I received this for Christmas 2015 and I really wanted to love it because the gifter assumed that since I liked the original Modern Muse I'd like this one. Alas it's not the kind of smellie for me. I was given the gift set which comes with a 50ml EDP.
The bottle has the gorgeous trimmings of typical Estee Lauder packaging, simple but elegant. I don't like that the nozzle is exposed but that's just me being a fuss pot and based on my experience with the original it doesn't actually impact on the fragrance. I still prefer the traditional lids - ones that you pull off.
When I first spritzed it, I could smell an element of the original Modern Muse mixed with some sort of floral concoction that my senses just wasn't buying into. To me the scent is passable - several of my family and friends love it but I don't really reach for it as much as I should.
The dry down is what confuses me the most and I'm starting to think it has more to do with the chemistry of the fragrance on my skin as opposed to the actual product. The dry down reminds me of a musky male scent - and I don't know about you but that's not how I want to smell.
The sillage and staying power is amazing (much better that the original) and I would hope so for the kind of price you're paying as well as it being EDP. Given the chance, I would pick the original over this version of Modern Muse.
I got this because the farmers reward voucher I had was burning a hole in my pocket. And having just earned another voucher I decided to treat myself to it. The perfume itself comes in three sizes 30ml, 50ml and 100ml all with their varying price tags, I got the 30ml simply because I have so many perfumes at present and I couldn't say no to one more.
The bottle is rectangular when face on but looking top down is a long rectangle with 1/2 rounds at each end. It fits in the hand easily for spraying. The contents of this glass bottle are like a pale coral pink/orange so you can easily see how much is left in the bottle. There is no lid to be removed on this the sprayer is built into the top, it is unmovable so you don't have to look at where the sprayer is before using. It has plastic looped out on each side that is supposed to look like a ribbon, while this does look pretty in the pictures, in real life the more I look at it the cheaper it starts to feel in my mind anyway.
The first time I used it was the tester sprayed on by the assistant at farmers about 3.30 in the afternoon, I was still smelling the test spray at 10pm that night and again at 1am when I checked. The opening notes on spraying came out with a light fruity more floral scent this finished after about 20-30 minutes and then into the heart of the scent which is very floral. Nine hours later I am still smelling the florals of the scent. This little baby has stay power on 2 sprays. This stay power has repeated with every other time I have used it. Pricey? yes at $112 for a 30ml bottle, double point days and vouchers are the best way to save up or buy this. The stay power makes it more economical.
I started writing this review the day I got this perfume which is why I could put in the times that I checked it and had it sprayed.
Tips: The Farmers person that served me was great I told her that I normally wore fruity florals, she knew immediately which would be appropriate and had me smell them on card first for the right on and then once I had settled on one sprayed my wrist and encouraged me to wear it in to see if I would like it.