Bon Vivant

[PeculiarHeroine]

An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry.

 

I'm more or less dressed up as a flapper today, so I thought a champagne infused scent would be just perfect for the whole look.

I don't get any strawberry from this. Just a slight sweetness around the edges of the scent. But I do get a lot of bubbles. Ginger ale levels of bubbles. In fact, there is a ginger ale feel (minus the scent of actual ginger) to this, rather than champagne.

But its not bad. It has a much longer stay than I would expect. I put it on at nine a.m. and its currently dinner time, and I still get whiffs of sparkles.

Its a silly little scent, fun and, well, bubbly.

[maudlinrose]

I just couldnt get into this. Champagne is a bit of a no no note for me, and BPAL's strawberry has never quite made an appearance on my skin. I am sad about this, but gave up on strawberries some time ago.

[TheresaRedSkull]

I had no idea that bon vivants were eating Skittles and drinking Sprite, but now that I know, I'll claim the mantle more often.

[renfair]

I got this scent as a frimp from the Lab. I'm glad they threw it my way, because the notes are exactly something I'd like!

First Sniff Impression: Oooh, a bit like ginger ale! Bubbly!

Wet in Vial: This is seriously mind-blowing. HOW do they make a perfume that actually bubbles in your nose like a fizzy drink? It's amazing! It's still a bit more like a good ginger ale than champagne, but it's probably the strawberry giving it that note.

Drying Down on Skin: I'm really in love with this scent already. I always really appreciate the ones that just completely take me by surprise. It's so exciting! The strawberry in this is very dry, like the champagne with a little shot of blush and a strawberry garnish is at a Ren Faire. It's like I can just picture one of those champagne glass towers they do then pour the champagne down so they all fill each other, like that but in the Victorian period or something. It's probably cause there's almost this weird very faint tea rose-type smell as well, that's so incredibly nice.

Dry on Skin: I'm forced to admit this did stay pretty much a solid ginger ale scent, but it didn't bother me at all. It's close enough to champagne to give me a happy, partying feeling wearing it. Sometimes it's really nice to have a scent that stays the same from wet in vial through completely dry, so you know what you're getting into that day!

Conclusion: I might make more notes here once I try two other champagne scents that are on their way to me, but I have to say I'm super impressed with the champagne note here, even though it leaned slightly ginger ale. I mean, I have no idea how they even make *either* of those scents, so I'm not going to complain it isn't 100% perfect! I thought this was an awesome scent.

[tauntonlake]

yummy. Strawberry-tinged Canada Dry ginger ale ...

[marilyn eyre]

Fizzy strawberry bubbles! I can actually smell the fizz!

[donkehpoo]

Wet: Champagne, just poured and still fizzing.

 

Dry: The fizz has disappeared, but the strawberry has come out. Strawberry champagne.

A nice, fun scent, but not one that I'm in love with.

 

If you're into champagne scents, definitely try this!

Edited June 16, 2018 by donkehpoo

[sterlingstein]

At first sniff in the imp, I was both immediately in love, and apprehensive.
Once on my skin I got what I called "Soapy Margaritas" which I liked.
Then someone described the scent as an exact duplicate of 7UP citrus soda. That's when I realized why I was apprehensive.

So my brain is doing a funny back and forth between Soapy Margarita and 7UP. I like it, it's fun and bubbly in a sudsy/soda kinda way c;

[doomsday_disco]

This is one I know I've tried before, but apparently I never reviewed it.

 

In the imp: Mostly champagne with a bit of strawberry.

 

On my skin: The champagne note is definitely the star here, followed by the strawberry. The strawberry note is stronger on me than it was in the imp, but it has nothing on the strength of the champagne. It's like a flute of champagne with some slices of strawberry thrown in.

 

Verdict: I'm not a big fan of strawberry, but fans of the Lab's fizzy champagne note and strawberry should enjoy this. I'll stick with Shade, with its wonderful pink grapefruit and champagne.

[Juliamon]

In the imp: champagne and a hint of strawberry.

 

Wet: A dry strawberry champagne. Not sweet enough to be ginger ale on me thankfully. The strawberry occasionally jumps out in front, but only for a moment and then it's back to pure fizziness.

 

Dry: The strawberries have mostly faded away, leaving only a slight sweetness in the champagne.

 

This has the biggest throw of anything I've tried, only settles down after two hours. Very cheerful and uplifting. I don't think I need more than an imp though.

