Description
Adora is a new fragrance by Kat Von D, launched in summer 2010. Adora means “beloved one” in Latin, and it represents a sensual and passionate fragrant journey, unexpected and provocative. Adora is a romantic soul concealed with edgy exterior. This fragrance reveals an exciting insight into an enigmatic life … painful, beautiful and brutally honest.
Top notes: lychee, blackberry, incense and cassis. Notes: hyacinth, jasmine, mango. Base: patchouli, musk, amber wood.
the packaging is inspired by the art of Alphonse Much. The bottle is black, decorated with fabulous original designs of flowers and butterflies in the stunning red ink.
It iss available as 50 ml EDP.
PoulSanich – :
Oh boy….another discontinued gem that I am loving!
BTW….to me, has only a “slight” similarity to the VS scent mentioned above. This one is more decadent than the VS one.
It starts of with a alcohol-blast….then smooths out rather quickly…the patchouli/woodsy vibes pops up and swirls around….and you sense some fruit-chouli-ness underneath. Somehow I do get the blackberry…(think of a sweeter Eon James Bond 007)….and I somehow get a touch of Brooks Bros masterpiece Black Fleece too. With those vibes combined…I am happy to have this in my collection,but where I fault this scent is in the projection department….
Adora is calm…tad spicy…fruit-choli-ish…touch balsamic and almost green.. goodness! Adora will be “adored” in my vast collection.
DominikKila – :
I want to try this one because of the pencil shavings reviews. I read this is similar to Victoria’s Secret Very Sexy 2012 edition, and I adore that scent. While there are other lovely notes playing throughout, I also get the pencil shavings without the lead experience in that fragrance, and I love it! I liked school 🙂
eximitrutty – :
This is a moderately sweet mixture of red and dark berries and pencil shavings (without so much of the “lead”). Whatever type of wood that is commonly used for No.2 pencils, that is what is in here.
Dark, sweet, woody and fairly linear. It’s nice, but not incredibly interesting. For when you want a fall / winter scent that is just easy and inoffensive.
Soft sillage, I would say within arms length and staying power is about 3-4 hours. This is from a rollerball on dry skin in dry warm weather.
At the time of this writing (2016), this fragrance is discontinued.
lekusa – :
Pencil shavings. Pencil shavings dominated by berry and amber, but pencil shavings nonetheless. I like it, it’s an unusual scent that others seem to like on me, and the woody-dusty-graphite undertone is something I don’t think others would notice immediately, but keep the berry and amber from reading too sweet. It’s not exactly a complex scent, but it’s unusual (I can’t name any other scent I think it smells all that similar to) and a bit mysterious. I really enjoy it, it’s a go-to during the cooler months for me.
Deroxbzylj – :
Not so sure on this one. Maybe my nose is accustomed to strong incense and patchouli laden scents but this is faint and light and barely spicy on me. I get a little bit of something fruity…maybe red berries…some soft patchouli….and then its gone. Going to give it a few more wears and see if anything changes. I had such high hopes for this too….
TrainerDogs – :
Mmm this has grown on me. I received a roller ball of Adora from a fellow Fragrantican, as I can’t buy her fragrances here. I was expecting this to be a bit of a more darker fruity floral, however at the beginning I get spicy, red berries and a slightly tropical note which kind of reminded me of Marc Jacobs Dot. However unlike Dot, this tropical note doesn’t smell like artificial bug spray to me. Thank goth! 😉 I guess I expected something darker and “goth”, it’s still just dark enough; though in a fun, sweet way. I’m a lover of patchouli but not really fruitchoulis, but the notes in this somehow work. Blackberry and incense are two of my favorite notes. It’s the perfect fragrance for this time of year; winter days are warm here, with cooler nights, and spring is around the corner. I think it suits all weather… and did I mention, the packaging is super cute! ^_^ Black with red butterflies printed on it. I’m sure the bottle is gorgeous! A like that blossomed into more. I’d love to try her other fragrances in the roller ball formats! Too bad that I can’t purchase them here. ❤
Lizo4ka_23 – :
I slathered myself with my entire large sample of Adora because I find it rather light. While it has a woody patchouli base, the water hyacinth and cassis keep it transparent. It is a bit peppery, but it’s not overwhelming. The berries and fruits do emerge in the drydown, but they don’t take over.
