Strawberry Crush

Strawberry Crush sets out to smell like strawberry sweets rather than a bowl of fruit. The brand calls it strong, dominant and retro, and the opening bears that out: strawberry, sugar and cream arrive together, with berries and coconut adding a milkshake sweetness. Wearers who like it describe a lovely candy-shop strawberry that turns creamy and fruity as the musk and a note of date come forward. The middle and base are where opinion divides. The brand lists cassis, pink pepper, dates and honey in the heart over vanilla, musk, pastry and blackberry. Some wearers find the dry-down a pleasant candy vanilla. Others meet a sharp turn, whether leafy and earthy, a raspberry medicine, or a strawberry cough-syrup note, and several call the strawberry artificial. One reviewer finds it surprisingly balanced and not heavy. Performance reports are modest and varied. The brand says four to five hours on skin and longer on fabric, buyers say it stays on all day, and one reviewer found the part they liked lasted about half an hour. It reads as young and playful, and it suits casual spring and summer days better than anything formal. It is a scent that wears its synthetic, nostalgic sweetness openly, in the way of a fruit sweet or a strawberry-scented eraser. A sample first is sensible: reviewers describe it as not blind-buy safe. It is made by hand by Juliet Rose.