Armani Code Femme Eau de Parfum

Mr Lools refuses to buy me any form of perfumes if he has to choose them himself. I do have a “type” (fresh, fruity and not too heavy) but he describes my taste as too picky. So when he does want to purchase a fragrance as a gift for me we tend to wander around the fragrance section in a department store and he judges my reaction to certain fragrances. We were replacing his Armani Code for Men fragrance in Boots so as we were stopped at the Armani Code display I decided to give myself a spray of the Armani Code for women perfume. After not so subtly exclaiming how much I liked the scent I was very pleased that after 7 years of living together he understood my “hints” and for my birthday he bought me a bottle of Armani Code for Women.

***Armani Code***
The perfume is described to be “Armani Code for Women Eau de Parfum is simple yet sensual, comforting yet captivating. A spellbinding fragrance evoking the same elegance as a Giorgio Armani dress sense”

The perfume includes:
Top Notes of Orange Blossom, African Bitter Orange and Sweet Italian Orange.
Middle Notes of Tunisian Orange blossom and Sambac jasmine
Base Notes of vanilla and honey.

From reading the description of the scent the predominance of the orange ingredients does immediately make you think that this could be a very citrusy fragrance however it is fruity but less tangy and citrusy than you may expect and has a softer sweeter scent because of the honey and vanilla. When Armani Code is categorised on fragrance websites can be found in the “fresh” fragrance category or the “feminine”.

The fragrance comes in three different sizes which are 30ml, 50ml and 75ml. Prices vary considerably for each of the sizes depending on where you buy. As far as fragrances go this is a slightly higher than average priced scent because it is designer but not quite in the “high premium” bracket as far as ladies fragrances go. Boots, Superdrug and department stores such as Debenhams, House of Fraser and John Lewis all sell the three sizes of Armani Code. Prices tend to be £37.00 for a 30ml bottle, £48.00 for a 50ml bottle and £65.00 for a 75ml bottle.

You can purchase the fragrance a lot cheaper from online perfume retailers such as www.fragrancedirect.com , www.cheapscents.com and www.thefragranceshop.com . For all three sizes the online retailers tend to be £10 cheaper than the main department stores.

***Armani Code Bottle***
The fragrance bottle is a long thin bottle which is slightly narrower in the middle and tapers out towards the ends. The colour of the bottle is blue which is a faded effect going from a very light blue at the base to a dark navy blue at the top of the bottle. There are black flowers printed on the bottle. The bottle is quite simple but has a dark feminine elegant look to it which looks very nice when displayed on your dressing table.

The tapered top of the bottle has a lid which fits on and off which is dark navy blue. Under the lid is the perfume spray. The lid is reasonably secure so you could pop this in a handbag or travel bag but I feel as this is quite a heavy glass bottle it is not an ideal bottle to travel with.

I like the bottle as it is very pretty and feminine but I personally feel for quite a fresh fragrance the bottle gives the feel of a floral fragrance, not a fresh and fruity fragrance. If the flowers were removed though I do feel the bottle would perhaps be a little too similar to the Armani Code for men bottle (the aftershave has a darker blue bottle) therefore the flowers I feel are there to specifically demonstrate this is the female version of the fragrance.

***Wearing It***
Although I had sprayed this perfume on myself as a tester I was keen to actually wear the perfume properly because when trying on perfume I tend to be polite and only give one quick spray. What I liked about Armani Code when I tried it was that it was a very fresh, clean scent but still had a soft feminine scent about it which I felt would be versatile to wear for more special occasions.

I do think that if I had been searching online for a new perfume and read the description of Armani Code I may have been slightly put off by the prevalence of orange (from a number of countries and continents may I add) and felt that this perfume would have left me smelling like I had poured orange juice all over myself. But it certainly does not smell this way.

When I first used my own bottle of Armani Code I gave myself two quick sprays on my pulse points and immediately I could notice the scent of the fragrance. I must say I was slightly alarmed at just how much stronger the scent was on my skin with that one extra spray and I do feel that for only two sprays the overall scent initially is a lot stronger than most perfumes.

The initial scent is very fruity and you do get quite a strong citrusy type scent as the fragrance hits your skin. For those that have used the DKNY Woman the scent of Armani Code is very similar in this initial burst. Although you can smell the orange citrus scent this is not overly sharp and zesty and not unpleasant.

After a minute this very strong scent does almost vanish and the very strong citrus burst is more of a sweeter and softer fruity scent. Although the scent is very fruity I do not think it is instantly recognisable as an orange scent more of a sweet clean type of fruity scent and actually reminds me very much of apples.

As the Armani Code scent develops on your skin after 30 minutes or so I think it has a much softer more feminine fragrance to it which I personally feel distinguishes it from being a “daytime only fragrance” which I would categorise other fruity perfumes such as DKNY Woman as. There is a definite sweet scent to the Armani Code fragrance and this is a soft sweet honey type scent which does not get too sickly sweet as it is balanced out by hints of fruit which I actually think if you sniff your skin up close smells very much like pink grapefruit.

The fruity yet soft sweet feminine scent makes Armani Code noticeable so it can be worn for evening occasions but because I do not think it has a very strong distinctive aroma to it I do not feel it would be categorised as a perfume which could be too much of a statement and that others would find unpleasant. I have had a lot of compliments when wearing this perfume from a variety of people of different ages. I do feel a lot of my friends (in their late 20’s) tend to really like this perfume and also own it.

I do not consider buying perfume a safe choice as a gift but because of the number of compliments and the fact that Armani Code is quite inoffensive in its scents it would make a good gift. I think for those that like fresh fruity fragrances with a sweet but not overly sweet scent this would be perfect. I would say for females that like a stronger more noticeable musky type scents Armani Code might not be suitable as it is quite clean and fresh smelling rather than being a statement perfume.

I find that Armani Code has better staying power on my skin than a lot of perfumes that I own and if I spray this on my skin on a morning then by the evening the scent has faded but if I sniff my skin I will still be able to smell the perfume on my skin. For daytime wear I tend to spray two squirts of this perfume on my skin. I personally feel this is enough to be smelt if you come close to me but not so that is overpowering. For evening wear I probably give myself an extra squirt as I feel this makes the sweet scent on my skin more noticeable after a few hours of wear. I do feel that more than 3 squirts would make this a very overpowering scent.

***Overall***
As someone who likes fresh, fruity and sweet scents I would definitely recommend Armani Code to others who like similar types of scents. My favourite scents which I feel are similar are Gucci II, Hugo Women and DKNY Women. I was a little concerned at the prevalence of orange scents when reading the description of the perfume but this is not overpowering and the citrus scent is more sweet, soft and fresh rather than too zesty or bitter.

What I like about Armani Code is that the fresh fruity soft scent it has on skin makes it perfect for day time wear when sprayed on lightly but if you want something a little heavier for more special occasions if you give yourself one extra spray of this scent the perfume is still suitable as it has a sultry warm sweet scent with the notes of honey and vanilla making it very feminine.

At £65 for a 75ml bottle this is not a cheap perfume and it does carry the higher price tag that most designer perfumes have but I feel that the perfume has more staying power than many cheaper perfumes and two sprays of this on your skin is ample therefore a bottle lasts me quite a long time in comparison to some of the cheaper fragrances I own.

A good choice from Mr Lools even if he did have some help choosing this for me.