Laura Mercier Neroli & Violette (2008) {New Fragrances}
Neroli is described as an elegant and fresh perfume with top notes of orange bigarade, lemon peel, and freesia segueing into a heart of neroli, fresh jasmine, and peony and finally lingering on with notes of musk, amber, sandalwood, and vanilla.
A 1.7 oz. flacon retails for $65.
Violette opens on notes of violet leaves and blackcurrant before developing ones of mimosa and peony and prolonging itself into notes of vetiver, musk, and raspberry.
The perfumes in that collection are pretty realistic and if memory serves me well their Marrons Glacés and Tarte Au Citron in particular were exactly as advertised while adding a little touch of sophistication.
A 1.7 oz bottle retails for $50.
Note: Ambre Passion is not visible on the Laura Mercier site anymore but is still listed on Nordstrom.
I tried the Neroli this last week and it was awful on me, literally smelled like sweet gasoline on me.
I haven't smelled it but I wonder if it is a wanted effect or an unwanted one?
I purchased LM Neroli after a few weeks of hemming and hawing, because I had to order it online unsniffed That being said, I am actually very pleased with it, and really enjoy wearing it. For years I'd been spritzing myself with cooking grade orange blossom water which doesn't last very long, and I really wanted to try and find that fresh wonderful fragrance in a perfume. At first I was a unsure because Neroli isn't just plain orange blossoms as stated on the box. On me it is like I am sipping/sniffing some wonderful limoncello while sitting near a grove of orange blossoms (or mock orange) with some undisclosed light flowers in the background. It is NOT sweet at all though. I get the best lasting power with it if I spray it on my dry skin WAY after I've put on lotion....I think it is a really nice wearable orange flower fragrance, and I'll probably blow through the entire bottle this summer. And, fyi, I've had the chance to compare it after wearing it a few weeks to recently discovered samples of L'Artisan's Fleur d'Oranger and Serge Lutens Fleurs d'Oranger. L'Artisan is very much a true orange blossom, and wonderful, though it doesn't stick to my skin very long (and is VERY expensive). Sure if I had the funds I'd buy it... SL has a very different type of orange fragrance than pure fresh orange blossoms, and I didn't care for it as much but it wasn't awful or anything. If you like fresh light sunny fragrant orange blossoms and you have the right skin chemistry, Neroli may just work for you.