[DryFrogPills]

Disclaimer: champagne and white wine notes go HORRIBLY wrong on me. This proved it.

 

In the imp: Fizzy strawberry booze!

 

Worn: For a few minutes, STRAWBERRY, in your face, not very real, but not super-fake either, odd as that seems. There's a hint of champagne behind it. And then, rapidly, it all goes wrong. The champagne promptly turns sour and chemical on my skin. It's not a note I like. It really isn't.

 

Long term: I had to scrub it.

 

Overall, avoid if you also have issues with booze-y or white wine type notes. I don't think this is a fault of it being a bad scent, but it's sure AWFUL with my skin chemistry.

[follis]

I have a bunch of aged imps that I never reviewed initially that I'm now returning to, to see if I like them now. This is an imp from 2012. 

 

Wet - Smells fizzy! Smells boozy, champagne like, and hint of strawberries. Quite sharp and strong. 

Dry - slightly less boozy, more strawberries. Very good throw and long wear. I would say this one aged well for me as I recall not initially liking it from the imp. 

[spookyumbrella]

Champagne fizziness with a wash of sweet berry. Very simple, bright and happy. Smells amazing in the heat, too.

[DrunkForestNymph]

Initially it smells like fruitier sprite- not a bad thing!

As its drying, so is the smell, moving from sprite to champagne. a sliver of strawberry but more citrus. It's a very clean scent. There's something very sweet and clean lurking that I can't quite figure out. It's maybe a little bit sunscreeny? Personally I kind of like that though. It's a very summer scent that makes me think of drinking poolside.

It fades pretty quickly into an aquatic, which works for me   

 

Edited April 11, 2019 by DrunkForestNymph

[Soupy Twist]

my beloved FIZZZZZZ! in the bottle. goes on as FIZZZZZZ! with some sweetness. Gorgeous. Dries to strawberry Pez. Which, all things considered, is not a bad scent.

[IntelligentPotato]

This starts off as very fizzy and sweetly fruity. Eventually it dries down to a soft strawberry sugar type of scent. There is a lot of throw on this one, and it's such a delight to wear.

[Laughing Seagull]

I was worried, initially, because my last experience with strawberry scents was Maenad, which ended up being so sweet that I can't stand to have it too close to my face.  This concern was completely unwarranted with Bon Vivant.

 

As others have mentioned, this gives the impression of ginger ale.  I like that.  Strawberry makes its move late in the game, but it doesn't ever become like the overwhelming candy scent in Maenad.  It becomes slightly more wine-like over time.

 

This one is very pleasing to my nose and appropriately celebratory, like a bottled New Years Eve party.  Bubbly and fun.  I don't have anything else like this and nothing goes funky with it, so it's a likely bottle purchase from me.

[bambi]

So BUBBLY. In the bottle and on my skin both I get very bubbly, sparkly champagne. There's a whiff of strawberry, but it devolves into a generally fruity, almost skittle-like scent. The bubbles stick around, and I think this would be perfect for New Years or a birthday party.

[supreme_c0rt]

Holy moly this is effervescent. It is immediately bracing and sinus-clearing, like champagne through a neti pot. I'm getting a wallop of eucalyptus, lemon, ginger and pine. Not getting much strawberry on the wet phase, just extremely fizzy ginger ale & pine-sol. Dry, it's all Skittles and ginger ale. Not strawberry specifically, just kind of a pink fruity fizzy smell. You could tell me it's grapefruit mimosa and I'd believe you. You could also tell me it's strawberry Pez mimosa and I'd believe you.

 

It's not really my cup of tea but man this is wildly accurate to the description. It's fun. It's like.... Cyndi Lauper fun. If you think you will like it, you will love it.

 

Edited January 21, 2021 by supreme_c0rt

[fairybites]

Bubbly sweet strawberry champagne. It's definitely stronger on the champagne note than strawberry in my case. It doesn't really smell like Skittles to me like other reviewers have mentioned, it's more of a strawberry Kool-Aid mix? So Kool-Aid champagne, basically! 

[bkwy.aesthetics]

What a bright and uplifting perfume! I received my frimp of this a few weeks before a wedding, and I knew immediately upon smelling this that it was going to be perfect for the occasion 💕

 

In Bottle: Very sparkly, bright champagne musk and fresh strawberries! This smells so real! The strawberry is in no way artificial, and the champagne musk smells somehow carbonated! It's like that first sniff of a freshly poured glass of rose champagne!

