Lovely
Sarah Jessica Parker (2005)

Like many others on here, I was motivated to buy Sarah Jessica Parker's "Lovely" by Chandler Burr's fascinating book, "The Perfect Scent". Most of the ingredients are in other scents that I use regularly, and as a male, I thought Lovely would be a good addition. Rather than look for it in a store, I bought it online without testing. I was particularly interested in, and respected SJP's being so much a part of the process, as well as her wanting darker scents, skank and a definitely not floral product. With the first spray, I was surprised to find it sweet and floral. It then settled on my skin with a very sharp pungent smell, and there seemed to be a bit of metallic in there. I smelled nothing of the patchouli, amber, bergamot or other ingredients that I have become accustomed to in my other colognes. Not that it was horrible, but not what I like or expected. After 2 hours, it did settle into a softer amber base, but it was so faded that I had to really press my nose to the skin to smell anything. It has been touted as a scent that can be used by both sexes, but I would put it more on the male side. I have not knowingly smelled it on a woman, but to me it is far more sharp and masculine. In reading the reviews, I have not come across others that echo mine, but realize that we each have our own chemistry and acknowledge that it just doesn't work on me. I will give it a neutral, with the caveat that it should be tested on the buyer's skin for at least an hour before purchasing.

The immediate opening of this is strangely bitter on me. I don't know which combination of notes on my skin causes that, because there's nothing there that should, but it does. Thankfully, that passes very quickly and then it settles down into the fruity-floral heart which is, thankfully, not super sweet, but more crisp and dry (maybe it's the "apple martini" that gives that effect). It eventually settles down into a very softly woody, kind of unremarkable base.

This is marketed for women, but I think it would work well on men, too, quite honestly. It's not overly floral and it's pretty close to the skin with low sillage. I don't get amazing longevity with this, but I don't always need that in a perfume. Sometimes I like a quiet, close-to-the-body, non-lingering fragrance. I do appreciate that this is not your typical celebrity fragrance, and that it's not banal, overly sweet, or a clone of every other popular fragrance, so kudos for that.

Still, I'm not super into this fragrance. I've had it in my collection for a long time and the bottle is still most of the way full. If I were to use this all up (which is really unlikely), I would not repurchase. I may try putting this on my husband and see how his chemistry works with it. I think it just might.

This was my first celebrity scent and true cheapie that I’ve ever purchased. It has proven to be a lesson to me because despite wanting to be able to write it off as such… I simply can’t. It’s name is very fitting as I find it to be absolutely LOVELY! I’ve worn it a few times to get to know it a bit, and each time I’m surprised that I was able to get a fragrance that I like so much for such a small amount of money. So far, my favorite musk-centric perfumes have been Narciso Rodriguez offerings. And while I don’t think that this smells like any of those, I have to say, that I do enjoy it as much. The notes in this that I am able to pick out are lavender, a slightly sweet and soft powdery musk, and a little bit of patchouli. I don’t pick up on apple martini at all unfortunately… but that would have been fun. The vibe I get is clean, nice girl/woman. I feel like this would be a great perfume for the office, or anytime that you don’t want to wear something too loud. It’s very pretty though and will definitely be reached for when I want to wear a musk perfume.

floral woody musk. Compliments abound with this scent. The cheaper and possibly better version of NR her. Fresh, powdery, musky. Easy to wear. A no brainer to reach for. I think it's more suitable for day time however their is an underlying of spicy warmth which makes it suitable for night as well. Any setting would be appropriate.

Bought this when it first came out and was well over $100AUD, loved it.

A big fan of citrus top and the musky base.

I don't wear as much now, but from time to time I re visit and nostalgia kicks in which is probably some of the reason why I love to wear fragrances because they remind of times, people and places.

I must be completely anosmic to the musk in Lovely, which coincidentally is its main note. I smell a faint lavender and a weak laundry-esque note (probably from one of the synthetic musks I can smell). No citrus. No florals. No earthiness. No woods. No amber. Certainly no 'apple martini' note.

I had my first allergic skin reaction to a perfume recently, B. by Balenciaga in fact, that may be due to a bit of the juice hitting a fresh cut on my arm. I put a small drop of B. on my skin just to spot test it. I have Lovely on both of my wrists. Guess which one I can smell?

I give this a neutral rating just because I may be missing something that just isn't registering to my nose. But really? One drop of B. versus 3 sprays of Lovely on each wrist? I can't be missing THAT much. *shrug*