Bal d'Afrique

This perfume is Signature Fragrance material, for sure.

There's this moment where you're overstimulated, overwhelmed, and having a horrible, terrible, no-good, very bad day...and then someone gives you a hug. And you're just enveloped in the certainty and warmth and calm and reassurance that everything--no matter how big the problem was moments ago--everything is going to be A-Okay.

This fragrance gives that "magic hug" energy. It's a hot cup of tea on a rainy day (that's probably the bergamot). It's the gentle, soft hint of the orange blossom and the clean calm of citrus.

I feel like this scent is deceptively unintrusive. It's not loud or colorful or stark--It's subtle, lives on the skin, and it says, "you look like you need a cuddle". It's an introvert in cozy PJs, snuggling under a fluffy blanket with a good book on a Friday night.

It's a sigh of relief with an amber base, and the calm, woody scent of a crackling fire, and the innate knowledge that nothing is going to ruin your peace right now.

Ok, so I wasn't sure I was going to like this as I've seen the original described as a soapy, clean scent and citrus, neither or which appeal to me. But there was something also compelling about the list of ingredients, so I took a chance. I'm normally an earthy/woodsy (but not too green) scent person. Yes, this has some citrus at first, and an initial hint of clean, but it's really well rounded and the main scent I smell is amber, which I LOVE. Also the other lighter scents lift the amber in this one so it feels like a scent I can wear in summer, not just cold weather like a lot of amber perfumes. This was a very pleasant surprise!