 

On Skin: The champagne loses a touch of sparkle and becomes more musky on my skin. It is still a very sweet, bright musk, but musk nonetheless. The strawberry is still present. Having this on my skin fills me with joy! Aromatherapy magic ✨

 

Dry Down: The strawberry has evaporated, leaving a soft, sweet, and dry musk reminiscent champagne. Very graceful fade.

 

Wear Time: 4-5hrs

 

Throw: Light/Medium (4-6in)

 

[torischroeder9]

In the imp: Sweet and fruity fizzy champagne. The strawberry is playing background to the champagne note here, but it's definitely a sweet sparkling wine. 

 

On my skin:

 

Wet, it's mostly champagne fizz -- and a full degree dryer than in the imp -- and then I get a note that's almost exactly like strawberry bubblegum. After a bit, the strength of that note fades, and it's fizzy champagne upfront again -- but now I do get a distinct Strawberry Bubbaliscious note near my skin. 

 

This one's not a morpher on me beyond the initial phase. This is a light scent, but it's one with a lot of throw (at least on me). I feel like this would have to be a springtime scent for me -- when it's warm enough for the air to give some distance to the scent molecules but cool enough that I don't need something grittier to cover up my sweat.  

[Freya778]

At the time of this review, my imp of Bon Vivant is about 10 years old so it is very aged. I do not know if that makes a difference for this particular scent, but it is possible my review might differ from reviews made by others of the new fresh scent because my imp is aged.

 

Bon Vivant is a scent that is very similar in the imp to the way all is on the skin. It is fresh, bright, bubbly, strong and very sweet but in a fresh way, if that makes sense. It is not candy sweet but fruity sweet.

 

Right off the bat you smell champagne and fresh strawberries, fizzy and carbonated, and it stays pretty much true to that all through wearing, though after several hours the champagne note gets less strong and eventually you are left with a sweet strawberry + something else scent on your skin, but that is usually only after 8+ hours of wearing this scent. I think there might als be a very light musk in there, like some other reviewers have said.

 

This scent has such a vibrant and happy mood and I love wearing this in the spring, and also in the summer. I also like to wear this on New Years Eve (because of the champagne note), but since I am using the last little bit from my imp today, I will be wearing something else this year.

 

It is a great party scent, birthdays, weddings, New Years Eve, etc.

 

Like all BPAL scents I feel this is great for all genders, nothing is masculine or feminine, it is whatever and however it makes you feel. In the same way all BPAL scents are also innocent and sensual at the same time because it depends on the wearers personality, mood and vibe. And it is suitable for all ages (most BPAL scents are in my opinion, perhaps only the ones with alcoholic notes and tobacco/smoke notes are not).

 

Even though this scent has alcoholic notes in it, I still think this scent is suitable even for the youngest of BPAL wearers (kids) because it feels so sweet and innocent. It has the smell and feel of the champagne but somehow that does not smell and feel alcoholic and too grown-up. So basically, wether you are 7 or 70, if you like sweet, fresh, fruity, happy scents, Bon Vivant might be the one for you.

 

I think this is probably the most bubbly and happy scent of BPAL that I have ever tried.

Edited October 22, 2021 by Freya778
Typo's and added some things

[labugsy]

Got this as a frimp and immediately upsized. Never something I would have picked for myself, love when the Lab does that! I love BPAL's champagne note, but honestly this doesn't quite smell like champagne to me...  it smells like Canada Dry ginger ale (that is to say, light on the ginger) with fresh strawberries. It's surprisingly dry and much less sweet than I would have expected. It smells fizzy in the most realistic way. Very happy and lively scent, immediately puts me in a good mood. 

[wenchie84]

I just purchased a 5ml bottle of Bon Vivant after having an imp for a least 12 yrs, if not more. The imp smells amazing, it's bubbly strawberry goodness and the champagne balances it very well. When I opened the new 5ml bottle just now I was disappointed I didn't get even the smallest hint of strawberry from the bottle. It smells like rancid perfume. Did they change the formula in the decade plus between my imp and my new bottle? Smells likely. I also noticed in Femdom, another scent that contains champagne notes, it smells like rancid perfume as well straight from the bottle. It must be the champagne overpowering the fruity notes. But it thankfully died down and let the fruit come through in Femdom, so fingers crossed it does the same with the strawberry notes in Bon Vivant.