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Bydayjaxy – :
Wow! I”ll just start there. Wow!
This is a white floral powerhouse of the best kind. A bit sweet and airy, but always there is a heady floral heaven. I love this.
But other reviewers are right, apply with care because the first blast could be overwhelming or even headache inducing. Be judicious about where and how much you use and enjoy floating on a floral cloud. Just a whiff of this makes me happy. When lightly spritzed, this beautiful aroma floats around you, teasing your nose with the floral sweetness. And I have found it projects a bit better when applied to clothing. I don’t get a “tropical” vibe from this so I think I could wear this all year long. Maybe if I try this in the warmer months, more of the exotic notes will make an appearance
To my nose, Bora Bora smells very much like Forever by Elizabeth Taylor. Where the focus of Forever is more sweet and fruity, this one chooses to make the floral notes the star of the show. Even the bottles, with their iridescent sheen, are very alike, though the Bora Bora bottle is, well, just plain ugly. It is tall, gaudy and awkward to hold and spray, but nonetheless I love it.
After all, true beauty is on the inside.
Keydayovada – :
Liz Claiborn Bora Bora is a beautiful, well-blended, high-quality floral-aquatic fragrance. She is very well-balanced and performs brilliantly, there’s no better value on the market.
Those of you who despise this (gorgeous) type of scent do no one any favors by purchasing what you hate only to come here and tell the rest of the world how this perfume is filth (and, therefore by implication, so are those of us who happen to LIKE or LOVE this fragrance/ type of fragrance).
If you know that you have the ability to appreciate and enjoy white floral/ aquatic perfumes, Bora Bora is a stunning addition. If you know that you despise Bora Bora and it’s type, please refrain from slamming it and those of us who are well-rounded enough to appreciate this fragrance and others like it.
It’s a polarizing genre but please do attempt to employ some modicum of restraint in expressing your disgust when something is not your cup of tea, and I will attempt to do the same.
Thank you.☻
afgust – :
Nothing special, Very sweet that i got so bored of it quickly.
soullider – :
HATE HATE HATE HATE! I have such a high perfume tolerance, but this i cannot stand. it smells so cheap to me i actually cant beleive it lol. Wish i could get my $12 back!!!!!
dredd24 – :
I really like this one. I accidentally got it over my hand when I picked off the box from the floor at a retail store. The bottle inside was broken and I got the scent all over my hand. I couldn’t stop sniffing my hand so I bought one. It’s soft, floral and soapy imo. Reminds me a lot of baby phat by kimora Simmons but with the staying power that one absolutely lacks. I can see why people with distinguished noses for perfume my dislike this one but more and more I find myself going for and enjoying my cheaper bottles of perfume. Something about my chemistry does well with a lot of very affordable scents. I own numerous expensive scents, some I do love. Others I like the strangeness smoky manly scent but I don’t really ever wear them only in private when I feel adventurous. For those who like enigmatic perfume, this is not it. By the way my cat really likes this on me to the point he licks it from my arm.
FriendMakayla – :
This is truly a well-balanced white floral. I can’t distinguish between the tuberose, from the the ginger, to the waterlily, etc. Normally, tuberose and waterlily in perfumes can be heady, but this perfume stays balanced from the initial spray to the dry down. It is not soapy, but rather light and airy if sprayed lightly; and you don’t need much of it. It is a beautiful scent!
Abramow62 – :
I bought this as a blind buy because of good reviews and the inexpensive ($14) price. That’s $14 wasted dollars! It stinks—to my nose. Aggressive, floral cheap smelling juice. To say this smells like J’Adore is a travesty.
