Paris Hilton probably needs no introduction. Even I know who she is, and I live under a rock and have to google many of the celebrities who release fragrances. What she is famous for, exactly, escapes me, but she is rich and famous and has released two fragrances; in 2006 she will roll out a new line of color cosmetics, and I believe there are watches & handbags in the works as well.
Her first fragrance, Paris Hilton, was created by perfumers Steve DeMercado and James Krivda, and released in late 2004. The notes are frozen apple, peach nectar, muguet, wet ozone, mimosa, freesia, night-blooming jasmine, tuberose, sandalwood, oakmoss, ylang-ylang, musk and pheromones. It starts with very sweet fruit and a fresh ozonic note. I don't usually care for ozone in fragrance, but in this case it helps to tone down the the frozen apple and peach nectar and so I found it a welcome arrival.
It dries down into a sheer mixed floral, very fresh and light and girly. It is sweet, but once it calms it is not nearly as sweet as I expected — it is nothing like, say, the Escada summer limited editions. As is often the case with celebrity perfumes, my expectations were low enough that I was pleasantly surprised. It is pretty, and perfectly wearable. It isn't particularly interesting, mind you, and it isn't something I would buy, but it isn't at all the tasteless concoction that it could have been.
Just Me was released in late 2005. The notes include red berries, bergamot, pink peppercorns, violet, lily of the valley, iris, freesia, white rose, ylang ylang, vanilla, sandalwood, blonde woods and skin musk. It starts out a tad sharp, with very peppery bergamot and only the lightest hint of the red berry, but quickly calms into a sweet floral with heavy woody-musky undertones.
My guess is that Just Me is meant to be the sexy follow-up to Paris Hilton, just as Britney Spears Fantasy was meant to be the "grownup" sequel to Curious. Just Me is sweeter and heavier than the first perfume; the far dry down is mostly musk with slight hints of vanilla and woods. It smells like it is geared towards a somewhat more sophisticated audience — it is neither fresh nor girly — but I found it considerably less appealing.
Both fragrances are sold in 50 and 100 ml bottles of Eau de Parfum. They are widely available at the online discounters. It is possible to find the smaller bottles for around $25, thereby qualifying for the Cheap Thrills category (which has been woefully neglected around here lately).
More celebrity perfumes: Carlos Santana for women, J Lo Glow, Sean John Unforgivable
Tomorrow: Frederic Malle Carnal Flower
Frozen apple *and* wet ozone all in one scent. I am not trying this one, no way 🙂
Looking forward to your Carnal Flower review, I am sure you liked it. Probably a lot, being an evil twin and all 🙂
These descriptions crack me up, M. The apple is pretty much your regular old apple. It isn't a bad scent, really, but I'm sure you aren't going to buy it either.
I do like CF a lot, but it has not displaced my favorite tuberose scents by any means 🙂
I'm a little sad that the fragrances weren't gutsier. She's such a wonderful skank, the skankiest skank of skankdom, that I wanted her to come out with something that would be huge and unavoidable! Oh well. Maybe we'll get a Lindsay Lohan fragrance that will be all that and more. 😉
What *is* your fav tuberose? Is it Fracas? Last week I tried both Fracas and Jo Malone Tuberose, the latter stuck with me through several handwashings and a change of clothes, and that's just one spritz on one arm. Heh, I was at the theatre last week and they had a little “theatre etiquette” blurb inserted within the programme, I think it said, “please turn off your cell phone and for the love of God and your neighbor no tuberose fragrance.” I swear it said that. 🙂
LOL — neither of my favorite tuberoses, Fracas or Tubereuse Criminelle, should be worn in movie theatres, I agree.
T, you have to wonder if she had anything to do with the development at all (?) Just Me might have been the attempt at something huge & unavoidable, but it falls kind of flat. I will say that whatever synthetic musk they've used here lasts forever & a day.
Lindsay Lohan isn't as famous as PH, is she? I have heard the name, I know, but no idea who she is. PH is so ubiquitous that you can't escape her.
Just Me smells so much like the way the air does in Victoria's Secret around the shelves with their bath and body stuff. It's like an admixture of all the combined body sprays at once – not unpleasant, just sort of… “meh.” Like Tania, I'd kind of be more interested in something a little more skanktastic from her, too.
