My mother knows that I enjoy writing beauty product reviews here at Epinions, so she often passes along samples of products that she doesn't have a use for.  Recently she gave me a sample of Michael Kors Very Hollywood Eau de Parfum, which looks lovely, but is a surprisingly generic scent.

Description

The sample size bottle of Very Hollywood that I have contains 0.25 ounces (7 mL) of Eau de Parfum, but otherwise is very similar to the regular retail product.  The box for each size is a peach color with accents and information in a shiny metallic gold.  "Very Hollywood" is written in script, while the rest of the information is printed.  The fragrance bottle is rectangular and is constructed of clear glass through which the peachy-pink eau de parfum can be seen.  The cap is also rectangular; it reflects the color design of the box, featuring the same peach color with gold accents.  The retail size appears to differ only in that the glass of the bottle has rows of rounded beveling.

The eau de parfum itself is a peachy pink liquid with a strong fragrance to it.  Michael Kors' website states that it features "shimmering jewels of mandarin and iced bergamot," along with "scene-stealing gardenia."  Honestly, to me this fragrance smells like a mishmash of floral notes.  It isn't headache-inducingly sweet, which is good, but there is nothing that stands out about it at all.  It doesn't smell bad, just boring.

Use and Experience

Applying this scent is not hard, but my sample bottle does not have a spray pump.  Instead, I just tip the bottle carefully onto my finger while my finger covers the opening; this gives me a tiny amount of eau de parfum, which is plenty for each wrist. 

Most fragrances have distinctive notes to them, but Very Hollywood doesn't seem to have anything that stands out.  It's just a low-key, generic floral.  It doesn't seem to have top notes that fade, although the scent is certainly sharper at first.  After an hour or so, it fades to a generically pleasant scent, and then after about three hours it just smells like a faint floral muddle.  I don't like it well enough to try applying more than a little bit, but it does seem to have average staying power for the amount that I apply.

I think the name "Very Hollywood," is meant to suggest glamour and distinction, but this fragrance reminds me much more of the interminable list of unremarkable remakes that comes out of Hollywood.  I doubt that is the aspect of Hollywood that Michael Kors meant to invoke.

This is one fragrance that I would certainly urge people to try in the store before buying, and it is not one that I think should be given as a gift unless you know the recipient likes it.  My mother hates it, but I don't think it's interesting enough to work up an emotion as strong as hate.  I'm indifferent to this fragrance; it's just expensive, bland liquid.

Cost and Where to Buy

You can buy this scent at Nordstrom department stores or online at http://www.michaelkors.com/.  A 1 ounce bottle retails for $45.00, 1.7 ounces for $65.00, and 3.4 ounces for $85.00.

Ingredients list: Alcohol Denat., Very Hollywood Michael Kors Fragrance (Parfum), Water/Aqua/Eau, Benzyl Salicylate, Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane, Ethylhexyl Methoxcinnamate, Ethylhexyl Salicylate, Butylphenyl Methylpriprional, Limonene, Linalool, Hexyl Cinnamal, Hydroxycitronellal, Alpha-Isomethyl Ionone, Citronellol, Benzyl Benzoate, Geraniol, Eugenol, Citral, Benzyl Alcohol, Farnesol, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Amyl Cinnamal, Coumarin, Cinnamal, Red 33 (CI 17200), Yellow 5 (CI 19140), Ext. Violet 2 (CI 60730), <ILN35693>.

Michael Kors Very Hollywood Eau de Parfum isn't a terrible scent, it's just... blah.  I can't imagine paying much for a scent this generic.  The only good thing I can say about it is that it doesn't smell bad or give me a headache like some floral scents do.  2 stars.

Recommended: No