MrRastaman – :
Powdery tropical floral with an orange twist. Perfect for an summer afternoon party on the patio!
pzfc – :
Fragrance Review For Bora Bora
Liz Claiborne
Top Notes
Iris Mandarin Orange Water Lily
Middle Notes
Tuberose Orange Blossom Orchid Jasmine
Base Notes
Ginger Sandalwood
Bora Bora whisks you away to the white sandy beaches of the Polynesian island (near Tahiti) as only a perfume and your own imagination can do. I have not worn too many Liz Claiborne fragrances but this is, if not their loveliest, certainly one of the most enjoyable & universally wearable. This is a clean fresh floral scent, but it has the aura of sun tan lotion & beach wear – bikinis (one piece or two piece) sandals, shorts, swim suit, sun hats, floral print aloha shirts, or sarongs. For me the most exotic island inspired fragrance is Fidji by Guy Laroche but this is not bad. It’s very simple quite easy to wear; even linear. I wish it would last longer on me. My skin can handle anything but sometimes the perfume itself just doesn’t last long.
The opening is aquatic and evocative of the Pacific Ocean waves crashing on the shores of Bora Bora. There is an alcohol content (not quite full aldehyde) and a water lily note. It’s definitely a lotus or water lily scent, with a background of citrus & orange blossom. That mandarin’s sharpness is somehow able to merge with a pretty strong chemical iris. The iris begins to embrace other flowers, and these are quite a parade of flowers. I’m a floral fan so for me the way the florals play out in a fragrance, when it’s good, gets me so intoxicated and fired up.
An orchid, tropical & exotic, probably white or pink, is recreated as the fragrance begins it’s floral dance. A tuberose & jasmine – two of the most commonly used white floral notes, compose the heart of this perfume. Indeed she is a white flower perfume. These are still very evocative of island flowers. I wish there had been tiare or plumeria or straight gardenia to further recreate a Tahitian environment but the jasmine is quite lovely and exotic on it’s own in the perfume’s heart. A very beautiful white floral scent that never gets too sweet though it is sweet. It’s also buttery & creamy, and begins to wear like body butter or the cream of sun tan lotion at the beach.
When dry this scent is spicy & woodsy. There is a ginger note that smells like sprinkled cinnamon, over light soft sandalwood. This is bigger on the ginger than the sandalwood. If the sandal had been stronger the perfume might enter into Oriental category. But it’s not a real Oriental just a very clean sweet & pretty white floral fragrance of day wear, summer time, and feminine charms. This smells like a very pretty woman in a white sundress and hat walking along the beach of Bora Bora. Totally a tourist perfume to wear to any island destination whether it’s the Bahamas, Caribbean or Polynesia. It doesn’t throw out a huge projection but it’s very detectable up close and very much a good skin scent.
Not my Fidji but a pretty cool getaway
hsdima – :
Hmmm. Out of curiosity, I sprayed a bit of Bora Bora on my glove today at Gordman’s. I actually like it! It’s definitely floral… a nice blend with (to my nose) orange blossom dominating, and a very reserved touch of aldehydes that not only balances the sweetness nicely, but gives it a slightly “soapy” feel. I’m reminded of good-smelling shampoo. I’m not usually one for loud florals, but I may pick up a bottle of this for when the mood strikes.
Якудзе – :
I asked for this for Christmas in high school after smelling it on a magazine fragrance strip. I must have thought it smelled good on the strip, but when I sprayed myself for the first time from the bottle, it was like getting knocked over the head by an orchid-scented 2×4. Instant headache. I tried it a couple more times, but I could never get into it.
danik48 – :
Simple fragrance. It’s sweet tropical-musky smell. Great for office use. At certain days it can be long lasting but I usually end up spraying a lot.
Tarasikys – :
Very sweet-smelling. Too much of this can be sickeningly sweet. I liked this a lot as a young teen; I’m not sure how well I would like it now (in my mid-20’s).
**Update** I found a tester at Gordman’s and sniffed the bottle. Not too sweet. 🙂 …Although I didn’t actually test it during my visit. I definitely want to sometime in the future. I’m curious to experience the difference between then and now!
