Bon Vivant

[LadyLuckDoubt]

An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry.

In the Bottle
Sparkly champagne and berries of some description, and very very sweet. It smells like a roll-on perfume I bought maybe ten years ago-- not bad, but not what I was expecting.

On Me
It's unfortunately turned into the worst of both worlds. I'm not a white drinker, and maybe that's why it doesn't like me...? The champagne note has soured, smelling like cheap house white, and the strawberries have gone sickly sweet. It's acrid and really unpleasant on me. It lasts awhile, though-- either that or I'm just really conscious of it because it doesn't agree with my chemistry.


It's a shame, because it really does sound delicious from the description.

[fairnymph]

In the bottle: Tart, fruity, sparkling strawberry and champagne grapes. Not overwhelmingly sweet.

 

Wet: Effervescent, clean, fresh fruit. The strawberry note makes me think of wild strawberries - it's tarter and more interesting than conventional. Not artificial or cloying. Faint floral note.

 

Dry: It is a bit candy-ish, in sour way - like Sweet Tarts, but not *quite* so foody. I suspect the flower note, which has amped, is rose - it adds a delicate feminine touch.

 

Summary: Powdery florals (rose, and maybe violet), tart wild strawberries, sparkling fresh champagne. Surprisingly pleasant. Good throw and lasting power.

 

Too powdery and sweet for me, though.

[DARKBEAUTY28]

This scent is very strawberry and champagne...but not as cloying as the VS Strawberries & Champagne. Bon Vivant is sweeter and lighter. It almost has a strawberry lemonade smell to it. I really like this one. It is great for spring or summer or even anytime when you need some mood uplifting. I'm glad I have a 5ml on hand!

[prrrplegrrrl]

In the bottle: Hee! Champagne and strawberry! Reminds me a little of Strawberry Shortcake things that I had when I was wee.

 

On me: Ooh, very fruity! It's not something I'll wear everyday but it's cute and will be nice on a warm summer night (if I'm feeling adventurous around mosquitoes).

[siren6]

Bon Vivant is a more robust Fairywine: the berries are turned all the way up, with a fizzy bright champagne sparking around them. A great apéritif for a hot day!*

 

* Note: not for actual consumption!

Edited May 11, 2008 by siren6

[XShear]

Somehow, the champagne doesn't agree with my skin. But, ah ... how lovely is the dry down!! Sweet, sweet strawberries!! But, I need a perfume that moves me from wet to dry, and sadly, this isn't it.

Edited November 21, 2013 by Becca

[thelaurenator]

This scent smells a LOT like sickly sweet champagne-- or maybe just sparkling juice-- with overripe strawberries and sugar. It smells that way in the bottle, wet, dry, and even as it fades it just smells like cheap champagne with LOADS of sugar added. I'm thinking Andre Strawberry, that $5 sparkling wine that tastes like strawberries.

 

It's kind of a cute perfume, great for people who are afraid of more sophisticated scents, but you'd have to be 15 to pull this off without seeming delusional and tasteless. Overall, not one of my favorites. If the champagne were more alcoholic, maybe it would work better.

[Indigo78]

Bon Vivant is dry, dry, dry champagne with fresh Strawberry garnish. Really, there isn't much sweetness here - at least not to my nose oron my skin.

 

If you like sweet blends, I think this could be heavenly layered with Sugar Moon or even Eat Me. Yeah...Champagne & Cake! If not, I think it's fine on it's own.

 

I love dry scents, and this is definitely dry - nearly tart but not quite. It has a super-long wearlength (for me, anyway...a few hours) and moderate throw.

[Countessa1014]

Hmm, undecided about this one. I like it, but I'm not sure it likes my skin. Reminds me a bit of bubble bath I used as a kid, but after a few hours the champagne smell definitely comes through. Not something I'd wear to work, but maybe out clubbing?

 

All in all, I don't think I'd buy a bigger bottle, but I'll hold onto the imp.

[lucyintheSkywithDemons]

Uhhh....

 

A wonderful forumite gave me her FULL 10 ml bottle of Bon Vivant... Thank you so much TmT..

 

Bon Vivant is gorgeous.

It´s dry champagne and sweet strawberries on skin - the description is SPOT ON

and - at least on me - this stays so true to the bottle and doesn´t change much.

 

I wear it to bed and it is so beautiful to fall asleep with this fizzy scent in my

nose...

 

Yay, love it !

[caffinatedangel]

Ordered in my first set of 6 imps ever. I had high hopes for a light "girly" strawberry scent. (girly for me, at least)

 

In the bottle: Perfection. Just what I want. strawberries, champagne (Which I adore in general), a slight tart-sweet.

