Versace Versense Review: Move Over, Versace Bright Crystal!

Versace Versense, the latest perfume from the Versace, is not quite what you would expect from a brand that does fashionable flamboyance like no one else. The popular darlings of the Versace perfume line are Bright Crystal and its flanker, Crystal Noir. Both these fragrances are both wildly intense. Versace Versense, on the other hand, is a softer, more neutral floral perfume.

Donatella Versace, mistress of the Versace brand, is an avid perfume collector who surely harbors a wide and varied taste for perfumes. So despite the popular calling for Bright Crystal and Crystal Noir, it’s high time that Donatella, the perfume aficionado, adds a little diversity to her range of women’s perfumes. Versace Versense, which was released this summer, is slowly climbing the perfume charts of popularity. So watch out Versace Bright Crystal, you are about the meet competition!

Versace Versense sits on the borderline of many perfume categories. This fragrance is a citrus fragrance, a green fragrance, and a floral fragrance all at once. Versense begins with a sharp citrus spark. Fresh and clean notes of bergamot, mandarin, and fig open this light summer fragrance. With some time, these fresh citrus notes give way to a well rounded floral-musk. Full floral notes of magnolia, lotus and peony keep this perfume feeling full and lively, while soft touches of musk and wood finish the perfume.

Versense, according to Donatella, is supposed to be a Mediterranean perfume. Now we all know that Mediterranean perfumes smell like—dry qualities of citrus, wood and moss dominate. But while Versense opens with a Mediterranean façade, the Mediterranean quality quickly fades into a full floral perfume. So if you’re looking for a dry, clean energetic perfume—as most Mediterranean perfumes are—Versense is probably not for you. If you’re looking for a soft, clean floral with a citrus opener, Versense has got your number.

While Versense is not exactly the Mediterranean perfume it is advertised to be, it’s definitely an understated floral perfume that deserves some kudos. Unlike Versace Bright Crystal and Crystal Noir, Versense is a modest perfume. Versace Bright Crystal is a high energy perfume that is crisp, fruity and above all bright. Bright Crystal comes in a pinked-out bottle that’s topped with a larger-than-life crystalline stopper. Versace Crystal Noir, just like Bright Crystal, is an intense perfume. Crystal Noir is dark, fruity, syrupy and oriental. The bottle is equally deep and intense: a dark amber-like bottle resonates the resinous woody tones within. In contrast to these loud and intense perfumes, Versense looks like a simplistic cologne bottle. The look is a dead give away to the clean, simple fragrance inside.