Blind Buy: Britney Spears Believe

Adobe Firefly AI's interpretation of my request for still life with a bowl of tangerines
and guavas, with linden blossom and honeysuckle in a vase, and patchouli leaves on the tabletop.
It could be worse.

Britney Spears Believe

Guava, Tangerine, Lime Blossom, Honeysuckle, Patchouli, Praline, Amber

I had heard good things about Britney's fragrances, particularly Curious, but I imagined all of them smelled like a variation on Pink Sugar. I'm not saying that's a bad thing--I wore Pink Sugar for a minute when it came out. Eventually, however, the unrelenting sweetness got to be too much for me. Once I hit my 40s, I didn't really want to smell like cotton candy anymore. Then, while perusing Fragrancenet, I stumbled upon Believe, a lovely chartreuse juice in a somewhat fancy faceted bottle. I'm a sucker for lime green, so I went to Fragrantica to check out the notes and the reviews to make sure my $15 would be well-spent. And when I saw the first review, which is poorly spelled and horribly punctuated, I knew I'd like Believe. 

Its one of the most disapointing perfumes ive ever smelled, theres almost nothing here but strong overpowering patchouli. the notes seem very balanced when you read them off the list and then you smell the fragrance and theres just an overpowering patchouli with very little depth. Maybe its because i had heard good things or maybe because i enjoy every other britney perfume but this is the biggest perfume disappointment for me.

I'm not big on fruitchouli scents, or tropical fruity notes, but I thought I'd take a gamble on this one. Yes, mainly because it disappointed a Fragrantica user whose perfume wardrobe includes 36 fragrances, 21 of which have at least one shade of pink on the bottle and include scents by Avril Lavigne, Paris Hilton, Nicki Minaj, and for heaven's sake, Katie Price aka Jordan. Happily, Believe doesn't give off any kind of girly pink vibes. In fact, I feel it's more closely related to other bright scents with a soapy patchouli note like Dior Gris, which I also own and love. Though I can detect the tiniest bit of praline in the drydown, it doesn't make Believe sweet. Overall it's a citrussy patchouli with a light floralcy and a bit of effervescence that brings to mind one of my favorite candies when I was a kid--Zotz. Zotz were fruity hard candies filled with sherbet--a sweet powder containing baking soda that fizzes when it comes in contact with moisture. Zotz weren't easy to find, and they came in strips of four or five pieces that I had to share with my little brother, so they were a real treat. It's nice being an adult and knowing I can splash out on a big bag of assorted flavors and not have to share (though I will). And now I'm sharing the news of Believe with you. If you like Dior Gris, I think you'll like Believe. And you'll save hundreds. 

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Posted by theminx on Minxstinks