It's tempting to think that Viktor & Rolf learned a simple lesson from the failure of Eau Mega, and that lesson was: sugar. Their first fragrance, Flowerbomb, wasn't an explosion of flowers at all, but a(nother) fourth generation spawn of Thierry Mugler Angel, with cleaner (and quieter) patchouli, a few petals sprinkled here and there, and plenty of sugar. It was a huge hit. (They've since churned out a bazillion collector bottles, but relatively few flankers — maybe they never got the memo?) They followed with the aforementioned Eau Mega, a clean melon-y pear, and despite the fun bottle, it didn't do so well.
Now they're back with Bonbon. Bonbon has sugar and then some; it could easily have been a Flowerbomb flanker aimed at younger consumers — Sugarbomb? Candybomb? The possibilities are endless. But no, we've got Bonbon, and unlike Flowerbomb, it's just what it says it is: candy. Caramel, to be more exact. It's very nearly caramel through and through, in fact, the other notes (mandarin, orange, peach, jasmine, orange blossom, gaiac wood, cedar wood, sandalwood and amber) hardly matter, although it is peachy through the early stages, and yes, there are a few vague, non-specific petals again, and you'll catch the woody amber in the dry down. Still, it's mostly caramel, from the first sweet whiff to the last sweet gasp.
The lasting power is just fine, although I think not quite as good as Flowerbomb. I think it might also have a bit less sillage than Flowerbomb, but I wouldn't swear to that. It's not sheer or quiet, in any case.
Verdict: I do like sweet on occasion, but I did not care for Bonbon. It didn't strike me as all that much fun, and it certainly isn't particularly distinctive or unusual. Sophisticated? No, it's not that either. It is worth considering that the fragrances it is most frequently compared to — Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy, Britney Spears Fantasy, Dolce & Gabbana The One Desire, among others — all cost considerably less than Bonbon. To my nose, there's nothing about Bonbon's juice that might justify the extra cost; my guess is that most people, if they smelled it blind, would peg it as a reasonably-priced, celebrity or mid-tier designer department store fragrance geared towards the youth market. I will stick with my Prada Candy (and by the way, if you found Candy too sweet, it's unlikely Bonbon will end up in your collection).
Still, if you're a big fan of sweet, you might love Bonbon. Opinions online vary: "candy crush death" was the conclusion of one reader at MakeupAlley, "every scent i ever wanted in a perfume tied together in a beautiful bow!" comes from a customer review at Saks.
Do comment if you loved Bonbon!
The quick poll: name the sweetest fragrance you love.
Viktor & Rolf Bonbon was developed by perfumers Cécile Matton and Serge Majoullier. It is available in 30, 50 ($115) and 90 ($165) ml Eau de Parfum. In the US, I believe it is still exclusive to Saks.
I was just thinking yesterday, after sniffing Flowerbomb in a magazine, that it should have been called Sugarbomb or Candybomb. Kind of horrifying that they decided to launch something even sweeter.
I like gourmands as long as they’re interesting. One of my favorites is still Hanae Mori.
It is interesting how many beauty blogs (not perfume blogs) talk about how Flowerbomb was so floral, this one is so sweet. Flowerbomb was so sweet to me, and so little about flowers.
Near zero flowers. Power of suggestion I guess.
Me too. Straight sugar and hardly any floral. Not my cup of tea.
Great review! And the sweetest fragrance I love is Prada Candy, then probably Histoires de Parfums 1969.
We like the same sweet
Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum. It was all the rage when I first joined MakeupAlley. I can’t believe I actually used to wear it out and about on hot days…! I still indulge, but more selectively and sparingly. Usually at home.
Yes, it was huge! And it was too sweet for me then, but my tolerance is way larger now than it was then.
My favorite sweet is the Loukhoum Poudree, also worn at home and even then sparingly. Usually used when I am craving an actual sweet, and it seems to satisfy that craving (most of the time
I like sweet gourmands, but not a lot of sugar in my florals and more complex perfumes. So (paradoxically?) I like some very sweet fragrances just fine, but find many more moderate ones way too much. I cannot cope with Flowerbomb. The sweetest fragrance I love is probably Ginestet Botrytis or Lush Vanillary.
