Versace Yellow Diamond

Today I am wearing a fragrance that I am trying for the first time and wishing very much that I had tried a few months ago.  Versace Yellow Diamond is a sample that I was just sent from the Sephora website, I had never smelled this fragrance before and randomly picked it from the available samples on my last order and just tried it on this morning.  I do like the Bright Crystal fragrance but never had the excess room to add it to my collection, it is also is very similar to Dior Addict 2 and many other bright florals with a citrus top note and is similar to a few fragrances that I already own.  I skipped over Yellow Diamond, thinking it would be more of the same and wouldn't hold a distinct place in my collection.  I will admit that I was completely wrong and have been enjoying this beautiful and unique fragrance all day long.

Yellow diamonds are some of the most rare and expensive jewels, I have never seen a yellow diamond in real life and doubt that I will anytime soon.  A yellow diamond ring was what Richard gave to Samantha in Sex and the City to apologize for cheating on her and this is always what I think of when I hear about this shade of diamond.  Now I can think about yellow diamonds when I wear this beautiful fragrance.

"Infinite beauty reflects itself in the transparency of a diamond and radiates all around in beams of crystalline light. Pure as sunlight, a bright, extraordinary yellow light radiates with a fiery intensity and sparkles the way that only a diamond can. An authentic jewel of rare beauty is unveiled in Yellow Diamond, a fresh and vivid floral perfume by Versace.  Like a burst of light, the fragrance gleams and glistens as it opens with notes of bright citron, a fresh pear sorbet, sparkling bergamot, and an accent of neroli. As its heart emerges, the rare elegance of orange blossom shines through the light of freesia and mimosa with the natural transparency of nymphea. The lingering base notes add a fascinating sense of sensuality with ambery woods, the sunny and vibrant character of palo santo wood, and the refined presence of musk.  The bottle is a unique creation featuring the luxury of clean geometry. It’s a design of timeless elegance, an exquisite modern piece of unrivalled beauty. "The color yellow recalls the brightness, sensuality, and great energy of this fragrance, able to depict and emphasize the charm and femininity of a woman" —Donatella Versace.", states the Sephora website.

The notes of this fragrance are: Citron from Diamante, Pear Sorbet, Neroli, Bergamot, Nymphea, Freesia, Orange Blossom, Mimosa, Amber Wood, Palo Santo, Musk.

I tried this fragrance for the first time this morning and it has been going strong for over 12 hours now, I can safely say that this is one of the longest lasting fragrances on my skin.  I believe that the Freesia is responsible for this lasting power, it is in the same family as magnolia and these types of florals stick on me all day long. 

This fragrance started off with the citrus top notes and quickly the floral notes came out.  The citrus notes were very light and actually worked with my skin chemistry.  The Freesia, Orange Blossom, and Mimosa then quickly come out and the fragrance develops into a unique and sweet white floral.  The bottom notes never really developed on me, I smell no Musk or Wood in this fragrance and I am very happy with that fact.  This fragrance is a white floral through and through.

The reason that I wished I had gotten this sample earlier is that this is a spring and summer fragrance for me and I am not buying any new fragrances for summer right now.  I am in full fall mode so I will finish my little sample in the coming weeks but then will hold off on a purchase of the full size bottle until next spring.

photo courtesy of Sephora

Versace Bright Crystal

When people talk about the perfume bottle attracting them to fragrance...  Bright Crystal is one of the most distinct bottles and it attracted me to the bottle from all the way across the beauty department of Macy's, even distracting me from the MAC and Chanel counters.  The large crystal on the top of this bottle is very classic Versace and reminded me of the jewels that Dontella Versace is always draped in.  This bottle is 100% Versace and is the perfect bottle design for this company.  The face that this scent is a winner too is the icing on the very lovely cake.

Bright Crystal came out initally in 2008 and caught my eye the first time that I saw it.  It reminded me very much of Dior Addict 2 and I had a bottle of that open at the time so I pushed this one off until that bottle was done.  I finished my Dior and then by the next spring, I had so many bottles of perfume open that I had no reason to every buy another one.  I still ahve no reason to buy another one this time around but since I have nothing like this in my collection now, I will be picking up a bottle next time that I get to the perfume counters. 

"Inspired by a mixture of Dontella Versace's favorite floral fragrances, Bright Crystal is a fresh, sensual blend of refresing chilled yuzu and pomegranete mingled with soothing blossoms of peony, magnolia, and lotus flower, warmed with notes of musk and amber", states the Sephora website when they created a description for this fragrance.  The fragrance is very much the fruity floral blend, combining the florals with crisp notes so it doesn't become too sweet.

The notes of the fragrance are: Iced Accord, Yuzu, Pomegranate, Peony, Magnolia, Lotus Flower, Acajou, Vegetal Amber, Musk.  Peony and Yuzu are two of the major notes of Dior Addict 2 so it very easy to see the similarities in this fragrance and the major reason why I didn't need this fragrance when it first came out. 

Bright Crystal smells almost exactly the same on me as Dior Addict 2 so my purchase will come down to one aspect of the fragrance: length of time it stays on my skin.  I will do the Dior on one wrist and the Versace on the other and just see which one lasts longer.  Something in my memory tells me that it will be the Versace since I remember that it stayed on very well when I first tried it out.  Bottle-wise, the Versace is the clear winner.  The Dior bottle has nothing on the Versace, it is one of a kind and would look fantastic on my bureau.

photo courtesy of Sephora