Victoria’s Secret Seduction - Dark Orchid Eau de Parfum collection review:

        As nights grow longer and hearts grow warmer, the lighthearted scents of summer are shed for the deeper and sexier scents of fall. To this end, Victoria’s Secret has launched a new ‘Seduction’ collection of their most luxurious fragrances yet. The first fragrance in the Seduction line is Dark Orchid. Victoria's Secret Seduction - Dark Orchid is intended to be an alluring blend of midnight orchid, crushed plum, and oud wood.

          Today I have a fragrance review of Victoria's Secret Seduction - Dark Orchid, as well as a hint about a giveaway for readers that will be launching on the Cute and Mundane soon. I had the chance to try the Dark Orchid Eau de Parfum, Dark Orchid Fragrance Lotion, and Dark Orchid Fragrance Mist.

          Victoria’s Secret Seduction - Dark Orchid Eau de Parfum has a bottle that looks more beautiful in real life than in promotional photos. In person, you can appreciate the dimensionality and color. From afar, it appears to be a darkened purple, however up-close the interactive contrast between the blackened amethyst siding and the dark orchid pink glass of the bottle become apparent. The front of the bottle has a three dimensional inwardly dipped shape that is seemingly pinned in by a gold VS button. The cool golden capper contrasts nicely with the velvety purple colors of the bottle. I also happened to notice that when light passes through said bottle, a beautiful pattern is created. The dark shadow resembles the shape of an orchid, don't you think?

           Victoria's Secret Seduction - Dark Orchid is a warm floral wood with hints of plum. It is a long lasting heavier scent that I find more appropriate for evening, however it's not overly spicy or exotic.This fits in with what I've noticed from the general Victoria's Secret fragrance formulations. Their perfumes do have interesting formulations and notes, however they remain in a comfort zone that can appeal to many women.The intended notes in this fragrance  include:

Top Notes: Creme de Cassis, Blood Orange, Victoria Plum, Pineapple Blossom, Bergamot, Yuzu zest Middle Notes: Jasmine, Red Ginger Orchid, Dark Red Calla Lilies, Midnight Orchid, Muguet Petals Base Notes: Smooth Warm Amber, Oud Wood, Tonka Beans, Amber Crystals, Cashmere Woods, Creamy Musk.

           When I experience the scent, it opens with an ephemeral zing of pineapple and citrus zest. These bright fruits scents quickly disrobe to reveal a weighty fruity floral wood. A mellow fleshy plum lies at the center, and is wrapped in layers of warm florals. It's hard to piece apart the florals individually, but I can imagine it to be a Jasmine, Orchid, and Lily intertwined.The warm and slightly pungent florals transition nicely into a smooth spiciness that belies the Oud wood, amber, and musk. The wood makes a considerable contribution in this scent. There is a spicy resiny character as mentioned, however it transitions and finishes upon a clean and dry wood note. This wood is similar to, but more prominent than the wood base I remember from my Body by Victoria fragrance review (see here).

        The Victoria’s Secret Seduction - Dark Orchid collection includes a scented fragrance mist as well as a body lotion. The fragrance lotion is housed in black plastic with a flat golden topper. To dispense the lotion, one twists the topper leftward and a small central dispensing hole opens through which you can squeeze lotion. It helps to hold the bottle completely upside-down. The fragrance mist is also packaged more luxuriously than your typical body splash. It's housed in a tall cylindrical bottle with a similar amethyst to orchid gradient as seen in the Eau de Parfum. The cap has the same golden VS button, and when opened, you see a similar golden plateau as found in the body lotion. The Dark Orchid scent contribution in both the fragrance lotion and fragrance mist is quite evident and lasts well.

          Victoria’s Secret Seduction - Dark Orchid is a seductive warm floral, plum, and wood scent, great for the deepening cool of the current season. I was surprised at how pretty and easy to wear this scent was despite its noir inspirations. I feel most comfortable wearing this in the evening, however, those who prefer weighty perfumes during the daytime could pull this off as well. The Dark Orchid Eau De Parfum ($75 for 3.4oz, $55 for 1.7oz., $39 for 0.85oz.), Fragrance Mist ($25 for 8.4oz.) and Fragrance Lotion ($20 for 9.3oz.) are available in stores now. Thanks for reading! Have you tried Victoria’s Secret Seduction in Dark Orchid? What are your favorite warm or evening scents?

Love, Dovey.

P.S. If Victoria's Secret Seduction in Black Orchid sounds up your alley, stay tuned. There’s a very very very fragrant giveaway about to launch on Cute and Mundane.

Disclosure: This post contains product(s) sent to Cute and Mundane for consideration by PR. The ideas and opinions in this post are genuine and my own.