JULIETTE HAS A GUN
MIAMI SHAKE
2025
strawberry
whipped cream
vanilla
musk
‘An elevated fruity perfume, this creamy gourmand fragrance features the scent of wild strawberries resting on a bed of silky, musky whipped cream and vanilla. Miami Shake is as addictive as sugar and reminiscent of a delectable milkshake, leaving a long-lasting trail you’ll want to indulge in. With Miami Shake, I decided to present the first really gourmand fragrance of the collection. With wild strawberries as a top note, of course they had to be wild like Juliette. An elevated fruity scent, silky like whipped cream and musky, with a long-lasting trail. As the composition came together, the woman behind the perfume appeared to me as well, playing hide and seek in her oversized Miami villa. Pastel colors, blue pool, and retro vibes. It’s never too much. Will her olfactory treat make you succumb?’ – Juliette Has a Gun
Miami Shake was never going to be ‘for me’, but it’s without a doubt one of the most disappointing perfumes I’ve reviewed in a while. It comes in at the (hopefully end?) of a streak of pretty underwhelming experiences, but manages to make the other fragrances of the month (Kurky, Castley, Impadia etc.) so far seem great in comparison.
It opens on the fruity side. Heavily artificial smelling fruitiness, but I’m happy that there’s some acidity here. A lot of 2024 and 2025 releases that I’ve reviewed seem to omit brightness and sourness from their fruits, opting for a full-on sweet onslaught. With Miami Shake, this is not the case; it’s an unnatural, candied, plasticy fruitiness, but with a lot of citrus to create a happier, livelier feeling. Which is the most positive thing I experienced in my time with Miami Shake.
I don’t get enough ‘ice cream’ or creaminess from Miami Shake for what I would want from it and its marketing. There’s something here, but for the most part, I find it more dry and even powdery, rather than creamy or lactonic. It gets worse when the acidity of the strawberry accord fades and the last bits of lactonic quality vanish (which happens within the first hour) and you’re left with a generic, tart, sweet hairspray.
I would say I get almond and coconut more than anything as far as the sweet tinge goes, but without any substance to them. An airy, cloud-like and more tart take on a sun tan lotion.
What came to mind is that I think the unremarkable Sol de Janeiro Beijos del Sol wore significantly nicer, which is quite telling for the Miami Shake price point. I’m reminded of the dry, tart sugariness of a Amouage Love Delight, and the roomspray quality of Kayali Yum Pistachio Gelato | 33. At times more fruity like a Xerjoff Torino24; Miami Shake is definitely not as gourmand as I was expecting it to be.
I kept trying to smell Miami Shake in the air and up close, and at some random moments a hint of milkiness enters my nostrils, but for the most part, it eluded me and its texture was just a big miss for me. Both scent and texture feel, for lack of better words, ‘synthetic’ and ‘cheap’ from start to finish. I guess we’re living in an age where a perfume with this kind of presentation and listed notes will succeed just by existing, even though the end product is completely lackluster… at some point I can’t even blame the brands for churning out this bait-like gourmand marketing-driven drivel.