AF25

[fairnymph]

Sniffed: Golden oil. Heady florals. Wisteria (?), some obvious familiar floral I can't place, ylang ylang, gardenia. But complex with a lot of depth below; there are a lot of other familiar, heavy/intense florals I can't pick out. Sophisticated, womanly. Edited December 8, 2009 by fairnymph

[zankoku_zen]

Gah. I think this might have wisteria (one of my nemesis florals), gardenia (hello, evil one!) and def. ylang ylang (which given the other two notes, I thought was jasmine).

 

Again, heady bright floral. If you can wear any of the components above, I would not be afraid. Unfortunately of the four florals I thought were involved, all four of them are doom-tastic on me.

[crebbsgirl]

Ok yes this definitely has Ylang Ylang. We have a sordid history. Translated, ylang ylang hates me. In a big passionate way. And that is all I can smell here. The gardenia was present in the wet stages but not it's all ylang ylang all the time. Pass.

[panavatar]

I found AF25 to be a very bright floral, with a strong topnote of honeysuckle. I only sniffed it, so I don't know how it would have morphed on my skin!

[sqwook]

Big florals, plus something behind it all that's adding sweetness - maybe sugar, and/or perhaps a fruit such as pear or apple or white peach. I definitely agree it's sophisticated & womanly especially for the first hour.

 

After it's fully dried down (an hour +) it's wonderful, reminds me of the dried-down Inez or Death & life completed, so perhaps amber, sandalwood, cedar, and/or carnation?

 

Smells like similar notes to what's in Peacocks or Les Bijoux, but it's much more lush-big-full, whereas Peacocks goes kind of subdued and all-mushed-together on me, and Les Bijoux is more honey and less floral-fruity.

 

 

(Also, I start to get self-conscious about my note-guessing, so Beth, should you read this, do not laugh at me! )

[myth]

Very light, almost disappearing floral. Quite faint, not offensive, but not too sure what it is. Almost a woody quality. Floral quality strengthens as it dries.

[bheansidhe]

A light white floral, sweeter and not as sharp as other AF protos. This is floral with more of an aquatic or dewy note, like honeysuckle and melon. I think it ends with ylang ylang and a touch of blue musk.

[edenssixthday]

AF25 - Really bright, sweet floral, but not quite as sharp or heady as some of the other AF* prototypes. This one opens with a huge blast of ylang ylang, which I'm not really that keen on, and has the distinct presence of gardenia behind the ylang ylang, and gardenia is another note I'm not a big fan of. I know there's more in this -- maybe woods or resins -- but I can't really discern any of the other individual notes. It has a definite Southern Belle quality about it, as if it may have been intended for the District line of blends.

[JazzieCazzie]

Playing a big ol' game of catch-up on reviews, starting ... now.

 

IN THE IMP: Strong floral that is a mix of what I define as "white" (lighter) and "purple" (lush and strong, though many "purple" scents are actually white flowers ... sorry, this is my own weirdness).

 

Because we're in the midst of cooking traditional "day before Thanksgiving" dinner, I dabbed only a bit on my wrist. With florals, this is usually enough.

 

WET: This array of flowers smells like a wedding bouquet, but from the nuptials of a free spirit having a lovely outdoor wedding someplace like a winery rather than a traditional indoor catered event. My own nose said gardenia but it could be wisteria or ylang ylang. For me, though I love W and YY, this is not for the faint of hot-house floral heart.

 

DRYDOWN: Sadly, something in this went plastic-y and queasy-making in the drydown. One of the notes is not playing nicely with me but I didn't leave it on long enough to find out which one. It probably would not have been a true "wash off" were I not in cooking mode.

 

OVERALL: Definitely worth a try for fans of the hot flower, but for me it will go to someone who will love it more than I do.

 

On a scale of 1-5: 2.