Whenever I need some basic skincare or makeup, I usually go to the local perfumeries like Planet Parfum or Ici Paris XL. They carry the usual prestige brand suspects and are located on pretty much every corner in Brussels. As I get ready to leave with my purchases, a sales lady usually asks if I would like a spritz of perfume. I usually decline, but on one occasion I gamely decided to try her top choice. That’s how I met the new Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme and spent the rest of my day trying to scrub it off.
First, a bit of a back story. Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme has existed since 1992 as an aldehydic floral. Created by perfumers Jean-Pierre Mary and Martine Pallix (she also worked on Comme des Garcons Odeur 53), Pour Femme was the kind of high glamour fragrance with a whiff of the 1980s that you could still find in the early 1990s, and it made quite a statement.
Dramatic though it was, Pour Femme didn’t have much to appeal to the generation of perfume wearers who are used to sweeter, less assertive fragrances. Dolce & Gabbana rectified it by presenting a new version of Pour Femme–a fruity gourmand. Are you surprised?
While I never cared much for the original Pour Femme, it was at least memorable. The new version smells like an amalgam of everything at the mall–pink fruit cocktail, high-pitched florals, vanilla bubblegum and caramel. Dolce & Gabbana fashions are all about curves and sensuality, but this perfume is banal. It manages to smell creamy and sharp at once, and its sweetness gives me a tooth ache. There is a pretty floral motif peaking through the dense layers of cotton candy and sweet berries, but it stands no chance against the sharp woods and vanilla.
Ever since I encountered Pour Femme at the Planet Parfum, I’ve come across it many more times. It was one of the biggest launches last year, and it’s often featured as a benchmark for new fragrance ideas. This alone depresses me. I very much like Light Blue, but it’s hard for me to muster up any enthusiasm for Pour Femme, despite numerous attempts.
It’s loud and sweet, with an overwhelming presence that is hard to moderate even with light application. I can think of other fruity gourmand perfumes that aim for the same bubbly and coquettish presence and do a much better job–Badgley Mischka, Marc Jacobs Daisy, Guerlain Shalimar Parfum Initial, or Gucci Guilty.
A lesson learned–these days I politely decline the sales associates’ offers to be perfumed.
Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme 1992 version
Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme (1992) includes notes of petitgrain, tangerine, freesia, neroli, ivy leaves, basil, aldehydes, carnarion, jasmine, lily of the valley, marigold, orange blossom rose, coriander, sandalwood, musk, tonka bean, vanilla. Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme (2012) features green mandarin, neroli, raspberry, jasmine, orange blossom, marshmallow, sandalwood, heliotrope, and vanilla. Available from the Dolce & Gabbana counters (the 1992 version is still sold on Ebay at reasonable prices).
95 Comments
Lucas: Hi Victoria!
I’m not surprised you didn’t like it. I never fancied Dolce & Gabbana fragrances and their latest doings are not any better. January 14, 2013 at 7:13am
Victoria: I think that many of their fragrances are quite good, including the original Pour Femme. But I didn’t like this one. January 14, 2013 at 3:39pm
solanace: This is the kind of perfume that turned me off for many years, until I discovered perfume blogs, niche brands and decants. January 14, 2013 at 8:05am
Anna: Ditto! You said it all. I was in the same boat for years. January 14, 2013 at 9:06am
Victoria: I know what you mean. I have a feeling that when many people say that they dislike perfume, they are reacting to a particular type of fragrance. January 14, 2013 at 3:41pm
Anna: I agree with solanace. I only wanted to add that I like some mainstream gourmands like Daisy and La Petite Robe Noire. Pour Femme smelled like something I can find at Victoria’s Secret. January 14, 2013 at 9:10am
Victoria: I agree with you! La Petite Robe Noire and Daisy are heads and shoulders above the new Pour Femme. January 14, 2013 at 3:41pm
