The Japan Times - Boots Last Note Range Adds Five £12.99 Eau de Parfums

Boots launched a new range of eau de parfums costing just £12.99 each - with five fragrances spanning everything from warm vanilla to fruity florals and tropical coconut.

The new Last Note collection includes Vanilla Portrait, Velvet Bouquet, Echoes of You, Soft Island Drift and Into the Orchard, all in 50ml bottles that look considerably more expensive than their budget price tag.

At £12.99 each, they're a fraction of the price of many designer perfumes, but a cheaper fragrance isn't a bargain if you don't actually want to wear it. I tried all five to find out whether they're worth adding to your fragrance wardrobe.

There's a surprising amount of variety between them. Vanilla Portrait combines bergamot and peach with rose, patchouli and jasmine before settling into vanilla, amber and musk. It's sweet and comforting without smelling too much like dessert, and should appeal to anyone who can't get enough of the warm, vanilla-heavy fragrances that seem to be everywhere right now. One online shopper called it “a gorgeous bargain”.

As the name suggests, Velvet Bouquet is more floral, blending bergamot, mandarin, pear and pink pepper with jasmine, neroli, orange flower and rose, while Echoes of You is one of the softer, more understated fragrances of the five. Of the two, I'd be more likely to reach for Echoes of You as an easy everyday perfume, while Velvet Bouquet feels a little more dressed up.

Then there are the two scents that take the collection in a fruitier direction. Into the Orchard combines strawberry, peach, apple, pink grapefruit and lemon blossom with florals, vanilla and woods. It's bright, cheerful and probably the one I'd wear on a sunny summer day.

Soft Island Drift is the wildcard, with banana flower, coconut, pear and lemon alongside jasmine, violet, vanilla, amber and sandalwood. Coconut fragrances can easily stray into suntan-lotion territory, but this has enough floral and woody warmth to make it much more wearable. If I were choosing one to throw into my suitcase for a sunshine holiday, this would be it.

First, the price. £12.99 for 50ml makes these accessible enough to experiment with, and you could even buy two or three for less than the price of many single designer fragrances. It also makes them an appealing affordable gift, particularly because they don't look remotely like £12.99 perfumes.

The presentation is one of the biggest surprises. The chunky glass bottles, simple labels and oversized gold spherical lids look smart enough to leave out on a dressing table and give the whole collection a much more expensive feel.

Most importantly, the fragrances actually smell different. Boots hasn't produced five slight variations on one safe crowd-pleaser. There are fruity, floral, vanilla and tropical directions here, so there's a good chance most people will find at least one they enjoy.

They're £12.99 perfumes, and there are moments when you can tell. They don't quite have the nuance or development of a really good premium fragrance, and the initial spray can be sweeter and more obvious than the scent that eventually settles on your skin.

There's also the size of the bottles. They look great, but the chunky glass and oversized lids aren't particularly handbag-friendly if you like carrying your perfume around for top-ups.

Last Note by Boots is a convincing reminder that perfume doesn't have to cost £100 or more to be enjoyable.

I wouldn't pretend they have all the complexity of a great luxury fragrance, but that's hardly a reasonable comparison. Judged on what they actually are, they're fun, wearable, nicely presented and exceptionally affordable.

There isn't one obvious winner because the five are deliberately different. Vanilla Portrait should appeal to anyone caught up in the vanilla trend, Into the Orchard is my pick for a bright fruity scent, while Soft Island Drift would be the first bottle I'd pack for a holiday.

But across the range, the price is what keeps coming back to me. If I'd smelled these perfumes and seen the bottles without knowing what they cost, I wouldn't have put them at £12.99. That makes Last Note an easy way to try something new and, with gifting season approaching, a very affordable present that looks considerably more pricey than it is.

M.Sugiyama--JT