I would recommend Adora to those looking for an easy, yet interesting, woody patchouli.
Nixato – :
This is a great spicy perfume. I’m very picky about my spicy perfumes but this one I really like. Plus it’s Kat Von D!
demi55 – :
for some reason the opening of this reminds me of benetton colors. it’s woody, pineish and strong patchouli, as it settles it gets sweeter and i can feel the berries, mango and lychee. for me the patch is still pretty prominant also. this has moderate lasting time on me… over 4 hrs and the sillage is good. i would wear this right now during spring and definitely in the fall as it has a darkish feel to me. for me it’s a more cooler weather scent. I like it.
apop – :
Does anyone know of something that smells similar to this? It worked so well with my body chemistry, I’m bummed this has been discontinued. :[
sanshiro – :
If you want to smell like an old peppery lady, this scent is for you. I don’t smell any kind of fruit, just musk and pepper, so much pepper. I asked my dad to smell this (without any mention of how it smells) and he said the same thing: an elderly woman. I got this for my birthday from a relative and later Googled the scent to find it was on sale at Sephora for $10, lol, no wonder I got this thrown in (along with more clothes from GAP).
EDIT: I sprayed this recently and I have found those fruity notes, it actually blends quite well with the musk and now it’s on the border of “I don’t mind this”. Still would not wear it though, I can simply not get past that peppery opening.
Vicen – :
Adora is a very interesting fragrance! I’m reading about the notes right now, and I find it very strange. There are a few fruity notes in this, but I don’t really pick up on most of them, except for maybe the Litchi (since I pick up a juicyness to the scent). Not a bad thing, because I do enjoy this fragrance!
This perfume smells earthy and smoky to me, with that Litchi juicyness. The earthy qualities, for some reason, remind me of calming green tea. The earthy and smoky characteristics of this fragrance make me think of this being very hippie-esque: Environmental with incense. It’s a pretty unique perfume in my collection because of that.
I tend to receive compliments whenever I wear Adora, so it’s probably not too strong or heavy of a fragrance. For me, I think that it can be pulled off in the daytime and nighttime. I also prefer to wear it in the warmer months of the year, especially if it’s a particularly rainy and humid day (since the fragrance has a juicy/wet quality to it). I don’t think this is a perfume for everyone based on tastes and personalities, but give it a try! I recommend it.
Bronezavr – :
To me this screams “Goth.” It is dark but yet fruity all at the same time. I can picture Kat Von D wearing this while she is tattooing people. It smells just like you would imagine a tattoo parlor to smell like. Dark, edgy with some mystery about it. I like it alot because it is different than anything else I have smelled lately. I do not get any of the plastic-y stuff some of the other reviewers are talking about. Just earthy, woody, dark fruit! I am a fan!!
Vasiliy87 – :
all i smell is a little patchouli or really to me it smells like cedar, and a faint hint of something else, it just smells like something musty left over from the 70’s. Pretty nasty.
svetysja – :
Adora is definitely not for the reserved girl. Starts out strong and almost masculine before settling into a warm feminine delight. Upon initial spray I get the blackberry, incense and something earthy (patchouli). On me, it lingers there a long time before the subtle sweet smell of flowers starts to come through. On dry down, it still have all the top notes, some indistinguishable flowers and the smell of woods. Unique and unlike anything I’m used to but I quite like Adora. Reminds of Victoria’s Secret Very Sexy but Adora is much deeper and more complex. I don’t recommend this unless you like deep, earthy, masculinish scents.
shatenka25 – :
Kat Von D ADORA opens with an immediately detectable incense note to my nose. What ensues is very strange. I am nearly certain that I smell cypress. This is apparently my interpretation of the water hyacinth and cassis leaf. In any case, there is a very strong forest green aspect to this perfume, making it seem almost a fougère and far more masculine than feminine. The fruits are really shrouded by all of the shrubbery in this composition. In fact, the last category I’d choose to describe this sui generis creation is fruity floral!
