Skin warmth, two from Prada Olfactories

As anyone I have doubts sometimes. For example now – I love Prada, it’s my favorite fashion house that ventured into perfume-making. I have so many of their fragrances and enjoy wearing them. On the other hand I always have mixed feelings about exclusive boutique lines. Not only I don’t have easy access to them but I also find their price to be too elevated in relations to their quality.

Day for Night has a rum-like opening with just enough of sweetness to make it stylish and elegant. On my skin it smells very bright and shimmery. A brief moment later it becomes more boozy, slowly revealing its amber accord. It’s luminous and incredibly comforting as it radiates that cuddly warmth. Later on Day for Night develops a fluffy leathery aroma that gently veers towards the animalic side. Like a haute couture faux fur coat. After more time it becomes slightly more smoky but then suddenly it whispers in a Prada Candy voice when I noticed some caramel-flavored benzoin. This is definitely a yummy fragrance, oriental but with a tiny gourmand touch too. It stays really close to the skin. Amber & leather are only notes revealed by the brand.

Double Dare immediately goes to the clue by emanating a prominent suede accord. This soft leather aroma is very plush, fuzzy and delicate. Once it warms up on the skin it also becomes slightly powdery before it becomes more musky. Its muskiness is not offensive but its warm like a skin of a person who just crawled out of bed. There’s sensuality to it with a seductive background. Double Dare is a kind of fragrance that melts with your body. This one also becomes slightly animalic over time. The longer it stays on skin the more powdery it becomes. Smokiness is very transparent here but it has the labdanum properties as it smells rich and luxurious. Drydown brings some more leather but now it’s smooth and shiny. Only suede & leather are given by Prada.

I really like both Day for Night and Double Dare. They are definitely more complex than just the 2 notes that Prada provides for each however I find them less entertaining than my beloved Purple Rain. But because both really are like skin scents the high price is not justified for me. Perfumer Daniela Andrier created lovely fragrances again but this time I’ll be happy with just decants.

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White as snow, Prada Infusion d’Amande

Over the years of writing Chemist in the Bottle it’s become an unspoken tradition that in early days of January I write about one of fragrances by Prada as my first review of the year. Just like each new year provides a fresh start to all of us I use this opportunity to remind myself that it was Prada, more precisely Amber Pour Homme that gave me a start to what began as a hobby and now became the biggest passion of my life – perfume. It’s also a good way to introduce you to yet another creation from this fashion house. It’s even easier to do if a fragrance itself suits the moment perfectly.

Infusion d’Amande opens lazily like a first morning stretch. At first there is a gentle whisper of quiet iris. It’s aroma – powdery, silky and minimally floral spreads around the wearer like a mist of scented goodness. It’s ethereal like an unearthly phenomenon, you can see it, smell it, but you can’t touch it. A little bit later the perfume becomes even more powdery, like a talcum & because of that it reminds me of a fresh snow that hugs everything around with a fluffy coat. It’s beautiful and very easy to admire because of the beautiful transparency and clarity. This perfume gives me a peace of mind.

After a while a bitter almond note comes to the front of Prada Infusion d’Amande. Despite the fact that it has a word ‘bitter’ in its name I find it to be quite sweet and typical in its almondy scent. However things change further into fragrance development. The accord of almond becomes creamier, smoother to the point that it starts to resemble a milky note. I actually like it that way as it tried to veer towards gourmand direction but it’s not quite there yet. The sleek surface of Infusion d’Amande is like a fabrics that allows the light to play nicely on it, drawing out its luminosity.

Generally speaking we’re dealing here with a lighter type of fragrance. The beauty such as Infusion d’Amande wouldn’t have been so beautiful if it was heavier or stronger. Less is more is the key motto to all Infusion fragrances from Prada. That said Infusion d’Amande refuses to dissipate into the void too early. It gains more character over time as it reveals a flower milk note of heliotrope. This particular chord adds a bit more powderness to the scent. Thanks to it the perfume becomes richer without putting on more weight. Just like the snow that doesn’t weight much despite thick layer.

As hours pass Infusion d’Amande becomes more pale & delicate but it’s yet to fully develop. The creaminess transforms into one that fits the usual fragrance of tonka bean. It’s fluffy and flavored with vanilla yet at the same time there’s something slightly balsamic and spicy about it. Final surprise of the perfume is the essence of star anise that reveals late in the fragrance development. It tingles underneath a powdery-creamy layer, muted by these ingredients. Instead of being straightforward it’s more like a hum, covered by a soft quilt of clean and sensual musk. It’s a caressing perfume.

When I first tried Prada Infusion d’Amande I thought that it’s more of a cold perfume but as I wore it more I realized that it’s quite warm in fact and that it compliments a Winter weather in a nice way. If you tried it you might’ve also recognized the same thing – in the core of this fragrance is Infusion d’Iris that has ben enlaced with almond, heliotrope, tonka – the ingredients that made it into Infusion d’Amande. Perfumer Daniela Andrier (Givaudan) made another fantastic scent for Prada and it’s another proof of the fact that you can make a complex perfume using not so many materials. The perfume has a small sillage that stays close to the skin and it lasts for most of the day.