Bon Vivant

[mymymai]

An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry.

 

ITI: I get effervescent champagne - which is a nice I really do like. I don't pick up any strawberry, though, with which I'm perfectly fine.

Wet: Champagne and just a slight tone of strawberry - not cloying, but fresh and juicy. It reminds me of a romantic evening.

Dry: It died out before I left from work, but when I did catch a whiff of myself, I smelled like fizzy champagne and strawberries. I felt bubbly and fantastic.

[doomcookie]

I was extremely impressed with this one - in the imp, it actually smells exactly like strawberry champagne, right down to the bubbles. The minute it hit my skin, however, it turned quite unpleasant, soapy and chemically, kind of like powder dish detergent.

 

After six months tucked away in a drawer, I decided to give it another go. In the imp, still exceptionally realistic champagne, but slightly less strawberry to it. On my wrist, not soap anymore, and pretty true to imp. Hour later, starting to edge a little towards detergent again. Not bad yet, but suspicious enough, though it's possible that's because I'm on the lookout for it.

 

Overall, not for me, but that's probably a skin chemistry thing, so if you're looking for something bubbly, give it a try! =)

Edited August 2, 2014 by doomcookie

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: Champagne-soaked strawberries, fizz (like champagne bubbles tickling my nose) & something I can't quite put my finger on... almost a gingery-citrus note?

Wet on skin: Very fizzy/bubbly champagne, with a ton of champagne-soaked strawberries. The faint gingery-citrus note is still there, I think that might be what's creating the fizz/bubbles effect.

Dry on skin: It's starting to sweeten up now - my husband described it as "lemonade & alcohol". The fizz is still there, but it's less of a "freshly poured champagne" fizz & now more of a "champagne that's been sitting out for a while" fizz. It's actually starting to remind me of a type of lolly called "Fruit Tingles". It now smells almost EXACTLY like the pink Fruit Tingles, with a little bit of champagne in the background. Feels really strange to be smelling like a lolly, but Fruit Tingles were always one of my favourites, so I find it quite a nice smell.

Shortly after drying, the "Fruit Tingles & champagne" smell started to fade to a "plastic strawberries & champagne" smell. Like someone spilled champagne onto a Strawberry Shortcake doll. Not entirely unpleasant, but not at all what I was expecting/hoping for!

After a few hours: An old Strawberry Shortcake doll dipped in champagne. Again, not necessarily a bad smell, but not something I want to smell like. It's strange, because the strawberry in Hollywood Babylon works SO nicely on me & this strawberry just... doesn't!

Verdict: This actually started out (both on my skin & in the imp) as SO "grown up" & champagne-soaked that I was baffled as to how anyone could feel it was a "little girl" type scent. After it dried, though? Yeah, it smells like something a little girl might wear. A shame because I LOVED the first hit & in the imp! I guess this is a "wait until I own a scent-locket" scent.

[theredkilt]

If you like Shattered, you will probably enjoy this. Just remove the violet from Shattered and replace with strawberry and you have Bon Vivant, although the latter is less agressive on the mint/eucalyptus combo

[Allumina]

I am super impressed on how this can smell so...fizzy, despite it, you know, not being fizzy. It's masterful!

 

Wet and dry this is all fizzy, true to life champagne, with a bit of the the strawberry note hanging out in the background. When I put just a little bit on the strawberry is faintly there and sweet, just enough to make it smell like a perfume for a little girl, unfortunately. When I put a lot on, it gets fake and plastic. Oh well. I'd love to try something with the fizzy note paired with something more masculine or herbal.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: The first word that comes to mind is "effervescent", or, if I want to be less fancy "MY NOSE IS FULL OF BUBBLES!" Srsly, this is a BIG hit of bubbly. To me, it smells more like Sprite, but I can't tell if that's because there's genuinely a citrus note in there somewhere, or whether I'm just more familiar with Sprite then champagne (sad, I know). I honestly can't tell if there are any strawberries hiding under all the bubbles - could very well be.

