I received this fragrance at the launch of The Fragrance’ Shop’s #scentaddict. You can read my thoughts on the service here. Scandal is the 2017 launch from Jean Paul Gautier.
Packaging
The packaging is beautiful and slightly disturbing as is standard with the house of Gautier.The legs in the air I find attractive and weird at the same time. My initial thought was oohhh pretty… but then I thought, this woman is stuck and needs help. The rounded bottle with pink juice screams feminine. The outer packaing has flocked ‘millenial pink’ felt like material on it. It feels like the Anastacia Beverly Hills Modern Renaissance Palette. The outer packaging is bulky and unwieldy. I am someone that generally keeps my fragrance in their boxes but this one I can’t. It takes up too much room. This is definitely designed for the boudoir / dressing table.
The Concept
This fragrance does not smell like a Scandal to me. It does not smell like your favourite celeb’s leaked has a sex tape. It does not smell like your university lecturer having a relationship with a first year student. This scent that Beyonce would wear in her freakum dress video. If I was still in my club going days (ie if this was 20 years ago) this is the scent that I would wear with my purple (obvs) body con dress and my coordinating shoes. A confident woman wearing what she wants to wear doing what she wants to do is not scandalous – that’s freedom.
On the Skin
I am at a very different stage in my life and this ‘sweet beast’ is not for me. The first spritz is nearly painful. It is a whole lot of honey. Too much for me. I don’t get any of the blood orange and the gardenia is fleeting. Thankfully after fifteen minutes or so, the honey has settled down. The gardenia is sharing centre stage and the creaminess taking prominence. Half a spritz lasts on the skin for a good seven hours on the skin. That is in my opinion a sweet beast. This is not a fragrance that I am likely to share with the Mr. I did spritz it on him… he was not a fan. Despite the fact that we generally share fragrance, he is not likely to pick up the bottle.
Layering
I’ve enjoyed playing with this fragrance because as I say, it is too sweet for me, but in that five hours plus section of the dry down I really begin to enjoy this. So, I have looked at layering with lots of options and my two favourite are the following
Atelier Cologne – Grand Neroli
I spritz Scandal as the base and grand neroli on top. I dont normally layer this fragrance as I love it just as it is. I tried Scandal with some of my lighter colognes but they just weren’t up to the challenge. They were not strong enough to take her on. The orange / citrus elements in Grand Neroli cuts the honey and plays nicely with the gardenia. I like this combo a lot.
Miller Harris – Vetiver Insolent
Now we’re talking! This is my preferred combo. Vetiver Insolent as a base with Scandal over the top is epic. The vetiver really tones down the honey and takes away the slightly earthy elelent from Vetiver Insolent. The drydown has the two dominant notes dancing around each other for about 5 hours and the creamy gardenia is more consistent. This combo is a revelation.
Final thoughts
If you like a super sweet fragrance that does not leaving you smelling like your favourite dessert, you will enjoy this. If like me, super sweet accords are not your favourite, consider layering it with a woody note to create a bespoke aroma.
50ml Scandal (eau de parfum) is available from The Fragrance Shop and retails for £63.50
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