Scandal
Jean Paul Gaultier (2017)

Gaultier is an interesting house for me - I always want to like their fragrances, the concepts are so cute, but in practice the way the things actually smell turns me off.

Scandal is the first one I actually enjoy (dirty honey? Hell yes. And gardenia too? SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY). But it's really not what I was hoping it would be. I'm with the reviewer above who wants to know where the scandal is - what I ultimately feel about this is that it's daywear.

It opens with powdery, icing-sugar sweetness and cool gardenia underneath, inflected slightly by the citrus; this phase is really lovely. It never becomes a photorealistic honey but the powder sweetness slowly develops into something that makes me think of skin musk. Just... not a remotely dirty or sensual one. Clean skin and a little sweetness, and it's also very much a skin scent on me.

I would not be afraid of wearing this to the office. Which is disappointing because I was hoping for something sexier. I'm trying to get my hands on a sample of Scandal by Night as well since a bit of tuberose might change the character enough, but really at present what Scandal is making me think is that I already own something that fits the niche I was hoping Scandal would go into, and it's Alaia Blanche. That one really is sensual, and it projects a lot better too.

This was a blind buy that came out surprisingly like I expected. I hoped for a sweet honey, and that's exactly what I got. This is sweet syrupy honey to the max and I don't really get any of the other listed notes, I would've imagined vanilla to be in the base as this is so sweet. Luckily this doesn't go animalic one bit so I'm happy that this works on me. I don't have anything else to add on the notes or the smell except that this is incredibly sweet and if you are expecting the citrus or patchouli maybe to test this one on you first cause I didn't get anything else besides the honey, honey ;)

Also when I was first reading about this scent I noticed words like "bomb" were being thrown around frequently which led me to believe that this would be a powerful, heavy hitting scent. It surprised me that about 5 hours in (maybe even sooner) I could barely detect this scent on my wrists. Sillage was also just average on me it never got very strong or overbearing like I thought it might. Of course this was with only 2 sprays so I might try my normal application next time to see how it goes (I usually apply around 6 sprays).

If you desire a super sweet linear honey with good but not overwhelming longevity and sillage, look no further than this. I can't help but wonder if there are maybe some cheaper alternatives to this kind of scent in the drugstore/celebrity fragrance world, but I'm happy with this for the time being. My 50ml should last me quite a while with all my other scents and I'll happily move on once it's done.

Honeyed minty-angular patchouli, synthetically glamour-chic, musky,like a sort of ideal Alien/Ange ou Demon/Very Irresistibile/Elie Saab Le Parfum's "fruit of passion" (the sophisticated "kind of frosty/anisic" floral element being in this case the languid gardenia). Urban and trendy.

Yes!

Citrus floral with honey.
The honey is nice and dirty, playing hide and seek with the sweet florals. That is the scandal indeed...that dirty sexyness.

I like it.

A very nice honey and floral fragrance. I almost bought a full bottle instantly, when I saw I could get a free miniature. It's not cloying. I find the bottle a bit "kitsch", but it's well done and very different. Try it, it's worth it.

There will be no scandal!
The perfume opens with citrus smell. Fresh, clean, juicy. Then, after a few seconds the honey enters the stage like a primadonna. Now it is it turn to show what it can do. From now on it is all about honey. A sweet, intoxicating honey. Because the citrus smell does not disapear completely, honey is not so syrupy. It has a sparkling touch that gives a fresh feeling. This removes the sticky trait of honey. It is refreshing, pleasant and full of joy. It suits a woman capable of awakening burning passions, eager to always flirt, independent and free as a bird in the sky. This woman will always leave behind a trace of scandal. Maybe not outside, but surely inside.
The perfume remains like this for a few hours.
The dry-down is a patchouli with honey. It has a good longevity, while the sillage is pretty good too.
Scandal perfectly adapts to market requirements. It's what יs been looking for, what many women wear. It is in the trend.
So, if you are looking for a honey fragrance, softened with citrus and settled by patchouli, you can try Scandal.