 

Wet: The OH GOD EFFERVESCENCE that made me jerk my head back from the imp settles down into a more recognizable champagne note. The strawberries also start to come forward, but I agree what others are saying here - it's a very little-girl, synthetic strawberry.

 

Dry: Flat Sprite with overtones of synthetic strawberry. Meh.

 

I got this as part of Imp Pack: Booze after a frimp of Juke Joint was an unexpected and resounding success, but so far, boozy scents aren't working too well on me.

[Trix]

In the Imp: Straaaaaaaaaawwwwberrries! Summertime and light strawberries and just a little tickle of bubbles in your nose. Probably not a scent for the season, but oh in springtime, it would be grand!

 

Wet: Huh. Not all that strong. Still strawberries.

 

Dry: DISASTER! Somehow that lovely scent of a light, fruity dessert turned to soap. And not nice soap. Gas station bathroom soap. Alas!

 

I'll have to try it again, I think. Or maybe wait until spring and use it in my waxwarmer. Siiiiigh, and this was the one out of my latest package that I fell in love with at the first sniff. Really thought it would be my light and girl scent.

[DiesMali]

In the imp: ...7UP. It smells just like 7UP.

 

Wet on my skin: Still 7UP.

 

Dry: This goes from 7UP to a dry, sparkly ginger ale right away as it begins to dry. I'm not that familiar with champagne, but whatever this is, it is bright and bubbly! I'm not getting any strawberry. Very unusual scent.

[Trinacria]

In the imp, this smelled more like Sprite or ginger ale rather than champagne, and I couldn't detect strawberries at all. I still loved it though, really fun and effervescent. Unfortunately, my skin just drank it up (no pun intended), so not bottle worthy.

[Edreaiar]

CARBONATION. Immediate first impression. The strawberry is right behind it, more syrupy than straight fruit. It's a fairly simple and straight forward scent, and doesn't really morph on me during drydown.

[loubric]

I swear I'm going crazy, I tought I reviewed this scent .... anyway in the imp it's a sweeit juicy fizzy strawberry. On me it's pretty much the same. Sweet bubbly strawberry. The fizziness subsides and it's a rosey floral strawberry

[Teamama]

Fantastic! But fleeting. It's sparkling and magical, exactly as described. It lasts about 10 minutes on my skin, and vanishes with nary a trace.

[Veronica]

Sparkling, bubbly champagne, as this dries the fruit becomes more prominent, but it's light and fresh--real strawberries with all there water, not artificial strawberry candy.

[DoktorDandy]

In the Imp: BLAST of ginger-ale! Very Distinctive and surprising too, given the notes? Wow- I love gingery smelling things so I'm excited to try this!

 

Wet: The bubbly note is amazing- I'm not sure how it's done but it's pretty amazing as far as a curiosity goes. What should be champagne is certainly ginger-ale on me, no question about it. Yeah, very distinctive. No strawberry or any other note I looked up for this.

 

Dry: Ugh! The ginger departed, leaving behind something weird, plastic, headache-y, sweet & sour. At the end there's a copper or blood tinge that is nasty. Swap! Maybe it will be good on somebody else.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: OMG just like ginger ale! How on earth have they made something that's not carbonated smell like it is? Amazing.

 

As it's drying, the fizziness is still there, but some of the sweetness from the fruit is coming out. Why have I never tried this before!?

 

The throw on this is amazing, but nose right to skin I do get a faint hint of that fake plasticy strawberry. As long as I don't stick my nose right on it though I freakin adore it and want a bottle or 4. If this lasts on me I will for sure be buying more. Nomnomnom.

 

ETA: I was just complaining that I find it hard to find summer scents - I think this will be a new fave! Perfect for summer.

Edited August 20, 2015 by Liz617113

[LexieBlom]

Bon Vivant imp

 

Wet/Bottle - Okay, so this is supposed to be champagne but all I get is Sprite, with maybe a hint of booze if i sniff suuuper deeply. Very fizzy, but not much strawberry.

 

Wet/Skin (5 minutes) - Still getting a lot of Sprite, with a little white wine. Almost like the "wine" you'd drink when you're 17 and don't like wine so you mix it with soda.

