Purr by Katy Perry

Katy Perry is one of my favorite celebrities and one of my favorite fashion icons right now.  Her first fragrance, Purr, was released late last fall to Nordstrom only and I was so excited to hear about it that I was considering ordering a bottle totally unsniffed from the company's website (since I live slightly too far from a Nordstrom to drive there just to smell a fragrance, I need to make it a whole day trip to the King of Prussia mall).  I was very hyped over it but I continued to hold off a bit in hopes that Macy*s or Sephora would begin to stock it after the initial Nordstrom launch.  Well, my hopes for those two stores still haven't been granted however I was in Ulta the other day (continuing my obsessive search for China Glaze polishes) and lo and behold, there was a huge display of Purr by Katy Perry.  After grabbing my nail polishes and a Benefit They're Real! mascara (still haven't opened yet but can't wait to review), I stopped by the fragrance display to this perfume out.  Thank god I DIDN'T order this perfume unsniffed!!!

My first thoughts were that the bottle was huge and completely juvenile.  I guess that it just didn't look as childish in the pictures that I saw of it because I initally liked it.  It also didn't help that it was sitting right by the Justin Bieber perfume and nowhere near the other fragrance counters....  The bottle just felt odd in my hands and didn't like that it was plastic and not a heavy glass (I was holding the 3.4 oz size for reference).  I could never put this out next to my Chanel, Creed, and Jo Malone perfumes, fragrances that are half the price of this product have nicer bottles and aren't plastic.

My next issue with the fragrance occured when I sprayed it.  I first tried a bit on a card and really hated it.  I then decided to be open minded and sprayed a bit on my fingertips in hopes that it would smell better on my skin.  Well it most certainly did not work any better when I tried it out on my body, something in my chemistry just threw this whole scent.  So sad since I love Katy Perry and one of the middle notes of the fragrance is Bulgarian Rose...

I will provide the fragrance description and the notes from the Nordstrom website.  "Purr by Katy Perry Eau de Parfum begins with an aroma of peach nectar and forbidden apple, evolves with a distinct floral bouquet of jasmine blossom, Bulgarian rose, and vanilla orchid, and slowly reveals accents of sandalwood and musk.  Like the singer herself, Purr, is playful yet sophisticated.  Katy Perry transcends barriers with her music - so does her new fragrance."

The major issue that I have with this fragrance can be summed up in one statement: it smells cheap.  And the bottle just looks cheap.  This fragrance smells like something a junior high school girl would be all over.  The top notes lingered on me the longest, the apple and peach stayed on and never softened.  They stayed sharp and sour and then the musk came out.  I got no floral from this fragrance which is a shocl for me since my body chemistry works perfectly with florals and I have more problems with fruit and citrus notes.  This leads me to comclude that this fragrance was made on the cheap and the floral notes aren't high enough quality or there isn't enough of the perfume oil in to make the florals pop.  This is one of those few bad fragrances that begin with a top note and then hit the base notes and just remain flat the whole time.

I was so glad that I didn't purchase a bottle of this without smelling it because it would have been heading right back to Nordstrom after one usage.  I love Katy Perry and I was just so hoping that this fragrance would work for me but it was not to be.  If the middle notes would have been more prominent and the top notes less sharp, I think that this fragrance could have been a lovely scent.  Honestly, both the scent and bottle are over the top and need to be toned down...

photo courtesy of Nordstrom