Juicy Couture
Juicy Couture (2006)

Why am I such a sucker for tuberose? Someone help me, please. I have a problem. Juicy Couture’s self-titled debut is a big hit of my problematic illicit substance, an opium cloud blowing straight into my face of fruits, tuberose, and vanilla. Those experienced with mainstream feminine-marketed tuberose releases will see “fruits, tuberose, and vanilla” and begin dry heaving at the thought of how sweet this must be. Bless the hands and the nose of Harry Fremont for delivering us from evil.

The fruity opening gives us a Roudnitska style fruit salad melange that is not as “solid” as a Roudnitska, rather it is quite watery without going down the “aquatic” route - thankfully. There is a lot of space between the general fruit notes, all of which are fairly non-descriptive, and the watery notes. It is a mist of fruit-infused water going into the air. Then, tuberose in quite a big way. Heady, creamy, rosy, sweet, and vanillic but lacking any of the hissy green qualities that tuberose can have, and just like the fruit there is a lot of air and space in this tuberose accord. It is rich without being dense, decadent without being gluttonous, sweet without being syrupy, and creamy without being lumpen and fatty. Naturally, a sweet vanilla and caramel, and sandalwood base props-up the entirety of the perfume that also keeps to the mandate.

I’m sorry, but I’m not sorry - this is a good perfume. An OG of the new-modern sweet fruity vanilla tuberose craze, it gave permission for the launch of a ton of terrible modern tuberose perfumes that came after it but that’s like saying we must blame late-1990s boy bands on The Beatles. Juicy Couture is like The Beatles; a bit campy, a bit puerile, a bit saccharine, perhaps a touch self-important, and maybe overeager at moments, but it’s going to live on forever and keep huge numbers of fans for good reason.

This is the perfume Barbie wears. Trust me. One spray of this stuff and you'll think "this is Barbie's signature scent!".

First spray is an exact of Fairy Dust by Paris Hilton. So if you enjoy that one, you'll swoon over this. As it's done just that little bit better. First spray is quite fresh/musky. The watermelon is very much there alongside some green notes.

Lily is the star to me. I do get a nice hit of tuberose as well but lily is very much the star. It's nice and light, like walking into a room that has a vase of fresh lilies across the way.

The end was very musky and quite sweet. I was surpised to see there was no musk in the notes. I couldn't tell the difference between the caramel and creme brûlée but they were definitely there. Add's a sweet almost smoky aroma to the end.

It starts fruity then turns more floral.Very girly and wearable.Definitely a daytime/school time fragrance.My family gave me compliments that i smell good

I was looking forward to this "tuberose floral," based on Turin's four star review. What a disappointment.

It begins quite promisingly with a light jasmine/tuberose wafting through the air, but soon morphs down to a chemical, synthetic melon/woody note, typical of the "acquatic" genre, and just stays there. Occasionally, if you stand north by north west in the right wind pattern, you just might catch a whiff of that floral melange, but don't get your hopes up.

Ultimately, this is like a million other empty acquatics out there, no better, no worse, but even though it's not awful, it's neither very good.

Three stars - Turin's "adequate" at most.

My daughter received this for a Christmas present and did not like it so she gave it to me. I love it. I left the empty bottle behind when I was on vacation. I wanted to keep it because it was so pretty. I guess that gives me an excuse to by some more.

Genre: Fruity Floral

A subtle and oddly compelling sweaty overtone rescues Juicy Couture's fruity rose opening from utter banality. Without it, this would be just another ditsy, sweet vanilla floral with an acidic red currant (they're calling it “passion fruit,”) top note. The animalic effect persists well into Juicy Couture's development, and on repeated exposure I attribute it to some peculiar alchemy between the acid edge on the red currant and a conspicuous patchouli note. A very similar dynamic between currant and patchouli actually occurs in Angel, though in a different olfactory context. Juicy Couture is neither gourmand nor oriental (listed notes of “caramel” and “crème brulée” notwithstanding), following instead a fruity floral roadmap.

Alongside rose, the floral bouquet at the scent's core includes both tuberose and orange blossom, and the indole component of both contributes further to the subtly animalic decadence that lurks beneath Juicy Couture's surface. This faintly sordid nuance is starkly opposed by the otherwise soapy, green tone of the white flower accord. Surprisingly, and in spite of the patchouli, it's the soapy impression that wins out in the end, perhaps because there's a certain abrasive, bitter, chemical finish on Juicy Couture's florals, one which grows more dominant as the fruity notes fall away.

On the plus side, Juicy Couture is not overly loud, as is so often the case with contemporary fruity florals, and tuberose-rich florals in particular. Instead it offers nicely judged sillage and projection that's adequate without growing intrusive. Juicy Couture's lasting power is respectable, with several broadcast hours of florals before it drifts off into a nondescript and disappointingly bland vanilla and wood drydown. (Where's that patchouli when you need it?) A little bit more warmth and depth in the drydown, a touch less harshness in the floral accord, and I'd have liked Juicy Couture a good deal better. It does have something of interest to offer as it is, but I'm still left wanting more.