Prada Infusion de Fleur d'Oranger: A Review

Prada’s Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger is the first installment in Prada’s Ephemeral Infusion Collection, which I believe to be a limited edition and will have annual launches. Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger might be a rather long and clunky name, but the perfume itself is well done.

Similar in style to Infusion d’Iris, Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger (PIdFdO) is sheer, gauzy and billowy. PIdFdO starts off with a juicy blast of orange blossom and jasmine that is quite simply nose nirvana. Like most neroli/orange blossom fragrances, PIdFdO is fresh, lively and literally puts a smile on my face. The initial 20 minutes of wearing PIdFdO is when the fragrance shows you its best side – at this point, it’s the most bouncy and potent. Once the fragrance dries down, it becomes a bit limp, like an overtired ballet dancer who can’t quit hit all the choreographed points. PIdFdO, while mostly about orange blossom, does pay a good amount of heed to jasmine. Once dried down, I’d say the fragrance seems less like a purely neroli based scent and more like a neroli/jasmine (white floral) blend. Even so, PIdFdO is still a lovely little treat.

It’s hard for me to imagine anyone disliking PIdFdO, unless you abhor the scent of orange blossom. I would guess that those who adore L’Artisan Fleur d’Oranger might prefer to stick with the L’Artisan as this fragrance seems more focused on orange blossom in a pure sense. Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger is a different experience altogether, it’s much heavier and more potent overall, not meant to be as sheer as Prada.

Prada’s Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger is well done. I’m not doing cartwheels but it’s very good and I’m sure the fragrance will sell like hotcakes and many will be wearing it this spring and summer.

Longevity: good, 3+ hours (more potent than Infusion d’Iris for me)
Sillage: good
Rating: 4 stars

The box and bottle are tres chic.

Notes: orange blossom, tuberose, jasmine

Annick Goutal Neroli: A Review

Annick Goutal Neroli (2003, Camille Goutal) is the most gorgeous neroli fragrance I have ever smelt. I also love L’Artisan Fleurs d’Oranger, Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger and Le Labo Fleur d’Oranger 27, but Annick Goutal’s Neroli is the most beautiful.

To me, Camille Goutal captures the simplicity and freshness of orange blossoms most perfectly. I’ve always loved the smell of orange blossom from the first time I smelt the real thing, when I was a little girl visiting Walt Disney World in Florida. The scent of orange blossoms wafting through the humid Floridian air is intoxicating. My mother reminds me that I asked if she could plant some of these trees in our yard. Sadly, orange trees don’t do so well in the northeast.

Annick Goutal created a series of soliflore fragrances (Le Jasmin, Le Muguet, La Violette and Le Chevrefeuille) and they are all beautiful. Someone I met online asked me for perfume recommendations for her wedding day. AG Neroli was in my top five suggestions for a summer wedding and she ended up falling in love with it and choosing it for the big day.

Annick Goutal created Neroli as a soliflore, so it’s meant to smell like real orange blossoms, in nature; there is nothing strange or sweet or woodsy added as an unusual twist, it’s just simple, ethereal neroli. There’s a fresh green coolness to AG Neroli, which is easily worn in the hot summer. I would recommend AG Neroli to anyone who finds most floral perfumes overwhelming or too sweet. If my calculations are accurate, I’ve used six bottles of AG Neroli in my lifetime….one every summer since 2003. My 2008 bottle of AG Neroli is about 50% full so it will last me until the cooler fall weather arrives.