Sweet and Fruity Fragrances

Hi Posse, Thought you might all be well over the talk of celebration, family, food and gifting. Let’s chat today about some of my favourite sweet and fruity beauties. This is such a reviled subsection of the perfumistas lexicon. I wanted to chat about ones I love for those that may be feeling excluded and mocked. Partly the problem is how most of us fell into the craving. Loving those comforting amber or vanilla rich fragrances, heavy tapestried incense and wood bombs. Many came seeking old loves of bombastic white florals and spicy armchair dreams of Asia and Africa. Suddenly the world of perfumery was offering up these almost caricaturish ultra sweet lollies. Our collective snobbish response was hate.

Especially loud were the voices of bloggers raised on the Amouage, Serge Lutens and vintage designer. We were not happy. Sweet and fruity seemed too easy, frivolous and lame. Well, look beyond that and I think you’ll find a wealth of beauty untapped that spans generations. As far back to Mure et Musc by L’Artisan Parfumeur in 1978.

Sweet and Fruity Fragrances

Amor Amor by Cacharel

You looking for sweet and fruity? Amor Amor is like nothing I could ever have imagined myself wearing. Blackcurrant, orange, mandarin, grapefruit, bergamot  and apricot all combine with some flowers and a sweet vanilla amber in a fun, flirty puff of loveliness. One of my besties, Anna Maria, gave me my initial bottle and it embodies her sweet, sunny, loving personality so completely that I immediately fell head over heels. Wearing Amor Amor is like a hug when I’m down.

Bombay Bling! by Neela Vermeire Creations

Of the three fragrances my nose associates with Jin, Bombay Bling has the most significant events attached. He wore it for our wedding and often wears it as his holiday fragrance. Never underestimate the power of scent to create memories. Mango, litchi and blackcurrant are the fruits here but in my nose they all read as a succulent burst of pineapple. The base is quite masculine so you get these two stories with excellent progression. The initial couple of hours sillage is off the charts but never pugnacious.

Feminité du Bois by Serge Lutens

The original stewed fruit creation in 1992 for Shiseido, it returned to the Serge Lutens line in 2009. Though it is sweet and fruity Feminité du Bois is so much more. Stewed peaches and plums are spiced up with ginger, clove and cinnamon. Underneath this concoction runs a deep vein of vanilla heavy amber and sandalwood. I can’t even imagine how stunning this must have been in 1992 but it still smells so beautiful, even though the newest batches are slightly thinner and a little screechy.

L’Heure Convoiteé II by Cartier

Strawberry, though it doesn’t read as the living thing. This strawberry is a confectionary replication rather than the fruit itself. Carnation, iris and powder frame in cool arctic tones an aloof version of the sweet and fruity fragrance. When worn in warm climate it smells warm and cozy but wear L’Heure Convoiteé in the snow and it is an alpine experience. Also, by far the longest lasting of these choices.

La Colle Noire by Dior

A rose: jammy, fruity, fresh and pretty. La Colle Noire is about as far from noir as you could ever imagine a fragrance to be. This is a sweet and fruity morning stroll through the garden as the sun warms the roses. Blackcurrant, peach, raspberry and lemon give this fragrance a feel of the full bodied lushness when you stick your face into a freshly opened rose. A very faint darkness underlies the sweetness through the heart and base.

Mure et Musc Extreme by L’Artisan Parfumeur

This is the scent that started it all. Blackberry, red berries and citrus are brought together in a sweetness so pure it’s tart. Lip puckeringly so on open, like licking a fresh cut lime. Both mouth watering and astringent. It’s not long before that squealing sweetness mellows and softens. Still feels totally modern though it’s well into its 40s.

Trésor In Love by Lancome

Nectarine, pear, peach and citrus! Slightly aquatic fruit punch opening with the familiar sizzle of pink pepper berries and amorphous florals. Sweet and fruity drizzled with musks and a hint of woodsiness to hold it earthbound. Trésor In Love is not obnoxiously sugar laden and feels very nicely balanced. I had long loved Tresor Midnight Rose but recently my mate Scotty gave me this bottle and I find myself smitten.

Surrender To Chance Fruity Perfumes Sampler has an excellent array of new and old sweet and fruity faves. A good place to start your fruity perfume journey.

OK, so now it’s time to confess your sweet and fruity guilty pleasures. Do you have some faves too?

BTW:
I know this time of year can be really brutal and taxing for everyone. Please be kind to yourselves and those around you. If you see depression looming have a plan. Even if it is to bookmark this page to give someone unrelated a call. (World Suicide, Crisis and Depression Hotlines).
Rope in a friend or colleague for a telephone, FaceTime, after family or without family cup of tea, anything. You’ll be surprised how many other people around you would LOVE to have an excuse to get away for some calm chatter for an hour or so.
Make sure you have something festive to do, even if it’s a hot chocolate and a cookie. If you can, go for a walk, spritz some perfume or clean out the fridge. One small step towards something is a large step away from the black dog.

Whatever, wherever or however you do it, stay safe and warm.

You can be assured that some guy in Sydney, Australia is hoping to read and reply to your comments this week and next Thursday to hear what you did, didn’t, would have, could have, should have done over the week.

All the hugs,
Portia xx