Ines: I for one really like the 1992 version :-). January 14, 2013 at 9:11am
sara: i like it too. i also like d&g perfume that came in a leopard print bottle. does anyone remember it? January 14, 2013 at 9:17am
Lynley: Sara, that was called BY. I’d totally forgotten about it but met a girl at a party about a month ago who was wearing it. It’s nicer than I remember! I also really liked Sicily, and the red-capped one was my party perfume many years ago. I must’ve partied a lot as it’s one of only a couple of frags I’ve emptied and bought a second bottle of… But there were waaay fewer in my collection then! And as good a history as we had together I doubt I’d ever be able to wear it again. January 14, 2013 at 10:01am
sara: thank you! that’s it, it was by d&g. i used up 2 bottles of it in my party days. 🙂 i haven’t smelled it since and i probably moved on. but i remember i loved it and i got lots of compliments on it. January 14, 2013 at 10:15am
Barbara: Sicily was my favorite D&G. I loved the ad with Monica Belucci as a Sicilian widow. January 14, 2013 at 2:10pm
Victoria: That ad was so striking, and of course, Monica is stunning. January 14, 2013 at 4:01pm
kim: The leopard print bottle is called By, and they don’t make it anymore. January 14, 2013 at 10:35am
Victoria: I think that it’s not available in the US, but I still see it at the Sephoras in Europe. I really hope that they don’t discontinue it. January 14, 2013 at 3:43pm
Victoria: It’s really well-done, just not a personal favorite. January 14, 2013 at 3:42pm
Anne: I completly agree Victoria! And to be honest, I wouldnt even have given it a star! The smell is so sickly sweet, so horrible persistent! It reminds me of those terrible car perfume you find in petrol stations in france. I’d rather spray myself with Febreeze any day than this fragrance.
To me one of the worth launch last year. January 14, 2013 at 9:12am
Victoria: Funny enough, the other day I put some Febreeze on my coat, because I was visiting a friend who smokes. I ended up getting 2 compliments on “my perfume.” Febreeze was the one scented thing I was wearing. 🙂 January 14, 2013 at 3:46pm
maja: 😀 Regular Febreeze? January 14, 2013 at 5:03pm
Victoria: Yes, the one for fabrics. It smells like a clean floral, disconcertingly similar to many of the current new launches. 🙂 January 15, 2013 at 4:28am
Anne Sheffield: You made me laugh so much! 😀
Isn t that annoying, spending a fortune on niche fragrance to be told you smell amazing when wearing Febreeze!! Hehehe!! I had the same comment the other day ( from my husband!) and it wasn’t for my Guerlain scent….it was for the bees wax spray for wooden furniture I had been using…..hugs. January 15, 2013 at 9:43am
Victoria: The household products have really sophisticated scents these days! 🙂 January 15, 2013 at 5:45pm
Andrea: It was possibly the Febreeze-scented smoke that people liked, kind of like a Febrez-aude. I used to have to spray my daughter’s clothes when she visited a certain friend’s house, it is a particular fragrance that I won’t forget! (I am not a fan, however!) January 15, 2013 at 7:35pm
Nancy A.: Hi Victoria,
I guess you didn’t like this fragrance! You can’t win them all but why designer labeled fragrances insist on launching or reinventing themselves without any forethought is an insult. January 14, 2013 at 10:14am
Victoria: There are plenty new launches, to be sure! Just disappointing about this particular big release. January 14, 2013 at 3:47pm
Gabe: Pour Femme really isn’t that bad. It’s a very sweet gourmand with the marshmallow and strawberry notes so I feel like D&G is trying to hit the younger demographic with a scent like this. It also smells oddly similar to M by Mariah Carey. Once again, trying to hit that younger demographic. January 14, 2013 at 10:20am
Victoria: I completely understand the need to reach a new demographic. I just don’t think that the best way to do it is with such blends. There are so many more successful options for a gourmand perfume out there, including M by Mariah Carey. January 14, 2013 at 3:49pm
Daisy: “That’s how I met the new Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme and spent the rest of my day trying to scrub it off.”