 

Dry/Skin (30 minutes) - Sprite, man. This is Sprite.

 

I'm mostly amazed how they captured this scent so perfectly, mainly the carbonation. It may not have been the elegant champagne they were going for, but impressive none the less. Sadly, not something I would wear.

[freyasfae]

I have two things of Bon Vivant, one is an imp and the other is a bottle. I don't know the years of either, but my imp is very strong on the champagne, the strawberries only sneak in after at least an hour of drydown, and even then are very subtle. The bottle version is much more on the strawberry even when sniffed in the bottle. I was worried it might be too sweet, but this was the inverse of my imp - the strawberries settled down after an hour and it became a gorgeous balance of strawberries and champagne with a little floral lurking in the background. I will probably just collect a variety of imps and bottles of this, just to see how they change. I adore this scent. It makes me giddy and unabashedly romantic just like strawberries and champagne.

[roseus]

Oh this is fun! A lovely frimp from the lab, which is lucky because I was considering putting an imp in my next order!

 

This is pretty much the same on me the whole time. It's fizzy, a teeny bit tart with just a breath of strawberry underneath. The strawberry concerned me, because Tis the Voice of the Lobster went weird on me but it's very faint here for me. The champagne has a mineral-y quality. The color of this scent is light pink to me.

Edited May 25, 2016 by roseus

[t_for_tau]

Effervescent, yes, but not like champagne: like soluble medicine, complete with chalky artificial fruit flavour. It reminded me so strongly of being in hospitals that it actually made me feel panicky and I couldn't even put it on my skin, & had to scrub my fingers where it got on the opening the imp. First time I'm 10 years I've had a reaction like that to bpal! O.o

[SparklyFluff]

This was the very first BPAL scent that I opened in my very first order!

 

In the imp: spicy, sweet, light champagne note.

 

Wet: The champagne scent is strong but quite pleasing, not getting too much strawberry although it does have sweetness. I let my 5 year old smell it and he exclaimed "That smells like BUBBLES!" I definitely need him for all of my reviews.

 

Dry: The champagne scent has faded and bit but I can still detect it. I'm getting a bit of that ginger ale scent someone else mentioned. It is nice on my skin, I will wear it again.

[Jenjin]

Frimp from the Lab

 

IN THE BOTTLE:

Effervescent, ginger ale bubbles with a very slight sweetness.

WET:

The champagne notes are strong but fun.

DRY:

Very interesting with lots of throw. I can smell the bubbly white grape and the bright strawberry is much more apparent.

NOTES:

I don't have anything like this in my collection. Seriously considering upgrading to a bottle for the summer heat. It has an aquatic feel to it, but its very airy and bubbly. Honestly, its a masterpiece.

RATING:

9

Edited May 21, 2016 by Jenjin

[joopjoop]

Very bubbly and fizzy - this really does smell like champagne! Unfortunately I get very little strawberry and the champagne note is a little TOO realistic on me. I smell like I've been having a long boozy brunch. I seem to amp a lot of the boozy notes.

 

I love the concept of this one - it reminds me of a favorite part in one of my favorite books - the scene in Brideshead Revisited when Charles and Sebastian go for a picnic on the Thames and eat strawberries and drink champagne and generally have a perfect and magical afternoon.

 

I don't think I'll be holding on to Bon Vivant - it doesn't really work on me sadly. But now I'm inspired to reread BR, so that's all to the good!

[Casablanca]

...and in the vial this smells exactly as it's described: like a fizzy champagne so dry it should clear my congestion, and a scarce hint of sweet and red strawberry.

On my skin, it's barely there. It smells like a large champagne bubble just popped on me and is already almost gone. I guess my skin was thirsty.

[Cali]

This smells very lime-y and juicy in the imp. Very fresh and sweet like watermelon, kinda zesty.
I'm gettin very little strawberry (but I might just not be picking it up as I don't think I've smelled much bpal with strawberry before yet).It's quite lovely. Turns soapy on my skin, aw.

[CitrusFiend]

This is another one of those "exactly what it says on the tin" scents. Strawberries and champagne, nice and light.