The Prince of Monaco (er, Royal Prince of Monaco, who is not the same person as the Unroyal Prince of Monaco, who lives in the attic and wears rainbow stripes and eye makeup and is represented by a symbol that looks sort of like a lavender yield sign) commissioned this fragrance for Grace Kelly to wear on her wedding day. I must say I find it a little strange that most descriptions of this perfume reference the wedding in just this way: her wedding day, as though the Prince himself were not involved.
The notes in Fleurissimo are tuberose, Bulgarian rose, violet, and Florentine iris. When I left the house this morning, Bob, again unprompted, commented that he liked my perfume “better” and that it smelled pretty and “not sticky.” After further questioning, I determined that “better” meant he liked it better than what I wore yesterday (Iris Nobile…although he assured me he liked that one, too, just not as much), and a thousand times better than what I wore on Wednesday (Ormonde Woman. I know. I’m sad. But at least he likes Frangipani!). Apparently Ormonde Woman was “too sticky.” I thought it had turned subtle and beautiful, but he informed me later that he was worried I might bother the people in our Chinese class because I smelled so strong. Well.But he likes this one. I have a feeling it’s the tuberose. I didn’t think he would be so fond of florals. I’ll have to wear Fracas soon and see what happens.
As for me, here’s how I see it, literally: It’s pink, then pale yellow, then all “Hello Kitty” pink and purple, then pale yellow again, and then cream. When I first put this on, I instantly thought of pink snapdragons, not because it smells that way, but because that’s the visual for me. And then it went to lemon sugar, not unlike something from Fresh, with a soft hint of floral (which is why it’s pale yellow, as opposed to the daffodil yellow of a bright Ormonde Jayne). And then, for a really awful thirty minutes or so, it was the inside of a gift shop where they sell sock rabbits wearing gingham dresses and straw hats. The funny thing was, it only smelled like that in the wafting sense. If I put my wrist up to my nose, it actually smelled much softer, closer to the pale yellow it eventually moved back into. And now it’s cream, heavy, sandwashed silk, embroidered with pearls. A wedding dress. But like a wedding dress, not for every day. At least not for me.
I couldn’t find a review of this at any of my usual haunts. If you find one, please let me know!
*photos from Yahoo and NeimanMarcus.com
