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Oblighblothsx – :
How did I miss this one!? This is rose. If you love rose, you should LOVE this. I hate rose and this is lovely.
It’s watery, frail, and long lasting…for days on fabric! It’s a lovely wedding perfume. I found it’s more beautiful with less sprays. Too many are VERY obnoxious. It’s light, but all OVER the place.
A face that would do this justice is Karen Grassle. Her personality and fresh wholesome face on Little House is perfect for this scent.
This is a bottle of the most lovely mom in the world. It’s the scent of a baby in the room. It’s very feminine. It’s old fashioned rose perfume that isn’t a funeral flower. Rose…it’s just rose…but WHADDA ROSE!
VOVIK151091 – :
Upon trying this a few times, I was amazed at 1. the very minimal amount of sillage – I could barely smell it even right after putting it on, and 2. the short lived nature of this perfume. Barely smells like anything (maybe some vague floweryness) and doesn’t last? Might as well spray water on myself instead. Disappointment. I would love this fragrance if it smelled exactly the same, was 50x more powerful and actually lasted.
and40309 – :
I loved this while I was in high school. I got a bottle from TJ Maxx last year and I put it away for the winter months. Pulled it out the other day and I’m not sure I’m as excited about it now. Might have to let this one go.
AlexanderTGreat – :
I’m so undecided about Alabaster. It is a split-personality perfume. One day it will be a gorgeous, light aquatic floral and simply delightful; the next, it is a cloying, nauseating, slightly rotten-feeling, makes-me-think-of-something-slimy mess.
On either day it is on the synthetic side, more so on bad days. It doesn’t know what season it is best in: could be summer, but maybe winter is better, who knows? I have tried it in all seasons and get the same conflicting effect day to day.
I have layered it today on top of Karl Lagerfeld’s Capsule [Kapsule? Kan’t remember without Khecking ;)] Woody which I think works really well. It has resulted in a mossy, sour floral and the two perfumes, which don’t quite hit the spot individually, really complement each other as a team. So take that for what it’s worth.
The bottle is sleek and pretty and the box is beautifully simple and understated. No complaints there.
I suggest sampling this before you buy if you can. I won’t repurchase as I don’t like it enough to, and can’t be doing with layering all the time, but will definitely use up and try some more layering.
TL;DR: a perfume which can be a glorious aquatic floral OR a nauseating rotten mess, dependent on no apparent criteria whatsoever. A bit synthetic. Don’t recommend you blind-buy. Have had some success with layering. As always, YMMV.
vovan0816 – :
The high school I attended in Texas possessed a dynamic that I imagine is rare in real life, but was common in 1980’s coming-of-age movies. Although it was a public school, it was located adjacent to an extremely wealthy neighborhood– we’re talking mansions owned by Arab princes, professional athletes, old money… you get the idea. A mile or so down the main street from that neighborhood was *my* neighborhood, also zoned to the same high school. In my neighborhood, people lived in garage apartments and duplexes or flats above shops, and drove old, beat-up cars. This was in the ’80’s, as I mentioned, so you had punks and new-wave types and nerds from the down-to-earth neighborhood attending the same school as some of the wealthiest kids in the nation… these kids’ parents would go for months at a time to Europe or wherever and leave them “supervised” by the housekeeper… driven to school by chauffeurs in Bentleys. Think of Pretty in Pink, with me being Molly Ringwald’s character, Andie, going to school with Blaine and his friends. It really was just like that.
Why do I tell you this story where I’m supposed to leave a review of a perfume?
Alabaster, to me, smells like “the other girls”… the ones with the impossibly glossy hair and perfect skin, gliding down the hallways on clouds of scent that undoubtedly came from soaps and creams the parents had brought back from their last trip to France.
In my reality, in contrast to the typical John Hughes film plot, I never mixed with those girls, so there never was any conflict or bullying… I was just invisible to them, and that was okay by me. I was content just to gaze in awe at them… they seemed so foreign.
I was already in love with perfume by high school. My very favorite was Poison. I had a generous, sweet aunt who bought me a 1.7 oz bottle every Christmas. I also wore Ciara, Tabu, Emeraude… all spicy, dark types that meshed well with my overuse of black eyeliner an Manic Panic hair color.
