At the Perfume & Makeup Exhibition, I did something I’ve never done before, which was check out the fragrances at the Beidoun booth (shown in the background in this photo). Even though it was also a part of the Beidoun booth, the fragrance section had different staff members and even had their own separate cash register. They had a ton of cheap-y fragrances, including The Voice Eau de Toilette (which was actually shaped like a microphone lol so ugly) and a bunch of celebrity fragrances (only the very old and cheap ones).
Typically, I tend to look past celebrity fragrances (I’ll look at them without actually seeing them). In fact, years ago when everyone else was wearing Jennifer Lopez something or other, or raving about the latest Britney Spears flanker or even Taylor Swift fragrance, I was never the least bit interested (even though I live for gourmands). I’d still purchase them as gifts for friends and family, but for myself, never. However, I did have a short love affair with the now defunct Dessert Beauty range by Jessica Simpson (which I purchased in bulk from VaVaVoom at Marina Mall), purely for the fact that other than smelling delicious was also edible!
Since then, I haven’t had much interest in celebrity fragrances and the few that I did purchase, ended up being fails. Harajuku Lovers Lil’ Angel although adorable and smelled great, barely lasted on my skin (haulage here), and the same goes for Nicki Minaj Pink Friday (haulage here), whereas Lady Gaga Fame Black Fluid (haulage here) was an unfortunate “blind buy”. That’s why I now automatically dismiss celebrity fragrances. However, unlike Gucci Guilty Absolute Pour Femme (haulage here) and Givenchy Ange ou Demon (haulage here) and Elie Saab Girl of Now Shine (haulage here), which were total impulse purchases at the Perfume & Makeup Exhibition, I’d actually stepped out of the house with Reb’l Fleur by Rihanna in mind.
I’ve raved and raved about my beloved Tokyo Lotus & Apple Blossom Fine Fragrance Mist by none other than Bath & Body Works for years now (haulage here) and have been rationing savoring it ever since! On a whim, I typed Tokyo Lotus & Apple Blossom in the search bar on the open tab on my pc and added the word “similar”, but wasn’t really expecting much. However, I was surprised to find that a kind soul had likened it to Reb’l Fleur by Rihanna in her review on Amazon.com! Curiosity piqued, I set out to give it a sniff at the Beidoun booth and was delighted to find that both fragrances did in fact smell quite similar to each other! All credit goes to NatashaB (person who left the review), whoever you are and wherever you are, know that I love you!
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