My roommate uses the Prada Candy L’Eau and she’s a little apprehensive of the day when she actually has to shell out for an actual bottle it since all she uses now are the little samples of it she’s been hoarding. She let me try a bit and I thought I’d finally update with another fragrance review since it’s been so long 😀
Wet, I get lychee in cooking sugar, and at first it’s actually quite similar to Hanae Mori Hanae Mori with its fruity and flowery bursts. It is, however, lighter and there’s a bit of violet that I get that I really like. It doesn’t open up my palate like Hanae Mori Hanae Mori does either. Fragrantica says the top notes are citrus-y, but I don’t really get that at all. It’s more like the citrus acts like the citrus when making apple cider; it doesn’t speak for itself, but it does add an important layer that lifts the entire scent.
As it dries down, I mostly smell cooking sugar (not quite the caramel listed on Fragrantica) and this faint, rubbery off-note, probably a side effect of the musk, that disappears fairly quickly. I get a lot of vanilla, and the scent really gets creamy and round.
After a few minutes, it smells like cooking sugar, vanilla, wildflowers and violets, and musk. It’s now much less fruity and much more mellow than the Hanae Mori Hanae Mori. It does actually make me feel a little hungry because it’s such a sweet scent. It’s been about an hour and I can still smell it on my wrists while I type even though I’m a good foot and a half away from my keyboard.
It’s very sweet and feminine, and a rather tasty scent, and if that appeals to you, definitely check it out. I can’t say it’s particularly sassy or flirty. I think it’s even a little too saccharine, without a lot of contrasting or sparky notes, for its name. Candy evokes a cute, innocent cheekiness for me; Prada Candy L’Eau was strong on the cute and innocent, lacking on the cheeky. Still, my roommate wears it contrastingly with moto jackets and acid washed pants and pulls it off splendidly!