Reviews of Notorious by Ralph Lauren
Tje fruity and bright opening blast greets me here. Blackcurrant - a bit faint, bergamot - a nice one - and pink pepper - equally nice and blending wellnwith the fruits. A subtle cocoa impression with white chocolate leads into the drydown.
Later on peonies - labeled as white frost peonies - develop a nice floral touch. The base adds a somewhat darker patchouli with a vanilla impression and white musks. A fresh and non-powdery iris makes an appearance too.
I got moderate sillage, good projection, and an excellent longevity of eleven hours on my skin, the last hours very close to my skin though.
A pleasant autumn scent with a good top and adequate heart notes. Overall 3.25/5.
Later on peonies - labeled as white frost peonies - develop a nice floral touch. The base adds a somewhat darker patchouli with a vanilla impression and white musks. A fresh and non-powdery iris makes an appearance too.
I got moderate sillage, good projection, and an excellent longevity of eleven hours on my skin, the last hours very close to my skin though.
A pleasant autumn scent with a good top and adequate heart notes. Overall 3.25/5.
Genre: Floral Oriental
Lauren's Notorious opens with a weird, pinched, sour accord that ought to be repellent but instead manages to fascinate. It's a bit like a freeway crackup: awful, but you just can't keep from staring. I think this opening is the result of a bright, synthetic fruity note (black currant?) in concert with a savory, almost fungal accent that's vaguely suggestive of decomposition. I know it sounds great, doesn't it!
Notorious sweetens and deepens progressively until a attains a dark, boozy, syrupy texture that would not be out of place in a liqueur. The odd fungal accent persists in the background, at once preventing Notorious from smelling too edible and separating it from the mass of sweet fruity florals that crowd the shelves behind the women's perfume counters these days.
I have to say I'm disappointed that Notorious sheds much of its decadent, boozy character after the first hour of wear, thereby exposing a more conventional powdery floral-oriental structure. If it held on to its more perverse attributes for longer, I might consider Notorious a minor masterpiece. As it is the scent's development is profoundly anticlimactic. A letdown then, but still better than the usual junk.
Lauren's Notorious opens with a weird, pinched, sour accord that ought to be repellent but instead manages to fascinate. It's a bit like a freeway crackup: awful, but you just can't keep from staring. I think this opening is the result of a bright, synthetic fruity note (black currant?) in concert with a savory, almost fungal accent that's vaguely suggestive of decomposition. I know it sounds great, doesn't it!
Notorious sweetens and deepens progressively until a attains a dark, boozy, syrupy texture that would not be out of place in a liqueur. The odd fungal accent persists in the background, at once preventing Notorious from smelling too edible and separating it from the mass of sweet fruity florals that crowd the shelves behind the women's perfume counters these days.
I have to say I'm disappointed that Notorious sheds much of its decadent, boozy character after the first hour of wear, thereby exposing a more conventional powdery floral-oriental structure. If it held on to its more perverse attributes for longer, I might consider Notorious a minor masterpiece. As it is the scent's development is profoundly anticlimactic. A letdown then, but still better than the usual junk.
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An initially wet and fruity vanillic powder with some aquatic flowers in the mix and a cool musky/balmy dry down. The note of iris enhances the general white powder and a touch of patchouli (surrounded by a faint berry note) comes out at distance. I agree with Diamondflame in the consideration that this one smells more properly like an oriental (initially slightly fruity/fizzy and finally powdery and sugary) than as a real gourmand despite the listed (and veiled to my olfactory perception) note of praline. I find anyway this juice pleasant but a bit common in its sweet musky/ vanillic powder with floral patterns for us.
Pleasant but forgettable. I've put it on 3x and the next day I cant remember what it smelled like.
