The perfume L’Interdit by Givenchy was first launched in 1957. A few years before, the fashion designer, Huber de Givenchy, had created this perfume exclusively for his muse, the actress Audrey Hepburn. Like Audrey, this fragrance was very feminine, imagined for a woman of charm, spirit and style. The legend says that when Huber de Givenchy decided to start selling the perfume, Audrey Hepburn, who had already been wearing it for a few years responded: “But I forbid you!” Hence the name of the perfume L’Interdit which means forbidden in French. Hepburn became the face of the perfume in the campaign that followed and it was the first time an actress was engaged to promote the perfume, thus pioneering modern beauty campaigns.

More than 60 years after the original creation, L’Interdit was reinvented and relaunched in October.

I happened to be in Milan in October and as I was just entering the Sephora shop, a girl approached me and asked me if I would like to try L’Interdit, the new fragrance by Givenchy. As I am always eager to try the new products, I nodded my head in agreement. She spritzed the perfume on my wrist and I loved it from the first moment. Then I continued with my shopping at Sephora and completely forgot about the perfume. It was not until several hours later, when I came back to my hotel room, that I actually realized how gorgeous and irresistible this perfume was. The scent was lingering on in the room and I could feel it myself. Yes, this is one of the rare perfumes which you will feel yourself while wearing it (it is not overwhelming though). I could not help, but sniffed my wrists every now and then as I could not get enough of it. I was enchanted by this perfume and I knew I had to buy it.

Back in Cyprus, several days later, I was passing by the Beautyline, my favourite shop here. They had a 20% discount on selected fragrances. L’Interdit came to my mind immediately. I entered the shop and asked the shop assistant for it. She kindly showed me the gift set which included a 50ml Eau de Parfume, a mini lipstick Rouge Interdit No.13 and a mini mascara Noir Couture No.1 Black Satin. All of these for the price which you would pay only for the perfume and a 20% discount on the top of it. I couldn’t be happier and I bought it (the regular price was 95,00EUR and I got it for 76,00EUR).

The modern version of the perfume does not smell the same as the original one, but it is also based on the contrast of white florals of orange blossom, jasmine and tuberose and mysterious earthy and woody notes of vetiver and patchouli. White flowers embraced with black notes. It was created by the perfumers Dominique Ropion, Anne Flipo and Fanny Bal. L’interdit is a tribute to bold femininity and the slogan of the campaign is: “Forbid yourself nothing. Allow no rules. Experience the forbidden.” The perfume is moderate in intensity and it is long-lasting. It can be worn on any occasion day and night, but definitely in cooler temperatures.

The bottle of thick glass pays homage to the original flacon with the more modern outline. A 4 G logo is added to the black ribbon that encircles the neck of the bottle.

The face of the new perfume is the American actress, Rooney Mara who had been chosen, in the words of the artistic director of Givenchy, Claire Waight Keller, “as she exudes pure confidence, absolute grace and eternal elegance, but with a dark, passionate beauty”. The advertising film was directed by Todd Haynes, the director of the film “Carol” for which Rooney Mara was named the Best Actress at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.

The fragrance is available as a 35ml, 50ml and 100ml Eau de Parfume.

This blog post was supposed to be the review of Dylan Blue, the latest fragrance by Versace. I had tried it a few months before and liked it very much. As I was travelling on holidays from the Larnaca Airport last month, I remembered it and decided to buy it at the duty-free shop.

Once I was in front of the Versace stand, my attention was drawn to the beautiful, luxurious bottle of Eros Pour Femme. It was a round bottle with the gold Medusa symbol in the central part and on the lid edged with the gold Greek fret pattern. I could not remember if I had tried it before, so I sprayed it a little on my wrist. It was love at first sniff! The scent was a mixture of fresh, citrusy notes and musky notes and this was perfectly balanced. Before I knew it, it had already been in my basket. I completely forgot about Dylan Blue.

Eros Pour Femme was launched in December 2014. The perfumers who had created it are Alberto Morillas, Olivier Cresp and Nathalie Lorson. The fragrance opens with citrusy notes of Sicilian lemon, Calabrian Bergamot and pomegranate. Lemon , sambac jasmine and peony are at the heart of this perfume while sandalwood, ambrox, musk and various woody notes make the base. It is similar to the Light Blue Italian Zest by Dolce & Gabbana, but Eros is deeper and sweeter. It is very refreshing and uplifting and at the same time it is very mysterious, sensual and seductive because of its woody and musk notes. The scent is long lasting in a way that it can still be smelled subtly on your wrists after several hours into wear, but it should be reapplied a few times during the day if you really want to feel it. It is perfect for spring/summer time and it is suitable both for day and evening wear.

The fragrance is available as 30ml, 50ml and 100ml Eau de Toilette and Eau de Parfum. The price for a 50ml bottle EDT at the Larnaca Airport duty-free shop is 66,00EUR.

Last month I was travelling to Scandinavia and as I was killing my time in the duty-free shop at the Larnaca Airport, my attention was immediately drawn to the Nina Ricci stand. Among all the beautiful, elegant bottles of various fragrances, two of them were standing out. They were adorably monstruous. One was featuring a cat and the other an owl. Each one was with a fluffy brightly coloured pom-pom around the bottle neck. These are Les Monstres de Nina Ricci, limited edition fragrances released in January this year.

The famous Nina (from 2006) and Luna (from 2016) scents from Les Belles de Nina range have been repackaged. Brazilian artists Ana Strumpf and Guto Requena have transformed the iconic apple bottle into cute little monsters. The scents have had a bit of a remix as well. The perfumers, Marie Salamagne and Christophe Raynaud, are behind Luna and Nina was created by Olivier Cresp.