Hard to say then if you’ll like this one…but guessing not.
There are several sweet perfumes that I love (at least occasionally, like on a cold winter evening at home) but I’m not sure which is the sweetest – maybe a tie between Mouboussin and Chopard Casmir? And I have to admit I also like Lalique le Parfum which may be even sweeter. I think I’ll skip this one, though.
Mauboussin is great! It’s one of my fav winter fragrances.
A nice sweet scent is nice to have for cold winter nights, yes!
About 10 years ago I used to wear Comptor sud Pacific Vanilla Abricot. It is probably my most complemented perfume, but I haven’t worn it in years! I do like sweet and gourmand, and still like this one, but it doesn’t feel very sophisticated.
Really surprised that CSP has released so few new scents, and nothing lately in their vanilla range, which used to be their thing.
Interesting and sort of sad to learn Eau Mega didn’t do well, although it’s not surprising. It wasn’t rocket science or anything – my best friend is a rocket scientist, so I feel confident saying that – but I sort of liked it. It wasn’t Mega anything, but it was soothing.
I am not a fan of melon or pear, so no surprise I didn’t care for it, but would be hard pressed to say why it didn’t do well — seems like very similar scents have done well for other brands.
Have to revisit Candy, there’s a sample around here somewhere. Haven’t worn it in quite awhile, but my fave sweet scent used to be AG’s Eau de Charlotte.
Eau de Charlotte is a pretty one, I like that too.
Another vote for eau de Charlotte!
I love sweet perfumes, but Flowerbomb was so perfumey, and I cannot abide by “perfumey” perfumes.
Dulcis in Fundo is probably the sweetest fragrance that I love.
Dulcis in Fundo is a good one!
Yes. I think this one is perfumey too, but you’ll have to see what you think.
I will give it a sniff when it reaches my cowtown.
Natural vanilla extract, SL Rahat Loukoum, Lolita Lempicka and Hypnotic Poison are staples. I certainly like sweet, but not just any sugar bomb, and this one sounds too flat.
I adore Rahat and Hypnotic Poison, and I like LL…we have similar taste in sweet.
I have buckets of sweet scents because I am a huge fan of vanillas. I guess my favourites are L’Artisan Vanilia, half a dozen Comptoirs at least (but mostly Amour de Cacao), a whole clutch of Demeters such as Caramel and Eggnog, and most of all Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille.
Amour de Cacao is fabulous!
I gave my 13 year old niece my Un Bois and she loves it! Wanted to get her away from all that One Direction drek. She said it smells like black licorice
and vanilla, which she loves.
Eggnog is one of the all time great cheap thrills in sweet
You think Demeter would have done an Eggnig scent? I love eggnog.
Eggnog lol
Well I have been drinking too much spiked eggnog. NTS do not read so fast. Sorry lol!
It’s Demeter’s Eggnog we’re talking about! Great stuff.
(My mom wears Viva la Juicy from time to time, and it smells good on her!)
My sweetest fragrance that I own and like, that pushes my limit is L’AP Traversee du Bosphore. Sometimes I even need to ground that fragrance by adding a dab of Tauer’s L’ADDM or Magie Noire. After that my sweet like goes down a few notches to the Badgley Mischka. Not liking sweet too much also makes it a challenge for me to find a great vanilla I really love. There are a few, but they are hard to find!
Yesterday in anticipation of tomorrow I tested Hanae Mori, which is lovely, but surpases my sweet limit… it if was just a tad less sweet and a little dry, I think I’d be ga-ga over it. I’m still not sure what fruit I’ll wear.
I actually think the Hanae Mori edt version veers away from being too sickeningly sweet and cloying due to the presence of the berries which help counteract some of the sweetness. As far as sweet fragrances go, that is a fairly well-done one especially for a mass market scent.
It is weird because it was not so long ago that I would never go within 20 feet of any type of sweet fragrance and now I am finding that I am more open to a little sweetness here and there and even crave sweet fragrances at times. What is happening to me?