Best line that I have read all day! Thanks for making me laugh out loud 🙂 January 14, 2013 at 11:21am
Victoria: 🙂 And I have to smell (and sometimes wear) this perfume on almost daily basis! If I didn’t love this line of work as much as I do, I wouldn’t be able to stand it. January 14, 2013 at 3:51pm
Daisy: You poor thing! Time to bust out the make-up remover! January 14, 2013 at 4:16pm
Victoria: Bioderma will solve it all. 🙂 January 15, 2013 at 4:29am
Daisy: Oh I love that stuff! January 15, 2013 at 12:36pm
Victoria: I can’t believe that I’ve lived this long without this marvel! January 15, 2013 at 5:46pm
Debbie: While the original version never really suited me, I admired it as a scent that left an impression and it smelled as though it contained quality ingredients. I was utterly dismayed by the current release, especially after the stellar advertising campaign for the couture; the clothing line and the fragrance are totally out of sync. I love and own Sicily, and back in the day enjoyed BY and the silver-capped D&G but there’s nothing this perfume house can offer me at the moment. My first thoughts when I spritzed was ‘Emperor’s new clothes’ – it didn’t register as much of a scent at all. Seriously sexy clothes but sub-teen standard scent. January 14, 2013 at 11:22am
Andrea: I love the “Emperor’s new clothes” comment. not only does it seem to apply to this fragrance, but a lot of other things as well. too much smoke and mirrors out there these days. January 14, 2013 at 2:31pm
Victoria: I also love your “emperor’s new clothes” comment. To me, it hits right on the target about some of these big launches. They focus so much on brand positioning and packaging that the fragrance itself seems like an afterthought. I enjoy so many D&G perfumes, but this one is major disappointment. January 14, 2013 at 3:53pm
Ariadne: I rec’s a carded sample of this in the mail, tried it on one wrist, and promptly threw it in the trash. Did not even keep it in my sample stash.
I did not have to scrub it off because it did not last long. My overall impression….. what a waste of time & effort on everyone’s part. January 14, 2013 at 12:11pm
Victoria: You were lucky! It wears like iron on my skin. Why is it that the fragrances one dislikes stick around for ages? January 14, 2013 at 3:54pm
Alityke: I’m in a minority of one it seems. Its currently heavily discounted in the gift set at Boots. It’s the only member of the candy floss genre which works on my skin and for work it’s a very affordable scent.
I still ave a bottle of the 1992 version which I’m eeking out January 14, 2013 at 1:32pm
Victoria: With perfume, the adage “your mileage may vary” holds true. If it works for you, enjoy it.
By the way, the last time I was in London I was swooning at Boots. What a great store! January 14, 2013 at 3:56pm
Cecilia: Hello all,
I remember wearing the 1992 version when it first came out. I liked it then and wouldn’t mind revisiting it at some point. The new version I don’t even want to try! I love the review, Victoria. January 14, 2013 at 1:39pm
Victoria: The 1992 version is still available at good prices on Ebay and online discounters. I even got a mini of the parfum, which turned out to be even more dramatic than I remembered. January 14, 2013 at 3:57pm
Cecilia: Thanks for the info. January 19, 2013 at 6:20am
Ari: Oh how I cherish your one-star reviews. So polite, and all the more biting for it! 😀 January 14, 2013 at 1:53pm
Barbara: LOL! I feel the same way about V’s one-star reviews. January 14, 2013 at 2:09pm
Victoria: Thank you, Ari! I try, I try… I know how much effort goes into creating a perfume, but every now and then something really gets to me. January 14, 2013 at 3:58pm
Claudia: What a shame, I actually liked the original pour femme. Their fragrances have been rather meh since the wonderful Sicily. January 14, 2013 at 2:31pm
Victoria: I liked Sicily very much. It was such an interesting modern take on an aldehydic floral. January 14, 2013 at 3:59pm
Claudia: I am really glad you wrote this post. I had no idea they had a new pour femme in the making. I think I will pick up a bottle of the original before it disappears from the shelves forever. January 15, 2013 at 3:27pm
Victoria: A good idea! If you like, it’s a perfect time to stock up, since it’s still a relatively fresh stock and the prices are still reasonable. January 15, 2013 at 5:47pm
minette: too bad! the original “red cap” is quite a bombshell, and i’m glad to have it in my collection. this one sounds utterly forgettable. January 14, 2013 at 2:39pm
Victoria: I love your characterization of the original Pour Femme as a bombshell. So true. January 14, 2013 at 4:00pm
Sofia: Hi Victoria, what you wrote about trying to scrub it off made me giggle! When I try on a perfume I love, I don’t seem to smell it so much. But when I try one that it turns out I strongly dislike, I seem to get strong wiffs of it all day and its as if it just won’t wash off no matter how hard I try. I just made a theory now that maybe when its a perfume I do like, I spend all day smelling my wrists, so maybe I get accustomed to it (and the opposite with the ones I don’t like).