I loved how “those girls” smelled, but would never approach one to ask her what she had on, and it probably wan’t perfume anyway, and had I been able to obtain it, it wouldn’t have been “right” on me.
These days, though, in my respectable little office job, I can pull it off nicely. It makes me feel pretty and popular.
As far as notes go, Alabaster really is as simple as lotus, rose, and musk. The musk is definitely the “laundry” kind, the lotus adds a mildly green and fresh watery aspect, and the soft rose gives it that classic, natural femininity. Together, the effect is one of an expensive soap or shampoo, intensified. It even radiates from the skin the way something like that would after a shower, but for quite some time.
Yes. I am going to say that Molly Ringwald’s “Andie” smelled like LouLou by Cacharel, and the “other girls” smelled like Alabaster.
gucciboy – :
“I’m down’ to earth” in a bottle!
Lovely natural smelling flora musk. Its a great body scent for office wear. It like your own body’s scent (after a shower) natural & clean. I do not smell rose at all.
Skin Type: oily
Office safe: yes
Potency: light
Timing: spring & summer days
Projection: sits close to the body
Longevity: 6hrs
Price: about $ 9.99 USD for 50mls at Marshals
Packaging: 9/10 I love the wooden box it comes in
Will I Repurchase: undecided
Disclaimer: my experience may be different from your experience based on my skin type, my chemistry, the season, and my personal tastes
kpo – :
Just blind bought this from Marshall’s along w/Malachite. I got the 1.7 of both for $9.99 each. I sprayed Malachite first and liked it but was hesitant to spray this one since from the bottle there was a strange sweet scent I was detecting. I finally got the courage to do so 1st on paper and my first thought was YSL Parisienne. I tried Parisienne a few years back and liked it a lot but it was too sweet on me.
This one reminds me a lot of that one. This one is a bit more subtle and less powdery. I guess it’s the peony that is reminding me of that one. This one is a bit more subtle but it’s a bit more something else…smart…sophisticated maybe. Idk but parisienne seems girly, playful, even sexy maybe but this one seems a bit more refined. This review is just what I got from my first spray so I will need to test a bit more but from my initial sniff its a pretty subtle floral.
I am happy with this blind buy as I have been wanting some uncomplicated floral safe scents. This may fit the bill!
Edit: Just realized it’s not this one w/the peony note but malachite. I guess the floral note I’m smelling is the rose 🙂
Ok so I am really enjoying this to the point where I want to wear it all the time. The florals in this are so beautiful and this is not a safe scent as I stated before this is awesome!
Andrianz – :
I am so satisfied with this blind buy! I had first experienced this in a magazine strip and fell in love. I will admit my impression of it then was more ozonic/aquatic than what I get now, but it could be my skin or that it is an older bottle now and those delicate elements have dissolved a bit. Anyway, after many years the idea of this perfume has stayed in my mind and today I finally received it and am surprised by how much I still like it. It is a musky rose with a cool aquatic atmosphere. The musk here goes very salty on my skin, something I experience with Stella by Stella McCartney. With the salty musk and rose combo it reminds me of Stella very much the only difference being that cool/wet lotus accord. It lasts at least 7hrs and I have already received compliments on it.
master582 – :
Bought it for 6 bucks at Ross (3.4 oz), the box itself is worth the price. About the fragrance, it’s a nice everyday frag that’s unlikely to offend anyone. Simple, linear and office-safe. Try it, you may just like it if you enjoy florals.
rah729InsuffBooni – :
As I have already written in another review – good subtle fragrances are deal of art.
This is Alabaster, a mild, well balanced floral.
An aquatic opening with lotus is followed by an equilibrium of rose and musk that captivates me for its simplicity and tenderness. It makes me feel more feminine and I love it!!
Now I quote “jeca” on what she had read at bananarepublic.com:
“Discover your feminine side with a delicate and captivating scent. A touch of blended lotus flower, wild rose and warm musk and you’ll bewitch the ones closest to you.”
Just because that’s exactly what this fragrance represents to me.
svatalex – :
I cant decide that its my taste or not. Its quite mysterious, because it reminds me of the smelling of the fresh painted woods, but the very light lotus note makes it almost wearable.
