Cheap & Chic by Moschino

Sweet, the vanilla is intense and stands out against the florals, perfect for formal parties. It doesn’t feel youthful like other scents in the line. I won’t be buying it again.

It’s a rare scent that doesn’t fit into any perfume category. It blends into your skin and becomes part of you; I can’t describe it, but it makes me feel good. Worth trying on skin and giving it time. You might end up loving it.

This is my wife’s signature scent. She uses very few perfumes: CK ONE, CK BE, Versace Blue Jeans, Cartier Baiser Volé… She met me with this Moschino, and that smell drives me crazy. I think it has pheromones. It’s fresh, subtle, exquisite. A 10.

Fresh and citrusy, with yuzu, very soft. A summer scent. It doesn’t leave a trail. It’s super light and lasts about two hours on skin. I won’t be buying it again because it doesn’t feel like anything on my skin. Unlike other Moschinos that do last.

I love reading reviews; I agree with many. I’ve been using this since I was 15, wore it daily, and have bought more than 15 bottles. Now I use it as an all-rounder sometimes for work; it smells clean and soapy. This fragrance was me at 17 and always brings those memories back. It always got me compliments; I’m very sensitive to flowers, and that’s what lingers on the skin. I never run out of it; I feel it’s timeless. I live in a 50-degree climate and it never gets old. For me, it’s nostalgia in a bottle.

I don’t know how to define it; it’s rare but not ugly. It’s an uncommon scent: it’s not sweet, not floral, nor citrusy (even though it says it has bergamot). In the 2000s, I only noticed woods, spices, and a touch of sweetness, so it seemed strong and more masculine. Today, with all those sugary bombs out there, it’s refreshing to find something different and not cloying.

The only thing I regret about this blind buy is not having known it before. It is rare, yes, but for those who prefer uncommon scents, far from all that ‘candy in a bottle’, it’s a great alternative. It smells soapy, clean, and fresh; it’s unisex and very versatile. Its sillage is short, ideal for the office, and on my skin, where nothing lasts, it reaches about two hours, which is perfect for me.

They gave me a sample, and honestly, I didn’t have a good impression; two people smelled it and didn’t like it. It smells like soap, not clean and fresh like Chloe claims. On the first spray, it smells like a strong, bitter balsamic soap like Indue. I’ll try it again in a few days so my nose forgets it. Edit: discarded, it didn’t suit my skin chemistry; it smells clean but like a men’s perfume and lasted an hour like a sigh. I didn’t like it at all.

Here it is, waiting to be used. Honestly, I liked it, but no more than Chic Petals. I wore it to work, and my colleagues said it smelled like air freshener… and they looked at me from afar waiting.

I perfectly understand the success of Cheap and Chic when it launched in the mid-90s. It was a fucking rare perfume. Twenty-five years later, it still smells rare, and I even think I don’t like it. But it always makes me think and hesitate. When a perfume makes you keep smelling it even if it’s not your taste, it has something. Cheap and Chic has something. It’s a handmade, talc-heavy citrus with memories of fake aldehydes, a mix of yellow citrus skins and lacquer, perfectly matching Clive Christian’s 80%, because the remaining 20% comes from a fatty, solar lotus, with flashes of musky sweetness and violet notes. Every time I test it, I die of disgust, I love it, I pull my nose away in horror, come back to smell it, and that cold, soapy cyclamen drives me crazy and makes me smile. Then the yuzu and lotus mess with my head, and I put it away because I don’t know what the lotus is about that reminds me of melon. Cheap and Chic is a Frankenstein; it reminds you of aldehydic scents from fifty years ago, it’s like a 90s sport version of L’Air du temps, but smells like Eau d’Issey pour Homme if you listen closely. I can’t stop making associations: a VHS tape? an industrial detergent? a video store? a waiting room? a vodka shot? a leather jacket? a young, pretty aunt playing cards on her porch? Cheap and Chic smells like that, like those posh Madrid girls of the 90s, tanned, sporty, with long mullets, touching their hair, not going to the hairdresser, no dresses, with loose jackets or suede, pants but not wide because they have great glutes. Brown nauticals or white sneakers. A little shine on the lips. No adornments, except the Chester pack. Plain clothes, white, gray, bottle green, beige, at most checks. But they wear them like haute couture. Perfect teeth, radiant smile, constant laughter. Cheap and Chic doesn’t smell like Popeye’s girlfriend or that 90s comic book kitsch. It smells like a twenty-year-old posh girl, radiant, divine, a bit masculine, incredibly pretty, and natural. It smells like lacquer, combs, rushing, cigarettes, ash, terraces, motorcycles, pools, tequila, kisses. It smells like a breed of aunt that no longer exists, a mix of innocence and sex, of femininity and masculinity. A little piece of bottled time. Smelling it again makes you think it’s outdated, and instantly, no, that it’s very wearable today. If you sniff it again a while later, it will seem masculine, then feminine, totally unisex. One of those cases where the campaign has nothing to do with the perfume, much more of a daily wear than the ad suggests. PD: I love Mojave’s review; I’ve always perceived Cheap and Chic as she describes it, the cool aunt’s cologne of the group, but the cool aunt zero-tortured, luminous, and with pasta. PD II: It’s a very hateful perfume; I understand people who find it repulsive because it has something disgusting. It smells like hair lacquer and leather sofas, but also like cleanliness and something very sexy. Sold in a neutral bottle, it would have been a 90s unisex, only much dirtier and more talc-heavy.

I remember smelling it for the first time in the 90s while visiting my little cousin, and that soapy halo she left in her wake caught my attention. The bottle is simple and elegant, with those red and black tones and the woman-shaped design. The scent is perfect for the coldest winter months, where this type of aroma isn’t heavy but comforting. It’s a warm, dry, powdery, soapy, musky, citrusy, floral, and slightly sweet fragrance. As for sillage and longevity, it’s quite subtle and soft; compared to what my cousin wore in the 90s, which left a huge trail and smelled strong, I don’t know if they reformulated it, because when I wear it, I notice it lingers on my skin, but it’s very, very subtle, too much. The truth is, the other day I applied a lot to my clothes because for me it’s soft, and a friend said, “Do you smell like coconut?!”. I knew she thought this perfume smelled like coconut, haha. So even though it’s subtle, if people get close enough, they’ll smell it. I’m addicted to that clean, fresh trail it leaves on the skin.

I’ve kept using it since it came out. Sweet, dry, and very long-lasting. I use it any time of year. I love it.

It’s the king of Moschino perfumes I’ve tried. When I first apply it, it smells rich and normal, but within minutes it becomes unique and special. Despite being 20 years old, I hadn’t noticed it before, and I think it will become my staple.

I don’t know why, but if Olivia from Popeye had her own perfume, it would undoubtedly be this one.

I’m using it today; now it’s one of my favorite Moschino scents. Last year I fell in love with the brand across all its products. It’s a serious fragrance with a touch of opulence. I like that strong, woody feel; it’s intense but not overwhelming. It gives presence and has moderate sillage—you only notice it if you get close (well, if you use a normal amount; if you apply a lot, it can be bothersome). It’s for strong personalities who want to stand out. I wasn’t brave enough to buy it, but one day my boyfriend gifted it to me, and I absolutely loved it. I reapply it after about six hours so it keeps smelling, but I try not to use too much. Ideal for cold weather and serious situations. I recommend it if you like to stand out; although it’s been on the market for years, I haven’t found anything that compares.