As I am obsessed with anything cat-themed, I bought Luna. The Luna bottle is blue, featuring a cat’s face with protruding pink eyes and a detachable fake fur blue pom-pom around the neck.

The fragrance itself is a combination of fresh, fruity aroma of pineapple juice and lime at the top notes, creating a bright and sharp opening which is followed by the floral heart notes of freesia and orange blossom. The base notes of caramel and blond woods are those that prevail, once the scent sets on your skin. The fragrance is not overwhelming and it can be worn day and night all year around, except in the summer in my opinion.

The longevity is below average and you will have to reapply it often.

We all have our little inner monster and Nina Ricci is urging us to liberate it! Therefore, the hashtag of the advertising campaign is #freethemonster.

The fragrance is available as a 50ml and 80ml Eau de Toilette. The price for a 50ml bottle is 57,00EUR at the Larnaca Airport.

The Roman Night is the third fragrance in Bvlgari’s Goldea line (the other two being Goldea and Rose Goldea) which is inspired by the natural brilliance of gold. This perfume was launched in September 2017 and the face of the campaign is Bella Hadid.

The legendary perfumer, Alberto Morillas, is behind this fragrance (he has also created some of the iconic scents such as Armani Acqua di Gio, Cartier La Panthere and Calvin Klein CK One). Morillas has created the fragrance that pays tribute to the Eternal City of Rome at a festive and starry night which evokes the exuberant energy and sensually romantic mood at the same time. This magic potion is dedicated to a woman who is the new goddess of the night, a spontaneous and instinctive woman who stands by her choices.

The black and gold bottle is classically styled, featuring the “Serpenti” (the spirit animal of the Goldea Collection) which winds its way around the top of the bottle. The cap is transparent and encircled by a black line. This design is simple, refined and appealing.

The Roman Night is a modern, elegant, chypre floral musk fragrance. Top notes include mulberry and black peony. Night blooming jasmine and tuberose absolute (also nocturnal flower) are at the heart of this perfume while black musk, patchouli and Haitian vetiver make the base and add a touch of masculinity.

I love this combination of fruity and floral notes with sensual and powerful woody notes. This is a charismatic contemporary fragrance which is also sensual, mysterios and seductive. The longevity is average and therefore, you will have to spritz it a few times during the day. It is not too heavy, but I prefer to wear it during night time..

The fragrance comes in a bottle of 30m; 50ml and 75ml. I bought a gift set which includes Goldea The Roman Night Eau de Parfum 50ml and the purse spray 15ml. It is available at Beauty Line Cyprus for the price of 92,00EUR.

Decadence by Marc Jacobs was launched in 2015 in collaboration with the perfumers Annie Buzantian and Ann Gottllieb.

This is a sensual, sophisticated, luxurious, warm woody scent which seduces with the top notes of Italian plum, golden saffron and iris flower, Bulgarian rose, jasmine sambac and orris at the heart of the perfume and warm amber, vetiver and papyrus wood at the base. The rich and elegant composition is addictive and leaves a strong and unforgettable impression.

The emerald-green bottle with python pattern cap and gold chain is inspired by one of the iconic classic Marc Jacobs’ handbags. A black tassel hangs from the chain on the caps of the 50ml and 100ml bottles. The bottle can be carried by the chain as the magnet keeps the cap and the bottle tightly together.

The longevity of Decadence is very impressive. Although the fruity notes disappear around an hour into wear, the warm amber lingers for hours after that. This perfume can be worn all year around as a night time scent and as a day time scent during cooler temperatures. It is perfect for every occasion.

Decadence is distinctive, seductive, memorable and it is the ultimate statement maker.

The face of the campaign is Adriana Lima.

The fragrance is available as 30ml, 50ml and 100ml Eau de Parfum. The price for a 50ml bottle is 97,00EUR at Beauty Line Cyprus.

Good Girl by Carolina Herrera was launched in September 2016 under the slogan: “It’s good to be bad”.

It is a blend of dark elements (mysterious and deep notes of roasted tonka beans and cocoa) and light elements (floral notes of tuberose and jasmine sambac) which represent the duality of a woman’s character. In their own words, it is for the woman who loves her good side and celebrates her bad side.

A bottle in the shape of a black stiletto is a bit kitschy, but it immediately grabs your attention.

The fragrance is powerful, sensual and very feminine. It is warm and sweet and therefore, I would recommend it for cooler temperatures and evening wear. Apply it carefully, just a spritz or two as it is very strong and long lasting and it can be overwhelming.

The fragrance comes in a bottle of 50ml and 80ml Eau de Parfum. The face of the perfume is Karlie Kloss and the nose behind it is Louise Turner.

Black Opium was launched in September 2014 as a rock’n’roll interpretation of the classic Opium (it does not smell anything like the original).  In 2015 it was proclaimed the Best New Female Fragrance by Fragrance Foundation and it was also Allure Best of Beauty award winner.

It is one of my favourite fragrances. As it has a very strong, sweet, oriental scent, I usually wear it only in the evening.

The main notes are those of black coffee, orange blossom, jasmine, cedarwood essence, patchouli and vanilla.

It has a lovely, warm, long lasting scent which is very feminine and addictive.

The perfume comes in the dark bottle decorated with sequins which altogether give it this glam rock look.

It is available in 20ml, 30ml, 50ml and 90ml Eau de Parfum.

Price range: from around 39,00EUR for a 20ml bottle, 59,00EUR for 30ml, 86,00EUR for 50ml to 110EUR for a 90ml bottle. (The price may vary depending on the country and currency).