Description
Love by Sofia Vergara is the second fragrance of the actress, and is a variant of the debut Sofia from 2014. The fragrance comes out in October 2015, signed by perfumers Yves Cassar and Pascal Gaurin.
“I want my brand to reflect the many aspects of a woman’s life. LOVE is for the woman who truly enjoys being a woman…and loves who she is.” – Sofia Vergara
The composition is oriental, warm and fruity. It starts with combination of mandarin, passion fruit, green apple and orange blossom. The heart notes include Colombian coffee blossom, purple orchid, orris root and magnolia, laid on the base of ambrette seed, amber wood, praline and vanilla.
Love by Sofia Vergara is available as 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum.
Satanych – :
This opens very sweet fruity floral on me, absolutely beautiful. Mandarin apples and orchid. It dries down to a very sweet powdered sugar with some zest and reminds me of smarties candy or pixie stix. Praline and orris,then the mandarin creeps back now and again. Its light enough to wear to work and carefree, great for daytime use. It feels effortless and I love that quality. Longevity is not as great as others, but i rather reapply than get a migraine anyway.
ziko – :
This smells so delicious, but it has no sillage or longevity on my skin! So disappointing because it’s really nice and I want to be able to smell it all day. There are similarities to Black Opium, but it’s definitely not a dupe. I find Sofia Love to be more juicy/fruity with that yummy passionfruit note.
Edited: I love this so much I bought a 3.4 oz bottle, despite the poor lasting power. I figure I can just re-spray liberally since it’s pretty inexpensive.
usm957elipseskism – :
Sadly the coffee note I was so desperately hoping for is rather underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong, this perfume is lovely, but it’s a repeat of at least two other perfumes I can think of right now. It’s almost a dead ringer for Katy Perry’s Killer Queen minus the praline/patchouli drydown. This one is a fruitier version, with more berry in the drydown. It’s like Signorina Misteriosa and Killer Queen had a baby! I own both of those scents already, and I like this one better, it’s more mature than KQ, lasts longer is and less synthetic than SM. I just wish it had more coffee, that would have made it a love for me.
Scent 8/10
Sillage 7/10
Longevity 9/10
kos333 – :
I love this, but I’m a man – a great value rich dark coffee scent that I want in a man’s fragrance. However, I’m not confident to pull the trigger on this one – I’m worried that it may be a bit too feminine … then again, maybe I could pull it off …
цукар – :
This starts out HEAVILY powdery, possibly due to the combo of orris and vanilla notes. After a while, that fades off, and some of the praline, coffee, and floral notes start to come through. The top notes / initial sprays come across as very generic gourmand, but there is a bit more character to this fragrance that you have to wait through the thick powder cloud to experience.
Vlad-em,an – :
I absolutely LOVE this, and this isn’t my “usual” type of scent (I usually like fun and fruity ones). This one is YUMMY while also smelling “expensive” (that sounds dumb but you probably know what I mean). Like sophisticated. The bottle is gorgeous and the price point is very fair (I wanna say like $25 for a 3.4oz is what I paid?). I’d rate this a 9/10.
bobby46 – :
I really enjoy Love for what it is–a sweet, fruity praline scent that just smells pretty. I don’t get the Black Opium similarity at all, but maybe it is similar to the EDT, I have no idea–I’ve only smelled the EDP of Black Opium. Either way, on its own Love is a great little bargain with good lasting power and sillage.
Love actually reminds me of Midnight Fantasy but where Midnight Fantasy has a strong blueberry presence, Love is more of a mishmash of blackberries and raspberries. There is a faint undercurrent of vanilla and coffee but had I smelled this without looking at the note pyramid, I would not have detected either. Mainly I just get praline and berries, and it’s very lovely if not very complex.
If you layer this with the Love lotion, you will smell fabulous all day and all night. The EDP on its own lasts for a long time though! Maybe Love is a bit generic in a trendy, crowd-pleasing way, but that’s okay! If you want to smell great and not think too hard about it, Love is a great choice. It’s a favorite of mine, it fits right into the ultra-sweet gourmand category that I enjoy very much!
taittargiguit – :
Blind bought this because I like Black Opium. Sadly I got something a lot closer to a love child from La Vie est Belle & Aquolina Pink Sugar. Toothache and headache for me. I swapped pronto. If you like extremely sweet sweet scents maybe for you. I like some sweet notes but not 100% sugar bomb. Like Sofia herself, can be cute and fun but only in small doses. Too much is just overwhelmingly saccharine.