Some minutes later the lotus changes to an almost pine-y smelling. Very strange in an interesting way.
For winter its defeinitely not for me, but I’ll update this review on summer or spring.
shegon22 – :
I had it and gave it to my niece. It’s a well done fruity floral. She came to see me this morning. It is now the first week into autumn and the air was cool. As soon as she walked in, I asked her if she was wearing Bvlgari and she says, “no, aunty. this is what you gave me.” Maybe not at first sniff, but definitely dries down to a bvlgari like scent. If you get a chance to buy this, do so! It smells of quality.
boris1508 – :
My mother had a small, pale green egg made of alabaster on her dresser; she displayed it on the mirrored tray where she kept her perfumes. I used to love how that small, smooth, round egg felt in my hand; so when I saw this perfume, I had to try it.
I am ambivalent about this scent. It is a pretty floral musk, but there is an odd meaty note that rises up from my skin–I don’t generally get indoles from either lotus or rose, but that’s almost the scent I smell. There is also a strange quality to the musk; I got the same undercurrent when I tried the perfume Malachite from the same house. It’s a very commercial, artificial smell–I don’t know how else to describe it–like the smell of white tissue paper in a shirt box.
Roman women used to apply the sweat of gladiators to their skin. Maybe banana republic uses the sweat of preppy GRE-test-takers when formulating their musk. In any case, it’s odd and interferes with my ability to enjoy this scent.
Sillage is low, longevity 4 hours max on my skin.
Leshi-80 – :
Tried it in the store. Smell’s really good! It’s a light fresh sweet floral smell. On me the musk note comes out like a sweat musk in between, so it’s a no for me. A really good everyday won’t bother anyone fragrance. If musk goes with your body chemistry give this a try.
Sillage- wise it’s last 3- 4 hours om my skin.
Qerdf3eererdf – :
everyone tells me I smell delicious
nkfrvtl – :
The most boring fragrance I own. I found it to be lacking in any character, a cool floral/lotus scent that barely lasted – it evaporates very quickly. Sillage and longevity practically non-existant. Can’t really detect anything pleasant in it. The lotus is bland and devoid of any personality or depth. I really don’t know what they were thinking when they put this scent on the market.
mako – :
It does last quite a while. There is a soft floral smell that stays with you and finishes with a cool note. Great day time fragrance, feminine and smart.
Болби – :
Hi, this is not a review but a question. I would like to purchase this perfume, i adore the unique fragance, but then again, im concerned about the lasting power. Does it last? Please let me know. I really dislike those scents that force you to keep a large bottle in your bag!
pqa332speagoessenda – :
Banana Republic Alabaster is fresh, floral, and light. I had originally smelled this back in 2006 when it came out in a magazine advertisement and loved it. It’s a lovely and sophisticated fragrance that has a classy feeling to it. The lotus flower has a light but distinct scent and the rose is fresh and sweet. Wonderful fresh-floral fragrance!
anar5666 – :
Must admit that Banana Republic never featured much as a major perfume interest where I’m from, not much hype around this perfumebrand here, unless I’ve been under a rock for wayyyy to long. So when I received a 100ml of Alabaster as a free gift,can you imagine to my utter astonishment why more has not been made about such a lovely fume. I think it’s a rather pleasant & very delicate floral with rose & musk being most prominent. Yes I hear people saying there’s millions of other florals out there, so what makes this one different? Well the way I see it, BR did something right with Alabaster as it is unique to my nose compared to most other florals out there. Although I love the packaging, the name Alabaster as well as the packaging can be rather deceiving of what the fragrance is all about. It still scores high points in my book. Try it if you tired of all the many heady florals out there.
