Truth or Dare by Madonna

To be the first perfume by the Queen of Pop, I expected something more scandalous and flashy, matching her personality. The bottle feels like a church object, almost like ‘holy water,’ with that cross forming her ‘M.’ Madonna and religion have always been linked, even through provocation. The scent is wonderful, extremely floral, smelling like a private garden with strong yet pleasant flowers that transport me when I close my eyes. It’s not youthful; it’s elegant, serious—a proper gentleman’s perfume. It’s inspired by Madonna’s mother, trying to recreate the smell of her perfumes. I’m a huge fan and loved it; it’s a jewel. It has a massive trail and lasts over 12 hours. Probably the best-worked tuberose I’ve had the pleasure of smelling.

I have this perfume because I’m a huge Madonna fan; I won’t lie, it’s not my usual type, but it’s very well crafted. It’s not complex, but it has body, depth, presence, and longevity. It’s sweet and creamy, highlighting the tuberose and gardenias strongly; a bit artificial to my taste, but luckily, it adds a certain lightness. Ideal for winter and night.

A great discovery… too bad it’s already discontinued. It’s one of the perfumes I’ve liked the most, lasts a long time on my skin, and smells amazing. It reminds me a bit of a Mercadona eau de perfume, Simply Flower orange blossom, but with much less longevity. MMM.

I was very reluctant to smell and use this perfume; I was led by Madonna’s outrageous and irreverent image, thinking it would have that style and perhaps border on the vulgar, but it silenced my doubts and won over my sense of smell, what a pleasant surprise. Truth or Dare is very well crafted, feminine, delicate, mature, and elegant. It’s a beautiful bouquet of white flowers where the tuberose explodes at the start, but the protagonist is the Gardenia, present all the time. The tuberose is intense but disappears quickly, moving to a third plane, while the Gardenia remains delicate, graceful, elegant, and enveloping. It’s not a shrill gardenia; nothing in this fragrance is. As middle notes, jasmine and benzoin accompany the gardenia, adding a seductive and creamy touch of musk, amber, and vanilla at the end. It’s not linear; it constantly evolves, each adding its touch according to your pH and temperature, turning it into your own essence. It has moderate-to-high trail and longevity, preferable in the afternoon with formal wear at any time. It’s a great perfume, although if you prefer gourmand scents, this beauty won’t suit your taste. Rating 8/10.

If I had to be a fan of any singer, I’d rather be a fan of Ana Belén, Edith Piaf, Barbra Streisand, Sade, or Sinead O’Connor; Madonna came at the wrong time for me… Her fragrance didn’t, it’s already in my hands and surprises me. It stands out for powerful, very sweet and delicious tuberose, surrounded by white flowers like a powdery creamy gardenia, milky jasmine, and spicy lilies. In the background, intense benzoin, amber, and vanilla blend to achieve an unparalleled sweetness and creaminess, and the musk gives it a powdery and fresh touch. Is it floral? Obviously. Is it Oriental? Its base is. But above all, it’s a magnificent gourmand. Sweet without being cloying, creamy, vanilla-infused, you can smell, taste, and almost chew it, like delicious custard or a can of condensed milk. Magnificent, exquisite, with a marked personality, very sensual. Feminine in abundance. Classic, elegant, and semiformal, handling tuberose in a unique way. An adult aroma that young people who dare can use. Very good longevity, about 8 hours, powerful trail at first then soft and delicious. For cold weather and day, if you moderate the application, and to be the queen of the night. It’s a very recognizable scent that doesn’t resemble any other. This fragrance clashes with the image Madonna tries to give us; it’s quite modest for the most extravagant, rebellious, and transgressive diva. Now another generation arrives strong, though no one will usurp her place. I imagine her as Eva Perón, black skirt, white silk blouse, hair up. Classic sensuality. The bottle is questionable taste, white gothic, cold glass like a slab, a coffin for a virgin. Be careful with the bottle because it’s very thin and easy to knock over. A total discovery I plan to enjoy this winter at an unbeatable price.

A perfume I liked from the first moment, but it really enchanted me with its ‘bite’ as the hours passed until its farewell. It starts with bold audacity, a vanguard gardenia escorted by tuberose, benzoin, and vanilla… and I say vanguard because I detect a synthetic-plastic smell (similar to Cacharel’s ‘Eden’) that accompanies only the initial phase of the floral notes. My reading is that a tribute was paid to the artist’s mother (who apparently smelled of gardenias and tuberose), but through the lens of the iconic figure of Madonna. Hence that transgressive, vanguard, and futuristic touch embodied in a gardenia wrapped in polymer petals, born in a garden of tuberose and refusing to be just another one, growing and standing out, learning to be its own scent… and so it is found by a human hand that upon touching the skin loses its lifeless petals, fusing its living floral heart into a narcotic nectar of sleeping white flowers on the skin. It’s special, especially with the passage of hours; it loses that more artificial facet, leaving you ‘alone’ with a million white petals. Excellent longevity and trail.

One of my favorites! I’m not a Madonna fan, so I’m only talking about the perfume. I discovered it three years ago, and it’s been my signature scent ever since. It’s like nardos and gardenias wrapped in sugar… I absolutely love this fragrance! The moment I spray it, it’s a bomb of sweet, vanilla-infused white flowers without being cloying. I wear it all year round, and people already recognize me by it. I don’t get why people say it’s for older women; I’m thirty, and even teenagers ask what I’m wearing. It has lasting longevity and doesn’t need reapplication. I really miss the nardo scent, which I adore madly. It’s very romantic and feminine. I recommend it 100%.