 

Wet on skin: Sort of... empty. The notes are there, but there isn't a base dark note, which I find my skin tends to cling to and draw out. I'm scared what "dark" note my skin will find to grab onto. o.o Smells good, but scared.

 

Drying, stage one: There it is, the skin found something florally and powdery to cling to. It's not dark, exactly. But it's definately using it as a base. The strawberry notes are faint, and sort of apple-y to me.

 

Drying, stage two: the apple is morphing to strawberries and back again. Fruity in a light, almost watery, sense. But this powder my skin found is starting to bother me. It smells like baby powder. Fresh, clean, light baby powder or laundry. I don't like it, my sister does though and keeps sniffing near me. Personal preferance here, I guess.

 

Drying, stage three: Sister gives me a glare when I mention going to wash it off. So It's stayed on for a decent while (not over an hour, though). The strawberry has bloomed a bit, but still light and watery. I no longer think of apples and pond breezes. I do still smell dryer sheets (powdery baby powder something) and realize it smells "perfume-y". That must be the champagne. It is alcohol, afterall. and smells like a store bought spray-on because of the alcohol smell. It sort of... cloys at my nose. I hate baby powder with a passion, so I must have a biased view on this.

 

It started smelling like my grandmother's old house (which, as a kid, I thought was because of her pitbull sparkles who mauled everything and often was found with her nose in the babypowder. And my grandmother always had a bottle of wine open. -innocent cough-). So I skip over to my father (can you tell Im staying with rents for the summer? lol) and ask him if it does. He says it smells like her shampoo, White Shoulders.

 

So there you have it. Lasting drydown is White Shoulders shampoo.

 

Overall: Despite how negative I sound, it's actually a very refreshing scent. I think I may try my hand at layering with it, because my sister may cry if I try to trade it. The strawberry is fresh and well, refreshing. The laundry-sent is nice, but too powdery. It needs some under current to hold it together for me. Vanilla or something spicey. It'd be a whole new scent, but maybe then I wont mind this powder.

 

If you love baby powder (like my sister does o.o) or are completely neutral to the scent you may find this lovely.

 

As a side note, on my sister the strawberries peaked, and the powder was only slight. My skin is, apparently, musky and makes all my scents gain a deep musk to them. I feel like I'm oozing something. lol

 

Rating, 1-5:

3.5 ~ The strawberry and champagne notes that peak through are lovely, but the powder is too much. Has a decent throw, and on me is looking to last for a few hours at least.

 

ps: Snake oil is also "powdery" to me and I gag on it. If snake oil is a love for you, chances are the "powder" aspect of this scent wont be a bother.

Edited July 11, 2008 by CaffinatedAngel

[undream]

my initial impression was really exactly what i expected! bright, fizzy champagne and strawberry; just a very light, clear, sweet scent, playful and fun.

 

once applied, it nearly disappeared altogether to my nose, but everyone around me could smell it very well and thought it was beautiful. on the drydown, i could really only smell it if i whiffed up close to my skin, but i guess it wafts nicely for everyone else in vicinity of me.

 

after a while, it's keeping that same bubbly champagne and strawberry smell - even becoming a little spicy somehow? cinnamon maybe? which was a pleasant surprise - but the strawberry does go a little plasticy on me. strawberry notes do tend to do that on me, though, and i am still so happy that i got to try this one. (thank you, CaffinatedAngel!)

 

on to the next!

[carolinachiquita]

This is a very tart and fruity strawberry on me when I first put it on but it dries down to a really refreshing strawberry scent, I can't decide if it is a strawberry and then green smell or not. It's nice, but it's not a grabber for me!

[Suu4LC]

OMG just the IDEA of strawberry and champagne is enough to make my mouth water. I am really hoping this will be a hit on my skin!

 

In the imp this is powdery strawberry with a hint of champagne. Nice, but not quite what I was hoping for-the strawberry feels a bit artificial. Hopefully it will bloom on my skin.

 

Ooo-yes, I like this! It is a fun, youthful, bubbly sweet strawberry scent! Fun and simple and happy! For days when you wanna wear pink and be girly! Will definitely need to grab a bottle of this one day!

[lunaticana]

well, since I found out yesterday that I love a good boozyness in a scent (tried Juke Joint )

I already could have guessed that I would like this one to

and yes. it's very true!

it is real strawberry~champagne!

makes me wanna dance and put on a nice dress with my pink pumps..

(it also reminds me of Lush it's Strawberry Twin Tub but this is so much more strong and there for I love it better!)

[Dark Alice]

I am always amazed at how the Lab captures the scent of an object, or food in a 1ml imp of oil. Bon Vivant smells like a strawberry mimosa! (in the imp) Something I would love to drink, but not wear. Unfortunately the booze (champagne) note goes stale on me and makes me smell like I have been on a 3 day bender with cheap champagne and Delmonte strawberry fruit cocktail.

