Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries - Santo Domingo

I have been trying to test out a few of the fall fragrance samples that I have collected with most of my summer Sephora orders.  I have been using them at night since the day temperatures have been close to 100 degrees the past two days and I might kill someone if I wear these types of fragrances during the day.  This heat wave should break within the next few days and then I am ready to begin to bring out some more fall items and start wearing my favorite fall trench coat.  I haven't bought any new fragrances for fall yet and I plan to try and work through all of these samples before I make any major shopping decisions.

The first one that I have been playing around with is another one of the Essential Luxuries from Oscar de la Renta, I received samples of all five scents in the collection from my June Glossybox and I have reviewed three of the five so far.  The first three that I reviewed were all warm weather fragrances and I wasn't a solid fan of any of them.  Maybe the cold weather fragrances will be better choices for me.

Santo Domingo is a rich smoky fragrance and one of the more unique fragrances that I have tried over the years.  I don't own any fragrances that are classified as "smoky" and so I was a bit unsure about Santo Domingo when I wore it for the first time.  The Oscar de la Renta website describes the fragrance as such, "A smooth, smoky tabac fragrance inspired by the tropical setting of Oscar de la Renta's birthplace, Santo Domingo. Fresh, citrus notes of mandarin and coriander embrace the rich warmth of tobacco, patchouli and spices in this luscious scent."

The top notes of Santo Domingo are: Italian Mandarin, Cedrat, Italian Bergamot.  The heart notes are: Coriander, Geranium Bourbon.  The base notes are: Indonesian Patchouli, Vetiver, Dominican Tobacco.

The base notes are the strongest in Santo Domingo, the dominant notes of the fragrance are the Patchouli and the Tobacco.  This fragrance is one that I would only wear at night, it would be overwhelming at the office or with any type of casual dress.  I can see this working well with a little black dress and heels, this is a harder fragrance to wear but it would be a stunning accent to a dressed up look for night. 

This is the best of the Oscar de la Renta Luxuries so far, I love that it didn't change while I was wearing it and it is the most unique of the group.  I still have one more to review so this might not be my favorite of the group but it is one of the strongest fragrances in the collection.  I am still deciding if I will buy this fragrance, I know that I would get limited use from it but it is very unique and I have nothing like it in my collection already.

photo courtesy of Oscar de la Renta

Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries Mi Corazon

I have really been diving into last month's Glossybox and will start looking at my July box on my next day off from work (the July box actually contains a few items that I already own so I will not have many reviews to post on this box) and I am still loving nearly every product that I have tried from the box so far.  I can't wait to order more body products from C. Booth and will start using the Honey Almond oil as soon as the weather begins to get cooler.  The past two days I got back into the Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries perfume samples that I received in my first box and have tried out the last of the summer fragrances in this line.  I will hold out for a few weeks on the other samples and then start some of those reviews once the cool weather is on the horizon.  I am ready to shop for fall makeup but not quite ready to start thinking about cool weather fragrances yet.

Mi Corazon is the next fragrance in the Essential Luxuries series and so far I haven't found any of these fragrances that I have loved or considered one that I need for my collection.  Sargasso has potential but changed too much once it settled down and I liked it much less each time that I smelled it.  If Mi Corazon is not a good choice for me then I wouldn't be finding a good warm weather fragrance from this collection.  I am hoping that the cold weather fragrances from Essential Luxuries might be more to my liking...

Mi Corazon is sold exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue and I pulled the fragrance description and photos from their website.  "An unmistakable, white floral bouquet intrinsically associated with Mr. de la Renta's devotion to family and his passion for gardening embodied in a lush, creamy accord of tuberose and ylang-ylang that mingle with peach for a warm tropical twist and an intoxicating trail." 

I read the description of this fragrance before I tried it for the first time and knew that I would either love or hate this fragrance, I do very well with Tuberose but find Ylang-Ylang to be too sweet for me.  If the fragrance is not sweet and errs more on the floral side then this will be the clear winner so far from Essential Luxuries.  I have tried this fragrance twice now and I can see that this is another loser from this company and I am wondering if I will find any fragrance that I like in this group.

Mi Corazon is a very sweet and strong floral fragrance and the Ylang-Ylang note trumps all the others in this blend.  When I first tried this fragrance on my skin, the Peach notes came out very strongly and then the Ylang-Ylang followed.  I did not get very much of the Tuberose in Mi Corazon and was left with a strong mixture of Peach and Ylang-Ylang that was too sweet for me to ever wear.  I couldn't stand to smell this fragrance soon as spraying it on and this is obviously not a fragrance for me to wear on a normal basis.

The Essential Luxuries collection is turning into a huge dud for me, I had high hopes for all six of these fragrances and so far I have tried and disliked three of them.  I can only hope that the remaining three fragrances are more to my liking and that I find a new fragrance from those.  I will return to this collection later on at the very end of summer/early fall when I start thinking about new fragrances for the cool weather.

photo courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue

Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries Coralina

I featured a review of the first of the Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries the other week and today we are onto to the second of the six fragrances, Sargasso was the first fragrance that I used from the samples that were included with my June Glossybox and it was an early favorite for me.  Today I am wearing and looking at the second fragrance of the group, Coralina, a fragrance that I loved the second that I put it on but am rapidly falling out of love with.

