We were having a seriously gorgeous summer here until about two days ago, when the heat spiked and the sky was enveloped in a yellow haze and I was reminded why this is my least favorite season. For the last four weeks it's been unseasonably cool, with highs in the low to mid-eighties. (Yes, yes, you're thinking, enough with the weather report. It's summer. It's hot. Blah blah blah...Let's hear about the perfume!)Oh, you! I have a point!
The point is this: The cooler weather meant evening walks were feasible. Not the kind of evening walk where, you know, it's safe to go out because the weather man's pollution-o-meter said after nine o'clock would be fine outside for anyone over the age of eight and under the age of 53 who isn't on oxygen and doesn't own a poodle and is also left-handed. No, the kind of evening walk where you leave your house right after dinner, and you end up lingering outside and talking to neighbors you usually snub because it's just so darn pretty and oh...the heavenly fragrance in the air! Gardenia, jasmine...the scents float by on a gentle breeze. They make the world appear soft.
Saks Fifth Avenue for Her, Bond No. 9's latest fragrance launching September 1, made me nostalgic for those days. (I know it was last week, but you have no idea how much I hate this part of summer.) With top notes of jasmine and tuberose, a heart note of gardenia, and base notes of vetiver and vanilla, Saks Fifth Avenue for Her is a soft, genteel white floral. It bespeaks the history and elegance of the institution for which it's named, while at the same time offering a white floral option that works for the corner office. Usually when I sample a white floral on a work day, I'm completely paranoid about the sillage. Why? Well, take this: A co-worker of mine once brought in a cutting from a gardenia in her yard. By lunch time she'd had so many complaints from the other employees she'd removed it altogether...and people still complained about the scent well into the afternoon! Because of this, I don't wear Fracas to the office, ever, or even Fleur d'Oranger. I'm even careful with my beloved Jolie Madame. But Saks Fifth Avenue for Her is an elegantly understated white floral, the equivalent of the black suit that works for day and into evening, with just a change of accessories.
But I must tell the truth: I got very little in the way of vetiver, and that was the note that excited me the most about this perfume. Although it's listed in the base notes, I thought I caught a whiff of it early in the scent's development. I detected something like beach grass in the morning air, but it was so faint, I wonder if I imagined it. On me at least, this fragrance has no hint of green or earth, really. It's an exquisite butter cream floral, dense but not overly sweet, with a soft dry down.
Like all Bond fragrances, this one has a stunning bottle, a modern black and white design that Saks is calling its "DNA motif...one of many examples of Saks turning to its venerable past in order to energize its future." Whatever the reasoning behind it, it's artful and worthy of the finest dressing tables.
Again, Saks Fifth Avenue for Her launches (along with its cohort, Saks Fifth Avenue for Him) on September 1, at all Saks Fifth Avenue and Bond No. 9 locations. If you're here in Atlanta, stop by Phipps Plaza and visit Jill at the Bond counter. She's fun and knowledgeable and happy to share info!
*image provided by Bond No. 9
