beyonce rise
No one doubts that Beyonce is one of the most beautiful women of our time. And when you get to mega-star status, you also get the luxury of being able to express your personal opinions, sometimes in the products you endorse and that have your name on them.
RISE is a new fragrance by Beyonce Parfums 1.7 fl. oz. looks impressive from the outer carton with a metallic galaxy of stars on a midnight blue background, to the slim, elegant, almost regal looking bottle — a tower of clear glass with a “grown” of what looks to be shiny, bold, gold stalagmites. The packaging immediately broadcasts that the fragrance isn’t going to be too shy and girly. The bottle was designed by Ken Hirst.
Before I get into what the actual fragrance smells like, let’s talk a bit about what Beyonce’s inspiration was for this fragrance, which is just the latest in a line of scents for her. The concept, I’m told was inspired by Beyonce’s on stage image and by“female empowerment.” On the Beyonce Fragrance web site is this little factoid: Beyoncé believes a woman’s power comes from within and when a woman connects with her very essence, she revels in her individuality, her strength, and her beauty. To honor this elevated and empowering attitude, Beyoncé was inspired to create her newest scent, RISE. ”
When you look at the bottle, you immediately get the female empowerment idea.
I know that most discerning fragrance afficiandos may wrinkle up their noses at the mere thought of another fruity/floral fragrance by a celebrity but that’s not really fair. Just because it’s a celebrity scent doesn’t mean it’s a bad scent. RISE is characterized as a ” luminous floral”, created by perfumer Loc Dong of IFF and the scent is well balanced and very pretty. The top notes include apricot, Italian bergamot and iced basil sorbet. The main note of the perfume is, of course, orchid (Beyonce’s signature) called “Golden Symphony”, combined with freesia and Sambac jasmine flowers. The bottom notes are familiar and welcome — autumn woods, cashmere, musk and vetiver. The fruits and florals stay with you even as the drydown happens. What you smell in the beginning actually is what you smell later on, too.
Fragrance tastes are so subjective, that it would be unfair and unwise for me to say whether or not RISE is going to be a runaway hit or not. The packaging is beautiful, and anyone who is a Beyonce fan or a bottle collector, is going to buy this fragrance no matter what. But the thing that is actually nice about RISE is that while it is yet another fruited floral, it’s a nice one. It’s not a super-sophisticated, never-smelled-this-anywhere-before kind of scent, but it smells good. That’s worthy of note, especially for a fragrance that doesn’t really cost a lot. At $44.00 for the 1.7 fl. oz. Eau de Parfum, its going to make a nice Mother’s Day gift, or graduation gift later on in the year. Women of all ages can choose this and spritz it on with confidence, and feel good about themselves, and that’s what Beyonce wanted. It does the job well and looks beautiful, doing it.
You can get RISE at mass market retailers like Walmart, and Kohls, Kmart and Target, and also at Macys. For more information and locations to purchase RISE visit: http://www.beyonceparfums.com/rise