GeltAppejek – :
a sweet and very wearable light gourmand that is more playfully flirty rather than sexy. to me this is sophisticated adult black opium’s little sister.
praline and vanilla are the stronger notes with a powdery finish. reasonable sillage and longevity
Dikma86 – :
A very nice fragrance, which indeed smells a lot like Black Opium.
I mostly get coffee, vanilla and praline. The coffee note is not bitter like in Black Opium, but sweet and fruity. In the drydown, some florals appear.
Sillage is moderate, longevity is about 5-6 hours.
v1256773 – :
I blind bought this fragrance after reading the reviews. This is quite different to black opium which I own as well. I feel the notes distinctly in the order of opening. If anything the dry down can be compared to v&r bonbon. Sillage is arms length but it is subtle. I guess this will make a good work wear. This is not a love for me, but like it. It didn’t impress me much anyway. I won’t be buying again after going through this 100 ml bottle.
yakovbuga – :
Basically it is nice, and a version of Black Opium or Flowerbomb. Maybe not identical to most, but so similar that if you do not like those, you will not like this either. If you do, it is cheaper.
pusiyjan – :
Update review. I sprayed some LVEB on me today while at goodies and went around smelling my wrist all day. I do love it but it’s so expensive. But the longer I wore it the more I noticed or thought to myself this smells exactly like Love. Even my boyfriend who knows nothing about perfume said it smelled the same. So if you like LVEB but can’t wear patch and don’t want to pay 90 bucks or more get love! And I do get a Carmel frap smell with love on the dry down but I also notice that even when I think it’s wore off other people can still smell it, so that’s cool!
Alpns – :
I finally tested out Love vs Black Opium. They are definitely similar. Love doesn’t seem to have as strong sillage as Black Opium but i feel like in general it’s not noticeable and I’m even starting to think i love Love more than black Opium! My black Opium is almost empty and since i now have Love i won’t be running out to buy another one. For the price – definitely worth it.
axr318speagoessenda – :
Love this perfume! It last a long time and smells amazing. I got it on sale at Ross for 14 bucks it was a blind buy based on comparison to Black Opium. It does remind me of it a little but Black Opium tends to stain clothes and this one doesn’t. Very warm and cozy scent that can be worn anytime. Boyfriend says it smells like fruit loops but he’s silly. People have chased me down to ask what I am wearing!
rus.wap – :
On my skin this is cloyingly sweet with no character. It smells like caramel and not much else. I’m disappointed to not experience any of the nuances of this scent that others seem to.
Nikolagon – :
Recently purchased Love and also own Black Opium. Both are on my skin right now…here’s how they compare:
Love has a raspberry top note, even though this is not listed. It’s brighter, fresher and more fruity. Black Opium starts out darker, and even though it also has a fruity top note, the vanilla and coffee are more pronounced from the start.
As it begins to dry down, Love introduces coffee and orris…it is a subtle but natural change from the fruit in the top notes. Black Opium remains very heavy in vanilla with notes of coffee and now a bit of chocolate. Black Opium is much stronger than Love at this stage of development.
After 15 minutes, they become more similar, with Love getting stronger and Black Opium fading in strength while still amplifying vanilla. Love retains more fruity brightness at this stage and it also brings a smoky note to the surface.
On final dry down, Love adds a scent that is a blend of ‘oudiness’ and licorice, which is pleasant and rich. It also retains a subtle raspberry note throughout. Black Opium has not changed much, except to add more woodiness and settle into itself with less sillage than the promise of the first few minutes.
Both perfumes are beautiful and I don’t see Love as a dupe for Black Opium, even though they share similarities. Black Opium is more suited for night time (I wear this one to bed as it’s very soothing), whereas Love could easily be worn during the day as it is more lighthearted and bright, even in the base notes. Applied cautiously, it is appropriate for the office.
FALOS – :
I’m wondering if the Black Opium comparisons are for the original Sophia. This one smells nothing like it. Love smells just like Pink Sugar mixed with Can Can. Sophia is deep and rich, and wonderful. Love is lightweight and youthful.
