Mainstream Monday: Sniffing A Popular Fragrance

I really wanted to love one of these Harajuku Lovers fragrances because the bottles are just too darn cute (and don’t get me started on all of the cute, seasonal limited editions ranging from ski bunnies to pool-side divas). These get me just like Sanrio products get me. The fragrances in this line aren’t terrible, they just aren’t purchase worthy in my opinion (well, take that back, I have bought them as gifts for teenagers). I can’t justify purchasing them for my collection because I already have something similar to it or something better. I really can’t justify bringing another mainstream tropical fruity-floral into my collection. G is the one in the Harajuku Lovers series that I can appreciate more than the others. I really like fun, tropical, coconut scents. The more low-brow the better. I like to smell like tanning oil. I like coconut heavy scents in the summer and in the dead of winter to remind me of summer. Yep, I like the smell of Hawaiian Tropic.

At first this fragrance is like a tropical cocktail. It is creamy coconut and tropical fruit. It smells like a frou-frou tropical fragrance by the beach. It has that fruity, creamy coconut cocktail fragrance mixed with sunscreen. That’s where the creamy jasmine blossoms come it. It smells like Hawaiian Tropic. The fragrance smells very sweet and creamy on me. It smells like a mix of coconut cream, toasted marshmallows, and milky fig like notes. The dry down is still creamy sweet mixed with modern woods. But, mainly all you need to know about Harajuku Lovers G is that it is a coconut heavy fragrance.

I like this fragrance for all of the reasons I stated in the first paragraph. I’ve already said that I’ll never purchase myself a bottle. I actually like this fragrance better for fall and winter wear. The coconut does seem like it would work for summer. It could but it is much too sweet for my summer tastes. I actually would prefer this as a pick-me-up in the winter. It smells tropical and sunny but warm and cozy too. I also see this fragrance layering well with white floral perfumes or gardenia perfumes such as Pacifica Tahitian Gardenia or Jo Malone Vintage Gardenia Cologne.

Notes listed include: mandarin, coconut, apple skin, jasmine sambac, freesia, magnolia, coconut cream, white sandalwood, and cottonwoods. It’s a beachy, coconut heavy floral. Coconut is a bit of a low brow note so this works well. It doesn’t smell “cheap” since most coconut notes used in perfumery smell the same despite the price point.

I would say to give this a try if you like Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Skinscent, Lucy B. Tiare Coconut Perfume, Bath & Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena, Laurence Dumont Vanille Manoï EDT, Creed Virgin Island Water, Urban Rituelle White Lotus & Orchid and/or LoLLia Imagine. Really just give this a try if you love sweet coconut perfumes. If you love rich coconut scents then you’ll most likely like G.

UPDATE – Perfume has been discontinued, because I mean, come on, Gwen, that entire Harajuku girls/servant thing was really, really weird.

*Sample obtained by me. Product pic from Basenotes.