Sweetie Splash by JAFRA

Got this as a birthday present; it smells lovely and very vanilla. The downside is it lasts barely a breath, but it’s still worth it.

I bought it out of curiosity since I already own the classic Sweetie which I adore, and Fantasy, and I absolutely loved this. It makes me feel like a nineties Barbie when I wear it. Don’t be fooled by the ‘mermaid’ note; I think it’s that salty touch you can detect. It resembles Fantasy with the candy note, but with a salt kick. It reminds me a lot of fondant cakes (which I hate), but as a perfume, I’ve enjoyed it. If I find it a bit heavy for the day, especially since I live in a very hot area and it’s almost summer, I keep it under lock and key. If I find it slightly overpowering, I use it when going somewhere for an hour or two and then shower afterwards because it gives me a slight headache (I don’t know why, actually I’m prone to migraines); that doesn’t stop me from liking it.

WHAT MERMAID NOTE???? I read in the catalogue that it’s fictional; perhaps if you tell your little girl it smells like a mermaid she’ll be thrilled. That’s why, ladies and gentlemen, don’t get hung up on it. It smells very fruity at first, the blackcurrants stand out hugely, and then it turns into a salty vanilla similar to coconut. The longevity is at most four hours. I highly recommend it if you want to start with sweet salty perfumes, try something affordable, and in no way overpowering.

There is no such thing as a ‘mermaid’ note (given that mermaids don’t exist, and if they do, no reliable source has ever managed to smell them), unless there is some aquatic molecule they’ve decided to name in honour of mermaids, in which case it would be appreciated if they declared it under the name ‘sirenol’, ‘sirenene’, ‘sirenone’, or similar. In the case that the aquatics used here are the normal and ordinary ones, one wonders how much it’s possible to inflate the bubble of declaring non-existent notes upon demand and with the full approval of Fragrantica.

I’m dying to own this little perfume. Today a Jafra saleswoman sprayed it on my hand as a quick gesture and the scent stayed there for quite a while until I got to work. It smells absolutely delicious; it’s sweet but not cloying. I couldn’t stop sniffing the back of my hand for a couple of hours (until I had to touch cleaning products and the scent disappeared).