 

[megank4]

I too had Victoria's Secret Strawberries and Champagne when I was younger. I think I had the body powder, lotion, and body spray. Ah.. memories.

This smells like a slightly more grown-up version. I'll keep the imp, but I don't think I shall need a bottle.

[galahad]

In The Bottle

Winey fruit

 

On Application

I don't really get clear strawberry but there is fruit

 

Dry Down

Definitely a white wine, slightly fruity and not too sweet. I quite like the stale wine smell, like a bar after hours. Not bottle worthy but I may use up the imp.

 

Rating (0-5)

3.5

[obsidienne]

Bon Vivant

 

I got this as one of three BPAL intro scents from undream. I don’t think I can ever thank her enough for introducing me to the world of BPAL.

 

In the imp:

Quite simply: sweet ripe strawberries & a bubbly champagne!

 

Wet:

A lovely ripe strawberry smell – these are in no way the strawberries that make you think of a seventh grader’s perfume – with the champagne bubbling up underneath. The champagne is a teensy bit grapey, and there is maybe a tiny bit of citrus (which I may well be mistaking for something else). I think there’s a hint of sugar, or perhaps a floral note; could it be a light rose? I am honestly not sure! Overall, though, whatever the individual notes, it's hard to mistake this for anything other than strawberries & champagne.

 

It actually does have a vague boozy smell… which is perfect.

 

Drydown:

Gets a little sweeter on me, stays bubbly, and maintains the strawberries.

 

Dry:

The scent maintains itself and smells somewhat similar wet as dry, but of course it does change a little bit. I think that it matures and blends a little more overall. If that floral I'm smelling is rose, then I'm noticing it a bit more. I can still pick out the individual notes [that my nose can define, that is], whereas usually my body chemistry manoeuvers all but one or two notes into oblivion. So that's a nice change.

 

Throw:

Average to good.

 

Conclusion:

At first I didn’t really feel a lot of passion for Bon Vivant; I thought it smelled lovely, but… it was something I wanted to have only occasionally, as it didn’t speak to me at first. That said, first time I put on only the barest amount on a wrist and then proceeded into the backyard to garden, so it wasn’t really getting a chance to prove itself. I chose to send my imp back to undream so that she may swap it for something she really wanted, but before I did, I thought I’d give it one more chance.

 

A day of wearing it has changed my mind, and I now know this is a perfume that I most certainly want in a 5ml bottle, especially because I think it describes me pretty well. *G* Also, it has such a cheerful, carefree aura that I think it has really helped to keep me in a good mood all day, which is a boost I need at times… and I’m craving pink champagne like nobody’s business.

Edited October 3, 2008 by obsidienne

[ankhfangirl72]

Hmm, this is a strange one. It does have an effervescent feel to it and it's a happy, summery scent. However the strawberry keeps alternating between real, fresh strawberries and odd creamy strawberry sweets. I can't decide if I like it or not.

Edited October 9, 2008 by *Dani*

[LadyLuckless]

Heh, it's funny, like Obsidienne, I got my imp of Bon Vivant from the super-wonderful Undream! I wasn't expecting anything really from this, but as a hardcore lover of Arbor Mist strawberry white wine, I had to give it a shot. I'm sooo happy I did. It's...bubbly! Fun and bubbly! It's real, fresh sweet strawberries and effervescent champagne sparkling in the sun! I love it, I may actually want a bottle before Spring comes around. Champagne and strawberries, who knew!?

[greenranger]

Wet, this is ripe strawberries, sliced into just a little bit of champagne.

 

Drying, it becomes sweet champagne infused with a bit of strawberry for color.

 

It's still very nice, and wine scents do seem to like me. I'll keep the imp, but, so far, no bottle needed.

[themerrybaker]

Bon Vivant held a cork to my head and made me hum the Dave Matthews song Crash Into Me.

Sweet like candy? Yup.

DUI issues with champagne? Check.

 

A very happy scent, but sweet, sweet, sweet!!!

[cymbeline]

Swap test!

 

Smell alike: Frozen strawberries we put in the champagne as ice-cubes for birthdays and special occasions

 

Color impression: golden strawberry red

 

On me: God, smelled like champagne! I would even say: I smelled like a kir royal This blend is really well-done and true to its name

 

Wearing: No as a perfume but this fragrance was an interesting experience ^^

Edited November 24, 2008 by Cymbeline

[mommy2gabe]

On me this just did not work. At first it was nice but it dried a strong alcohol smell. It gave me a headache and stuck around for a long time even after I used rubbing alcohol and scrubbed my arm repeatedly.