REVIEW: Lady Vengeance by Juliette Has a Gun

The Juliette Has a Gun line of fragrance creates perfumes made out of rose. Fragile but thorny, the romantic flower comes in different versions. Its ambition? To lead a new rock & elegant trend in the perfumery world, by creating romantic and original creations. And while I'd agree the line does succeed in creating romantic fragrances, they fall a bit short in the original category - more on that in a bit.

Offbeat dandy of the perfume world (he's known to wear fedoras), Romano Ricci has quite a background. A great grandmother in haute couture, a grandfather perfumer, he is definitely into creation. After years of quiet training with some of the greatest, he convinced Francis Kurkdjian (the nose behind Indult fragrances), the untouchable master of perfumery, to work with him, and launched Juliette Has a Gun.

For purposes of this review, I'm concentrating on Lady Vengeance. 'Tis an elegant fragrance with a bit of mysterious rose, sultry vanilla and seductive patchouli, which offers a bit of edge, a bit of earthy-woodiness to it, though not overpowering. It's a sweet fragrance, though not too, and I think may best be worn in fall or autumn when the coolness of the air may summon the warmth of the fragrance. I'd also wear this to bed at night as sultry, sexy dreams are sure to abound with the lovely blending of Bulgarian Rose, vanilla and patchouli Lady Vengeance exudes.

The packaging with its black opaque bottle, yet feminine style works to support the theme of Juliette Has a Gun - Shakesperian heroine goes wild - and assists in focusing on the trendiness of the line as well. Edgy yet girly, sexy yet subtle, it works. The fragrance also comes in refillable purse bullets; again, the rocker chic vibe is hard to miss.

Lady Vengeance is one of those fragrances that changes over time. Spray it on your wrist and enjoy the headiness of the aroma, then sniff again after an hour and indulge in another variety, another dimension of the notes.

The rose is by far the focal point of the fragrance. Having said that, there are a number of other fragrances on the market with a very similar scent. I've heard it be compared to Agent Provocateur (though not as complex), Midnight Poison (though fresher, lighter), L'Artisan Voleur de Rose (though not as gutsy and a bit sweeter). So although this isn't the most original rose fragrance available, it is quite delicious and definitely worth grabbing whether you're wanting to indulge your own olfactory sense, or drive another to want to eat you up!

Lady Vengeance is available in 50 ml and 100 ml bottles retailing for $85/$110 respectively.  The purse bullet set with refillable vibes retails at $75. You'll find Lady Vengeance, along with other Juliette Has a Gun fragrances, at the beautifully modern, always illuminating, niche beauty boutique b-glowing.com. Enjoy! xo

images: b-glowing, BeautyNewsNYC, stylehive