Cheeky Alice by Vivienne Westwood review

2:48 PM

Last year we had Naughty Alice, these year we have her (supposedly) sexier, more sensual older sister, Cheeky Alice.

While I enjoyed Naughty as a casual day or office scent,and loved the Maly Siri artwork used in the campaign, she (yes, I feel like I have to refer to these perfumes as ladies) never felt like a particularly naughty or daring scent.

I'd hoped that Cheeky Alice would bring it and add some feistiness to the original scent, but nope, same old, same old. There's the same powder as Naughty, with a very similar strong rose presence, but minus Naughty's sugar violets. Cheeky is more similar to Stella in its peony note, while Naughty reminded me of a more powdery Kenzo Flower. Lily of the valley is prominent throughout, delicate and sweet, coy rather than cheeky, polite and placid. I think Cheeky Alice could have really benefited from some spice like cumin or a hot cinnamon to dirty it up the floral harmony.

Yes, that's me reflected in the cap

Forget this "sexier older sister" being caught knickerless or picking flowers from someone else's garden (on the lower end of my cheeky scale), her game is throwing wild tea-parties (cucumber AND egg salad sandwiches? MADNESS!) and cross-stitching motivating phrases in her spare time.The cheekiest thing this Alice with ever do is forget to say thank you when she's offered some shortbread at the local nursing home where she volunteers.

The red bracelet wrapped around the bottle neck is rather sweet, but I do prefer the chain that came with my bottle of Naughty Alice, although I never wear it.

The bracelet

I find the cutesy, vintage-style youthful marketing at odds with a more mature, inoffensive scent that wouldn't be out of place in the office. It's a perfectly nice floral, but honestly, I don't want that. I want my Alice to have a dark side, to spike the teapot and leave her g-string as a calling card.

C'mon Viv, I know you can do better, as evidenced by the off-beat Libertine and the actually cheeky and slightly indecent Boudoir, a study in being naughty verging on dirty. Take note please, Alice.