Today I am trying Nanadebary’s latest fragrance release, Green, which features notes of citron, bergamot, basil, cardamom, nutmeg, thyme, musk, and vetiver.
The top notes are sharp green citrus. It smells very much like lemon verbena, with a fair amount of basil added. The cardamom and nutmeg add a slightly spicy, dusty undertone, but they are considerably more subdued than in the Nanadebary Classic Pink fragrance.
It calms to a sheer, lightly spicy herbal-citrus. As it dries down, it gets softer and milder, and also takes on a very fresh aquatic note that continues to intensify the longer it is on skin. Eventually it smells more fresh than green, and the herbs and spices fade to a faint whisper. It is a nice fragrance, but has too little personality for my taste after the first 30 minutes. It might be perfect for a work environment where you need something light and inoffensive.
Nanadebary Green could easily be worn by either sex. Fans of Classic Pink might actually find it too masculine, especially in the early stages when the basil is stronger, but this is a fairly mild fragrance overall, much more so than say, Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin.
This is a light Eau de Toilette, and a tiny dab was gone in fairly short order. A more liberal application lasted a couple hours. For buying information, see the listing for Nanadebary under Perfume Houses. I have not yet tried Nanadebary Bronze, if you have, please comment!
Tomorrow: Miller et Bertaux no. 3, Green, green, green and green.
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Wow, what a great day on NST!! OK, Ms. NST, this is one I'd LOVE to try. Hint?
xoxo,
Greedy Gertrude formerly known as Grinchy
And can't wait to hear about M & B #3!
Coming right up, GG.
Really?? I didn't get aftershave from Pink at all. Was it the spices? We are opposites though: I adore green. This wasn't nearly green enough for me. Don't come back tomorrow, LOL, I am going to do the MB Green scent, and it is WAY greener.
LOL! I will come back and tell you that it is masculine and stinks, anyway!
So there's nutmeg in there as there was with Pink. Is this a signature note in Nanadebary? (I don't like nutmeg, which suggests this may not be the line for me.) N
LOL — now I'm counting on it
I think Bronze only lists cinnamon? Anyway the nutmeg is not very noticeable in the Green, and to the extent that you would notice it, it wouldn't be for long, unless you *really* detest it…when I detest something, it always seems to stand out for me — thinking of cumin in particular.
In our little corner of the world, there's nothing more insulting you can say about a fragrance than that it's “light and inoffensive.” Poor Nandebary Green. Light and inoffensive. heh.
M, I tried very hard to think of a nice way to say this doesn't grab me, LOL. I guess you are saying I didn't succeed
Someone who loves a “fresh aquatic” note will probably love this. Look at Cool Water…it is a humongous success, right? I would have to guess that Green is more commercially viable than Pink on that basis.
Since I like Classic Pink, I will have to try Green even though I'm not a big fan of green and aquatic scents.
I thought this sounded pretty good until you said “light and inoffensive” hee hee… I didn't care for the original Nanadebary–someone said it smelled like Camay (I think) soap on them, and that's just what it smelled like on me.
Love checking this blog every day.
Iris, if you love it do come back & leave a comment. I have a feeling that not enough people have tried this yet so it isn't getting enough support today
Thanks Freskagirl! See my response above to Iris just above…would guess that if more people had tried this already, it would have more defenders commenting on its beauty and my complete failure to recognize a good thing
Hi R! Ignorant here (well you know I do not want to start ranting about the French) – must try this someday, somewhere, somehow!
Mwah
xoxo
N, I would have thought this was easier to find in Paris than here, how odd!
I must be blind but have never seen this here – thought it was American! Oh dear!
N, no, her shop is in Vienna!
Hi! Great blog — yet another thing to feed my never-ending obsession w/ perfume & all things cosmetic!
On the topic of more affordable scents, have you checked out the Body Shop's new Invent Your Scent kit? 9 fragrances, $30 CAD, mix & matchy fun. I bought the kit, and I'm still trying to figure out how much I like it. Would love to read your opinion.
Thanks for the great reviews!
~C-Bellum
Welcome C-Bellum! I have not tried those. I have not had great luck getting fragrance samples out of The Body Shop, although they seem generous enough with everything else. I will try again next time I get to a mall, I am especially curious about the fig one. How is the staying power?
I agree with your review…I found this very, very boring. I expected it to be sexy and fun, like the black thigh-high-clad vixen on the bottle. Instead, I got high-waisted white cotton panties. Which are functional, and fine…but certainly not what I expected of a Nanadebary fragrance. Bleh.
Thanks R for the review! The original pink is one of my HG fragrances. I was tempted to order the Bronze during the Beautyhabit code but decided it wasn't full bottle worthy – at least not yet maybe I'll change my mind. I ordered a sample of the Green and can't wait to test it!
LOL at high-waisted cotton panties!! Yes, this one doesn't match the sexy bottle with the atomizer. They would have done better I should think to market it as unisex and put it in something plainer.
S, good — hope I will see a review on your blog!
I hear ya…I'm not sure that B-Shop's ever really given out fragrance samples, which is too bad. Staying power depends on the scent… obviously, the heavier/muskier ones stay longer, but the lighter ones dissipate almost completely after 4-5 hours. You're sometimes left with a single note (especially the sharper ones like ginger or mint) that lingers a bit.
~C-Bellum
Whoops! Sorry, just figured out this “Reply” business (see comment below for staying power). Beleaf (the fig scent) is probably one of the my favourites, a more complex smell than many of the others. It's warm & dark-greeny with a top note that's clean & fresh. It doesn't get too musky as it dies down either, which I like. A rather subdued scent, and reminescent of the B-Shop's “Vert de Bamboo” line (can you tell that I used to work there?) This one only lasts about 4 or 5 hours though.
Thanks, the Beleaf is the one I was most interested in, actually, as I just love fig scents. 4 or 5 hours is fine with me, after all, they are EdTs and you can't expect much more than that.
Hey chaps….
Beleaf is just gorgeous. But I think 4-5 hours is being genorous! Perhaps its just my body chemistry, but I'm lucky if it lasts more than 2 for me.
Should anyone know of something that smells alot like this but lasts a little bit longer, I'd love to know!
Dolce & Gabana 'Light Blue' is kind of similar I thought… quite citrussy to start with, then after a time it settles into quite a musky citrus kind of smell. A little bit cloying I thought, but again, its all down to body chemistry.
Hi, I'm sorry to say that I never got my hands on the Beleaf…they would not give up a sample, and I can't stand to try perfume on skin while shopping. So I am no help!
Bronze smells like a watered down/simpler version of RL Safari, very warm and sweet.
Thanks!