Frangrances go fruity, with a bit of floral
Published: 11 Sep. 2006, 20:56
Korean women’s penchant for fruity fragrances is a little fruitier this year, with the return of floral, feminine scents for colder seasons ahead. Unlike summery scents, the cold-weather fragrances stay away from too much citrus or marine notes and bring in a tinge of mystic with cinnamon, creamy vanilla or amber undertones.
The L’Oreal group has recently introduced “Ralph Hot” as the new edition to the classic Ralph scent. A warmer, floral version of the existing “Ralph Cool,” the scent is infused with strong base notes of jasmine and rose. “This season will call for a bit of retro-femininity in perfumes. We are seeing a slow change in this trend and going back to women’s fragrances being very floral and sweet, with a bit of mystery while still retaining a modern lightness,” said Kim Se-yeon, the public relations manager at L’Oreal. In order to connect to the perfume’s core clientele, women aged 18 to 25, the promotional bus for Ralph Hot, which tours around the city until Sept. 16, displayed items such as Apple notebooks, iPod Nano and Jessica Simpson’s album.
Like Ralph Hot, “L,” introduced by Amorepacific earlier this year, is also warm, feminine and a bit creamy with strong floral and fruit flavors enveloped in vanilla undertones. Made with notes of bitter orange, vanilla and sandalwood, L is the second fragrance in nine years from the Lolita Lempicka line. The first fragrance, “Lolita Lempicka,” gained unprecedented popularity in and out of Korea as a Korean perfume made in France.
Similarly, Bulgari’s “Rose Essentielle” and Christian Dior’s “Miss Dior Cherie” also evoke the image of mature, grown-up women, with “Miss Dior Cherie” being a bit fruitier with main notes of green tangerine, violet and pink jasmine and “Rose Essential” paying tribute to the ultimate of femininity ― rose, with additional notes of blackberry, mimosa, and patchouli, among others.
Along with this return to classic, feminine fragrances, there will also be clean scents that are lighter and crisper than before. Marc Jacobs’s fragrance “Splash ― Rain, Grass, Cotton,” to be launched in October, opts for lighter, less complicated notes. For example, the “Rain” fragrance has complimentary top notes of wet cut grass, wild strawberry and cypress. Also, Versace’s “Bright Crystal,” also to be launch this month, falls under this category with pomegranate, peony, lotus flowers and plant amber.
“Whether the scent is floral, fresh, masculine or feminine, everything is lighter than before. So, for example, the best-selling flower-based perfumes are fruity-floral scents,” said Sunny Kim, the senior director of CEO International, which imports perfumes from such brands as Marc Jacobs, adding that Fiorucci’s “Only Love” and Roberto Cavalli’s “Serpentine” also fell in this fruity-floral category.
by Cho Jae-eun
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)