I love TdB
And I’m sure VLJ smells great on lots of people…did not mean to disparage any of those scents, more to say it’s hard to see why this one costs so much more.
I’m not a big fan of sweet scents, however I do still have some from back when I was younger and I thought that I had to smell like candy. The two ones that I remain a fan of are Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy, and Britney Spears Midnight Fantasy. I know many think it’s awful, but it reminds me of my middle school days since that was all I wore, and the scent is just nostalgic to me.
Hey, many people love it too! And it’s great to have a scent that reminds you of your school days.
I love a sweet gourmand, so it’s probably no surprise that Serendipitous is the sweetest scent I own.
I have a soft spot for Serendipitous, although I don’t have a bottle.
I am more of a clean, floral, fruity type of fragrance girl. So, although I appreciate some gourmand fragrances, I usually stray away from most.
I received Viva La Juicy about five years ago as a Xmas gift. So, if I had to pick a favorite gourmand, that would be it.
I noticed several people made reference to Prada Candy. I received a sample of this but haven’t tried it yet. I want to see what everyone is talking about. I never had a chance to smell Flowerbomb either, but it doesn’t seem like a fragrance I would swoon over. I probably won’t be rushing out to try Bonbon either.
If you like VLJ, I do think you should give this one a shot!
Probably the sweetest scents I own are both Guerlains (imagine that!): Iris Ganache and Spiritueuse Double Vanille. And SDV is more woody vanilla than candy sweet.
Good review; I chuckled at “last sweet gasp”. That told me all I needed to know!
I wouldn’t mind having a bottle of SDV, not one bit. Iris Ganache…gosh, that one was NOT good on me.
It has to be bitter cold for me to wear IG. I think SDV is genius.
Yeah, really bitter cold might take my mind off it
And sorry, couldn’t resist…
Hypnotic Poison Elixir
Good choice
I recently bought a bottle of Bond No 9’s New Haarlem. Mmm syrupy goodness.
I was just wondering whether you have tried Bond No 9 New York for All and how you think it compares?
For All is much less intense and doesn’t have the caramelized aspect of New Haarlem. Both are very nice perfumes.
It’s listed as having a note called ‘marron glace’ and I was thinking that would be very similar to caramel? I have a sample of For All, and every time I smell it I at first think its holy grail gorgeous – and then a couple of hours in the sweetness starts wearing me down – or perhaps the heart notes lose something that the top had. I can’t work it out!
Marron glace = candied chestnut. So caramelly and a bit nutty too I’d imagine?
I stumbled across this a couple of months ago at the Saks flagship store on 5th Ave in NY during one of my trips up there. It was the big hoopla launch week of Bonbon and the Saks windows were all decorated in melting caramel over orange zests and that huge bottle of Bonbon (it is really ugly in “person”!)
When I went in I was handed a sample and I have to admit that I shamefully loved it!
I kept sniffing my arm and the scent strip made of a twisted hot pink paper bow tie all afternoon.
I think Flowerbomb is a very high standard to live up to in the Viktor & Rolf world of L’Oreal. But this scent is fun and sweet like a raspberry and peach Gelato on a hot and sunny afternoon in Milan.
As for the bottle and box design, what were they thinking?!
Total opposite of Flowerbomb for both!
Hey, that’s not shameful at all! Glad you liked it. Agree wholeheartedly about the bottle, but I guess some people love that too.
I wasn’t a fan of sweet when I first fell down the rabbit hole, but my tolerance for it (for most things, probably) has increased. Probably the sweetest scent that I like and wear semi-regularly is Lolita Lempicka. I also really like Ginestet Botrytis, and I wear Angel on occasion. I remember trying Prada Candy in a store, and I remember liking it but not thinking the longevity was all that great. I think I found my sweet limit when I tried Kerosene Unknown Pleasures. Way too much.
FWIW, I didn’t like Lolita Lempicka the first couple times I tried it, and it was only about 6 months ago that I changed my mind on its being too sweet. And now I have a bottle. How tastes change…
Ditto! Hated LL the first time I tried it, now it doesn’t even strike me as all that sweet.
