DKNY Be Delicious Donna Karan perfume – a fragrance for women 2004

I accidentally purchased the wrong (huge) bottle; I meant to purchase 1 of the summer flankers but ordered incorrectly; I wanted the fresher, summer version, with more cucumber & violet leaf – & the one which has just a touch of red apple instead of this green apple – the one Paris Hilton ‘copied” for Platinum Rush, I think – but messed up my order – this is obv, v fresh too – but this is the quintessential green apple perfume, & though I always love to smell this on others, I cannot wear anything with green apple in the notes – & it cannot be returned, due to the pandemic restrictions so it’s on my list of swaps. I didn’t even spray it, bc I tried this around 2010 on myself, so I know I cannot wear it – no green apple (or peach!) in perfumes ever work for me – grapefruit, which ppl often hv a problem with, I’m fine with but apple pulls too sharp on my skin – no matter which perfume it’s in – which is a shame bc I’ve always really liked this one, & wherever I smell this on ppl, I always think, oh, that’s so good.

This – if (!) – this suits your skin chemistry, it’s fresh, bright & surprisingly not sharp – it is, without a doubt, one of the most lovely fruit/floral perfumes – the crisp apple, magnolia & tuberose + that beautiful, balanced light wood base with it’s beautiful musk is gorgeous, gorgeous; & the base is soooo good, in this + the multi layered mid & top notes are excellent; I know 2 ppl who wear this almost all the time, during daytime, between Spring & Autumn, & there are many ppl who hv this on regular rotation in the summer, it’s something I smell on others fairly often – although it’s nothing like as prolific as it was before 2010 – at one point, I think billions wore it(!) – but by 2010, it had become less popular due to trends – so I got a 30ml back then – & realised that like one other perfume I’d tried with green apple – it pulls sharp on me, (I hv the same problem with some citrus perfumes..) I always think this has a little linden (lime) blossom in it too – it’s florals really have that vibe, a little linden blossom, mixed in with the green apple, magnolia & tuberose, – although it’s not mentioned in the notes, it seems that way to me.

This – well, it’s a classic for a reason – it’s just so v good – & it smells lovely on the ppl who wear it, always; I always notice when somebody wears this – sprayed lightly, in warm & warmish weather, it’s lovely, you cannot go wrong with it, if it suits your chemistry – & hardly anybody I know has a problem with it pulling sharp on them – believe me, I’ve asked, (I cannot wear D&G Light Blue or various others, go figure.. yet I can wear all manner of grapefruit top notes, when many ppl say that grapefruit goes wrong on their skin..ouf..who knows.)

Reasons why some ppl don’t like this?! A victim of its own success, really -unfortunately – bc it’s such a classic – it’s something that has been copied, & copied – & some of the copies weren’t& aren’t t great – some ppl ‘dislike’ this – bc they’ve come across the dupes & copies, which are less well blended, more acidic, rougher, sharper, & certainly less layered – whatever – but this is lovely – & still excellent, despite the odd reform – it’s still not cheap – bc it’s v good – the cheapest copies are literally nothing like – the cheap copies tend to be heavy green apple, with v little else – maybe some non descript floral & cedar in the base a la Light Blue but cheaper, cheaper always – but here there’s nothingcheap – & the florals, are present & pretty, while not being overly prominent, & this gives a great balance coupled with the amazing base – & that base is so v good too – the light woods in the drydown are gentle, the musk in the base is the best of it’s kind – nothing too much, but surprising sexy – there’s just no comparison with other freshies, really – ouf, the dry down of this is amazing – & have lost count how many men, both on here, & male friends & colleagues, who completely love this – & will tell you how wonderful it smells – & fresh/sexy/ with an ‘intoxicating’ drydown – amazing – most ppl think deep ambre perfumes are sexy, but often it’s sometimes v clean, like this(!) that many men really find attractive; I wear perfumes for me – but it’s never a bad thing that ppl love your perfume..

This is, the one that is copied – & millions of bottles of this are still sold every year, regardless of how gourmande the perfume trends hv gone re vanilla & caramel etc, (green apple is gourmande ofc, but to say so we be pedantic & miss the point,) – this still isn’t cheap – but it’s not hugely expensive either – & unless your skin hates green apple, as mine does, it’s something that works for all occasions except v formal, & in pretty much any weather – the freshness is there, but that’s not all there is – there’s enough floral for femininity + the light woods drydown is gorgeous, gorgeous – it has a great balance of this + this & this – & not too much of anything, – which is usually what makes a certain perfume so good, that great balance – & personally, I hv always been a bit fedup that I cannot wear it(!) bc it’s such a good one, & always smells so good on various ppl I know or meet. Can’t believe I messed up & ordered the wrong one.. Late night ordering, & my getting all overexcited re which fumes I was going to add to said collection next- everybody needs a hobby during pandemic restrictions – & mine got a bit intense, a bit ‘feverish’ at one point.. Although my collection was huge pre pandemic, but, whatever..

PM if you wish to swap; I collect perfumes so am always looking for new or sometimes ‘old’ perfumes to add to my collection; I messed up when I ordered this from Boots & cannot return it. I hv purchased various flankers – DKNY ‘apples’ are always great quality, & sleeping on them is a mistake, I did, bc of the packaging for a long while – this was the one I had always liked but couldn’t wear – but hv many now – & this year Coconuts about Summer flanker was just beautiful – there’s a tiny hint of this – in that, & for whatever reason, that one I can wear, so I bought a silly amount of backups bc doubtless they will discontinue it. This though has much better lasting power, than the Coconuts About Summer version, (I respray CAS often, bc it doesn’t last well, at all – but it’s so pretty – & most coconut fumes am not fond of, but the coconut is delicate AND fresh – it’s amazing – & the magnolia in it is gorgeous (!) – it’s the same magnolia as in this, the original, but amped up.)
If I could wear this without it being sharp on me – if I could wear this – & it smelled the same on me as it does most ppl – then I would wear it, quite often in the summer. There’s nothing ‘basic’ about this it’s a layered, balanced classic – there’s a reason ppl love this one. & if you add a v basic floral perfume, even white floral perfume to this, for evening it works beautifully, one of my friend uses this often & does that; I would too. It’s energising, & lovely, but not to ‘pretty, pretty’ – it really has that DKNY New York style, it’s stylish & put together – but it’s not ‘too much’ of anything.