By the way, I never liked Pour Femme either, I never understood it. January 14, 2013 at 4:25pm
Victoria: A good theory, Sofia. Plus, when something is irritating, it’s even more obvious! January 15, 2013 at 4:30am
Austenfan: My favourite bits of this review:
” and spent all day trying to scrub it off”
” despite numerous attempts”
It must be really bad. You hardly give one star.
Never smelled the original, liked but never loved Sicily and Light Blue and I are not best friends, to put it mildly.
I had a wonderful day fragrance wise. Another day of blissful Fils de Dieu. January 14, 2013 at 4:35pm
Victoria: There is a big disconnect with this perfume for me–the launch, the fashion house, the marketing campaign. You expect something sexy and bold, but instead you get a perfume for teens. If this was launched by Katy Perry or some other celebrity, I wouldn’t have been less surprised. January 15, 2013 at 4:34am
behemot: Victoria, I am so sorry you had it on your skin. I sampled this fragrance in Sephora one day. I sprayed it on the blotter and then sniffed. It stayed somewhere in my nostrils and I couldn’t get rid of it for the rest of the day. It gave me a headache, of course 🙁 January 14, 2013 at 4:40pm
Victoria: Maybe, it’s the type of musk they use, but yes, I also found it very strong and persistent. I had to wear it the other day again for a client meeting (it’s being used as a benchmark), and I think that I will need to be send my coat to dry cleaners. Febreeze can’t get it out! January 15, 2013 at 4:35am
Daisy: Oh no! It’s Febreeze-proof?! January 15, 2013 at 12:37pm
minette: oh, no! this is a benchmark?
of how annoying a perfume can be?!
sorry you actually have to wear it. sounds a bit like torture. January 15, 2013 at 2:49pm
jennykat: This post made me laugh. I’m new to the perfume world, working my way through my first set of samples (just received them on Friday!). Today, when I put on a bit of Envy by Gucci, my husband wouldn’t even let me in the bedroom. Admittedly, he’s taking antibiotics for a sinus infection, but he called it “repellent.” I wanted to say, “But Victoria gave it a five-star review!” Went and put deoderant on my wrists, followed by detergent. Did the trick. He let me in. January 14, 2013 at 5:56pm
Victoria: 🙂 But the question is, what did you think of it? January 15, 2013 at 4:36am
Anne: Love the review Victoria. My pet peeve is cognitive dissonance in marketing. The woman in the ad would not smell like a fruity gourmond, she’d smell like salt, musk, and knowing D&G’s image, s.e.x.
But that’s marketing, no? January 14, 2013 at 6:54pm
Victoria: I completely agree! I liked the marketing campaign and the bottle is really well-done, but I find the scent doesn’t match. January 15, 2013 at 4:37am
Ruta: Victoria, straight to the point :):):) after trying this one me to had hard hard srubbing time and attempts to reanimate myself with Jicky. This Pour Femme is very hard to wash off, too. The smell is just terrible- it is a crazy mixture of all things sweet. I think it could serve as good medicine for sweetteeth, after this overdose mere thought of eadibly sweet thing will make you sick.
On the serious side- this smell is vulgar. Just vulgar in its worst, shallow meaning. January 15, 2013 at 3:43am
Victoria: I think that we had a similar reaction. Of course, there is nothing wrong with sweet scents or gourmands, but today almost everything newly launched smells pretty much identical–sweet, candied, lacking in nuance. It doesn’t make exploring the latest releases very exciting. January 15, 2013 at 4:39am
Ruta: There are some really charming sweet perfumes- today I am wearing Dolce Vita, and it makes me smile. January 15, 2013 at 5:46am
Victoria: I love Dolce Vita. I also enjoy Parfums de Nicolai Kiss Me Tender, a very charming gourmand perfume. January 15, 2013 at 7:52am
Austenfan: Mme de Nicolaï is so good at making very sweet perfumes still smell elegant.