Orexialedlirl – :
This was a blind buy for me. First of all, the bottle is excellent quality. It’s heavy, beautiful, looks like it’s worth much more than I paid. Now, the juice inside this bottle is SWEET and does NOT remind me of Black Opium at all. After the initial blast I got tons of praline and vanilla…which is yummy, but unfortunately not for me. I gave it to my 20 year old daughter who agreed that it was too sweet for me, but perfect for her!!! In the end, this purchase was worthwhile and I wholeheartedly recommend if you love gourmand sweet perfumes, particularly praline.
DimX2 – :
Not quite as great and smooth as the Black Opium but it is interesting enough and in fact, very nice fragrance for the price. Big surprise for me in that regard. Although its opening has a noticeable “element” which reminds me of the “moth ball” opening smell in Tom Ford Orchid Soleil EDP. Good thing is that it only lasted for few minutes. The scent dried down pretty well, warm and pleasant with vanilla and woodsy notes. It is definitely less sweet and more woodsy than Victoria’s Secret Dark Angel for sure. I like it a lot. Perfect blind buy for me.
ziga45 – :
Sorry but this is definitely not a dupe for Black Opium. Maybe it’s just my skin but even just sniffing it on paper it doesn’t smell alike. However what it develops into is very similar to what Vikto&Rolf Bonbon develops into! I would say it’s a dupe for that if anything.
kermit1 – :
I do not see this as a dupe for Black Opium at all. There is a deep berry note to Black Opium that this lacks, also the amberwood is very prominent in Love (at least on my skin) and I can’t decide if that is a good or bad thing. Longevity and sillage are good considering I got it for $20 at Ross. It’s also salty smelling?? Is that the praline in it? All and all it is pretty unique for a celebrity scent, just not my cup of tea, or should I say coffee given the notes 🙂
antony429817 – :
This smells really good! It kind of reminds me of La Vie Est Belle by Lancome. The notes that stand out to me the most are Praline, Vanilla, Passionfruit, and Amber. This is the type of perfume you would smell on someone and think “She smells amazing”!
KillerDie – :
This is so amazing everytime I wear this someone asks me what I’m wearing guaranteed! And it absolutely must smell like YSL Black Opium because one lady actually thought that’s what I had on…. Nope Sofia Love ! Love it
димон98 – :
I wanted to love this but it’s not in agreement with my chemistry based on others reviews. I’m getting grape lipgloss, grape soda, no coffee scent in comparison with Black Opium. Kinda gross. It smells like Dark Kiss by BBW which I’m not a fan of.
Mr.Viper.ru – :
I was dying for this for Xmas. I was lucky enough to get this from my hubby. It was at big lots in a gift set for 18 bucks. Had a 1.7 Oz edp, a rollerball for travel, and a 1.4 Oz squeeze bottle of lotion. I’ve gotten so many compliments. I didn’t want to pay the bucks for YSL BOPIUM eclat/Sparks edp. But I work in an office with strict fragrance rules. I wash at night with Caress endless kiss body wash, or if I’m exfoliating…I use BBW coco honey body scrub & but some love lotion on, and spritz some edp on. It lasts well into the next day. The lotion I carry with me since my hands are just tore up by this cold. Ive added some argan oil to that lotion for better moisture. It’s a great buy, and love LOVE! Sofia knows her scents…I’m now looking at Tempting for spring & summer
medvedevsi – :
I was shopping for a gift for my sister, and ended up in Perfumania. After chatting with the girl at the sales counter, she recommended some scents. She first suggested Tempting, but it was so light, I couldn’t really smell it. Then she sprayed this, and I was sold. Instant love at first spritz. This is like LVEB but better. This is gorgeous! And I cannot believe this is a celebrity fragrance. It smells so rich and luxurious. I might have to buy this for myself as well! This is such a perfect balance of sweet, fruity, and floral. The coffee, amberwood, and praline, are definitely front and center here, and the choice of fruit and flowers make this smell high end and luxurious, and compliment the sweetness so well. So glad to have found this, I am in love with Love!
