Reviews of Splendor by Elizabeth Arden

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Splendor and I have an odd relationship. I am an all-day-sucker for the sultry innocence that are white florals. However, Elizabeth Arden fragrances and I have a ‘frienemy' kind of relationship: Red Door was my first love but 5th Avenue is a wretched, regurgitated mess of bad, bad flowers on my wrist. Splendor straddles the fence between the casual flippancy of most late 1990s fragrances (the fruity floral aspect) and the romantic intensity of a late 1970s powerhouse (the floriental aspect). This sometimes translates to a duality of personality that I find I have to be in the right mindset with which to deal.

Today I was in the right mood and the right climate to handle this velvet steamroller. The first spray is the sharpest, blasting on with a pungent fleshy fruitiness that I am never fully prepared for. I am pretty certain I can blame the pineapple and sweet pea for this. It is also at this point that I wonder why I still keep this one around. Luckily, I have acquired patience as I've gotten older so I do not mind waiting out the fifteen minutes or so for the top notes to pop a Ritalin and calm down.

What I am eventually left with is a sweet cream concoction of bold white florals that were meant for the winter months. This is a white cashmere cardigan, one that is totally appropriate for winter wear, contrary to fashion standards which state, “No wearing white after Labor Day.” The heart packs a white floral wallop using spicy amber-flavored brass knuckles (think vintage Chloe-esque). The base smolders with a soft, subtly smoky musk that does not fall prey to the powderbomb trap of most 1980s fragrances; imagine the last few strains of musk that linger in Happy before it completely evaporates. It is for those elements that I continue to reach for this one.

The sillage is pitch-perfect–just enough ‘linger' to make an impression but not gas out the masses–and the duration is impressive. Like all EA fragrances this should be used with a light hand. It is a thick and spicy white floral that should be used appropriately.
10th December 2011
101767
I use this as a "doggie scent". It doesn't work on me, but it's awesome on my PitBull. It's a very fresh, clean, "just bathed" scent. Much better than "oh! My dog" & other pooch scents we've tried.


16th September 2011
97485

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This is a pleasant enough floral. I wasn't too impressed with it at first but it is very hot this summer and I am finding this fragrance takes on a whole other life when the temperature rises above 90 degrees. I really like this in the summer much to my surprise. This is a great perfume for the summer. It seems to be very ordinary the other times of the year.
8th January 2011
93508
Very clever, if vague, assembly of light, lush fruits and a garden's worth of different florals over a rather generic soft women's woodsy base. Splendor represents this conglomeration quite well in that it is slightly sweet, a little spicy, a touch powdery, and a bit watery. It's a please-all chameleon floral and very well done for the money.
4th August 2010
74883
Splendor is a very sweet floral fragrance that I find much too strong to wear often. Whereas I like most white floral scents - as I do this - I find it, like all the Elizabeth Arden perfumes, can be a bit too heady and overpowering to wear daily.
10th March 2009
202486
This frag did not agree with my nose and chemistry. Smelled too much like lily of the valley without much else. Sorry, not for me.
5th December 2008
62434
I don't remember how Splendor came to be in my possession - I don't remember buying it, maybe someone gave it to me? Anyway... I finally tried it today.Splendor is quite a soapy. Not unpleasant, but not extremely memorable. The rosewood gives it a nice little twist - but may also make it seem like a strong "standard perfume" scent'The spray nozzle is one of those ones that spray a lot of perfume at once so if you don't want it to pool in one place sweep it across your arm.Splendour will be a perfume that I wear once in a while, but not a favourite.
14th November 2008
51863
i dont like this fragrance at all .... it is like rotten Jasmine or somehting ......
13th November 2008
57930
I think this perfume smells good on a blotter only, because after loving it that way, I bought it for myself. It didnt wear well on me. That was disapointing, since I really, really liked the way it smelled on the blotter. It had a fresh, clean smell mixed with white florals (I love white florals). It's great for a late spring/early summer day, when you have spring fever!
27th October 2007
43911
Cheap but not nasty, just sort of clean smelling. Smells like a good quality air freshener, but not nearly nice enough for me to wish to use on my skin. Having said that, on the few occasions I have worn it,lots of people commented on how nice it was?? I feel they must have stopped taking their medication.!!
20th July 2007
38644
Clean, soapy and unutterably bland. An extremely dull white floral that is more boring than the cheapest of pharmacy perfumes. Luckily it wears off quickly.
30th December 2006
32695
Elizabeth Arden perfumes must not agree with my chemistry, there's not one from this house that lasts on me for more that 5 minutes. Splendor lasts only a mere 3 minutes when I use 3 spritz's. In that split second Splendor has a very light white floral accord then goes to synthetic acetone then it's totally gone.
3rd December 2005
21715