One of my favorites. I’m not a Madonna fan, so my review is of the perfume for its notes and not for the celebrity. Three years ago I discovered the aroma that would be my favorite from then on… Tuberose and gardenias wrapped in sugar. I love this fragrance. Since I spray it on my skin, it’s a bomb of vanilla-infused and sugared white flowers without being cloying. I use it all year to the point that people already identify me with this scent. I don’t understand why they say it’s for old ladies… I’m in my thirties, and even teenagers ask me what perfume I use. It has very durable fixation, and you don’t need to reapply. I really love the tuberose scent, which I adore madly. It’s a very romantic and feminine perfume. I recommend it 100%.

As a perfume lover, I have two: this one and its sibling, Truth or Dare Naked. They define perfection. I wear it on my wrist and I love it; it smells incredible on the hour. On my skin, it’s soft and the gardenia predominates. I can smell it while writing, at 30 cm, it’s exquisite and I like it more than its sibling, though I’ll have to test it further to see the longevity. Edit: I already tested it, it didn’t last long on my skin. The sillage is moderate. The aroma is magnificent but it lacks staying power, maybe it’s my pH. Value for money I give it 8/10. As they say, the scent has nothing to do with Madonna’s image; Truth or Dare has elegant, warm femininity without being overpowering, which is great.

Gardenia, jasmine, and amber predominate. I also notice something animalic, I think it’s musk or benzoin. It’s for women 30 and up, on cold days or in open spaces. I imagine it as the older sister of Mariah Carey’s Forever, which also has lots of gardenia.

They gave it to me for Christmas along with the cream. It’s totally floral, intoxicating when applied but then it calms down. Unfortunately, on my skin it barely lasts, even though I used the lotion. It’s very classic, refined, and stately, a bouquet of white flowers. Gabriela says ‘caramelized butter’ and she’s right; that sweet character comes from the vanilla and those buttery petals in full bloom. It’s like a narcotic that absorbs us and creates addiction. My advice: take advantage of it if it fixes on your skin.

Definitely I have good skin for powerful sillage; ToD is more ‘innocuous’ than it seemed. Although the opening is intense and perceptible to others, on my skin it becomes soft, like a floral ‘vibration’. Very floral, more than vanilla. Gardenia predominates at the start, then lily emerges, followed by neroli at full strength, which smells like when it’s been three days in a vase: it keeps the essence but not the potent freshness. The other white flowers keep the fragrance ‘vibrant’, avoiding it looking like a wilted bouquet. I find it quite ‘conventional’ for a Madonna fragrance, nothing to do with the transgressive and sexy image of her ads. It’s pure and white for a ‘bad girl’. This doesn’t disappoint me, as I didn’t expect it to be like her character. It’s suitable for flower lovers and at an accessible price. The bottle is cute, could be for Barbie, but I don’t see it complementing its value. Benzoin and vanilla give weight to the opening, then fade before the floral bouquet. I share with Gaby that it loses sillage over time, which doesn’t disappoint me, as I don’t want to smother. It remains perceptible and lasts more than 8h. If you want to focus with ToD, reapply generously. I bought it at a good price and I’m satisfied, I feel comfortable. Maybe I won’t re-buy it when I finish; although it’s a well-made floral-oriental, I feel it lacks that fascinating and unique point of other fragrances of mine. I’ll keep using and testing it, I’ll tell you if I like it more! For now I’m curious about its flanker. Edit: As I use it, I like it more. The longevity is excellent, many hours. When I use it before bed it’s really enjoyable, it makes me feel very comfortable and now I do find it sexy (must be because of the floral and feminine side). This new detail contradicts a bit what I said before about Madonna and her lingerie.

I’ve tried ToD before, but today it surprised me: at first, it smells like grape soda, like a lollipop, but that fades quickly to reveal vanilla and gardenia. The problem is it doesn’t last; I sprayed it three times and after an hour, there was no scent on my skin. I hoped it would linger on my breath, but only my husband noticed. Maybe I lack technique applying it, because with this heat, I’m afraid of overwhelming people. For now, it feels harmless—not too neroli-heavy or crazy sillage—but I’ll give it another try.

I gifted this to my mom last year, and it’s a perfume with a lot of punch and personality; it’s not for just any woman. The one wearing it needs attitude, glory, style, and a lot of elegance. It smells incredible on my mom, UFFFFFFFFFF.

Honest opinion: I’m indifferent to Madonna, so I’m talking only about the perfume. I got excited about the notes; I adore neroli and thought I’d love it. It opens with strong, sweet neroli, but they last a few minutes before it turns into a bomb of sugary flowers. I don’t clearly detect the vanilla, just a generic sweet smell. I expected a chic, feminine floral with an oriental touch, but this isn’t it. I dislike it, though it seems original and modern. Warning: it’s not a real neroli perfume nor pure white flowers. Truth or Dare is strident, a floral-gourmand bomb. Longevity and projection are excellent. Comparing it to Fracas is an insult to Robert Piguet.