Carolina Herrera
Carolina Herrera
387 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The lychee and currant arrive with aggressive sweetness, almost candied in their brightness, the currant's tartness cutting through before those notes crystallise into something closer to red-berry syrup. Within minutes, you're enveloped in a sugary, juicy cloud that feels both inviting and slightly one-dimensional.
The rose emerges as a shadowy, powdery presence, softening the fruit's edges rather than reshaping them entirely—it's almost apologetic, as if uncertain of its right to exist in this composition. The synthetic undercurrent becomes more apparent here, a soapy quality that prevents the florality from gaining genuine substance, and by the second hour, you're aware you're wearing something rather than genuinely inhabiting it.
The vetiver and bourbon vanilla finally surface, but they arrive to a near-empty stage; the fruit and rose have evaporated almost completely, leaving only a faint vanilla-tinged skin scent. What remains is warm but ghostly, barely perceptible beyond an inch from the skin, a whispered reminder of sweetness rather than a substantive base.
Very Good Girl Carolina Herrera is a fragrance caught in a peculiar tension between its own ambitions and execution. Louise Turner's 2021 creation opens with a bright, almost syrupy assault of lychee and blackcurrant—those top notes hit with the force of a juice bar, ripe and juicy, with the currant providing a slightly tart backbone that prevents the lychee from becoming cloying. The rose heart is where things become interesting, though frustratingly fleeting; it's not a classical rose but rather something compressed and sweet, acting more as a binding agent between the fruit and what comes below than a genuine floral presence. Underneath lurks vetiver and bourbon vanilla, a pairing that should provide earthiness and warmth, yet they arrive so whisper-quiet they barely register as a commitment.
The fragrance's real identity emerges through its accords: this is fundamentally a fruity-sweet proposition (100% fruity, 88% sweet) with a synthetic quality that prevents it from ever feeling entirely natural or grounded. The 52% freshness rating is generous—there's little brightness sustaining the composition, just a fading promise of one. Very Good Girl reads as a fragrance for someone who enjoys dessert-like fragrances but hasn't quite committed to full gourmand territory. It's approachable without being memorable, competent without being compelling. The wearing experience pivots on its catastrophically poor longevity and sillage; this is a fragrance that whispers rather than speaks, dissolving into skin within hours, demanding constant reapplication from those seeking to maintain any olfactory presence whatsoever.
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3.9/5 (109)