If you’re in the last throes of Christmas shopping, and the various strikes are proving problematic for those last minute online orders, the answer to your gifting dilemma could be waiting for you on the high street instead. It might be the last place that you’d usually plan on visiting when the crowds start pushing and shoving, but simply stepping out of the “new release” queue could save you a lot of time and a lot of stress. There are thousands of fragrances that, while not “new” to the industry, will be “new” to the recipient, and my top tip for floral lovers is the delicious 2018 Dylan Blue Pour Femme from Versace.
The name “Versace” has to be one of the most famous in the world of design, and so it was always expected that they would eventually step into the world of perfume as well. This happened in 1981 with the worldwide hit Gianni Versace, which launched in a stunning bottle designed by Alain de Mourgues. There would only be a further two fragrances released by the company in the 1980s, the masculine Versace l’Homme and the feminine V’E Versace, but it paved the way for the massive output that would appear from the nineties onwards. Without a doubt, Versace had arrived.
Now, there can’t be many fragrance franchises that have grabbed the public imagination like the Jeans collection that Versace started in 1994, with the exception perhaps of the iconic Giorgio Beverly Hills, and it saw an impressive fourteen variations in its ten year run. However, tastes were changing and the release of Crystal Noir by Antoine Lie in 2004 reinvigorated the brand. Over the course of the next twelve years, Versace continued to hold the attention of its customers, and then came Dylan Blue Pour Homme in 2016. It was a worldwide hit and an award winner, and so the company wanted a female version.
They turned to Calice Becker and Natalie Gracia-Cetto to create the feminine partner to Alberto Morillas’ original fougère. Their combined experience was phenomenal, with Natalie counting Tom Ford amongst her successes and Calice being the genius behind J’adore, and so success was pretty much guaranteed. Donatella Versace had wanted “a strong, sensuous, refined fragrance created for a woman who knows the power of her sensuality and mind”. The result was a deliciously fruity floral scent with a confident undertone and, housed in their new amphora-shaped bottle, really did have the power to turn heads.
The fragrance opens with an excitingly crisp blend of blackcurrant and apple, but there is also a vegetative green quality in here that stops it from being overly fruity. Quite rapidly the star florals come out to play, and you’re treated to a seamless pairing of airy rose and intoxicating jasmine. This definitely feels like Calice’s moment, and it has a J’adore-like quality, but a peach sorbet powderiness then cuts through and welcomes the base notes. The smooth sandalwood and dry cedarwood combination is enveloped in a suede-edged sweetened musk which, with a hint of patchouli and oakmoss waving from the background, makes Dylan Blue Pour Femme “strong, sensuous and refined”.
Dylan Blue Pour Femme is available from The Perfume Shop, both on the high street and also online at theperfumeshop.com, priced at £54 for 30ml, £74 for 50ml and £99 for 100ml. [Sample provided by Aspects Beauty]
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