LA Pretty: What is the scent of an LA Pretty?

Do you really want Jenna Jameson telling you how to smell? Or even Halle Berry? We're drowning in celebrity perfumes, and the true value of an expertly crafted fragrance is getting lost in the crowd. After reading about Strange Invisible Perfumes on LA Magazine's Chic Leak blog, I couldn't wait to try the new Spring Trio created by company founder (and a native LA Pretty!) Alexandra Balahoutis. She is a true perfumer and her Venice boutique is the go-to place for completely botanical fragrances. Fragrance is way of life to her, as she described to Style.com, "I’ve looked to scent to change my mood and mark the subtle beginnings of new eras."

Three fragrances make up her recently debuted Spring Trio collection. Each are from three flowers: the gardenia, lily and rose. Though each fragrance is inspired by one flower, their scent is anything but one note illustrating Alexandra's genius at drawing upon each flower's complexity and depth. Aquarian Roses is a unisexual perfume described as "crisp aquatic notes of wild roses brighten a warm sea of marjoram and sandalwood." Gorgeous and bold, I was grateful to find it resembled the real essence of a rose, not some overly flowery artificial rose-scent that I'm, sadly, more used to. Urban Lily not only has the best title ever, but also was soothing, and beautiful. Its description as "a stunning bouquet for the ages" is accurate as I can't ever imagine getting sick of this beautiful fragrance.

The fave of us LA Pretties was surprisingly the Epic Gardenia. Surprising to me, as I'm not a flowery kind of gal, but oh my, we both let out a gasp at Pretty headquarters after catching a whiff of this fragrance sample. Described as "scandalous and head-turning" this perfume has my whole heart.

But yes, I know that getting a $200 perfume probably isn't a high priority, so do this Pretty a favor, buy all three of the Spring Trio samples for $5 each and see which one you love. Or better yet, stop by the Strange Invisible boutique in Venice. After wearing the sample for a few days, the BF will surely want to know what that intoxicating scent is. And you know, your birthday is coming up and you just know the perfect thing for him to buy you...