I remember Paris Hilton fragrance smelling like peaches and sweet flowers and Just Me smelling too heavy on raspberries. However, I did not have a chance to try Just Me on the skin, therefore it is interesting to read your take. I also wished she did something edgier, but the original fragrance is not bad at all, even if too much into the trend of sweet and girly.
I tried Fracas for the first time last year during a trip to the States. It was totally overwhelming but I LOVED it! It's a classic I'd like to add to my fragrance library one day.
The descriptions of the various notes in fragrance compositions make me shake my head (“frozen” apple? what the hell?) Lately I've been seeing the words “frozen” or “frosted” in fragrance descriptions alot.
Funny how companies all start using the same dopey buzz-words in their copy. A couple of years ago it was the word “living” as in “living cyclamen” or “living lotus-blossom”. Do the people marketing these fragrances honestly think this sounds impressive?
LOL — that is a good description of so many scents: “admixture of all the combined body sprays at once”.
LL is the adorable freckle-faced kid in the 1996 remake of The Parent Trap, she used to be so cute, what happened?
Nowsmellthis, you have to sacrifice yourself for humanity and your art. You must run post haste to the Neiman Marcus counter and be doused with something called “Truly Madly Deeply” by some guy called Stephen Burling …. something I can't read from the card. It was handed to me sprayed with this fragrance last week and I absent-mindedly just tucked it away in my purse; I was just sitting at my desk just now and thought: “Damn, something smells good!” and it's that wafting fragrance from the card. Give us a review of this, please?
D'oh! I'm an idiot, Robin did write something about this earlier in April:
https://freebox.it.com/blog/newfragrances/_archives/2005/4/16/587560.html%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Call me a tasteless frangrance manqué with bourgeoise taste, but I like it! 😀
Never saw that movie!
Have smelled Truly. Before I tried it, I was told it smelled exactly like something else, and at the time, I thought yes, it did…but now I can't remember what the something else was. Chanel Cristalle EdP, maybe? As I remember it was a pretty scent, at any rate, even if not unique, and the packaging is fabulous. Looking forward to “Madly” & “Deeply”, if they ever get released.
V, from what little I know of PH, I'd just as soon not have edgy from her — I'm happy with sweet & girly. Still hoping for edgy from Sarah Jessica Parker's next scent though. She seems to have good taste.
Fracas is gorgeous!
The “frozen” apple is probably supposed to smell different from regular apple, but if so, I missed it in this fragrance. The “living” thing is I think just a catch phrase for headspace technology, and agree, it sounds very silly!
I looooooove Paris Hilton. I love Just Me also, but it took MONTHS for it to grow on me. I wouldn't touch it. I finally tried it on, and I liked it. I see what yall mean by saying don't spray it on the paper 🙂
Paper test strips are helpful, especially when you want to try lots of things in one day, but nothing beats putting it on skin! Glad you found a favorite.
I'm with JLoveLamar… I loved the the first one and will keep it a staple amongst my favorites (as it was recommended to me by a man and compliments from them continue.) By the way… have you smelled Paris Hilton for men?? So delicious! It's not brut or strong(guys have their other products for that,) but a bit androgynous. I'm trying to decide if i want it for myself or my beau.
The second fragrance Just For Me isn't a favorite, but has grown on me.
Yes, I have that one also! I didn't like “Just Me” for men either until like a month ago, but I own the first one. 🙂
Personally i didnt like this perfume because it smelt o strong it kinda burned my nostrils.
The classic Paris Hilton scent is so nice. Here in germany it is very famous, nearly all people who smells it like it. It is fruity, floral and fresh (and very long lasting). I love it 🙂
Here in germany some people say it smells pink : D
I think it smells pink no matter where you are 🙂
Neither are as sweet as you would expect from a celeb perfume to be honest. As someone who always smells the new “celeb” fragrances these are surprisingly sophisticated. Id say anyone between 15-30 could wear them. I have them both. The original kind of reminds me of when you walk past girls who smoke and spray lots of perfume to cover it up, theres a definite “smoke” smell to it…although its not that unpleasant…kind of like spicy canned fruit. Just me I prefer. Its more floral than fruit and it gets better the longer you wear it on your skin. I always get compliments when I wear it, even from older people…so id say if it didnt have the paris tag attached anyone would be able to wear it.