I really liked Unknown Pleasures, but the butter note was unrelenting.
I seem to either really love or detest sweet fragrances. There’s not much point in even trying this one. LAP Traversee du Bosphore is by far the sweetest I own. There’s something in it that reminds me of a cherry lip balm I used to wear when I was about three. It is such a pleasant memory. An expensive way to remember, but still very pleasant. Other sweets I love are Prada Candy, and Guerlain Tonka Imperiale. Maybe Chanel Coco, TF Tobacco Vanilla or Diptyque Volutes, but I don’t know if you consider those to be sweet enough. That is a comprehensive list of the (few) sweets I can tolerate though. And none will be worn until the weather is much colder. I can’t imagine what they would do in a humid 85 degrees!
Bonbon would kill me if I had to wear it out in the heat!
Not sure I am the person to comment on sweet although I do wear and love Havanne Vanille but it seems dry and rummy rather than sweet. The only really sweet perfumes I have and wear are La Petite Robe Noire Couture – that reminds me of raspberry macaroon – and Dior Cherie (I think – not sure if that’s the right name). That said, does Rose Jam count – I am actually really intrigued by what we would all define as a sweet perfume – only sugary ones or for example more rummy or ambery as well? Volutes can seem sweet but also dry, and fig perfumes can – so I think my answer is if they are less overt sugar I prefer them to pure sugariness. Either way, seems clear I am not the target market for BonBon!
Gosh I do love Rose Jam shower gel! Hard to say if I’d like it as a perfume, wish it had hung around long enough for me to find out.
I think that Rose Jam definitely counts as a sweet perfume! I have the shower gel and the perfume.
I really really love the middle and end notes of Viva La Juicy. That praline tinge just does me in. But, the scent is so faint after half an hour that I have to press my nose to my skin to smell it. I thought I found the solution when I made myself wear Angel long enough to get through the decomposing fruit stage. There it was – that warm luscious loveliness. No way, however, could I go through those top notes on a regular basis. And to be entirely honest, there is still a touch of rot in the dry down that I don’t entirely love. Then, on the opposite side there is the original Euphoria which has the most beautiful opening notes ever – and after 15 minutes vanishes entirely on me!
So I guess you could say I like sweet – but then I cannot tolerate the red apple sweetness of Traversee du Bosphore. While I thought the smell of Rahat Loukoum from the wax sample was lovely; Louve was sweet enough to make me ill at one sniff. Botrytis is gorgeous, but Pink Sugar is vile! Guess I’m all over the place
By the way I think the ribbon of the bottle is much prettier in the photo than it is IRL.
I’m probably all over the place too. Love Rahat & Traversee, Euphoria strikes me as unbearably sweet.
Sweet fragrances I like:
1. Loukhoum Eau de Parfum by Keiko Mecheri
2. Divin’Enfant Eau de Parfum by Etat Libre d’Orange
3. Blue Sugar Cologne by Aquolina
Gosh, almost forgot about Blue Sugar! Don’t even know if they still make that. Their Chocolovers was a great scent too, but it got axed pretty quickly.
OMG the bottle is so cute, so sad that the juice sounds forgettable.
My fav sweet (which isn’t really THAT sweet): Quand Vient la Pluie by Guerlain (preferably the parfum)
I also love Candy by Prada but not enough to own a FB. The Shower Gel is awesome though.
Ah, is it? Must try the shower gel. Seems like a lotion would be nice too, to layer with something or another.
Why that woman who looks exhausted from not eating to be featured on the ad for ‘bonbon’ that smells of caramel?
That image is so twisted …
The ribbon is an extra small so they needed a tiny model to fit in it
Good answer
Hate sugary perfumes, but don’t mind a sweetish gourmand. The sweetest scent that I really enjoy is Elixir des Merveilles.
Reminds me that I love several sweet scents by Jean-Claude Ellena, including Vetiver Tonka.
Glad you mentioned this, it had completely slipped my mind, and I like it a lot.
