Tory Burch Eau de Parfum ($62.00 for 1 oz./30ml, for the bottle pictured, but it is available in various sizes) is supposed to contain the following notes: neroli, grapefruit, cassis, bergamot, peony, tuberose, jasmine sambac, vetiver, and sandalwood. The bottle totally caught my attention–the cap is gorgeous (to me) with its gold metal design and over-sized, square shape.  The opening was a loud, burst of grapefruit that then became a mix of sweetened grapefruit with florals playing in the background. Of the florals in this, tuberose seemed most prominent on my skin, as it was sweet, strong, and a little heady, and then I noticed jasmine tinkling around. I’m missing the creaminess I’d expect from the notes in this. The grapefruit and florals overwhelm the vetiver and neroli; there’s a hint of vetiver lurking about–a little earthy, green vibe I get only if I take a slow inhale with my nose to my wrist and close my eyes.  Two hours in, the vetiver is stronger, more noticeable, but it’s mostly a skin scent at this point.

My overall impression was of an incredibly sweet floral but it seem like something I’ve smelled many times before. For me, it was kind of like some of the more heavily scented moisturizers on the market with something floral-rather that lingers and can be smelled all day long–the scent ran together with all those memories.  I don’t typically reach for floral-heavy scents, though I usually find I can appreciate scents for what they are even if they are not to my personal taste, but I couldn’t get there with this one. Perhaps I was expecting something more complex, given the variety of notes, but if you like something sweet and flowery, it might be right up your alley.

Surprisingly, this fragrance started with a loud bang in its intensity; one spray and I felt like I was still tasting the scent fifteen minutes later.  A half hour into wearing this, my husband walked into my office and walked right back out not being able to take the fragrance (and I had initially applied this in a completely different room). It’s not a good sign when your husband comes in for a hello and instead asks, “What’s the smell? Oh… it’s you,” and immediately leaves.   In my notes, I wrote, “Use less,” after that, but as I continued to wear the scent, it faded very quickly.  After wearing it for an hour, I noticed just how much softer the scent had become.  It also became somewhat soapy after two hours of wear.  By the third hour, it was completely a barely-there skin scent that I was only able to smell if I held my nose against my wrist.  The scent was completely undetectable after four and a half hours.  Perfume usually wears well on me–anywhere from eight hours or greater (usually longer than eight)–and given this is an eau de parfum concentration, I was surprised at how quickly this disappeared. I wish it had started out more moderately and had greater wear.

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Tory Burch Eau de Parfum

Tory Burch Eau de Parfum

Tory Burch Eau de Parfum

Tory Burch Eau de Parfum

Tory Burch Eau de Parfum