Cleopatra (For Her)

Cleopatra opens on a tart green apple and bergamot fizz lifted by pink pepper, an unapologetically loud entrance that reads more mainstream fruity than genuinely chypre. The rose-jasmine-peach heart is pleasant but one-dimensional next to the layered, earthy chypre bases it is clearly gesturing at, and the ylang-ylang never quite integrates. Alexandria markets this as an original creation rather than a direct clone, and the base of sandalwood, amber, white musk and styrax is competent but generic, giving a soft powdery-amber trail rather than a distinctive signature. Performance is where the extrait concentration earns its keep, with respectable projection for the first couple of hours before settling into skin-scent territory. As a budget fruity-chypre for daytime wear this does the job, but do not expect it to convincingly stand in for any specific luxury original since none is actually named.