Estee Lauder Pleasures Bloom

Reading Angela's review of Estee Lauder Pleasures Bloom on NST yesterday I kept nodding in agreement:

It’s a drinkable, refreshing potion, like a sipped glass of chilled pink zinfandel from a box on the patio at a baby shower. It doesn’t offend and it definitely refreshes. While it cuts the heat and takes the edge off those irritating baby games, it also doesn’t inspire me to ask for a second glass.
...
Although I decided I don’t need a bottle of Pleasures Bloom, it would make an easy gift for the aunt you don’t know well. Almost everyone would like Pleasures Bloom even if no one loves it.

Yes. Exactly.

A kind SA at Ulta gave me a couple of samples the day my local store got Pleasures Bloom and I admit I enjoyed wearing it. Except for the little problem of getting a piercing headache every time. Which is really unfortunate, because Pleasures Bloom is a rather well-made fruity floral that should be fun and easy to wear. While I'm not much of an Estee Lauder fan (Amber-Ylang Ylang is the only Lauder perfume I bought in 17 or 18 years), I always admired the way the company seems to respect its customers. The fragrances might not be my style but they're clearly made for people who enjoy wearing real perfume. In today's dumbed-down market this is a notable and commendable approach.

Pleasures Bloom smells like a summer fantasy of spending a mid-July day in a shabby chic garden, reading chic lit while lounging in a hammock. Reality is that I avoid the sun, suffer from allergies and get horrible insect bites as soon as I set foot in our yard. My idea of "outdoors" is 5th Avenue and having my phone and laptop around me at all times makes the lounging thing highly uncomfortable. Oh, and shabby chic style is as foreign to me as rococo.

Still, this pink smelling Lauder is fun, light enough to not go sour on skin even though it's loaded with roses, peony, lychee and other imaginary fruit and I've worn it on some seriously scorching days. It smelled good. It smelled nice. It was so decidedly not me I felt like crawling out of my skin even without the aforementioned headache.

I'd love to smell Pleasures Bloom on women around me. But I'm taking a shower and going to spray myself with Patou's 1000.

Estee Lauder Pleasures Bloom ($52, 1.7 oz EDP) is available at just about any department store under the sun.

Image: vintagefresh.co.uk