Contrasting Spring Scents

It’s that time of the year when all manner of new fragrances will be hitting the counters, and I’ve been smelling two recently, that are released tomorrow (February 1), both have a top note of Bergamot and musks at their base, but couldn’t be more different.

Both are also pretty in pink, but Calvin Klein’s Sheer Beauty and Guerlain’s Shalimar Parfum Initial L’Eau are very different fragrances for different noses!

Calvin Klein’s new offering is fruity and then some. The peach Bellini accord in the top notes make it sweet, with pink lily, peony and jasmine giving it a floral heart. It’s a little bit cloying for my liking, but if you like fruity, floral scents, it’s for you.

The bottle is lovely, sleek, blush-coloured with a simple clear cap. Dutch model of the moment, Daphne Groeneveld, according to CK, ‘embodies the essence of a young woman bursting with femininity, confidence and sensuality‘, which is what this fragrance is meant to do for you…

Over at Guerlain, it’s a new variation of Shalimar Parfum Initial. L’Eau is not one for the faint-hearted.

It’s a big, bold scent, very sweet, almost Angel-like in parts, with damask rose, vibrant iris and jasmine in the heart, with bergamot at the top, and vanilla and tonak bean at the base, giving this the big thud of sweet Shalimar scent.

I think I love the bottle here more than the fragrance with its vintage styling, and cute powder pink tassel attached to its neck.

The scent is really very sweet, and it lingers long after application for an EDT which is a good thing if you love it!

Shalimar Parfum Initial L’Eau EDT is available in 40ml, 60ml, 100ml, for £37, £46, £64 respectively, from Harrods, John Lewis, House of Fraser and Debenhams, from February 1.

Calvin Klein Sheer Beauty EDT is available in 20ml, 50ml, 100ml, for £32, £47, £60 respectively, from The Perfume Shop, from February 1.