REVIEW: Jennifer Aniston Chapter One EDP...

I've been adding a few new fragrances to my collection of late, and totally neglecting to review them, so bear with me while I'm in catch-up mode over the next few weeks. They are all TOTALLY different (lol, typical me!) and I'll start with this darling, Jennifer Aniston Chapter One EDP mainly because she's perfect for the recent season change, plus she's been sitting on my "to be done" shelf for the longest, and I feel bad because she's absolutely gorgeous ♥...

At the risk of repeating myself, celebrity fragrances used to be in the no-go zone for me - they all smelled cheap and nasty with very little difference between one and the other. And then not long before I started blogging in 2013, something changed in either my nose receptivity or my skin chemistry, and I fell head-over-heels for several (e.g. Kylie Minogue/Britney/Elizabeth Taylor), all of which I've reviewed on my blog over the years. There's been a reasonably steady flow of celeb loves since then (around 2 per annum), and now I don't hesitate to sample new ones I come across in my regular trawlings of the perfume section. Of course, not all are my cup of tea, but this one from Team Jen is a delight, and 100% unique in my perfume collection ♥...

The bottle is curvy, elegant and uncluttered - an asymmetrical and almost organically fluid shape that's captivating from any angle, and the cap and atomiser are brushed gold metal. The glass feels so smooth and comfortably sculpted in my hand (the perfect fit!), and I love its feminine simplicity. If I hadn't read the online reviews, I would have expected a soft and romantic white floral to be contained in this womanly flacon, but what's inside is something quite unexpected. It smells like a Summer day at the local beach - salt spray, surf, sun and sand (minus the coconut suntan lotion), and yet it's not what I could classify as an aquatic or exotic tropical fragrance...

Some reviewers have said it's a dead ringer for Tom Ford Soleil Blanc, but having never sampled that untouchably priced scent, I can't confirm. What I can say is that this perfume is fresh, crisp, peppery, spicy, and tantalisingly different from anything else I've either smelled or owned. Top notes are pink pepper, bergamot and orange blossom, it's heart is jasmine, tuberose, tiare and Californian grapevine flower, and the base is tonka bean, musk and teak wood. Can definitely detect the pink pepper, bergamot and wood, and I guess the tarty tang could come from the totally unfamiliar grapevine flower, but I'm no expert. To summarise, it smells like my skin after I've plunged into the ocean, and then let the sun and beach breeze dry me off - salty, tingly and clean...

Longevity is good - I spritzed last night around 10pm and could still smell traces of it when I woke up this morning, it holds its peppery intensity for around 3 hours, and then fades into a soft creamy white foral. I've never smelled this on anyone else so far, and interestingly on me, the first spray is almost the same as the dry-down. It's a fascinating combination of sophistication and casual, and I don't think I can come up with a one-word description, so I'll label it a salt & pepper woody floral ♥...

RRP is $39.99 for the 50ml bottle, but I picked this up in a Chemist Warehouse sale for almost half that, and it's currently on special in various stores for $29.99 ♥...

Apparently this is Ms Aniston's 6th fragrance - have you tried any of her others?

Take care of you,

kats xxx