Luv Perfume Oil & Body Lotion by Sharon Bolton Scents {Perfume Review & Musings}

Luv by Sharon Bolton Scents, a perfume company from Santa Barbara, California, is described as an intoxicating and feminine scent showcasing tropical flowers and in particular "...rare pink gardenia, lush Hawaiian white flowers, and a hint of creamy vanilla with a delicate whisper of white musk." Having sojourned in tropical and equatorial countries for many years, I am always interested in finding a fragrance that captures the sensuality of the atmosphere in these countries and I must say that I am thrilled with my new discovery.

First of all let me tell you that receiving a package from Sharon Bolton Scents is an excellent visual preparation for what is to come next. My items arrived in an elegant shiny black hat box wrapped around with a black satin ribbon. Inside, the lovely items packaged in a minimalist modern and clean style were showcased in a contrasting hot fushia silk paper. I also learned afterwards that all the packaging is recyclable.....

This is just to stress the fact that you can safely think about sending these scents as gifts, as it is in and of itself a treat to just contemplate opening such a pretty box. You just feel well treated. Moreover, this company treats other people well as well as they give back to charities like The Muscular Dystrophy Association, Susan G. Komen, The Teddy Bear Foundation and the Diabetes Association to name a few.

I received Luv in both the roll-on perfume oil and the body lotion (also a body wash for Truth that I will review elsewhere). After trying those on and off over the course of a few days I have reached the conclusion that I would actually recommend buying both products at the same time because although they fare fine on their own, layering them makes Luv really smell luscious and decadent. It adds depth and rounds off the perfume which on its own has a slightly sharper edge to it (nothing unpleasant, it's just a different olfactory nuance) while hydrating your skin very well. The milk is rich and unctious and a pleasure to apply. It absorbs quickly and leaves a slim hydrating film on the skin. The pump works great.

The perfume smells at first a lot of jasmine absolute and then later the gardenia becomes more present to my nose. Later on still it also makes me think of a sexy flowery suntan lotion. The scent has enough indolic nuances in it to keep it interesting and womanly without turning it into a scent that is difficult to wear. It preserves a clean personality thanks to the white musk suggesting clean skin after a shower or a bath. The perfume conjures up in general pretty young women going out on a date wearing dresses with very skinny shoulder straps so as to expose the maximum of skin to the date's appreciative nose and gaze. It is flirty but clean and fresh enough to be the final innocent yet sensual touch after your bathing ritual.

I just love the simplicity of the concept. The roll-on is a lovely well-proportioned petite bottle with Sharon Bolton's logo on it which I think looks very graceful and smart. It works very well unlike the roll-on for Monyette Paris which presents technical problems and in fact does not roll well at all. So we can be made aware that the quality of this type of packaging is sometimes not on par with its contents You can slip the roll-on very easily in your bag. I think that everyting was conceived to make the perfume easy to adopt as an intimate feminine object. As a perfumista I think that if the lotion were available as a lotion bar to go it would make combined application very easy.

For me Luv belongs to the family of functional yet sexy scents that are a little like tubes of lipstick. You can whip them out and refresh yourself with them. You wear them, they do not wear you and they make your skin smell more sublime and intimate. 

Luv perfume oil retails for $42 for a bottle of 1/8 oz. The 8 oz lotion retails for $27. You can buy them directly from the Sharon Bolton Scents Website. Readers of The Scented Salamander are offered *free shipping* on orders over $24 until January 31/2007! Just type in promo code "TSS" at checkout. (The way it works is that you will be initially charged and then promptly refunded the shipping charges.)