S_N_O_R_K – :
Bora Bora is really just a lovely, carefree, warm weather perfume perfect for the summer. This really reminds me of a summer day off or weekend, just going to the beach or bumming around. It isn’t complicated, doesn’t take itself too seriously, so it perfect for casual daytime use. In fact, it is hard to pick out any particular notes – the floral, fruity, and musky notes are blended so smoothly together. Kind of smells like a really good tropical drink! For a day at the beach, tropical vacation, or just those days you want to pretend its summer, Bora Bora is your ticket to exotic paradise (cheesy, I know!).
garison28 – :
As some above have stated, this seems more tropical or exotic, but not so much “beachy.” Baybe it would be if it had a touch of coconut 🙂
Anton19901 – :
I love tuberose but dislike water lily, so applied this with some misgivings. It turns out to be rather nice. The water lily balances the tuberose and stops it from being quite as heady as it can be in other perfumes, while the tuberose somehow mutes whatever it is about aquatic notes that disagrees with me.
I’d guess it would be good on the hot summer days and nights mentioned by other reviewers. Also suitable for work.
It reminds me of Tommy Bahama.
livelover – :
Got this as a gift with a perfume purchase
Not my style..too strong and got sick from it
tusya_artur – :
Exotic and feminine is how I describe Bora Bora. Sweet but not overpowering…I appreciate this scent for it adaptability to day and night. Well composed perfume with a bright citrus opening, drying down to a clean fresh powder with a slight mentholated lilt from the tuberose and ginger spice.
_AlaN_ – :
definately floral. my husband said he smelled pear and it does have a kind of pear juicy vibe to it. i think this is a tropical scent as well. i think a good summertime fragrance. i think it also smells tropical, but wearable. i think though you should only wear it at the beach in summer. otherwise you will be very much out of place. its not too sweet which is nice. i imagine a woman in a flowing transparent coverup over a viberant bathing suit walking on the beach. i think this is better than the tommy bahama fragrance if you are looking for a tropical scent. i think it may be a little too floral for me personally but if someone walked by wearing it i would like it.
serzh548 – :
I got a mini of this because I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to feel about it. I figured I’d take a $5 risk and give it a shot.
Bora Bora opens with fleshy, somewhat aquatic floral notes and a very earthy iris. I also detect some orange blossom, but no ginger. Tuberose is on the sweet side and I detect no indole.
This is a summer fragrance, but in my opinion best suited to cooler summer evenings. This fragrance DOES NOT do well in combination with sweat. This may be the wet dog smell some people have mentioned.
андрей1591 – :
Artificial and perfumy smell of flowers, nothing unusual about it, smells cheap and generic. Neither clean and classy for the office nor sexy for the evening. Should be renamed Boring, Boring. Unfortunately Liz Claiborne fragrances have taken an enormous dive; all the scents are now very mass-marketed, cheap smelling, non-lasting and poor value although inexpensive..
con370Bessinepome – :
Too sweet for my taste. Florals just smell… oh idk… fake? Don’t know how else to describe them. I love florals. Maybe the wrong combo of them. Reminds me of a cheap fruit body spray that you would keep in a gym bag next to your dirty socks. Not complex at all. It’s as if they threw in one ingredient and it overpowers everything else.
naguch23 – :
I just received this perfume today, which was a blind buy. I bought it because I read that it resembles J’adore to some people and it was a more affordable alternative. After testing it, I have to say it DOES resemble J’adore, but more on the dry off. But if not comparing it to J’adore, I would say it has a very pleasant, flowery, sweet scent that is neither too young or too mature. It is slightly tropical, but I don’t find it too fruity or watery smelling. I like it very much, a very good and affordable buy for me, esp if you like J’adore. I think the bottle is a little tacky and I hate the top, but that I can get over.
igorioshka – :
For me, the perfect summer fragrance. Although since I live on an tropical Island I can pull this off almost all year long! (++++) 🙂 It’s such a clean and soft smell, a tad spicy. I like it! The staying power is pretty decent too. +++: Pretty affordable!
lesnoi – :
This perfume is good IF you know how to wear it. If you put on too much it is overbearing and can smell a little “dated” Its very strong. If you use a little bit in the right places then its very tropical and exotic and most people wont be able to guess its Bora Bora. I like it because i dont have anything else that smells like it. It does make me think of exotic flowers, but if you wear too much you will give people headaches. Its worth buying at a discount.
