Oriens by Van Cleef & Arpels for women

I haven't been so confused about a smell in a while, especially when the smell itself isn't very complex. I have worn this for 5 days, and I still can't really wrap my head around it. It goes on very strong, but then after about an hour or two, I can't really smell it - even if I load on like 15 sprays! Yet it's strong enough at first that it gets to my nose and makes me sneeze. I really smell the sour fruity notes at the top: the raspberry and what smells like blackberry. But after that, I'm not sure what I'm smelling. It's a sweet praline note, but it's not that sweet nor is it that strong. There is patchouli, but it's not strong either.

The confusing part comes when I try to identify what it smells like. Sometimes it smells like shampoo to me. Other times it smells like a Bath & Body Works spray, something like Twilight Woods. Still other times it smells like a very watered down version of Jimmy Choo. I'm so confused that I don't even know how I feel about this fragrance. I think my ultimate judgement is that it's alright. I think what makes it just okay is that it always seems to be a version of something else - something else that has probably been done with more intensity (and has better lasting power.)