Sergei4 – :
This is a fun and flirty fragrance from Sofia. It’s fall now and I find myself reaching for this more in the daytime than night. However for a warm spring/summer night this would be perfect. Kinda puts me in the mind of Paris Hilton Can Can but more mature. Love this.
mongol505 – :
I mistook this for Sofia, ha ha ha awkward. Sofia has a lovely opening but after 3 hrs I smell like a dude. I cant wear Lancome’s LVEB and I hate with passion Flowerbomb as they both cause me nausea – cloying nightmares. Love’s powdery drydown also is very close to Can Can but Can Can is cloying, flat to me, I cant wear it makes me dizzy. Love is indeed love at first spray, opens up smelling like a slightly sour, sweet,yet fresh, not-so-dark Black Opium, the EDT, which is alittle crisp on me. The sweetness of the EDP is here too, less dark like I said. Good BO dupe but takes it on a whole other level,it brings something new. After 30mins Love completely changes on me and it smells like those little cupcake dolls I had when little, she had a lilac rubbery skirt which smelled addicting to me, nothing like cupcakes tho more like candied passionfruit & praline. The drydown gets very powdery on me. Its different, lighter than Can Can. The coffee on me stays pretty strong for 2+ hrs, but stays close to the skin -its rly good considering Idnt like the smell of actual coffee.
Im very picky with sweet scents. Love performs better than both Black Opiums on me(the EDP disappears in 2 hrs and the EDT smells so plastic on me even tho I like it). Love makes me feel feminine and puts me in a good mood, it feels like walking on pink clouds in a white fuzzy sweater lol, thats the image I have. Sensual and intimate perfume as well. The mist has the colors that suit the fragrance, and its quite strong for a mist. Im not someone who can wear very powdery perfumes like LVEB, but Love is so versatile and wearable, perfect for chilly weather. More mature than Can Can, no plastic smell (no nausea). The perfume’s bottle is elegant and feels great to the touch – sleek and majestic. I also love Tempting, id buy that next. These are high quality, they compete the big names and they win in my book.
ogk897speagoessenda – :
This is a very sweet syrupy scent with a little bit of tanginess. If inhaled too much, it can smell like cough syrup. This is a comfortable go-to scent when I don’t really have the mood to use any specific perfume.
krezy_robokop – :
I’ve been craving a coffee fragrance lately, so when I found this at Ross, I decided to give it a go. It’s a lovely scent, but unfortunately I don’t smell any coffee here. The opening is a burst of tangy, mouthwatering fruit… I mean, it’s really delicious. I keep smelling the fruit (passion fruit?) for the next several hours, but the tanginess softens and it becomes a creamy fruity-floral with a hint of sweetness from the praline and vanilla. After 7-8 hours it’s mostly a cozy vanilla skin scent, and I keep catching faint pleasant wafts from my wrists as I move. A coworker complimented me with an “Mmm I like your perfume” at the very end of the work day, so maybe it’s not so faint to others.
I really like Love; in fact I would go as far as saying I love Love… I just wish I got the coffee note. Love is a beautiful fragrance, and I sometimes crave that juiciness it has in abundance (seriously, it’s almost edible) but I can’t help being reminded of alot of other popular fruity-florals common in department stores these days (La Vie Est Belle comes to mind) when I wear it.
At the end of the day, Love is a winner overall. It has amazing silage and longevity, and is a crowd pleaser so would be safe to wear to work, as long as you don’t over spray. The bottle is one of the nicest in my collection; the faceted glass is impressively weighty and the deep purple ombre effect is gorgeous. And of course you can’t beat the price!
9/10
LurDer – :
I see the similaritie to Black Opium. But…Sofia Love at first spritz…killed me…Something in this just does not agree with me today. Of course, I will be re-testing it again on another day…my body chemistry changes at times…so I do give second and third chances to scents. I have done a side-by side of this and Black Opium…and I prefer Black Opium so far. I will say, the dry-down of Sophia Love gets better with little time.
It goes on powerful..then relaxs…if that makes sense.
I get a fruitier vibe from Sofia Love.
Will be doing a “second test” soon.
edit: Upon several wearings….I now really really like this scent !!!