Upon first sniffing Notorious, I smell lemony-black currant, which is soon replaced by the chocolate note. The floral notes dance around in the background but never fully announce their arrival. After the initial blast of fruity-chocolate notes recedes, all I smell is a slightly raunchy patchouli for the duration of the 2-3 hours that this scent lasts. It is a notch above the rest of the mainstream plethora, but the dry down isn't as seamless as it could be. Perhaps it will grow on me as my nose grows more accustomed to the arrangement of notes , as is often the case.
Edit** I stand corrected,once again.Several weeks prior to posting above review I had sprayed this scent on my hand at least 5 or 6 times, and was put off by it every time.As I wrote, I was smelling it intermittently, and as the fragrance developed on my skin, it lost that raunchy edge that it has always had. It was replaced with a mixture of patchouli and chocolate. I guess it's possible that the dry down just smelled confused to me before. This is a pleasant scent that should be revisited if one doesn't like it the first time. Perfume truly is the gift that keeps on giving.
Edit** I stand corrected,once again.Several weeks prior to posting above review I had sprayed this scent on my hand at least 5 or 6 times, and was put off by it every time.As I wrote, I was smelling it intermittently, and as the fragrance developed on my skin, it lost that raunchy edge that it has always had. It was replaced with a mixture of patchouli and chocolate. I guess it's possible that the dry down just smelled confused to me before. This is a pleasant scent that should be revisited if one doesn't like it the first time. Perfume truly is the gift that keeps on giving.
I actually quite enjoy Notorious and I cannot understand why so many people dislike it.
To me, this fragrance isn't overly spicy nor flowery. It's a little fruity and sweet, but not in a cheap kind of a way. Notorious smells expensive and is really quite classy.
Black currant, bergamot and peony are the most dominant notes when applied to the skin. This fragrance makes me feel very elegant and feminine, I really don't sense any hints masculinity within this scent.
The lasting power and sillage are both pretty powerful which makes this fragrance worth the money.
I think that Notorious would make a wonderful Autumn/Spring fragrance because it is so cheerful and pretty. It just makes me think of beautiful, sunny, cloudless days.
I actually think that Notorious smells a little like Coco Mademoiselle, however I much prefer Notorious.
To me, this fragrance isn't overly spicy nor flowery. It's a little fruity and sweet, but not in a cheap kind of a way. Notorious smells expensive and is really quite classy.
Black currant, bergamot and peony are the most dominant notes when applied to the skin. This fragrance makes me feel very elegant and feminine, I really don't sense any hints masculinity within this scent.
The lasting power and sillage are both pretty powerful which makes this fragrance worth the money.
I think that Notorious would make a wonderful Autumn/Spring fragrance because it is so cheerful and pretty. It just makes me think of beautiful, sunny, cloudless days.
I actually think that Notorious smells a little like Coco Mademoiselle, however I much prefer Notorious.
smelled great from a magazine. when i tested it it smelled horrible. how could this be 4 stars?
On my skin this smells like mothballs, cleaning product and a faint whiff of Arden's 80's powerhouse-ness then fades away. There is a close-to-skin remnant an hour later but barely. I feel this needs more mature skin than mine.For me, sillage was non-existent and poor longevity.
I sniffed this at a local discount store recently and i have to say the actual juice smells very different from the magazine ad, which had a distinctive licoracey-mintyness to it.On my skin, peony and vanilla dominated. It smelled sophisticated and slightly distinctive but safe - not "notorious" at all. A forties siren would never wear such an agreeable perfume.
Like many of Ralph Lauren's fragrances, NOTORIOUS opens boldly - a little fizzy, boozy but deep fruit accord bursting forth with the very first spritz. But just as quickly it becomes all sweet and powdery, turning densely woodsy like a hybrid of Flower By Kenzo and Trussardi Inside Men. And despite having 'chocolate' listed as a note, I can't smell any. To my nose Notorious feels more an oriental than a gourmand, and it wears comfortably like a unisex fragrance. But 'Angel' this is not, its lack of tenacity finally giving away its less than stellar pedigree to end a somewhat enjoyable ride after a mere 3 hours.
a sales lady in a department store walked by and i got of whiff of overly sweet berries and stale cheap chocolate. "excuse me," i asked the lady with a smile," but what fragrance are you wearing?""notorious" she replied "would you like a sample?"i accepted, thanked her and gave it away to the first taker.
