The orchid is one of my favorite flowers. They’re wild and beautiful, and often, rare. Their colors can be delicate and creamy, or the color of fire. A new celebrity fragrance, Pure Orchid by Halle Berry for Coty, attempts to bottle that beauty and make it your signature scent for Spring.
The fragrance, launching this month, is a limited edition scent that embodies the exotic beauty of the woman that inspired it and the exotic beauty of the flower for which it is named. Although I didn’t try Ms. Berry’s first signature fragrance, Halle by Halle Berry, Pure Orchid is a new interpretation of this scent, with a more sensual, seductive sensibility.
Celebrity fragrances can be tricky. On the one hand, you expect the scent to reflect the star who is the “face” of the fragrance. But on the other hand, some celebrities have a lot more input into the actual scent (e.g. Sarah Jessica Parker) than others. If they don’t just feel like putting their name on the bottle of a pleasing scent, the creators have to work with the star’s vision which may or may not be theirs. Whether or not Halle Berry had a lot to do with Halle or with Pure Orchid, there is some star power in this mix. The scent, designers by perfumers Rodrigo Flores-Roux & Christophe Raynaud of Givaudan, have done a great job for a modestly priced product.
The top notes include: crisp Italian Lemon, Papaya Nectar Fizz and Jungle Cactus Flower.
The Mid Notes include: Masdevallia Orchid, a touch of Blackberry Crème Concentré and subtly sweet Star Anise
The bottom notes include: Giant Sequoia, Patchouli Leaf, and Tonka Bean providing a sensual and elegant base.
A field of Masdevallia orchids
The fragrance is officially categorized: “sensual floral woody.” But the scent starts out sweet and fruity. My nose zoned in on vanilla, even though it isn’t listed in the notes. The Masdevallia Orchid is the real star in this scent. “It’s deep, purple petals unfold to reveal a mélange of scents that keep changing on your skin, “enhancing the seductive power of this fragrance” (as the press literature states). As the scent dries down, as the alcohol dissipates, you start to sense all sorts of interesting and sensual aspects. This is a complex, feminine scent, but an empowering one. Spice and woods and creamy notes mix with the usual, ladylike ones. Although this celebrity fragrance is modestly priced, it not unsophisticated. Like an abstract painting, you see more and more in it as you spend time with it.
And I have to mention the packaging, because it is lovely. The outer carton, designed by Lutz Hermann, has purple, metallic accents, and a large head-and-shoulders photo of Halle Berry with her signature, script, Halle logo. Ms. Berry is the star on the carton, and only the lightest photo wash of an orchid hints that there is Masdevallia Orchid, inside. I have to admit that fragrance bottles are a joy to have and to hold, and I love the lilac-tinted glass spray flacon for Pure Orchid by Halle Berry, designed by Jane Tarallo. It is the a re-imagining of the original Halle by Halle Berry fragrance bottle; a heavy glass low rectangle, embossed with a pattern that looks like flowing of ocean waves and sand, all done in shades of purple and silver (supposed to evoke the distinct colors and luminous feel of twilight).
In summary: Pure Orchid is pure pleasure. Make it your signature scent!
The Pure Orchid by Halle Berry Collection is available now, in selected stores. Eau de Parfum 0.5 oz./15 ml $17.00/ €16.00* Eau de Parfum 1.0 oz./30 ml $28.00/ €24.00* * MSRP. For additional information about Coty Inc., Visit the Coty Web Site
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Copyright ©Alison Blackman Dunham. All rights reserved. The Advice Sisters is a registered United States trademark. No content may be used or copied with written permission. If you want to use my work, please obtain it legally: Email: advicesisters-at-advicesisters-dot-net Subscribe to this blog by email or in a feed reader (See the right hand column of this blog). Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/advicesisters or Facebook http://www.facebook.com/alisonblackman I use provided samples for most of my reviews. Learn more in the “A Note About Compensation” section of my What Works Beauty, Cosmetics and Fashion review column: http://www.advicesisters.net/whatworkscol3.html
