Posted by Robin
on
29 March 2012
Truth or Dare is the debut scent from pop icon Madonna. I am frequently forced to “research” the “celebrities” whose perfumes I review here, but even I know who Madonna is, and so I assume you do too. An informal survey of young people (ok, I just asked my tween son) reveals that her fame is wide enough to cross generational boundaries, but Truth or Dare is aimed at a more mature audience than most celebrity fragrance efforts, albeit not one quite so mature as Madonna herself — they’re after women 25 to 45, with special emphasis on the 35 to 45 group. Once you cross 45, as we all know, you’re safely outside of the fragrance industry’s radar.
Truth or Dare is apparently associated with Madonna’s new lifestyle brand of the same name (next up: shoes), and it was made under licensing arrangements with Coty. I’ll repeat the statement from Madonna that I quoted when I announced Truth or Dare:
I have always been obsessed by fragrance and for years wanted to create something personal that was an expression of me, but that other people could relate to as well. Something classical and timeless and yet modern. My oldest memory of my mother is her perfume. I carry it with me everywhere. She always smelled like gardenias and tuberose, an intoxicating mixture [that was] feminine and mysterious. I wanted to re-create this scent, but with something fresh and new about it as well.1
I have no idea what Madonna’s mother wore, but I’ve always heard that Madonna herself wore Robert Piguet Fracas, and it’s easy enough to believe that Fracas was the reference for Truth or Dare — Truth or Dare is basically a big ole white floral with an armload of tuberose and a gardenia tucked behind the ear…
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Posted by Robin
on
16 February 2010
Kim Kardashian, in case you didn’t know, is a “TV star, entrepreneur, model, actress, and trendsetter”, in addition to being “one of the world’s most idolized women”. So says Sephora, where Kardashian’s eponymous debut fragrance recently launched and is reportedly a top seller.
Kardashian said she wanted “something rich and creamy and sexy, but still youthful”;1 what she got was a big white floral, very similar to the recent Mariah Carey Forever, which of course was very similar to Marc Jacobs for women. Kardashian’s effort, developed by perfumer Claude Dir, is lusher than Forever, and heavier on the tuberose…
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Posted by Angela
on
28 September 2009
Beauty is tricky. In Sunday’s New York Times, Barbra Streisand explained to a reporter that she doesn’t want her music to be straight and pure, “It has to rub. I want that slight rub there.” Regardless of what you think of Streisand, she has a point. For something to reach its full potential for beauty, it needs a flaw, an unexpected element to catch your attention. Parfum d’Empire 3 Fleurs Eau de Parfum is rich and lovely, and I know many people will wear it to lavish compliments. But it doesn’t have the rub.
Parfum d’Empire released 3 Fleurs (along with Wazamba) this summer. It has notes of Bulgarian rose, Egyptian jasmine, and Indian tuberose—the three flowers of its name—along with galbanum, mint, and white musk. Despite rose, jasmine, and tuberose having equal billing, to me 3 Fleurs is more of a heady rose fragrance with jasmine and tuberose playing strong supporting roles…
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Posted by Robin
on
17 September 2009
All those recent stories about how the celebrity fragrance trend is dying? Don’t believe ‘em. They’ve been saying that every year that I’ve been writing this blog, and look around — do you see fewer celebrity fragrances? Au contraire. The pie might be shrinking, but apparently everyone still wants a slice. And here is Mariah Carey (you might not recognize her right away given the wildly enthusiastic photoshopping) with Forever, her third fragrance in two years (not counting one flanker and two collector bottles).
Forever hopes to reflect Carey’s satisfaction with how well her life is going:
I am in a wonderful place right now, surrounded by all the things I love, and Forever captures this moment in time.1
Forever is supposed to be a “modern opulent floral”, and if you take modern opulence to be watery rather than full-bodied, that’s exactly what it is. The opening is crisp, fresh and watery, with tart apple plus some added greenery and citrus; the heart is a watery gardenia/tuberose floral blend with vaguely fruity undertones. The florals are strong and diffusive for a very short time, after that, they’re sheer, and need not scare anybody…
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Posted by Robin
on
9 July 2007
Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia is the brainchild of Aerin Lauder, Estee Lauder’s granddaughter and the Creative Director of the Estee Lauder line. It borrows its name from Private Collection, the 1973 release that was said to be based on a scent that Estee Lauder originally created for her own use. The new fragrance features neroli, lilac, rosewood, tuberose, gardenia, orange flower, jasmine, white lily, carnation and vanilla bourbon.
Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia opens sweet and bright, and seems to move rapidly from the mild touch of citrus in the opening into the white floral notes in the heart. The lilac softens the more exuberant floral notes in the early stages, but it is lush and full-bodied almost from the start, and it is almost linear after the first 20 minutes or so have passed. The tuberose and gardenia are the main players — you will catch glimpses of the other notes, especially the jasmine, but it starts out smelling like mostly tuberose and gardenia and hours later, it still does. The base is milky-creamy woods with a touch of vanilla, and is neither heady nor overly sweet…
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