is the latest feminine celebrity fragrance by Avon. Fronted by British actress Gemma Aterton, it was released at the same time that the new James Bond movie Quantum of Solace debuted, a film in which she plays the role of agent Strawberry Fields.
There is an attraction-and-danger duality to the composition which corresponds to the personality of Strawberry Fields, but this comes across empirically, and even if you did not know that, as a tension between a luminous chypré effect and a more opaque and vaporous oriental vanillic sensation. The technical tour de force of this perfume is that this tension never subsides...
Official notes given are: Top Notes are White Peach and Orange Blossom; Middle Notes are Jasmine, Exotic Calypso Orchid and Freesia. Base notes are Amber, Cashmere Wood, Patchouli and Musks.
Most often one pays only fleeting attention to the very top notes of a perfume, those ones that are conventionally citrusy and the most volatile, simply because they do not often call attention to themselves, serving rather as a springboard for the main development of the perfume. Indeed most often citrus notes seem just to say hello and good-bye at the same time. But in the case of Bond Girl 007, the head notes are very appealing and force your attention. The freshness here has presence and feels multi-layered.
For the perfumers who were submitted the "brief", i.e., the story that needs to be translated into wearable fragrance, and as Olivier Cresp explained himself, this sparkling aspect represents the attractive part of the Bond Girl 007 persona (versus her "very dangerous" part). The bright citrusy and fruity opening which seems to be a medley of lemon, orange, mandarin and which includes orange blossom and white peach is exceptionally well-crafted; it also seems to prolong itself further into a chypré impression. The perfume then fades into its other facet, the oriental one, a rather heavy pastry vanilla accord at first with nuances of beaten egg-whites, reminding me irresistibly of the recent vanilla segue in Tendre Jasmin by Yves Rocher done by Cresp's close colleague and compadre Jacques Cavallier. But in this case the heaviness of the white creamy vanilla is not just regressive; the more sophisticated and lighter chypré accents manage to float above the more gourmand accord.
As the perfume dries down, it takes on a very seductive powdery scent. It is a powdery sensation that is a bit spicy and precious. After thinking about this impression for a little while, first thinking about opoponax, I realized it is reminiscent of Cashmere Mist by Donna Karan and further back in this lineage, of Chanel Bois des Iles. It is not a conspicuous sensation, rather a subtle signature which characterizes the feminine work on woods in Bond Girl 007.
Comments
So, all in all, on which occasions do you think you would wear this perfume?
Posted by: Béatrice | December 31, 2008
for a luncheon or an evening occasion. It is quite versatile but I would not call it an office scent because it definitely carries an aura of seduction.
Posted by: Marie-Helene Wagner | January 3, 2009
-- Edited by Sharon at 01:05, 2009-01-24
-- Edited by Sharon on Tuesday 7th of July 2009 09:00:31 PM
Comments
So, all in all, on which occasions do you think you would wear this perfume?
Posted by: Béatrice | December 31, 2008
for a luncheon or an evening occasion. It is quite versatile but I would not call it an office scent because it definitely carries an aura of seduction.
Posted by: Marie-Helene Wagner | January 3, 2009