CONFETTO

4/24/15

Candied Almonds. Anise. Amber. Musk. Vanilla.

When I think of the smells I have always loved since time immemorial — or since Helen immemorial, suntan lotion has always been a fixation to me.  I have loved it since being a little girl.  And when the sun hits the lotion and you are scampering outside on the beach, barefoot, with hardly a care in the world, indulging in the merriment of handstands and devoting an entire afternoon to the construction of the perfect sandcastle, what can be better than the presence of the lotion, which to me was friend to my summer and signified vacation in a bottle?

And I found the grown-up version of it! In perfume form! You spritz it on, and immediately feel like you should see the ocean materialize before your eyes, in your very bedroom. Real life melts away like that was the true mirage and the carefree days of summer appear.  Perfect for warmer climes or even as a mood-booster on a dull day, a strong gust of almond rears its tanned skin immediately, and here I like to step back and let the scent settle for a few minutes.  And it’s hard not to sniff again and again because it’s so ‘moreish,’ so you become as petulant as the child hopping up and down for the carousel to stop turning so he can have his turn.

But patience is everything, because this scent will last and last.  One of the BEST things about it is that the harmony of the notes interplay beautifully to exacerbate the uniqueness of the scent.  I would never be able to pick the anise out, but there is something that you can’t quite catch, you can’t quite put your finger on and I love that it is an under-the-radar ingredient that I have consumed many times in food form that provides that ephemeral impression.  The label of gourmand is perfectly suited here, but yet there is nothing sickly-sweet at all.  There is a lot of refinement.  There is no ghastly cherry throwback to excite the vanilla and have them whizzing off the walls together in their ‘je m’en fous’ partnership.  Confetto is fudgy and delicious.  I smell hints of waffle cone, but this is the kind of ice cream you get at a fancy resort, not at Blackpool Pier with a half-dead donkey stumbling past carrying some tantrum-throwing toddler on its back.

It sounds odd, but if I give this perfume a 4 ½ star rating, can I use that platform to say that this is the ultimate compliment?  It is a 5-starred perfume in tenacity, composition and integrity.  It is a sun-warmed favorite, as opposed to Jeux de Peau, which is a baker-warmed favorite.  I am just greedy and can’t get enough of it.  I stamp my foot that I cannot smell of this, inside out, forever.  And so I pout and knock off half a star.

Rating: 4 ½ ice cream cones on a hot summers day.