Kiss me Tender is lovely, wistful in a way. January 15, 2013 at 4:52pm
Victoria: She really is! There is a beautiful balance that she nails so well every time. January 15, 2013 at 5:49pm
Cornelia Blimber: Today I wear Mitsouko, and I think: why the hell do I have other perfumes ?! Some perfumes give me that feeling. I guess we have to wait a long time untill a new launch is really impressive!
Perhaps something will happen in March, when Fille de Berlin comes out. January 15, 2013 at 10:26am
Victoria: Yes, I feel this way about some of my top favorites too. And I do look forward to the Fille de Berlin launch. The past few Serge Lutens releases have been very good. January 15, 2013 at 10:42am
Merlin: I have to admit to finding ‘The One’ very pretty. January 15, 2013 at 1:24pm
Victoria: The One is nicely done and it has a D&G glamour, but it still feels approachable. January 15, 2013 at 5:50pm
Melissa: I LOVE the original. It epitomizes glamour & is truly a drop- dead gorgeous scent. I have to admit that I didn’t realize the newer release has the same name & replaces the original. What a shame! When I learned the 2012 release was touted as an orange blossom, I rushed out & covered myself in it in order to get the full experience…& then I inhaled nauseatingly sweet marshmallows!!! Lesson learned (I hope!). January 15, 2013 at 3:59pm
Victoria: These marshmallows pass for orange blossom! It’s too much for me as well. January 15, 2013 at 5:51pm
Mel: Oh no! I agree with you. I got to smell this one the same way you did (A sales assistant spraying it on me).
Didn’t like it at all. THought it smelled cheap. Like a celebrity fragrance. January 16, 2013 at 10:45am
Victoria: Next time I will just ask for a blotter to be sprayed! January 16, 2013 at 11:01am
Steph: I guess I’ll just come out and say this but I love it! Different strokes for different folks. January 18, 2013 at 4:34pm
Victoria: Exactly! Perfume preferences are so personal. January 23, 2013 at 6:24am
Laura: The original Pour Femme was a masterpiece. This one’s a scrubber. Sad. 🙁 January 25, 2013 at 4:08pm
Lauren: Ironic that you reference this in your latest post the day after I sprayed it on myself in the mall – and spent the rest of the evening regretting it, as well. This was way too sweet and strong for me, too. I did detect an orange flower note amid all the marshmallow – a combination which makes me think only of circus peanuts, those giant, puffy, orange, peanut-shaped marshmallows they sell in the US. Not very sophisticated! February 18, 2013 at 9:43am
desdemona: perfume is a matter of taste! not even a question of good or bad taste, it’s like wine, there are no “good” or “bad” wines – good is what YOU like!
obviously you like the classics (like “youth dew”, “white linen”, “poison” etc.). You don’t like “pour femme” because its quite a modern/trendy (“smells-like-everything-at-the-mall”) perfume – that’s all – not that it’s a badly composed perfume per se. September 19, 2013 at 4:03am
Victoria: Of course, it is! It goes without saying that we all like different things. If you love Pour Femme, please tell us what you love about it. Another perspective is always welcome here. Who cares why I don’t like it; that’s really not important. But as I said in the review, I love many contemporary fragrances including Light Blue. If that’s not modern and trendy, I don’t know what is! September 19, 2013 at 11:56am
Michaela: I feel so damn bad admitting I do love this fragrance but I can’t help it, really…. It might be too sweet and it certainly is commercial but I had to buy a FB and as time goes by I see how I reach for it more and more often. So far it is the only D&G fragrance I really care for and I’ve been tolling my way around their perfumes for quite some time. I was gifted The One and wore it repeatedly with a frustrating feeling I smell just like a cheap blingy bimbo, Light Blue is too sporty and green for me, the original Pour Femme was an aldehidic nightmare screeching my nostrils with soapy white flowers. I loathe strong white flowers and aldehides alike! :((( So, I had given up hope with D&G perfumes when the 2012 version hit the market and after one long year I resisted it, well, I said to myself it’s not healthy to oppose buying it just because it got so many negative reviews. It is like a fluffier and creamier Alien, another perfume I can’t get enough of it and one of the few jasmines I stand, along with Yves Rocher Tendre Jasmin. A younger Alien (in spirit), happy, flirty and cotton candy like sweet.There is something creamy and light in its notes that I just love. It’s no masterpiece, true, but after smelling piles of designer and niche perfumes I have to admit so many of the masterpieces manage to be both works of art and…boring. Many of the great perfumes are, for me, to be contemplated on others, from a safe distance. This one is fun and so many well crafted perfumes are NO fun at all. May 23, 2014 at 4:52am
Victoria: Michaela, enjoy it! If it makes you feel good and it smells good on you, there is absolutely no need to feel bad.