Gourmand fragrances do make up a fair percentage of my wardrobe and while Flowerbomb didn’t grab me exactly, I do like caramel as a note so will probably try Bonbon at some point. Some of my favorite sweet perfumes would include Guerlain’s Spiritueuse Double Vanille, Gourmand Coquin and Iris Ganache, Montale Sweet Oriental Dream, Alessandro Mazzalari (sp?)Molinard Tendre Friandise, Prada Candy, Dumont Plum Jasmine and of course, good old Angel. I also have a soft spot for the sweet and fruity Escada yearly LEs and own most of those as well.
Oh, then do try the Bonbon, you might love it. Gosh, I’d almost forgotten about Tendre Friandise — great scent, I would buy that if it was still around.
And, Molinard should relaunch it, it’d be perfectly “on trend” now.
Hi Robin. Great review as always. As far as I know, Tendre Friandise is still available from Molinard directly. I’m on their email list and still see it listed there and on the website. That’s where I bought my bottle three or four years back and while the shipping is high, it is a really beautiful and long lasting perfume so I found the investment to be worth it and one of my favorite sweet comfort scents.
Oh, thank you…I think I knew that at some point but had forgotten. Shame they don’t have more distribution in the US.
She’s actually not too skinny, just young.
But your point is a good one.
We can either consume sweets and gain weight or just spray this new scent to skin, tame the craving and stay thin like her.
Hey may be Bonbon is the holy grail of the multibillion dollar weight loss industry after all!
Unfortunately, I find that wearing candyish scents makes me want to eat sweets. For me a great diet perfume would be Black Orchid, because that truffle note turns my stomach.
My fave sweet scent is BcbgMaxAzria pink bottle. It is listed as a soft floral but leans more to a fruity floral. It has a lovely soft iris note in the dry down, not long lasting but you could do worse.
You could nearly always do worse
I once thought it funny that I preferred FB La Vie en Rose to its original, but reading this I wonder if perhaps it was the overabundance of sugar and lack of floral notes that influenced my preference? Hm…
My favorite (fruity-vanilla) sweet perfume is still Lavanila Vanilla Passionfruit; uncomplicated and unadulterated happiness in a bottle! I also quite enjoy L’Artisan Dzing!, Au Pays de la Fleur d’Oranger Figue Fruitee, Ineke Field Notes from Paris, and Bombay Bling by Neena Vermiere Creations. Not a single one of these is as straight-up sweet as Bonbon sounds–and I prefer my fragrances not to induce a toothache–so as much as I enjoyed La Vie en Rose, I think I’ll pass on the latest from Viktor & Rolf.
It really is surprising that La Vie en Rose is the only proper flanker they’ve done…you’d think they’d have a new one every year.
Sorry, forgot to mention that was a great review Robin and I will give this a sniff.
Thanks! And might as well give it a try.
I am an unapologetic queen of sweet perfumes! L de Lolita Lempicka is probably my sweetest- it’s criminal that it was discontinued.
Was it? I really can’t keep track anymore of what is gone and what is still in production. That was such a great bottle, too.
Gaultier2 is super sweet , I love it from time to time when it gets applied way down under my shirt where it can be snuffed a little.
Amen is pretty sweet as well come to think of it. Wore it to death in the late 90’s , can’t stomach it much these days . I still have a 30 ml for collection sake
Still to sniff Bon Bon . Thanks for the review
Hope you’ll like it!
My sweetest perfume is probably Ylang & Vanille….
That was sweet
I don’t like most sweet perfumes, so can’t say I love any. But I am coming around to liking Angel on occasion.
Then you’re on your way
I am seconding AnnS’ vote for Traversee du Bosphore, which I understand many people find quite sweet, but I experience as more leather than gourmande. In early testing, I found Pink Sugar fun and almost worth a discount buy, but the longer the sweet fragrances have topped the mall market, the less novel and less interesting it has become to me.
I’ve been really curious about a couple of the Pink Sugar flankers, but I never see them in person.