Lasts a bit longer on me than Black Opium too.
boofefriemi – :
At first, this reminds me heavily of Paris Hilton’s Can Can. There really aren’t any similar notes, but there’s some kind of cotton candy sweetness that is reminiscent of that perfume. This is lacking the clementine scent. In a way, this perfume is a baby of Can Can and Britney Spears Private Show. Black Opium is like a cousin or something. It’s similar but that cotton candy note in the beginning makes me feel like it’s very different from Black Opium. The drydown, to my nose, is a creamy, sweet coffee with some florals and a light tartness in the background (passion fruit I’m guessing). It definitely dries down very differently from Can Can and is lacking the caramel from Private Show. I guess the praline is taking the caramel’s place in this. At first, I was upset that I had high expectations of this to find out it smelled exactly like another perfume I own (Can Can). I tried smelling this for the first time on a tissue and it didn’t dry down the way it does on skin, which mellows out the sweetness and amps up the smoky, yet soft, coffee notes. I like it! Wish it smelled more unique but seems to be of great quality and would probably just use this now in place of Private Show and Can Can, which I’m both thankfully running low on. 🙂 Nice perfume! Also, I’m not sure if this is just my nose today, but seems like it’s not very strong. I might need to just try it out again soon to really see.
SN1855 – :
So feminine and sexy. On my skin I don’t smell coffee though. I do love the praline wood vanilla on the Dryden. It gets better the more it settles in.
pookkk – :
For me Black opium is much sweeter and the coffee is a softer note, not really dupes. I would say they are in the same family but more cousins than siblings.
My favorite is Love, since I like my coffee note strong and aromatic. With a touch of vanilla. The sweetness is definitely there but it’s tamed by the bitterness of the strong coffee. As far as longevity. Black opium last all day for me, but it can become cloying after a while, Love lasts about 6 hours on me. But I happily reapply since the opening is my favorite part. I’m not a megafan of Sofia Vergara, but her perfumes have become some of my favorites.
black_angel64 – :
I have both Love and Black Opium, and while I certainly see the similarities between the two, I don’t think Love is a dupe for Black Opium. The coffee note in both is prominent, and the vanilla in both is sweet and sugary. But Black Opium is smoother, where Love’s coffee note remains a bit bitter. Black Opium is better blended, whereas I can much more easily tease out individual notes in Love. Black Opium is like a vanilla latte from your favorite gourmet coffee house, with real vanilla and an extra shot of espresso – well blended, warm, sweet, but with a kick. Love is french vanilla coffee from the gas station. It tastes fine, but it’s been sitting on the burner for just a bit too long, and the vanilla flavoring is just a touch too sweet.
This isn’t to say I dislike Love – I like it a lot. I just like Black Opium more, and, though they share similar notes, I don’t think they’re dupes for each other.
clewSirlUsess – :
I bought this recently in Hawaii for about $16 for 100ml and wow I love it,it’s like coffee and candy after an initial burst of a mandarin, licorice and candy top note (on me anyway)it lasts a good few hours and is such a bargain, the bottle is beautiful too,the lid isn’t that great at clicking shut but that’s ok.LOVE this fragrance
kengo1 – :
This is now my precious. It’s divine. The perfect blend of sweetness, the right amount of citrus, and tropical florals with the depth that the base notes bring combined with being long lasting. I don’t get coffee from it. The fact that coffee is listed on its notes but in the description it says Colombian coffee blossom is confusing. Is it supposed to smell like coffee or a tropical flower? Personally, I get tropical flower. I cannot stop smelling my wrist or inner elbow when I wear this. It’s at its best and absolutely blooms in warmer weather. It will carry on a breeze and get compliments. At about $20 on Amazon it’s a steal. I will definitely repurchase.
I also have Sofia which IMO is like Coco Mad EDT but so much better. And I have Tempting which I love. Slightly warm pineapple – not body spray pineapple. So far I love Sofia Vergara’s fragrances.
fil32 – :
It’s my new favourite for the days I want to smell floral, girly and sweet. I don’t know the smells of the flowers listed in its description (they don’t grow in temperate climate zone), so to me, it smells a bit like lily of the valley, with a hint of caramel, lilac, and soap. I cannot detect any coffee, but I guess it’s that rich warm smell that I called caramel.
passadelikilsafa – :
Im doing this review based on the body mist. I smell on my skin the amber,vanilla,floral and of course the rich Colombian coffee. This fragrance is warm and sexy,I would expect nothing less from Sophia. This is a future purchase 😉
I found and purchased it this weekend♡Love,love,love
Ideseeata – :
Guys, I keep stumbling upon chameleon fragrances! Or maybe that’s just my thought process on a drydown in a fragrance. Either way, I have to admit that maybe i’m not as refined as many of you are with olfactory skills.