OneTime – :
I just purchased this even though it has been out for a while. Many have told me to steer clear of it, but I LOVE IT. It makes me picture Southern Ladies sipping iced tea on the front porch in cotton dresses on a hot summer day many years ago. And the compliments just roll in.
vishenka_1m1 – :
I am still a fan. I purchased a bottle @ a flea market in LA last November. I am almost out.
mebelsoft – :
I bought it strictly for the fact that there is NO vanilla and I was super excited to see what it yields!
The more I wear it the more I loveit! Very tropical yet much more sophisticated than I originally thought it would be and you certainly don’t have to limit it to a beach scent. Also, the men LOVE it!!! I must have been asked 5 times at work what I was wearing and when I told they were all shocked, some exclaiming they were familiar with it but on me “it smelled sooo delicious!” Yay!!! As for people saying it’s old fashioned, on me it couldn’t be farther from it. If anything I’d imagine the Fountain of Youth to smell something like this, very refreshing, crisp, and clean!
мигуэль – :
Picked up a mini of this to try it, I wanted a summery, tropical scent. Yuck. Smells super-artificial to my nose. Returned it, sorry but not a fan.
Юрец181123 – :
Seems reviews here agree that this is a summer scent. I found this tropical enough, just TOO tropical and it was very agressive…in my face! I used it this winter hoping, like many heavy scents, it would soften this a bit, and it did. The cooler air brings out the iris in this MUCH more than the cloying tuberose I got in the summer. This doesn’t SMELL like Prada’s Infusion d’Iris but it has that exact iris smell IN it. This scent, for me, is winter all the way. I’ve gotten many compliments on this scent this winter. It’s not even the same scent I get during the summer. For this, if you find it too strong and cloying in the heat, by all means, try cold crispy air! don’t give up on this because it is fresh fresh fresh and OH so lovely! This may be a new classification…Winter fresh tropical aquatic!
cheentraice – :
My college roommate wore this, and I always got a headache when she sprayed it. It has a very old-fashioned perfume scent, very heavy on alcohol, musk and flowers. Not a fan.
swordless – :
I get many compliments when I wear this one. It’s a pretty perfume for a great price. I like it and when my friends try mine, they go get it for themselves. The staying power is very good.
Darling25 – :
This gave me an instant headache and I had to wash it off. So I sent it to my Aunt who likes sweeter fragrances. (Yes I always send the ones I dont like to people who I know will like it *and* live FAR away. lol Is that terrible????)
vkica – :
Very similar to Tommy Bahama but with more of a “perfumey” smell (don’t know how else to put it) and a little less sweet.
I guess it’s that dry catch in the back of your throat kind of thing that makes a scent a perfume rather than an air freshener.
I would associate it with less expensive/lesser quality ingredient offerings.
So, it’s not great but at least I don’t get plastic doll skin which is a nice change!
basurman1975 – :
This was a blind buy for me. I was pleasantly surprised at it’s longevity (not overpowering). It’s great for summer, particularly when the weather is humid. Coconut really stands out with this one and it’s a rather tropical scent. Great value for money if you like sweet (but not sickly), slightly musky perfumes…
СТРЕЛОК – :
It’s too sweet and in your face, and when it finally calms down it just smells like cheap soap and grass. I can’t stand it.
dbrindalik – :
Wowee! I am so impressed with this perfume. I was a little scared it would be crap. But I read all the reviews and I’m glad I listened.
The bottle is a huge, bamboo-shaped, opalescent monstrocity, in a kitchy sort of way.
I am glad that someone compared this to J-Lo’s Miami Glow. Bora Bora is less fruity than Miami Glow. The tropical florals really stand out–but not in a passionflower fruity sort of way. More like a ginger-flower and pikaki sort of way. I also detect something green and woody, like bamboo or maybe even a touch of sugarcane.
As soon as you spray it on, it’s magnificently sweet without being too young. When it wears down, the fruity freshness steps aside to make way for the heavenly florals. What I love about this scent is that it manages to smell sweet without having any trace of vanilla in it.