Notorious has a wonderfully perverse begining-- a cloying (in an interesting way), slightly rubbery fruity-rose accord freshened with Coca-Cola aldehydes. Reminiscent of Angel, in feeling as much as smell, a similar good-humored decadence. It quiets down to a fresher, more conventional middle, and then--nothing! This one seems to disappear on me after half an hour. Begins with a bang, and then peters out. Too bad, but while it lasts, it's far more intriguing than most of the stuff on the market.
This scent has mixed personalities on me-sometimes it is a bit cloying and I do not care for it, but other times it smells great. I do reach for Notorious from time to time, but before I spray, I always wonder "how is it going to smell on me today?" The scent is very warm and bold and has a soft woodsy base to it. I do not smell any fruity or sweet notes in this one at all. It is a complex scent that is different from other perfumes on the market. I would say that this could even pass as a unisex scent. IMO, this is a woodsy/ floral that is somewhat grown up. Notorious is not your typical teen/ younger girls fragrance, I think it would suit an older, mature woman better.
I like Notorious. To me, it's a quiet, modern version of Youth Dew - really retro in style but not quite so cola-bottle-esque. Soft in character, with a pleasant dry woodsy base. It's definitely a grown-ups fragrance, and probably not for a girl in her 20s unless she is wise beyond her years.
As Zibeline has so aptly noted, this Notorious is retro in feel (and presentation - the bottle is the cat's pajamas!) as a lovely cool and woody floral. What I love most about this elixir is it's wearability. While there are plenty of scents with distinct notes and bold characters, Notorious is one that begs to be recognized up close. It's beauty draws you closer...I find it compelling!
The pink peppercorn is a little much for me but it absolutely drives my husband wild. I think it would suit an older woman beautifully, 40 and up:)
Oh, a fresh woody floral. The chocolate isn't sweet and there's a touch of oriental-style spice in this that warms things up bur conversely gets cooled by the small florals. In general, a very nice perfume. I have to say, I agree that the name isn't very apt. The word 'notorious' gives off a daring vibe but the perfume isn't anything truly special. My I suggest "lusorious", meaning playful. Dries down into a sweet musk. Very fleeting but smells nice.
I received a sample spray of this at the Ralph Lauren store today and decided to give it a whirl. Turns out I like this one despite the obligatory pink peppercorn note, which is hardly noticeable. The opening is not peppery and focuses mostly on the black currant note with just a bit of the bergamot sparkle. Peonies and carnation intermingle pleasantly in the heart note and the patchouli adds depth and sensuality to the mix. I don't know what cosmos smells like, chocolate or otherwise, but I do not detect a strong floral beyond the carnations and the more dominant peonies. I happen to like peonies and while many scents built around a distinct peony are cheery and pretty, Notorious takes peonies into a woodier and darker realm.I have read elsewhere that Notorious is sweet, but I don't find it so. It's more a cool, woody floral and a throwback to fragrances more popular in the 50s and 60s, very retro in feel.Not sure if the name fits the scent. RL seems to be shooting for an Ingrid Bergman feel but the scent is more Lauren Bacall in style. I could see her smelling like this in The Big Sleep as Vivian Rutledge.
For me, I get a fresh, crisp, clean sense at the opening, with a floral undernote, very cool, almost icy impression. The scent warms up on the drydown, but never broadcasts too much; it would be a nice pick if you work at close quarters in an office and don't want to offend anyone with a strong scent. I'll probably wear it for summer every once in a while, but I prefer a bit more oomph in my scents.The name and ad campaign definitely do not fit this fragrance in my opinion; I don't think the model in the print ads would wear such a ladylike scent!