Narciso Rodriguez for Her
Narciso Rodriguez (2003)

For now I really have to throw my hands up at all the glorious raves the Narciso Rodriguez line gets.
On me all I get here is a shrill soap that turns to a wilting attic smell I find quite repulsive. It's tenacious.

Narciso Rodriguez is one of the few brands I’ve encountered where it seems that every fragrance created for this house, shares a common thread. Even if it was developed by different noses, each one feels related to the next, despite having a different scent. What I’m saying is that there is a recognizable dna, like how if you smell a chanel perfume, you know it’s chanel. For Narciso, it’s musk. Fluffy, soft, clean, and elegant yet understated.

It’s really hard for me to detect specific notes in this beyond the obvious signature musk. I can tell it has floral elements, and that’s pretty much it. I can’t pick any specific flower out, but I love the soft, feminine musky floral.

I feel like Narciso is pretty much a staple that every woman should own. And this one in particular is an absolute must have. This is like the t-shirt and jeans of the fragrance world. A casual, clean, and pretty.

Distinctive - yes, but does it smell good? That depends on how you perceive the factory musk in this orange flower bouquet. To me it smells like bad breath, glue and plastic. A shallow and linear scent that sticks and lingers.

To borrow from the art critic Robert Hughes, Narciso for Her is 'a little feat of novelty'; it represents everything that's ugly and wrong about modern perfume.

While I've worn both the EDT and the EDP, I find I like the EDT better. This is a sweet musk. If you want to try musk out this is the easy way to do it. This is a floral woody musk which is one of my favorites. Well my favorite would be a woody musk but the florals really cause this to be a nice clean sweet scent. It's very very girly...quite feminine. I find it easy to wear and non offensive. I really can't imagine an occassion that this scent would not work for. It's a beautiful day time scent that can evolve into evening where. It could easily be a signature scent.

Narciso Rodriguez line has a very distinct touch and feel – as if all the fragrances would be a part of the same idea. The thing uniting them all is Egyptian musk that Mr. Rodriguez found in his travels to Egypt and fell so hard in love with that he decided – all his fragrance line will showcase this exceptional scent, partly clean, partly animalic and very soft.

His perfumers actually use a blend of many different synthetic musks to create the ultimate NR musk. It is done so because quite a lot of people are anosmic to one or another type of musk, and the goal here is to showcase the musk instead of allowing a part of population to be unable to smell it at all. That's why there are so many differing opinions on NR fragrances – some say they are subtle, work friendly, lovely and squeaky clean, and some say they are dirty, sexy and attention grabbing. The truth is, as almost always, somewhere in the middle. And what a gorgeous smelling middle it is!

Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDT is the first fragrance of the line and the most popular of them all. (The pink EDP bottle came a bit later and started causing the confusion, because the EDT is a black bottle which comes in a pink box, and the EDP is a pink bottle which comes in a black box... And then just think about all these identical For Her rectangles and Narciso cubes that all look identical except for the colours and the juice inside. That Narciso guy is evil and I'm sure he knows it.)

For Her EDT was created by perfumers Christine Nagel and Francis Kurkdjian in 2003 and has the top notes of Osmanthus & Orange blossom, head notes of Musk and base notes of Vetiver, Amber and Vanilla. I can't say that I'm getting any amber or vanilla here, to me For Her is a soft, purring and heartachingly beautiful musk and osmanthus scent with woody undertones that make it less fluffy and give it more character. (The pink EDP has Peach and Rose in the top notes instead of Osmanthus & Orange blossom) and is a bit fruitier, sweeter and less woody/vetiver-y than EDT. Also, EDT seems to be just as well – if not better – lasting on my skin, so choose the one you like more.)

They're both are great, they're all are great – but For Her EDT is the one that made me fall in love with Narciso Rodriguez scents, it still makes my eyes roll back every time I sniff it, it's just so sensual and elegant and soft.

Smells like an advanced hairspray but acts like a real perfume. Its crisp and light but with a profound intensity that really shines. Works better on the skin than on a blotter. Wears a realm of 'vintage-perfume' charm upon its sleeve while managing to stay a pure, simple and very amicable experience. Just good.

Dirty, bitter flowers at first.
Mellows and sweetens in the middle.
Musky bottom with a smattering of patchouli.
Finishes nicely, overall.

This scents like my Grandmother's sheets. They were laundered in a 60's floral detergent. Hung dry in the clean country air. Folded and placed in a Cedar chest.
Now they smelled strongly of Cedar and the Floral was faint in the background.

This is opposite, Floral is in your face and Cedar in the background. Ultimately this is Woody Aroma Chemical (WAC)Saccharine.
It gets a thumbs up because it reminds me of my Gran.
Don't know that I would wear it or have my wife wear it though.

I'm rating the EDP.

It's disappointing. It smells good. A lot of floral, mostly Lilly of the valley. Everything is soft in it. Light. Too light. Sillage and longevity should be a lot better, especially for an EDP. This review would be positive if there was more, because the scent itself is lovely, but you can't enjoy it.

I smelled the EdT now and it's slightly better. It lasts longer and it's got a nice plum touch.

This is VERY fruity/floral!

I had only smelled the oil prior to obtaining this (Iridescent) bottle as well as the white cube shaped bottle, so these were both very new to me.

The reviews are all over the place for many of the scents from this house, and I wonder if part has to do with not knowing which scent we are actually describing - even here, I am forced to say I own a bottle that I don't, as it is the closest one to the bottle that I DO own, since someone did not think it was different enough to offer it its own "line item". That is perhaps fine, but I just rated the NON-iridescent EDP - not the EDT or the Iridescent (which is what I have and INTEND to rate). I really do hope someone gets where I am going with this on the MANY levels I am taking it...MANY LEVELS.

Anyway, as far as scent goes, I liked it ok, but I believe this is way more of a fruity floral than I was lead to believe (a difficult genre for me when done by the best), or my nose is really off - plausible...but I would bet money that this house is designed to target the "under 40" ladies, so I feel very certain that I am not this house's demographic.

Gauzy abstract white floral with a nice peachy voluptuousness about it and a comforting milky undertow. Has something of the siren lure of Rush without the latter's pushiness. This is squarely mainstream made in the highly buffed manner of 1970s mixed florals, but when it's done right, hey it's the kind of perfume to spray on and head to the nearest convivial social gathering.
Smells soft and welcoming to bystanders. Lots of airy musks involved but deployed well in the service of the floral notes. So smoothly executed, it's a safe buy for purchasers of designer florals, but it also has the ability to remain interesting to those of more particular tastes provided they approach it with open minds.
(Review for EDT.)

Found a sample of this in a drawer, and never having worn it decided to spray it on. Quite feminine and 'girly' of course, but also quite nice too, especially in the opening. Getting a lot of musk from this, along with the florals (rose and iris, two that I can live with). Younger or older women could wear this, and probably a man could too, if he were so inclined. Not sure that's me, but this is quite a good designer release, in my opinion.