Review: Elie Saab ‘Girl of Now Forever’ Eau de Parfum.

You know what I wouldn’t want to be? The name of this perfume – that is, ‘Girl of Now Forever’. It’s an unfortunate name for a beautiful perfume that I, again, am reviewing at an unfortunate time. Nothing new about that.

 

THE BACKSTORY: This just happens to be the last perfume I physically bought. Emphasis on physically. There was no second-guessing and imagining how well the different notes would work together, which is usually the case when you buy perfume online.  I used to buy perfumes to commemorate different trips, if my budget allowed me to, and I purchased this perfume the last time my physical self was on a vacation of sorts. Emphasis on physical.

 

Like skincare, fragrances tend to be a very personal thing.

 

 

 

THE PACKAGING: I’ve got to say that I absolutely love the packaging. Right from the powder blue floral box it comes in to the actual perfume bottle. The glass bottle itself is rather hefty, too. I love the coral and gold petal design on the bottle and I love the ridges on the bottom. It’s an adorable and feminine design.

 

 

 

NOTES: 

Top Notes: Raspberry, Citrus

Heart Notes: Rosa Cassia (exclusive accord Rose-Blackcurrant), Fleur d’Ormond (exclusive accord Orange Blossom-Almonds)

Base Notes:  Cashmeran, Vanilla, Patchouli, Musk.

 

 

 

THE PRODUCT: My brief to the Sales Associate was to get me a perfume that smells sweet and innocent. I tend to go for a lot of Gourmand scents anyway. I wanted something that was sweet but not to the point where it would become heady. Funny thing is, I am actually quite sensitive to scents and certain scents just don’t work for me. They tend to overwhelm my nose and, in turn, give me headaches.

 

I was then introduced to this Elie Saab perfume. It’s a flanker of the original ‘Girl of Now’ perfume. A flanker is a newly created perfume that retains some aspects of the original fragrance on which it is based, be it the packaging or notes.

 

The moment you spritz on this perfume, it opens with its fruity notes in full glory. Right off the bat, you can detect the Citrus notes and the sourer and tarter notes like Raspberry and Blackcurrant. The thing is, had these notes been allowed to go all out it would be a distinctly fruity fragrance. However, the other notes help to balance and tone it down. The first spritz would also introduce you to a slightly powdery note, which I reckon ties in with the Rose in the scent.

 

After the perfume settles, the base notes blossom more and you’re introduced to the Cashmeran (a synthetic component that brings forth the woodiness of a fragrance) and the Musky Vanilla notes. Even if it contains Patchouli, I personally don’t seem to notice it much. You, on the other hand, might.

 

You also can detect the Almond notes in this perfume throughout. It’s such a lovely, pleasant and warm note to have in a perfume. It’s sweet but not cloyingly so.

 

The warm notes like Almond, Musk, Vanilla, Cashmeran ground this otherwise chaotically sweet and fruity perfume. This would have been a very heady perfume had it not been balanced by the Almond, Musk, Vanilla and Cashmeran.

 

I think this is why this perfume does its job so supremely well. At the first spray, I feel like this perfume captures a certain bright innocence and youthful naïveté. And when the innocence melts away, you realise that there is a good head on the shoulders of the person wearing it after all.

 

I can also picture this perfume being a hit on dates. Let’s say you’re headed to a lovely little bakery, cafe or a confectionery shop. You walk into the place and your partner will be so infatuated with the warm, sweet scent emanating out of you that they’ll be confused whether to eat you or the cheesecake first. Hahahaha. Oh, boy. I need to start dating again.

 

Anyway, this is a rather potent perfume and the sillage is spectacular. It has good longevity on the skin and even better longevity on clothes and hair. It’s not a close-encounter perfume because people most definitely will notice whenever you have this on. Unless, of course, you hang out with people who are stingy with compliments. You don’t  want something you’re spending so much money on to just waft away, do you? So it’s good that it’s both long-lasting and impactful.

 

Whenever the ban-of-sorts is lifted from hugging loved ones, this perfume would be great to weasel your way back into their hearts. Not only will they feel extremely warm in your embrace but it will also help them understand  your feelings of love towards them.

 

It’s ironic that I will remember these uncertain times through such a sweet and innocent fragrance because it’s been my perfume of choice lately. But maybe there’s a hidden message behind all that. Maybe the best person to embrace, in the end, is oneself? Maybe that’s something I’m meant to discover on my own. We’ll see.

 

 

 

PRICE: 7,250 INR.

 

QUANTITY: 90 ml of product.

 

AVAILABILITY: Elie Saab, Sephora, physical Parcos stores, Perfumery India etc.

 

♥ OVERALL: I think this is such a fun, sprightly, youthful perfume that I would encourage even fruity/sweet scent naysayers to give it a whiff.