Since it is the beginning of July, I decided to use the fragrances in this group of six that would be appropriate for this time of the year.  I won't be able to really wear and review a strong fragrance that I would wear more in the fall and winter and therefore any of the scents that are described as such will be saved until September at the earliest.  Coralina and Mi Corazon look to be the other two fragrances that could be worn in warm weather and I decided to start with Coralina for my next fragrance.  Coralina is described as being a "timeless floral" and I got very excited as this is one of my favorite fragrance categories.

The Saks Fifth Avenue website and store are the exclusive places to purchase this fragrance line.  "A timeless, classic floral bouquet as elegant as the women who inspire Mr. de la Renta's luxurious designs: ladylike, refined, and rare.  The scent is an unforgettable blend of mimosa, violet, and orris, softened with luxurious woody green notes."  This is one of the few fragrances that I have ever used that has started out smelling one way and then almost completely reverses within a half hour of wear.

I don't dislike this fragrance at all but I can't say that I really like the way that is develops.  When I first put the fragrance on, the green notes come out and the fragrance smells like the beach and reminds me of a slightly lighter version of Bobbi Brown Beach (a fragrance that I have wanted for years but have no room on my dresser for anything new) and I loved it when I first tried it out.  I was ready to add this to my fragrance wish list and was seeing it as a slightly more dressed up version of Beach that would work in a professional setting.  In the first part of the wear of Coralina I was completely sold on the fragrance and loved it.

The second wave of this fragrance completely changes and it turns into a powdery violet floral.  I like the violet note in many fragrances and it is favorite floral note of mine to wear in fragrance.  The second wave of this fragrance is the one that stays with me for the next few hours and then eventually fades away after about four hours of wear.  I don't dislike this fragrance but I fell in love with how it smelled at first and became very disappointed with how it settled it and came out on my skin.  If the full day wear of Coralina was more similar to the first sprays of the fragrance, then I would have been sold and already ordered a huge bottle from the Saks Fifth Avenue website. 

The wear time on this fragrance was incredible for me and much better than Sargasso, I put a few sprays of Coralina on in the morning and it stayed strong and wore until I took a shower at the end of the night.  This aspect of the fragrance made me wish even more that it smelled more of the top notes throughout the day.  This was a fragrance that I could have loved more than any other in the Essential Luxuries collection but it ended up being the biggest disappointment so far of the fragrances.  My next step is to try the rest of the collection and review Mi Corazon in the warm weather months and then wait until fall comes to try the rest.

photo courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue

Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries - Sargasso

Today we are going back to one of the products that was included in my June Glossybox.  We have already looked at the SpaRitual Nail Lacquer and today we are switching courses to look at one of the perfume samples that was sent in my box.  The June box celebrates all beauty product brands and designers that are from the United States and looks at how each one represents the concept of American Beauty.  One of the most influential fashion houses for the past few decades is the House of Oscar de la Renta and he has created six new fragrances for his loyal fans.  Samples of each of the six scents were included with this Glossybox and I am currently working my way through putting each one of them to the test.

With my Glossybox was a small magazine that provided me with a start when deciding what fragrance to use first.  I wanted to find a fragrance that was light and pretty for the summer months so I could start with something very appropriate to the season.  I chose Sargasso to start my education around the Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries fragrance collection.

The Glossybox magazine gives a nice description of the fragrance and we are also going to look at the official fragrance description from the Saks Fifth Avenue website.  "A crisp, green, invigorating accord is the essence of 'sea spray' in a splashy Eau de Colonge.  Fresh citrus notes, watery cucumber, and an unexpected revitalizing greenness combine with warm sunshine and patchouli for a lasting serene finish.".  The Saks Fifth Avenue website provides the exact same description of Sargasso and this is the exclusive retailer of this fragrance and the rest of the scents in the collection. 

Sargasso could very easily be unisex, this is a green fragrance with hints of fresh sea air notes mixed in with it.  It is a very unique fragrance, I do not own anything like it at all and I am thinking of buying the full size version of this fragrance to fill a hole in my perfume collection.  Sargasso is a very nice "summer weekend" fragrance, this fragrance would fit perfectly with farmer's markets, boating, and casual outside lunches.  I would not see this fragrance working well in a professional environment, it doesn't fit with a suit and heels.

I am very fond of Sargasso but I wish that it had more lasting power.  I get a great hit of the 'sea spray' when I first apply this fragrance and then this stays with me for the next two or three hours of wear.  I place this fragrance in the Green category, there is nothing floral or warm about Sargasso.  I own less Green fragrances than any other kind so this was a refreshing break for me.  I never got much of the patchouli note, this fragrance doesn't have much of a base to it and this base note never comes out for me.  Sargasso is very light and only lasts about two to three hours on my skin, it goes from the 'sea spray' to nothing when I wear it.  I would like for this scent to last longer, I have to reapply throughout the day to keep it fresh.

Sargasso is my first from the Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries fragrance collection and I will be trying the next ones out very soon.  This is a contender for my early favorite of this line because it is very unique and I love Green fragrances and this one smells like a day in a small village near the ocean.  This would the ideal fragrance to take the Hamptons for a weekend getaway.

photo courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue