Bon Vivant

[DifferentDances]

An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry.

Imp: Strawberry candy, of the very artificial hard kind.
Wet: Strawberry syrup and bubblegum.
Drydown: Strawberry syrup and something nastily sour. Hi, champagne note. I don't imagine you and I will get along.
Dry: Soured strawberry syrup.

My rating: 2/5. Not appallingly bad, but not my thing at all.

[euterpe414]

I agree with the "strawberry candy". This smells like those lifesavers strawberry and cream candies- I think the champagne mixed with the strawberry is making it turn a bit plastic on my skin Too bad, because it lasts quite a long and time and has good throw, lol. Ah well, I'm sure someone else will enjoy my imp of this!

[Lit Chick]

I was avoiding this, as fruit notes tend not to be very nice to me.

This was actually not bad at all. Not a winner due to chemistry, but not horrific.

 

It smells like the Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Sweet, plastic strawberries. But that's not bad - it's adorable. It's a very little girl scent, but better than the nasty stuff little girls acutally get to wear. Zero staying power on my skin though. *poof*

It brought back happy memories of playing in my bedroom as a little tyke. Awwww.

[madeleine]

I don't like the way alcoholic drinks smell, usually, but I love the idea of this scent. And I do love the tart/sweet strawberry flavor and fresh scent.

 

In the vial, it's primary strawberries (cooked, or fresh with sugar) with a champagne edge that makes it a bit grown up. Wet on me, it's EXTREME strawberries to begin with. As it dries, the champagne amps up. So it becomes a bit more adult and dangerous, but still with the sweet, sweet strawberries. It reminds me of a Bond girl, but not a dumb Bond girl - a cool Bond girl. (Not Pussy Galore, she's too hardcore for this.) I like it a lot, and enjoy it!, but I don't think I want a big nottle of it.

[purplemoonshoes]

Very artificial strawberry in the imp, but becomes pretty on the skin. Reminds me of B&BW's Strawberry Patch candle, but less green and more sweet. Sadly it absorbed right into my skin. I'll have to swap it.

[greymatter]

I'm allergic to strawberries and that fact alone means I have a severely bad reaction to anything of the strawberry persuasion, particularly artificial strawberry scent, for some reason. It nauseates me. The initial smell is all bubbly champagne, but the strawberry death isn't far behind. . . Oh well. Passed this on to a bubbly friend who loves the 'berry.

[TheOneTheyCallLuna]

I didn't want to try this one, I thought that champagne and strawberries, while being delicious in real life would be gross in a body scent. Boy, was I wrong! Now I am bummed because I only have a tiny sniffy a kind forumite sent to me, and I will definitely need a bottle's worth because this is that good! I don't know how this smells so effervescent in the imp??!!? It is bright, bubbly, fruity and sweet! Completely unique and wonderful. Fresh strawberries and expensive bubbly. The sparkling quality prevents it from totally resembling the Strawberry Shortcake brand bubble bath I had as a kid. The vague nostalgic connection is still there, but not enough to bother me, or prevent me from wearing this scent as an adult. I'll wear this on those occasions when I feel bubbly and girly...a must have for new year's!

Edited November 11, 2007 by TheOneTheyCallLuna

[aleciarivas]

Ooooo, this one wasn't even on my radar until I got it in a swap.... Strawberries and bubbly champagne!!! Sweet and everfescent... I can't think of ANYTHING else that could describe it!!! I can almost feel the bubbles tickling my nose!! Yummy!!!

[Veresti]

Bon Vivant

 

In the Bottle:

Champagne - and it really does smell like it actually should be bubbling. It blends really nicely with the strawberry. It is sweet, but not overly so, the strawberry mellows it out without losing the zing of the actual notes.

 

On the Skin:

Just as lovely on the skin, smells like it does in the bottle.

 

Two Hours Later:

The champagne note is fairly predominant over the strawberry suddenly, although it is still a wonderful scent.

 

Four Hours Later:

Gah, it keeps going, and going, and going, and going - I'm in heaven. I absolutely love this scent.

 

Verdict:

I really need to get a hold of a bottle of this ASAP.

[violetflower]

In the bottle: Very sweet strawberries!

 

Wet on my skin: Bright and bubbly strawberries, thats the champagne influence?

 

Dry: Thankfully the champagne note disappears, and I am left with the very sweet strawberry scent! I adore sweet blends, and this is one of them!

[Iceblink]

Sweet sweet strawberry when wet. Then the champagne starts bubbling away under the strawberry for a very perky effect--this doesn't go all strawberry wine on me like Mania does, though, it stays very champagne-y. Nice and light and happy! I've heard this gets even better as it ages so I may hide this imp away for a few months.

[AEris]

This smells like Arbor Mist or something.

 

It's nice in its own right, but the champagne note is a little too realistic. I feel like I spilled some bubbly on me, and I'm eating a strawberry candy.

 

If you want strawberries and champagne, look no further. In my opinion, though, that whole idea sounds a lot more romantic than it smells! I will admit that it smells less icky to me after it dries down for a few minutes, but personally, this blend isn't making friends with me. (Maybe it's because I had Victoria's Secret Strawberries and Champagne in my bathroom for...how shall I put this...poop spray. I have to assume that factors in to my impression!)

