212 VIP by Carolina Herrera

This was my first perfume I chose at 15, and I’m still wearing it at 28 💘✨. It lasts forever on my skin, even the day after a shower. The longevity is brutal, and the sillage is amazing too. I love it 💗💗🌟

This is an incredibly rich rum and passion fruit scent, but the notes aren’t distinct; it’s dry and balanced with woody and vanilla undertones. The more I use it, the worse its performance gets: it doesn’t project and isn’t the same as before. What a shame they reformulated it and made it so much worse. Carolina Herrera, please stop reformulating. I regret buying it now.

This perfume makes you feel like a young executive walking the streets of New York in your 20s. I found it funny reading that many wore it as teens… I remember it exactly like that. I used to wear it on Friday and Saturday nights when I was dressed up. It’s sweet and feminine, lasts for days on clothes, and you can find it almost everywhere. Better to test it before buying because it doesn’t go unnoticed.

It was a birthday gift from my mom when I was a teenager, and at the time, I didn’t like it because it felt too strong, like a fragrance for an adult woman. Now that time has passed, I absolutely love it. I feel like I need a special mood to wear it, with full intention. It’s not something I’d buy for myself, but I’m very happy to have it in my collection.

It’s good, though it’s strong. It’s not disgusting; instead, it conveys elegance. I have to say it’s not for me because I smell the passion fruit way too much, and it just doesn’t work for me.

I tried this until I was 20, and while the perfume world is a luxury, I just never connected with it. Seeing that it has rum in it, I finally get why: on my skin, it was a brutal alcohol I couldn’t handle, even for myself. I ended up fed up and couldn’t finish the bottle. Neither could my dad, who complained every time I wore it; we just couldn’t stand it. With what I know now, I’d never wear it again; I’m looking for something fresh, light, versatile, and soft that leaves me feeling clean. This is definitely not for me, period.

I love it! It’s sweet, yet I wear it right in the middle of summer and humidity, and it doesn’t bother me at all. I adore sweet but soft perfumes, at least on my skin. I think the vanilla, rum, tonka bean, and passion fruit give it that elegance. It reminds me of Dolce & Gabbana The One for Women.

What can you say about this perfumazo that accompanied me through my entire adolescence and I still keep the bottle for when I want to go wild at a party? Its scent is simple, but it has character; not everyone slaps a rum, passion fruit, and vanilla combo on their shoulders—it’s eccentric, bold, and unrestrained. I love oriental vanilla fragrances for the night; this is one of my favorites, though now I have La Nuit Trésor which goes the same line if you’re looking for something similar. On me, it lasts 8 hours of trail and then until the next day on the skin, turning super sweet and bold, as if they’re peeling off layers from that wild girl at the start to leave just a femme fatale. I don’t think it’s a blind buy because it’s so particular, but if you love woody vanilla perfumes, you’ll love it.

Carolina Herrera has never really stuck with me, partly due to those bottle choices that seem to come from another dimension. For me, the design, the color, and even the feeling of spraying are part of the experience. What made me stop at 212 VIP were the top notes: rum and passion fruit. I’m flying. The rum is there, smoothed out and sweet, and the passion fruit gives it an exotic, sparkling touch. They are original, fun, and very noticeable. But… on my skin, the fragrance has an accelerated and brief development. These notes fade quickly, giving way to a dry-down that is sweet and powdery, something I have little patience for. Even that sugary ending disappears in a flash; I don’t think it lasted more than three hours total. Where is that party-in-the-night perfume? This little sweet scent couldn’t stand hours of sweat, tobacco, and spilled mojitos. I think basing all their marketing on luxury and exclusivity is quite simplistic. It lacks the complexity, sophistication, and performance of a perfume I’d associate with a VIP zone. Although I suppose that illustrates the culture of the ‘reserved’ very well: lots of appearance and little substance.

I got it right when it launched; it was one of my first designer scents. I liked the vanilla and wood ones, and this smelled different from the ones of that era. Don’t buy it blind, but I haven’t felt anything like it since; I don’t know if they reformulated it because I loved the original. At 19, it made me feel secure, feminine, and sexy. There was a limited edition with a golden droplet shape that came with a golden plastic bag that must still be stored away. It was so NY, so Gossip Girl… I adored it!

Ideal for those crazy nights. The opening smells a bit masculine with a clear rum note, but the dry-down is something else: I love it. Over time, the gardenia emerges, making it sweet with vanilla, tonka bean, and musk—a sweet, wearable, and non-invasive scent. Floral dry-down, amazing trail and longevity.

A simple, tropical perfume at the opening: acidic passion fruit and a hint of rum that settle, becoming sweeter with vanilla and tonka bean, plus some woods that, though undeclared, are noticeable. It’s easy to break down, very enjoyable, not excessively sweet, and becomes slightly powdery in the dry-down while remaining sexy. They say it’s for cold weather, but I see it as year-round, except in extreme heat. Great for summer parties and nights. It passes without regret or glory.

Sensual and fun, sweet. What I feel most is the fruity passion fruit note. I love it for the night; although its sweetness makes it more of a winter scent, it’s not cloying and works in summer too. My only issue is that it doesn’t last long on my skin: it enchants when applied, but after a while I can’t smell it anymore, doubting others can either. I asked my partner, and sometimes he says yes, other times no. That’s the only thing I regret. Longevity is relative, and I like to have strong projection so I don’t annoy anyone with excesses.

I love it with all my heart; even writing this, I feel the perfume’s breeze on me. It lasts a long time on my skin and even longer on clothes; excellent longevity and trail. It’s youthful, cheerful, yet elegant and serious. At 25 years old, out of the 22 I use, I hate stuffy perfumes. This isn’t the typical cloying sweet perfume for young people; it’s so sparkly it adapts to any age. You feel empowered and sexy; I imagine a businesswoman wearing it, it’s divine!

I love it, very sweet and boozy. It easily lasts 10 hours on my skin; it’s the only perfume I fall asleep with, and the next day it’s there, soft but sweet. I consider it a night scent for cool places and autumn-winter. In summer, you could kill someone, haha. In excess, it gives headaches, but with moderation it’s excellent. I don’t consider it a blind buy or a gift for anyone. It’s impossible to go unnoticed with this perfume. The bottle is gorgeous for collection.