Ulta had Pink Sugar Sensual (geez, I feel silly just typing “Pink Sugar Sensual”) and Gold Sugar briefly, but I never tried them on skin. I was looking forward to a Pink Sugar sans black licorice.
Meant so say “sans black licorice and charred/burnt sugar.”
I nearly never go in Ulta…mine is so often missing testers, plus they never have samples. But good to know, thanks!
I gave myself a spritz of Gold Sugar a couple of months ago at a Neiman Marcus outlet. It smelled exactly like warm caramel. It might be a good candidate for a cheaper version of Bonbon.
Reading through everyone’s lists I realize I have far more sweet perfumes than I thought I did.. Favourites are probably Love by Kilian and Divin Enfant.
I did pick this up and sniffed it. Then probably cringed and put it down again. I do have and like Candy, on occasion, but tbh all these sugary/fruity things- I can’t tell them apart.
So many of them are similar! Everyone who mentions Bonbon seems to immediately list 4 other perfumes just like it.
Sweet perfumes are right up my alley:
Prada Candy
Guerlain Iris Ganache
Guerlain Gourmand Coquin
Angel Eau Sucre
Hermes Un Jardin Sur le toit
I wanted to go sniff this today with thegoddessrena but Barneys won out and we had a lovely dinner at The Boathouse at Central Park. I also went through my first Jar experience.
Re the Bonbon bow – add a cat and you have Hello Kitty! Wasn’t there a Hello Kitty bow shaped perfume bottle a few years back?
Pretty sure you’re right about the Hello Kitty.
Did you love the JAR shtick? I did, & still want Bolt of Lightning.
It was shticky but I loved it and will have to return. The one I ended up trying on skin (me of the spray and walk into the mist type) was the Diamond Water…I looked up the notes afterwards and lo and behold, it has my latest obsession – carnation.
I’m obsessing over buying a FB of the Red Carnation even though it barely lasts on me…at the rate it evaporates on me, I will have the satisfaction of FINISHING a bottle, which is a rarity!
I’d love to know how many bottles they actually sell vs. how many times a day they do the performance
In the minority here, but I love Flowerbomb. I will say that I have the extrait and a single dab lasts all day (and then some), seems richer and smoother than the EDP, and has less sillage. I adore it and receive many compliments wearing it. I also have this year’s edition of La Vie en Rose, but the rose note really plays up on my skin and it is lovely.
Other than these two, the sweetest scents I love are the KM Loukhoums and BK Love.
The extrait! I saw the photo and it is beautiful! Never seen one in real life though
How does it really smell? Less sugar, more floral?
It’s very similar to the EDP, but less sugary and “quieter”. I like that it stays very close to the skin.
I don’t see how you can be in the minority, it’s hugely popular!
Oh, I just meant here, Robin. It appears that many on NST don’t like it. I love it, but I use a very light hand with it.
Oh, well, not even sure that’s true, although might be true of the population that comments.
I’ll add one more shout-out for Rahat Loukoum. Maybe I’ll have to bust that one out for “Fruity Friday!”
Yum
I actually quite enjoyed Bonbon. For me, it is easy to wear and works well as no-brainer casual pick-me-up when not sure what to wear. Though I absolutely agree it does not justify with the elaborated price tag for what it is.
One thing I am thankful for with Bonbon is its low sillage. Although it still may be too much for a hot day, I think this relative “mildness” makes it more of an almost year-round comfort scent suitable for a wider range of consumers rather than your typical teenage “look-at-me” type of fragrance (something I find distracting in Viva la Juicy).
I liked Flowerbomb but I find it to be too “milky” and sweet. Probably contrary to most people, I think Bonbon is “fresher” than Flowerbomb. (I am basing this on memory. Will need to test both at the same time.)
I agree it is similar to Prada Candy but maybe less musky.
So glad someone who loves it is standing up — thanks!
Not that this was ever going to be my kind of perfume, but has anyone held the bottle? It seems to be the ultimate in awkward. I wonder how many testers are going to get dropped.
I have not, but it does look awkward.
I got the 50ml bottle and I think it’s alright.
