Lolita Lempicka Fleur de Corail

I have the same issue with the juice inside Lolita Lempicka Fleur de Corail bottle as I have with the packaging. I can't decide if it's cute or tacky. In both cases it's quite overdone, but I actually like it, except for the moment the perfume takes an over-sweet turn and for a brief minute or two makes me queasy as though I was  quickly descending down one of those too big and too modern theme park roller coasters. Then something else surfaces, a light woody incense note and the world stops spinning.

I'm not a huge fan of Lolita Lempicka fragrances and never found a reason to own any.The coral-colored box made me a bit suspicious that  Fleur de Corail was going to be a fruity mess, but the bottle inside is actually light blue (though that's hardly a recommendation. I like aquatic even less than I like generic fruity florals) and somewhat clashes with the box. But this is a Maurice Roucel creation, and that's a good enough reason to give Fleur de Corail a chance.

So, yes, it's sweet. An ambery vanilla with some spice: cinnamon and anise. There's a huge tropical thing going on there, frangipani flowers and orchids (vanilla orchid, according to OsMoz). While the opening and the initial development feel a bit dense and take up all the air around them (that's what causes my occasional stomach reaction. I'm usually pretty immune to syrupy sweetness), things lighten up later and I find myself really enjoying the drydown, including its sweet musky end tail. Maybe it's somewhat of a guilty pleasure, but I do find the composition quite unique.

Lolita Lempicka Fleur de Corail ($69, 1.7 oz) is available from Sephora.