Perfumes as rewards...and just because.

There have been a couple of occasions in which I found it appropriate (or at least fun) to surprise Andrea with an addition to our joint perfume collection.

Andrea participates in AWANA, a Bible club for kids, in which the child will work through a book, completing one section at a time by memorizing Bible verses, and other various moralizing activities.

The class for Andrea's age group―Kindergarten through 2nd grade―is called Sparks and the program runs concurrently with the school year. Last spring, when it became obvious that she was going to finish her book, I searched for an appropriate perfume to gift to her.

I should mention that Andrea and I are fans of the Italian cosmetics brand, Aquolina, which makes a famous line of sweet, gourmand perfumes. "Pink Sugar" is the original perfume in the series, I believe, and it is "THE" quintessential gourmand perfume, and a reference point against which perfumes of the gourmand genre are measured. It is mainly cotton candy, with licorice, coconut and berry notes as well. I like it, but of course Andrea is crazy about it.

So in my searching, I found one of Pink Sugar's sisters, called nothing other than "Pink Sugar Sparks." No kidding. I had to buy it for Andrea and give it to her for completing her first year of Sparks.

Here is my review of Pink Sugar Sparks, which I posted on Fragrantica.

―
❝I'm guessing that it is the patchouli/coffee in combination with the other fruits and flowers that creates the dirty vibe. 
It is not dirty, as in unwashed, nor is it dirty, in the sense of a lack of morals. It is earthy and heavy, and confident and it's probably the loudest of the Aquolinas I've smelled. A little goes a long way, and the longevity is great. 
Due to the sometimes-offputting patchouli, I would not recommend this as a safe blind buy. On the other hand, if you like the other members of the Pink Sugar family, and you also like patchouli, without any sweetness being compromised, then you will probably not be surprised by Pink Sugar Sparks, and you will probably like it. 
I've not smelled any of the other scents that Sparks gets compared to, but I think this (and not Pink Sugar Sensual) is Pink Sugar All Grown Up.❞
―

So by this time, Andrea and I had already accumulated:

     •Pink Sugar
     •Gold Sugar (crème brulee, whipped
      cream, coconut, orange and orange
      blossom)
      and
     •Pink Sugar Sensual (sugar, citrus,
      vanilla, black currant, and
      sandalwood―not sure why it's called
      "sensual" but I suspect that it was so
      named in an attempt to boost sales,
      because it's just another sweet
      perfume and fairly ordinary at that),

so I thought that another installment in the Pink Sugar Family―one named Sparks, no less―would be more than perfect.

I presented it to her on the day of the awards ceremony, and of course she was delighted. And of course I had to take it away not long thereafter because she was just going through it too quickly. And as my quoted review states, it is strong and a little goes a long way. Guess how I know? If I had more space, I'd keep it out where Andrea could get to it (with permission only) instead of packed in a box as most our perfumes are.

When Andrea turned 6 this past September, I gave her "Pink Sugar: Simply Pink," which is more similar to the original Pink Sugar, but with heavier strawberries, raspberries, and vanilla. Something in it goes sour on my skin, but it smells great on Andrea.

This year, after she successfully completed her 2nd year in Sparks, I couldn't find a perfume as perfect as Pink Sugar Sparks, so I branched out a bit and bought her Paris Hilton's Dazzle, which features patchouli, vanilla, and a not so commonly used cherry note. It isn't dissimilar to Pink Sugar Sparks, but PSS has raspberry, instead of cherry. She played with it out on the front porch for several days and separated it from its lid, but thankfully neither were ever lost. Perfume and lid are both in the bedroom now in the manufacturer's box. I used that as an opportunity to teach Andrea that part of caring for our perfumes includes storing them in their box if they have one.

I think inexpensive, yet pleasant, perfumes make great presents and rewards for children, especially if they're little perfumistas. Celebrity perfumes are perfect for this kind of situation: they're usually very sweet, floral, and/or fruity; always cheap, and many have attractive packaging and bottles.

―
Postscript: Andrea and I have also acquired Black Sugar and Steel Sugar; we still need Chocolovers and Blue Sugar, but the latter two are hard to find and are quite expensive. I'm waiting for a partial bottle to show up on ebay and get one or both.