Anyway, I blind bought this today on a whim because of sheer curiosity (and because i’m shamelessly into celebrity fragrances with low price tags) I’m really glad I did buy it because it’s definitely affordable and I find it to be really great quality. The bottle is beautiful, and yes, it sort of does resemble the bottle of Stella by Stella McCartney but it’s not an exact dupe of the bottle. This bottle has a very weighty aspect, with nice thick and even cut glass. I have a 1 ounce bottle and it feels much heavier than you’d expect (which is a good thing and the gradient effect on the bottle is perfectly done)
The scent in which this beautiful gem of a bottle holds is very lovely indeed and that’s without having ever smelled Black Opium.
Now as to why I call this a ‘chameleon’ fragrance is because it ends up in a COMPLETELY different composition from where it started. When I first spray this, I smell a fresh and musky scent with some interesting nuances such as the orris root and passion fruit. But give this about 30 minutes and you have a completely different fragrance. It becomes sweet and powdery with a very feminine edge. I love the initial spray and dry down equally! But the only concern is that to me, this is not really a coffee fragrance. I don’t really get a coffee note at all, which is ok with me because I wasn’t really betting on this being something that I liked anyway.
Who is this fragrance for? Well, I wouldn’t say that this is too sweet for any age group because why do we have those ‘rules’ anyway? I think this is for someone who really enjoys a high quality gourmand for a great price.
borodah – :
Clone for YSL Black Opium but better staying power. Love this coffee dream.
visors081 – :
Black opium who? Kidding. Sort of. This really gets rid of my want and need for black opium though.
I doubt it was meant to be a dupe at all, Its just a very similar fragrance for a much nicer pricetag. Love Sofia has a more powerful coffee note to it though, in my opinion. Making it a bit less sweet, more edgy.
Overall im really impressed with Sofia Vergaras perfumes, she seems to have done an amazing job.
gnn417Bessinepome – :
This is a long wearing perfume that smells really good; however, to me, it smells like Dr. Pepper / Paris Hilton Can Can. If wanting a sexy, coffee-vanilla smell, I think Black Opium perfume is worth it; and guys really like it!
Tolotralleyf – :
Lovely black berry juice,sexy. Love coffee and cream notes.
On clearance at walmart.
viorel – :
I bought this hoping it would be suitable temporary replacement for YSL Black opium and I was disappointed to find out that this is not anything like it. I can beparely sense the coffee note in it and it is only vaguely the same as the note in YSL BO. I find this scent way more fruity than gourmand and it is something I have smelled before, I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I had to get on here I find out that this is very similar to Paris Hilton can can but just softer and with a very slight coffee note that you have to try to smell.
raMZes73.08 – :
I was afraid this would smell like I spilled a coffee dessert drink all over myself. Not at all! This one has me stunned with its quality and longevity. It does smell a little like La Vie est Belle with the heart of patchouli replaced by an ever so slightly bitter heart of…is that coffee? I put on a few sprays before bed last night and it lasted until the morning. I could probably count on one hand the celebrity perfumes that can do that. I’m impressed.
andrey1206 – :
This is so adorable. everything seems to be perfectly blended in this gorgerous stunning bottle. this bottle is absolutely amazing, good quality and maintains perfect in every detail.
The smell: vanilla and passionfruit, with a hint of coffee smell., the coffee smell just add some chocolate milky scent to the vanilla, not quite sweet, just in the best amount.
a little powdery, very close to your skin. i like it very much
this is definitely someting Gloria will try, or Haley. haha
dhz272elipseskism – :
Whew this stuff is strong!! Just got the body mist from Walmart. Smells just like diesel loverdose that I’m almost out of and they hiked the price up online. Yum.
Mezbu708elipseskism – :
I am so pleased that I tried this! I’ve been jonesing for a coffee/vanilla gourmand for a while now. While Black opium is obviously the first go-to, that involves a long drive into the city and spending a lot of money, neither of which are on My to-do list. After reading your reviews, I decided to test this if I ever have the opportunity. Well, I had that opportunity today.
First blast is fruit. The coffee quickly follows with florals and vanilla. Yes, it is sweet, but echoing the others, this is a more mature sweetness. I haven’t worn YSL BO in so long that I do not remember the nuances but Love definitely reminds me of what I remember.
