Elizabeth + James Bourbon perfume review

It’s been a few years since I last reviewed or talked about any perfume or fragrance on this space, but that doesn’t mean I wasn’t trying anything. In fact, as I explained in my last perfume collection videos (see here & here), I have been on a bit of a fragrance journey. In my 20s I tried to find what I would call my ‘signature scent’. And found it: Florabotanica by Balenciaga. But having found that, I thought my perfume collection very underwhelming. It featured lots of very ‘standard’ perfumes such as J’Adore by Dior and Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle. Still lovely scents, don’t get me wrong, but I wanted something different. Enter: Elizabeth & James Bourbon. Today I am telling you all about this perfume and why I like it.

Review: Elizabeth and James Bourbon fragrance

This perfume entered the scene a few years ago. I had found out what I like in a perfume and so I tried sourcing other fragrances that played off of those favorite notes but that were a bit of a bolder statement. I haven’t gone exactly niche per se, as many more exclusive brands are very hard to get in The Netherlands (case in point: this exact fragrance), but I wanted to try other things. And with other things, in the world of fragrance at least, that meant spending a bit more money too. I ended up sourcing this perfume from Feelunique after trying it as a rollerball that I bought on a trip to the US. I paid roughly €50 for a 30 ml bottle, but that was a few years ago and I can no longer find this brand nor this perfume on the Feelunique website.

What does this fragrance have to offer?

Elizabeth + James is the perfume brand launched by the Olsen Twins and it used to be exclusively available from Sephora in the US. You can do a bit of a google and find this at other places now too. In terms of fragrance this is a simple one: it only has three notes according to Fragrantica. Oak, Bourbon Vanilla and Tuberose. I bought this because I am not someone for very sweet scents, but I love a bit of a powdery, warm scent with a woodsy feel and that is what this gives me. As I mentioned I first tried this as a rollerball, so I knew what this would smell like when I bought it. It starts off very sweet on my skin, but then it soon turns very warm and woodsy, which I love.

To me, this is very much a night time scent. This is perfect for dates, dance evenings, concerts and/ or dinner parties. This is not something I can wear on a daily basis. I prefer something fresher and greener for a day time perfume. So I am not getting a ton of use of out of this, especially not in 2020, but this is certainly a great one. I feel I only need a little bit. As with many sweeter scents I can’t use too much of this or it will give me a headache so I would be careful. It’s why I ended up going with the 30 ml bottle in the end. I knew that 30 mls would last me a life time as I only need little and don’t wear this on the daily.

My final thoughts

One of the reasons why I haven’t blogged much about fragrance these past few years is because I always get a bit stumped with how to describe it. Perfumes are very personal and of course scents can take on a different feel once adding your personal scent and body chemistry into the mix. This is one I certainly love and would repurchase if I ever ran out and it was still available. Should you run out to buy it? I don’t think so and I wouldn’t recommend buying perfumes without trying them first to begin with. I feel a bit more confident now that I know what I like.

What do you think of this perfume?