I tried all of them today at the Mac store because they didn't had them at Macy's. Some are good, the most promising ones are unimpressive, and some are not my cup of tea. The packaging is simple and excellent. Let's start:
Crème de Nude: This one is the softest of them all. I agree with Mac's description that it's a scent that transforms with your skin chemistry along with amber and musk. This one is the perfect starter out of the six and it did adhere very well with my skin. Musk and I frequently clash, so it was surprising that this one didn't. The notes that lingered most was the caramel, vanilla, and neroli, so it was a bit sweet on me. Not the most long lasting, but in a way it's a good thing because it's meant to be a soft everyday perfume. Rating: Yay
Candy Yum Yum: This one is my favorite out of the six. It's a nice tropical fruity floral gourmand scent. The scent that lingers the most for me are all the tropical fruit notes. It reminds of guayabas, mango, cherries, and fruit gummy candy. Seasonal scents are out of the question for me because I live a tropical area 24/7, but if you're not from the tropics then this is a Spring and Summer fragrance. Unfortunately it's very synthetic but I'm willing to bypass that factor because the scent lives up to its name. Rating: Yay
Velvet Teddy: They say that it's supposed to be a "wild honey" scent. I call it Tobacco Vanille's little sister that's trying too hard to be sexy. It has the honey and vanilla scents, but it has this synthetic tobacco that overpowers the rest of the notes such as bergamot (didn't detect that at all) and Tonka bean (didn't detect that either). The tobacco is what drives this scent to be unisex instead of catering just for women. On me it's a very strong scent that lasts pretty good. At first it's overbearing and strong to the point that it gave me a headache, but three hours later it dries down to that "wild honey" scent-more like a sweet vanilla honey. There's a bit of similarity with Dyptique Volutes, but the latter is way sweeter, a better mix of notes, not long-lasting, but at least it doesn't feel intoxicating like Velvet Teddy. If you can feel all sorts of emotions on a perfume, this one is it. The pro: if you can wait a few hours for the dry-down, you can appreciate its true beauty (synthetic, but still nice, lol). Con: it smells like a room full of tobacco smoke in the beginning and will remain like that until a few hours later. Also, headache inducing. Rating: Meh thanks to the insidious tobacco flower.
Ruby Woo: This is the scent of an exotic candle or home fragrance turned into perfume. Mac seems to be taking notes on Tom Ford's vague perfume descriptions. What is red leather supposed to smell like? I still don't know but it sure doesn't smell like regular leather. I like pink pepper, rose, cherries, and the occasional sandalwood, but this mix feels like a beginners guide to florientals. The pink pepper and sandalwood saves this perfume from being bad, however the cherry and rose cheapen it, mostly the rose. The lasting scent on my skin is quite sweet and faint. It's not a strong fragrance tbh but it's not a miss either. Rating: Meh
Lady Danger: She's Ruby Woo's woody floriental sister but with amplified cherries, minus the leather, with Patchouli and a bunch of other floral notes that got lost in translation. I got the same problem with Ruby Woo but somehow this goes worse than the latter. It smells strong and overbearing in the beginning, quite unpleasant but not because of the patchouli. It doesn't dry smoothly and the sour cherries stay for a long time. The saffron is a dealbreaker in this mix. It's truly a sour spicy scent and it doesn't live up to Lady Danger. Rating: Nay
My Heroine: The misunderstood fragrance out of the six. She's described as daring, mysterious, and rebellious. I describe her as misunderstood and complicated. It has a very rough start and it takes time to dry down and adhere with my skin. It's the strongest and most long lasting out of the six scents. Another headache inducer like Velvet Teddy and Lady Danger. It's also the most masculine of them all. It's 11pm where I'm at and I can still smell My Heroine but much more toned down compared to the morning. It smells like smoky woody incense which is not bad for a house fragrance, but not the best match on my skin because oakmoss and I clash a lot. Saffron is a hit or miss for my skin chemistry as well. It's like a rough sketch of a Tom Ford fragrance but left unfinished. Give it a chance to see how it goes. Rating: Nay for me but it can be a yay for someone else.
Candy Yum Yum > Crème de Nude > Ruby Woo = Velvet Teddy > My Heroine > Lady Danger
I left with CYY for now but will come back for CDN.