But I guess if you find the bottle too big, you can always hold it like a steering wheel! Ha.
I have a hard time saying whether I like sweet perfumes or not – in the Like category are: Prada Candy, Hanae Mori, B&BW Dark Kiss (which I like better than Hanae Mori, actually, it’s more floral), BK Sweet Redemption, Datura Noir, Mauboussin, Havana Vanille, and the original Lolita Lempicka.
In the Ugh, My Teeth Are Decaying Category would be Louve, Rahat Loukhoum (whether SL or Keiko), Pink Sugar, all the Mariah Careys, and probably some other things that I am deliberately forgetting. OH – Olympic Orchids Red Cattleya, that one about killed me with sweet.
So I don’t know about this one. We’ll have to see.
You never know, but doubting you’re going to love Bonbon.
Several people have mentioned perfumes that I love and also find very sweet, like the Neela Vermiere’s…. I think the sweetest fragrance I wear is Iris Nobile, which I think is quite pretty, but very sweet as well, although it doesn’t usually pop up on folks’ ultra sweet lists.
Was puzzled for a minute, then realized you mean the Iris Nobile EdP…I’m the only who bought the very different EdT, and it’s still my reference
Yup. The EdP. It is actually so sweet that I am sometimes taken aback when I initially spray it. I haven’t sniffed the EdT.
It’s much lighter…and totally different notes. You wouldn’t know they shared a name. Plus, it’s long discontinued!
I think Hanae Mori and Bombay Bling are the sweetest perfumes I really love. I also wear Mauboussin, Lalique Le Parfum, Anne Pliska, and L’A Vanille Absolument, but while they are certainly vanillic, I don’t think of them as sugary. Actually, Bombay Bling may be more fruity than sugary. And the HdP 1804 I’m wearing right now is certainly sweet, but the pineapple smells floral and fruity, not at all like candy. I seem to be making the case for a taxonomy of sweet perfumes. (Possibly also a case for my needing more sleep.)
Hanae Mori is making a good showing here today!
I wear Lolita Lempicka a lot, and also L de Lolita, and Blue Sugar. One I haven’t seen mentioned yet is Organza Indecence. I guess it’s not crazy sweet, but all that vanilla and cinnamon comes across as sweet to me.
Funny, I don’t think of OI as a sweet bomb, but maybe it is!
It really does smell quite cheap. I can’t stand all these sugar-lolly scents, even Modern Muse is a candy floss cheapie. Ack!
At first I really liked this. Its warm and sweet. But unfortunately the staying power was not that great. After about 3 hours, its was mostly faded and the projection was like non-existant. It also seemed to blend with my own body chemistry and although smelled very nice, was not detectable unless you put your nose to my wrist.
I used to wear Aquolina Pink Sugar and it was a hit with everyone I met except me – far too sweet. But it did have its charm.
Prada Candy is the sweetest fragrance I would wear, although it smells like candy over Infusion D’Iris, and why would someone want to add anything to IDI when it is perfect just the way it is?
Flowerbomb, La Vie est Belle etc are all sickeningly sweet, would not be caught dead wearing them, I’d get cavities!
So is Angel Eau Sucree. I only wore Angel Pivoine which was OK if not right up my alley, but I appreciate the original fragrance.
Hypnotic Poison and Casmir on the other hand are not too sweet, and neither is Rahat Loukum.
When I want “sweet,” I want it to be “gourmand” and without any interruptions from a bunch of other notes. That’s why I love Prada Candy: It has three notes, the prominent one being caramel, and no fruits or florals. But those two other notes just manage to make the caramel warm and smooth, not cloying.
Most of the perfumes I see on lists of comparable scents just don’t give me that pure feeling. And many are, as another poster said, too “perfumey.”
Aquolina Gold Sugar is interesting in that it is similar to Prada Candy, but there’s some sharp note in the beginning that I have to work with to get to the caramel base. I will say, though, that for my $15, I did get my money’s worth and then some. It takes just a couple spritzes for this one to make itself known. And it has very decent longevity — my one and only beef with Prada Candy.