Mainstream Monday: Sniffing A Popular Fragrance:

Ughh, talk about a fragrance that I never want to sniff again…I’m so sick of the Clinique Happy fragrance line. I try not to be. I try to have an open mind. I really do. But, I’m so sick of it. This is one of those fragrances that my generation went nuts over. They then introduced it to their moms,who then went insane over it. Before long, everybody and their sister and mother were wearing this stuff. I would say that this is a fragrance that women love. I didn’t like it then, after revisiting it and trying to keep an open mind, I don’t love it now. But to no surprise, would a closet goth like something named Happy Heart? Um, no.

It’s a citrus-floral. It’s too hissy and aquatic for my liking. It has citrus but it is the kind of citrus that made me think that I hated citrus. I think I avoided citrus for many years because all I could think of was the Clinique Happy fragrance line. At first spray it is hissy in a wet hay way. I would think I would like something like that but this is much too aquatic and soggy. I get a bit overwhelmed by something grapefruity and soggy grasses. There are so many humid florals. I would that this is trying to be a sultry water garden. After about 3-5 minutes, the strange bitterness of citrus mixed with something grassy begins to fade into a full-blown aquatic floral explosion. The floral notes are pretty if you don’t think about them too long. Unfortunately, I think about them too long and they start to hurt my nostrils. It smells overwhelming. I get hot, humid flowers. I don’t know much about water hyacinth, a note listed in this fragrance, but I do know that it is a plant that is super invasive. This is what the floral notes of this fragrance remind me of: an exotic but invasive species. A few of these plants are beautiful but when they won’t go away and start stealing the oxygen of everything around it…not a nice thing. The aquatic florals in this blend take over. They start to devour me and start to feel heavy. I do get a bit of bitter citrus but I can’t get past the weight of the heavy, humid florals. It seriously chokes me. I smell so much plumeria and “lotus” like notes in this that it starts to make me feel light and airy and not in a so-happy-in love way, more of an open-a-window kind of way. Sometimes when I sniff it (the rare occasion where I can think of something other than piercing florals), I smell fruity and cucumber-ish melon note. This makes this blend a little more “flirty” and once again very aquatic with watery fruits. The fruity notes make it “young” and “innocent”. The dry down is a bit more citrusy with clean warmth from light woods. Think pretty, juicy citrus with warm dried out driftwoods.

Notes in this floral as listed by Clinique include: water hyacinth, mandarin, cucumber, yellow primrose, and blond woods.

I find this as a very intense and overwhelming “hissy” fragrance. I know I can’t pull it off and it just doesn’t fit my angsty personality. I know that I am a freak. I can’t watch Friends or eat at chain restaurants. However, I can see why people like this and I do see why they think it is “fresh”. It is so aquatic and humid that it like taking a shower. I can also see why someone would feel “pretty” wearing this. It is very feminine and floral with juicy and sunshine drenched fruits.

I would say to give this one a try if you like Gwen Stefani LAMB, Juicy Couture, Victoria’s Secret Body, Lilly Pulitzer Squeeze, Dior Addict 2, Issey Miyake EDT, Tocca Cleopatra, and/or Ralph Lauren Ralph.

It retails for $51 at Nordstrom. 

*Sample obtained by me. Product pic from Fragrantica. Post contains an affiliate link. Thanks!