I’m pretty sure that the oddness of this fragrance caught lots of people off-guard, accustomed as anyone who bothered to test this composition probably was to the pretty standard feminine fare of SAINT and SINNER. ADORA is just eccentric enough to be likeable to me, though I would have to be in a certain sort of mood to wear it. I probably will use the rest of my roller ball but probably will not buy a bottle.
rozickkkaaaiii – :
I was a bit afraid of Adora after reading reviews, it looked a complicated and unusual scent.
I got a bottle of this and well, the opening is slightly leafy but without being grassy (if it makes sense) and there are detectable woody notes including pachouli; very unusual beggining for a floral fruity fragrance. So, when you first apply it, you may find Adora a strange perfume.
But actually this perfume is quite safe in the drydown. For me, it’s not artificial or medicial as many said here and the mango note is very, very subtle. I can say that because I myself dislike herbal/medicinal perfumes. Adora has flowers and fruits in an equal amount, and none of the notes seems to be screaming. It’s almost clean and shampoo-like, it’s girly and pretty, and kind of reminds me of Gucci EDP II, but slightly more sweet. So, it IS a safe floral fruity, but I just think that it’s a kind of floral fruity for people who usually don’t like this category, maybe?
I love the bottle – a black, almost gothic bottle for a floral fruity, how cool is that?
This is the second Kat Von D perfume I got and the longevity and sillage disappoints me again! It stays for one hour on my skin even if I spray several times, and it does leave a nice trail but just for 30 minutes. Sad!! I wish her new perfumes will stay longer on my skin!
hmc186speagoessenda – :
I love the opening…black pepper jumps out of the bottle immediately but all too quickly leaves me and the berries and lychee become the star of the show. The opening then fades into rain-kissed jasmine, sensual musk, and fresh mango! Light — not too sweet or cloying — but also very different from my usual tastes.I get a soft, warm amber in the dry down.
jvvpfgzdur – :
I got the package that came with the fake tattoos and the atomizer. It’s beautiful and very tasteful. The perfume is a very strong floral and I write it in the most positive way. I wear it when I want to draw attention.
Inhitslit – :
First things first, what a great looking bottle!
So, does it match up with the frag? Yes, and no.
Right out of the bottle promises are made. Real possibilities here. And I like the out of the ordinary top notes; lychee, blackberry, incense and cassis.
But…(isn’t there usually a but coming!) it broke the promise it made! The first sniff is the kindest and then it kinda does a disappearing act. And…on top of that, what’s left is not what it sold you on.
The bottle alone is almost (but not quite) worth the price of admission but at the list price I’d suggest grabbing a tester. Anyone want to gift an empty bottle?
Robox – :
I searched this one out for the litchi, mango, and blackberry notes listed here. I’m craving fruit. But, all Adora will give to me is “de-gassing plastics”. It puts a bad taste in my mouth.
Imagine those japanese plastic erasers and their funny scent. It doesn’t really smell like fruit, but because it’s shaped and colored like fruit, you’ll register it as smelling fruity. Such is how I feel about the “fruit” notes in Adora. Doesn’t really smell like any kind of fruit, but seeing the fruits notes listed, you’ll figure out the chemical interpretation as fruit.
The dry-down doesn’t smell any more “BPA-free” than the beginning. Use a lighter to melt the side of your keyboard right now. Try to cover the toxic fumes with a shot of Original scent Lysol and some cough medicine. You’ve got Adora!
Too bad. I do think her other two scents are worth a sniff. I do like the bottles too.
wasyia – :
Miss Kat Von D decided to take me to her magical world.
I like this one. The opening is sweet and “leafy”…
sorta like being in this magical GREEN forest and a burst of berries are everywhere… a place were anything is possible… kinda like HARRY POTTER! 🙂
We leave this enchanted forest and are shown a shower of “watery” mangos.
This part reminds me alot of Hilary Duff’s “Wrapped with Love”
The patchouli seems to run at you from out of now where… with a dagger, an amber incrusted wooden dagger. Chasing you everywhere you go. Scary isn’t it?
Spray with caution, because once you enter this realm, you may never leave.
aziz – :
I loved the opening of Adora! The fruity litchi and blackberry notes are darkened slightly by woody nuances and a little bit of patchouli. But after awhile, the scent turned into something plastic-y on my skin. And then it was just plastic and mango…? Not a good transition. This one did not work nearly as well for me as Saint did.