The staying power is wonderful–much longer lasting than Miami Glow. This was a smart “cheap” pick.
eviltwin85 – :
Smells more tropical than Jlo’s miami and sunkissed glow’s. It is very sweet and very tropical and lasts a loooooonnnnngggggg time! Not a favorite but because of it’s lasting power I stocked up I love a lasting fragrance!
meht23 – :
It opens with a sweetness that consists of sweet mandarin and water lily it surprises me that Bora Bora and Alfred Sung Shi both
have a cloying to the skin style and opens
sweet and watery but shi is more woodsy and deeper in Incense more superior staying power then Bora, bora dries to a honey like scent of tuberoses that dominates this perfume completely overshadows the other notes orchid is an
elusive to the senses hard to find but it’s in there. ginger faint traces of it
barely noticible is there any sandalwood in this thats hard to tell
unless you have an scent of an Canine
but to my senses no dice.
joon80 – :
I love this.SWeet,but not sicky sweet.On me,theres a pronounced hibiscus smell,Bamboo which i love,topped off with ginger.It makes one want to go ahhhhh when u smell it.Makes Others want to nuzzle u.Would b beautiful any time of year but,smells most like spring.fresh,ck=lean,yet u no its there,sweet and yummy.Smells better than JAdore to me and lasts longer.
ZAhmed – :
I found that Bora Bora really does smell like Bora Bora. It’s very tropical and floral and sweet. It’s almost a sticky sweet but I still like it very much. The best part is that it’s not high priced so it can be a fun summer treat. I don’t think it would smell right in the winter.
Tunar2009 – :
I bought this one after reading a review that it was better than Bora Bora Exotic (BBE). BBE is my favorite so far of all my perfumes, it’s perfection to my nose. This one is tropical, but that’s it. This is a lovely perfume, very summery, just no beachy feel to it. Perfect for a tropical vacation to Bora Bora if there wasn’t water surrounding it!
Vemenenoamili – :
This is a perfect smell, its great for summer nights.Very nice on the nose and not well known with many. Great compliments to be had and has that certain quality that makes you stand out. I recvd a small sample and bought right away online for very cheap.
ikh476elipseskism – :
Bora Bora is tropical and sweet while being clean and fresh with a hint of spice in the drydown. I like this fragrance. I believe this is going to be a a great summer fragrance for me this year. I love fragrances with water lily andd this is no exception. I rate it 8 out of 10.
ivnsu – :
I wore this for a couple of years and then had trouble finding it in stores. I found it at TJMaxx for 9.99 and could not resist. I love the tropical notes and the soft smell.
smisdilia – :
I completely agree with Chatnoir. This is a slightly sweeter, subtly more tropical, and possibly simpler version of J’adore. I would even go so far as to nickname this one “J’adore Summer (On A Budget)”. It is great for the summer months that have arrived and for the financial crises that have befallen most of us.
Though the price would suggest a cheaply scented creation it is far from smelling cheap. It is just about as lovely as J’adore with half of its punch, which is, again, perfect for summer. The staying power is comparable to J’adore too.
All this comparison to J’adore would suggest that this fragrance is not original. It isn’t. However, for those of you out there who are head over heels in love with J’adore but simply do not have the money to snag a bottle of your own this is a comparable substitute. If you shop around you can even pick up a bottle for around ten dollars.
Ahunes – :
I love Bora Bora because it’s stay’s with me all day long with just one splash.The scent is very feminine and soft.
bigbrother – :
perfect for a hot summer day when you don’t want to wear citrus or green scents. i love this!
Temka34rus – :
I really like it- a sweet, fruity floral as was the vogue in the late 90’s, early 2000’s. In a way, it smells like a sweeter, slighter version of Dior’s “J’Adore”. It just doesn’t last on me, though.
Infiskinisype – :
Very pretty flowery scent. It certainly does smell of tropical flowers.
antislav – :
Nice light floral, def. for warm days or nights.
dinymnabefine – :
This is a great choice of perfume for a hot summer night! I like how it is a tropical floral. The scent is quite strong, but lasts for a long time and can still be worn in hot, humid weather. It’s a bit exotic and very feminine.