As I mentioned above, it’s good to hear all sorts of perspectives, including the ones that don’t agree with me. We all like different things, and some people find No 5 amazing, others boring. Pour Femme sells really well, by the way, so many others think that it’s fun and lovely. Your comment might encourage others to give it a try for themselves. May 23, 2014 at 5:22am
Michaela: Victoria, it makes me feel guilty I own it, if that makes any sense… It is like reading The Sun, and this is so NOT me! :))) I am more the Thomas Mann & Bulgakov type… Well, I’ll deal with it, it hooked me (the perfume, not The Sun). May 23, 2014 at 2:36pm
Victoria: No need to feel guilty! I don’t think that it’s the equivalent of the Sun. Perfume doesn’t really fall into such categories for me, but then again, I enjoy The Master and Margarita, but I also need my trashy detective stories too. 🙂 May 24, 2014 at 4:15am
Michaela: Yes, you are so right! Trashy detective stories is the exact equivalent. 🙂 Master and Maragarita is one of my favorites, too, along with a Dog’s Heart and Zoika’s House, not to mention White Guard, that one is so painfully beautiful….. I met my husband because of Bulgakov, he had written an essay on M&M and we met each other after his conference. I wonder what perfume would Margareta chose in our times. May 24, 2014 at 3:49pm
Michaela: Now it crossed my mind I would gift her Atelier Cologne Rose Anonyme. Maybe because I love it dearly. It is very possible she wouldn’t like it, though… Maybe she is more a chypre lady type. I really have to think about it. May 24, 2014 at 3:52pm
Victoria: She carried a bouquet of mimosa when Master saw her for the first time! That’s one of my M&M scent references. The story of meeting your husband because of Bulgakov is so romantic. A couple of weeks ago I had tea at his house in Kyiv, the very house where he wrote The White Guard (now a museum), and I’m now re-reading it. Painfully beautiful is a perfect way to describe it. May 24, 2014 at 3:58pm
Michaela: I envy you for the Bulgakov tea, I wish I could see his house one day, at least from the street… when I think of M&M and perfume I always recall the circus scene, with the luxury boutique where Behmoth and Koroviev tempt the ladies with Mitsouko, french lipstick and expensive lingerie and I always picture myself as the brave brunette lady who has the guts to be their first customer only to find herself left with nothing minutes away. :))))) Pure genious! I must re-read the White Guard myself soon, too, thanks for mentioning it.
Strange how I forgot about the mimosa bouquet… But it makes sense, mimosa perfume would certainly suit her. May 25, 2014 at 11:45am
Victoria: Me too! I love that scene! They also mention No 5, if I remember correctly. May 25, 2014 at 3:31pm
Cece: I have been in the mood recently for a sweet fragrance, something fun and edible-smelling, and in doing research came across your website. I was about to buy Viktor & Rolf BonBon when I saw your review recommending Aquolina Pink Sugar instead, and highly praising it. I bought a small bottle and thought I might die from the stench. I have never smelled anything so musky and artificial, nevermind the singed sweets, and this from someone who wore Angel as a signature for many years. On my own I tracked down this, Dolce & Gabbana Pour Femme, and to me it seems perfect – a sweet, fruity floral but elegant and sophisticated. The raspberry and heliotrope are pronounced, but so is the green ivy note cutting through it. To my nose it’s a much more sophisticated option than something like Guerlain’s La Petite Robe Noire. I can’t really understand this review, but I see the perfumers aren’t named, so I guess they aren’t friends of yours. December 29, 2015 at 7:35am
Victoria: You missed it. The perfumer is Cécile Matton, and her name is listed quite clearly in the review. December 29, 2015 at 12:01pm