 

2 out of 5

[Chapanis]

Bon Vivant

I received this as a frimp from the lab, but it was on my "to try" list.

 

In the imp: sweet strawberry candy, yum!

 

Wet on skin: Even sweeter strawberry candy with cheap champagne.

 

Dry on skin: Sweet strawberry candies and cheap champagne. Too sweet for me, and I like sweet foody scents.

[hkhm]

imp: lightly boozy fruit. not exactly strawberry though...

 

wet: urgh! what just happened here?! this went from light and sweet to ick as soon as it touched my skin!

 

dry: this just smells sour and awful. like someone poured cleaning agents all over some rotten fruit and let it congeal in the fridge.

 

get it off me!

Edited January 5, 2008 by hkhm

[CrazyPretzel]

Damn internet ate my review! I'll try again...

 

Spot-on strawberry: makes me think of rich, gooey strawberry shortcake topping more than fresh-cut strawberries. The champagne is light and cheerful, not sour or 'I-just-spilled-my-drink' intense. Sweet, light, and fruity. Fans of Bordello might like this one.

[YoakeNoKami]

Imp: Champagne? LOL Champangne and this teensy faint hit of strawberry

 

On: Still champagne, but with a fuller strawberry note. The champagne does smell bubbly!

 

Drydown: Oooh, this one's a keeper. Champagne with fresh, ice cold strawberries and sugar. It's quite light and still bubbly too. It lasts okay on me--most of the day, in fact, though it's strawberry-sugar at the tail end of the day.

[bizarrogirl]

This was a frimp, and I didn't know what it was supposed to smell like. This was one of the few unexpected frimps where I was able to totally nail the notes in it. At first dab, I went, "Oh, strawberries!" At the second, I said, "Oh ... is that champagne?"

 

It's very light and playful. The throw is not very strong, and it doesn't last very long on me. I haven't had another one this light that wasn't a floral. The sweet is not overpowering in this one, for me.

 

It wouldn't be something I would wear regularly, but it would be great for a lazy summer afternoon. It's very different from most of the scents I have. It's a very simple, straightforward and somehow unpretentious blend.

[spelmermaid]

Yummy!

 

It smells like YSL's Yvresse perfume, but more boozy as far as I can remember.

 

When I wore this in a scent locket - the scent tends to turn 'stale' or too 'sour' by the end of the day.

However, when worn on the skin it mellows out nicely. I will be getting a bottle of this.

Edited January 14, 2008 by spelmermaid

[alicia_stardust]

This is a pretty straight-forward scent: there is white, bubbly, effervescent champagne and a pink-hued sweet strawberry. This is very decadent without being too "rich" and I find it feminine and innocent.

[Honeygirl]

Bottle: Champagne

 

Wet: Champagne and Strawberry, which always makes me think of Pretty Woman and Victoria's Secret lotion, lol!

 

Drydown: I think this scent is a little to 'young' for me, despite being a boozy note. I like it, but don't love it!

3.0 outta 5

[azurelunatic]

Now that I know the strawberry's there, I can smell it. But my circle of friends smelled it and immediately thought of a smoky, incense-filled coffee shop we visit. It smells exactly like a night in there, except a little less heavy on the tobacco. They can't stand it as a perfume. I like it.

[ymmat]

This is lovely. In the bottle, it smells exactly like the description. I can smell fresh strawberries and bubbly champagne - elegant, romantic, gorgeous.

 

On my skin, it headed immediately to cheap perfume; it was intense enough and foul enough that I nearly washed it off, but within a minute or so, it settled down.

 

Dry, it became a very light, elegant scent with barely there strawberries and just a hint of champagne. I really think the best word to describe it is 'elegant.'

 

I really like it. It absolutely fits the very light scent I wanted to offset all the darker ones I love so much.

 

[vintagedlust]

In the Bottle: The Champagne REALLY comes out in this one. It smells "sparkly"? That's the best way I can explain it. The strawberry is there but barely.

 

On the Skin: Ahh there's the Strawberry! It amps up a bit and now balances out the Champagne note.

 

Overall: 3.5/5

[ImperatrixMundi]

Bon Vivant reminded me of Lushs Rock Star soap without the vanilla. The champagne and strawberry notes dont work for me, I always get a rotten and sour smell from them. Cant have everything in life...

[Aldercy]

I'm the newest of BPAL newbies... and I just got Bon Vivant as a free imp (frimp? is that what we call those?) with my first order. I'm not even close to a perfume afficionado (honestly, this is my first real foray into really and seriously wearing it) and I have a cold, so you might want to take my opinion with a grain of salt, heh.

 

In the vial, it smells very sweet to me, which scared me a bit. The strawberry scent is really striking, but unlike what many people have said so far, I don't think it smelled entirely real. Not sugary-lollipop artificial or anything, but more like the fruitiness you might find in a soap or lotion-- nice but doesn't smell edible. Smells rather... pink.

 

Whenever I would catch a whiff of it on myself while out today, I wasn't particularly enchanted with it. It seemed actually rather generic (which was surprising because I thought it was pretty distinctive in the imp) and even a little old-lady-ish. However, if I actually smell my skin, it's much much better: airier and brighter... I'm probably getting some of the champagne notes.

 

Not something I'm going to buy or even wear very often, but it has its merits. Just not to my personal taste, I think. : )