Oblom…… – :
I don’t know why a fruit note of some sort isn’t listed. The opening of this has some sort of fresh/sweet/exotic fruit — nothing as sweet/citrus as pineapple, more like lychee or starfruit. Unfortunately this interesting note fades very quickly, and I’m left with a perfectly wearable floral musk. There’s nothing wrong with the floral musk that is left — I just wish whatever that interesting note was had stuck around longer.
immams – :
I tested this recently while shopping at a Tanger Outlet and I must say, I found this to be too “perfumey” for my taste. I liked Rosewood much better because of it’s “earthy” appeal. Too much floral for me. I tried to like it, I really did, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do so. If you don’t like this one, try Rosewood as it’s a much warmer frag.
vwferriesz2 – :
I got it because of the bottle + packaging and was very disappointed – I find the bottle design, coloration as well as packaging extremely misleading as I expected something light, maybe citrussy and woody or just simply something green. What I got after the first spritz was a floral explosion that almost took my breath away, but not in a good way.
To me, it was way too sweet, too floral, too icky and “in your face”. Great for a candle scent at the spa but not on my skin, thank you very much.
pokemonik – :
When I went to the store i thought it smells great, but later it was hard for me to smell it, guess it didn’t suit me much.
wallpposter – :
I read about it and thought the description was nice. Also I liked the name. So I went and looked out for it. When I test-sprayed it I was disappointed. To me it had nothing to do with the description – or even the name – and I found it even stinky and “baaaah”.
manichelxvg – :
A sweet and pretty fragrance reminiscent of cherries jubilee for the individual and independent woman. The slightly fruity and flowery notes of this perfume make it versatile for many temperatures. Coming in a beautiful bottle, the mini of this is a great purchase for your female significant other.
Cypemumblum – :
Alabaster was a blind buy based on reviews. I really thought that I could like this fragrance, everything in it seemed to be just what I was looking for: something clear and good for summer.
Infortunately, the perfume gave me nausea and headache…
So sad… I really wanted to love Alabaster and its amazingly beatiful package, but it just proved that you need to test a perfume before you buy it.
cousini – :
Unfortunately, i did not like alabaster. It smelled of soap, too strong white florals, and then went into a sour, muskey finish for me. There was a sharpness that stayed the entire time. It was headache inducing. Perhaps i can attribute this to chemistry, as cool scents usually do not like me, nor do i like them. Not for me.
NatplotoCak – :
Watered down rose at first… then the musk comes in and enhances the flower. Good sillage although it’s a nude scent. Nice… more for summer when you want something light.
Poebyspeeno – :
Banana Republic ALABASTER opens as a fruity floral but all traces of fruit evaporate in the first few minutes as the fragrance morphs into a clean musky skin scent with reasonably good staying power in the edp.
The florals are so subtle that some men might consider using this, although they may not like the floral-fruity opening, which bears similarities to some of the Victoria’s Secret offerings. What distinguishes ALABASTER is that the fruity-floral stage is not the essence but only a diversionary prelude.
Overall, ALABASTER is a high-quality clean musky skin scent for those who eschew loud parades of perfume. Some may perhaps find this fragrance a tad too discreet, but I like it, for what it is. ALABASTER is an apt name for a fragrance so subtle and light but which still has substance.
olberova – :
Another great scent from Banana Republic; it reminds me sooo much of ‘Can Can by Paris Hilton’ (a really fruity candy-like smell) but ‘Alabaster’ is a more sophisticated fruity smell. Agreat everyday, casual scent!
milasoffina – :
this is the most retardest fragrance i’ve ever seen lol i mean what kind of desing is this and the scent is to solid to be sold for a lot
loi058bedyWelty – :
I love Alabaster- it is fresh and floral with just the perfect hint of soft fruit. It is super wearable and is perfect during the day when it is pretty outside.
Алллуся – :
Floral. Light yellowish.The rose in here is probably a tea rose or a yellow rose. The lotus scent adds a slightly watery, tropical edge and that faint hint of fleshy flowers on the edge of rot that lotus lends. The musk must be that plain, boring base. In the end, it’s nothing special and tends towards cloying.
kimidensza – :
I found a sample of Alabaster in a magazine, and found it very rich and warm.
But these samples don’t always smell like the real perfume. I had a sample of Deseo (Jennifer Lopez) and liked it very much, but the real Deseo smells completely different.
OratryVax – :
I’ve read at bananarepublic.com:
“Discover your feminine side with a delicate and captivating scent. A touch of blended lotus flower, wild rose and warm musk and you’ll bewitch the ones closest to you.”
Unfortunately I have not test it myself.