As a comparison, I tried my daughter’s Britney Spears Private Show on one wrist and Love on the other. Love is much more intense, with many more subtle nuances. The coffee acts as a grounding and gives Love a slightly bitter edge; it keeps it from going too cloying or too sweet. PS is quite nice although on my skin, it leans more toward a floral vanilla cake, with no coffee or any additional notes.
The drydown of Love is complex, definitely getting praline and coffee with some musk. Very dark drydown. I’m so surprised at the complexity! This is quite literally sold for a fraction of what it smells like.
andrei280994 – :
Now this is celebrity fragrance done right, but I fear it may not get the following it deserves now that the celebrity fragrance trend is off the boil. Like many on here, I really wanted to get into the coffee note in Black Opium until I realized that it’s barely detectable. Not so with this, it’s right there in your nose, all sweet and rich, with a vanilla, musky, berry base that supports it in all the right ways.
The bottle has also copped a bit of flack for bring a rip off of the Stella. It does look that way in pictures, but in real life its got an American elegance about it while Stella has a bit more Brit designer cool. It’s also very heavy and feels more expensive than it is.
I don’t get crazy longevity from this. Lasts about 4-5 hours on me. I’ve also noticed it has the DNA of Jessica Simpson’s Fancy, which is no surprise as they both come from Parlux. If you liked Fancy a few years ago but grew out of it then check this out because it’s Fancy all grown up. Also a good unisex choice if you’re a guy partial to sweet fragrances and love the smell of coffee.
Just even writing this makes me want to give myself a spritz. It’s that good.
DAMIRWANDERER – :
This is very similar to many other fragrances out there… It’s as if Lancôme LVEB had a baby with VS Dark Angel and YSL’s Black Opium & Tresor La Nuits DNA makes its way in there too as the grandparents. Ya know what though? IT WORKS. It’s a really sweet, pretty, feminine fragrance. It’s moderate in silage unlike LVEB and La Nuit which will knock you out with their intensity. But it’s just a really great gourmand! I think it would be an excellent, more affordable alternative to any one of the aforementioned perfumes for someone who wants one of those but doesn’t want to pay that much. Because its a really great, high quality gourmand that really does remind me of all those fragrances at different points in its evolution on my skin. It’s really, really sweet! You’ve gotta love gourmands!
I don’t really see it as a “dupe” for anything. It does manage to stand on its own two feet. BUT, I could definitely see this working for someone who wants to satisfy their sweet-tooth without spending a fortune!
Edit: Didn’t work for me… TOO sweet. I put it in a Giveaway I hosted here a few months back. It’s gone off to a new home.
DoollagOp – :
Sofia is sweet,but it’s tempered by the orchard,coffee and passion fruit, which allows it to be a mature scent,and not childishly sweet.
Love is classy and affordable,and full-bottle worthy.
eveg666 – :
This was a blind buy for me. One that i won’t regret. It’s like a comforting hug.
To me it smells like hot Jam sponge and vanilla custard. Just the kind of thing to make you feel happy on a cold winters eve.
lelikp2008 – :
Very lovely. I agree it smells very similar to PH Can Can but a lot less synthetic. The coffee and praline give it more depth than Can Can. I can also see this one being very cloying. Best for colder weather. A lot of good here. I can see myself wearing this a lot when autumn comes around.
liettebub – :
Sweet and cloying. Love is a very sugary, cotton candy sweet scent that smells exactly like Paris Hilton Can Can. I’m a really big fan of her first fragrance and not a huge fan of this one. The fact that it is such a cotton candy sweet smell doesn’t allow for much depth. I wish I could pick up some other notes in this fragrance. I think Love is only really suitable for a cold weather night and needs to be sprayed in moderation because it is very very very strong and last forever on the skin.
ProdumanY – :
It’s been awhile since I wore Black Opium but I clearly remember the scent and I loved it but the lasting power left a lot to be desired. I definitly catch that sweet coffee B.O similarity here, I actually think this scent is a little more interesting with the passion fruit top notes it adds an almost tropical vibe and the praline is delicious. I can’t wait to see how this one develops on my skin but the silage is already great and from all I have heard the longevity is awesome too.
5018225 – :
The more i wear this the more i love it. Its truely lovely just like her first fragrance. Lasts well and sme