EDTs in autumn/winter as the concentration doesn't wear well on me, but this has worn well through the snow/ice/bitter winds/rain.

I was surprised by how versatile I've found PASSPORT PARIS to be, now that it's [allegedly] summer; this is the time of year when I find that the perfume being close to the skin comes in handy as the sweetness remains light. The fruit notes also seem more apparent to me and prevent the florals and creamy powderiness from becoming cloying.


As well as being wearable all year round I also happily wear this perfume for casual days, work and some evenings out. The fragrance is subtle, so colleagues won't find it irritating at work. For nights out it is long lasting, but is non-cloying, so as long as you don't want a unique "look at me" type fragrance, this is a good choice.


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Overall
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PASSPORT PARIS is a sweet fragrance but it is non-cloying, so I find this to be a more 'adult' then a lot of similar vanilla based fruity/floral fragrances; it's more subtle, it doesn't grab near-by people by the throat and demand attention; it's designed for the wearer to enjoy, rather then the whole office/street/bar.

This is something that is never going to become a classic fragrance, as the scent notes have all appeared in countless other mass-market perfumes over the years. But as this is an all year round, all occasions, reasonably priced EDP that comes in a cute bottle I'm very happy with my purchase and will be re-buying it.


PASSPORT PARIS is similar to Paris Hilton's 2009 Siren perfume, which is in turn similar to Juicy Couture's Viva La Juicy perfume. The good news is that PASSPORT PARIS is easier to find and it's not as close to the skin as Siren is, and it is a heck of a lot cheaper then Viva La Juicy. And - even though this is a EDT - it actually has the better staying power out of the three fragrances.


The Paris Hilton Passport Collection also includes Passport Tokyo [woody/floral/musk] and Passport South Beach [fruity/floral/woody]. I don't know if they plan to introduce more fragrances to the Passport Collection or not; I've emailed Parlux, but haven't received a reply yet.

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Price
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The Passport Collection was released in the US last year, but has now started creeping into the UK. The Perfume Shop [separate from The Fragrance Shop] is the sole high street stockist of the Passport Collection so far. They sell the 100ml bottles for £20.

I've seen 30ml bottles in TK Maxx for £13. Very.co.uk also stocks the 30ml for £15.

Cheapsmells.co.uk stock the 100ml bottle for £22.95.

Summary: Another nice surprise from the Paris Hilton perfume team...

Review: Pop Pink Sparkle EDT by Kylie Minogue

❤❤❤/❤❤❤❤❤

Advantages: low price, for women of any age, easy to wear,

Disadvantages: Only suitable for warmer weather, below average lasting power, unoriginal, hard to find.

Review: Colour B4 by Scott Cornwall

Advantages: It DID remove my colour build-up,

Disadvantages: you need to be sure about the ingredients used in your hair dye, instructions are contradictory.

Review: 4 by Beyonce...

As the title of the album suggests, this is the fourth solo album* from the lead singer of now defunct girl-group Destiny's Child. The album title is not just meant to signify that this is the fourth solo release, but it also meant to represent the day of her birth [4th September 1981] and the fact that she married her husband [Jay-Z] on the 4th of the month [4th April 2008]. The album title is meant to be a "personal gift to her fans", as apparently her fans "have been taking to various social media pages urging her to name the album after her 'special number'". The album was recorded over a year between the spring of 2010 and the spring of 2011, while Beyonce took a break from the spotlight. 

"'The album is definitely an evolution. It's bolder than the music in my previous albums because I'm bolder. The more mature I become and the more life experiences I have, the more I have to talk about. I really focused on songs being classics, songs that would last, songs that I could sing when I'm 40 and when I'm 60." - Beyonce


I might as well warn you now; your enjoyment of 4 will depend on how you rate Beyonce's ballads; The mix of musical influences is subtle and most of the tracks are dedicated to Beyonce's relationship with her husband. Beyonce's named influences for 4 include Fela Kuti [she even worked with the band from the Broadway musical, Fela! on 4], Earth, Wind & Fire, DeBarge, Lionel Richie, Teena Marie with additional influences by The Jackson 5, New Edition, Adele, Florence and the Machine, and Prince.


Beyonce has co-written every song on 4 [including the deluxe version], except for I Was Here, which was wrote by Diane Warren.

Additional song-writers include The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Corey Jackson Carter, Frank Ocean, Babyface, J. Que, Kanye West, The-Dream, Adidja Palmer, Diplo, David Taylor and Afrojack.


Beyonce herself co-produced 4 and Individual track producers include Babyface, Consequence, Diane Warren, Kanye West, Ryan Tedder, Switch, Shea Taylor, Symbolyc One and The-Dream.

New fragrance: Cosmic Radiance by Britney Spears

After 2010's successful fragrance Radiance, which surprised us with its flacon created of transparent turquoise and pink surfaces, its successor with the same form and different notes arrives later this year. Cosmic Radiance is inspired by a star which twinkles brighter than all other stars, a star of a distant galaxy, far away from this world.

The composition of the new cosmic glow by Britney Spears opens with strong and optimistic citruses, with a refreshing glittery red bouquet opening its fragrant petals in the very heart of the composition. Base notes twinkle and warm with notes of amber, soft vanilla and creamy sandalwood.


The bottle has the same eye-catching design as last year's Radiance, created of black and glittery-transparent surfaces reminding of gems. A small dose of elegance and femininity is added by the pink color on the neck of the bottle.