Ready to get stuck in?

First up, let’s chat about Giorgio Armani Si Intense Night Light Edition EDP (R1 190 for 50ml). This isn’t a new launch, per se, as this sweet-smelling gem launched a few years back. But now, it’s all dressed up in limited edition packaging.

Much like the original Si EDP, the Intense version is also warm, creamy mix with lots of juicy cassis and a heart full of roses resting on a warm, sensual base of ambroxan, vanilla and wood, but the notes have been, well, ‘intensified’ to create a fragrance that’s heavier, ‘darker’ and a great deal more sensual. While you could easily wear it on a cold winter’s day, it’s an ideal go to scent for a night out when you want to smell sophisticated but still bring the ‘sexy’. If you’re a Si fan and your bottle’s running low this is a beautifully-packaged way to replenish your stash as well as a gorgeous Christmas gift for the Armani lover in your life.

A totally new scent you should also know about is Givenchy Dahlia Divin Le Nectar EDP (R1 030 for 30ml, R1 440 for 50ml and R1 765 for 75ml).

The gold packaging is pretty apt as, to me, this is a luxe-smelling ‘yellow’ floral fragrance, the type that reminds me a bit of Dior’s J’Adore line up. Notes-wise, it opens with mimosas, reveals a heart full of sambac jasmine (the Dahlia Divin signature) and rose and then dries down to a base of vetiver, sandalwood and musk.

While it’s a soft, understated perfume, the staying power is good and I can imagine it doing well on a floral fan not only at night but also for a well-heeled lunch date with the girls.

More newness? Boucheron have just launched Boucheron Quatre EDP Intense (R1 395 for 100ml).

Now, for the record, Boucheron’s original Quatre is one of my favourite fragrances in the world and something I wear almost every day in the summer when I’m going somewhere that isn’t just the bottle store over the road. I love that it’s citrusy (lots of grapefruit and orange blossom), clean-smelling thanks to a bit of green apple, ‘classy’ due to jasmine and serves just the right dash of sweetness due to a hint of strawberry.

So, what’s the intense version like? Well, the’ve kind of taken the strawberry note and ramped it up in a big way and sweetened things further with red currant. You’ll still smell the citrus, but only after the berries. The fragrance then becomes an ultra subtle woody-floral that’s reminiscent of the original but they’re more like sisters with two different personalities as opposed to one being a more potent version of the other. Usually, ‘intense’ flankers are the kind of scents you’d wear at night but this new Quatre is definitely still a light, easy-to-wear, spritz-on-and-go day time fragrance for a younger woman.

If you go in with any expectations that compare it to the original you might be disappointed but if you look at it as a new fragrance in its own right I think anyone looking for the type of scent I’ve just described it as will really like it. (For the record, this is my flatmate’s ultimate favourite of everything in this post.)

Now, it’s time for a blast from the past. Stick your hand up if you had a mom or aunt who used to wear Giorgio Beverly Hills EDT (R395 for 30ml and R595 for 90ml, exclusive to Edgars)!

After an absence from South African shelves, Giorgio is back and yep, the classic fragrance – in a bottle inspired by a Tiffany vase – is still exactly the same. I remember a glamour aunt that used to have this in her bathroom back in the 80s and I used to spritz it on whenever I used her loo. Back then, I thought the scent was ‘subtle’ and nobody would know I’d snuck a spritz (hey, I was 8, ok?!) but it’s a very long-lasting, potent day-time floral made up of ten thousand different notes, as was the fashion back in the day. The one’s that really feature, however, are all the white ones – tuberose, gardenia and jasmine.

Some fun facts? Giorgio Beverly Hills was the first fragrance ad to feature a scent strip in Vogue magazine in 1983 and used to be pumped into the air-con in fancy department stores.

If you’re feeling nostalgic or know someone who still holds a soft spot for Giorgio and its iconic white and yellow-striped box you’ll be glad to know this flower bomb is back.

Now, if you thought I was done with taking you back in time, you’re wrong. Rochas Paris has been creating fragrances forever but they haven’t always been available in South Africa. Now, however, they’ve relaunched their line with freshened up packaging a new ad campaigns. I was given the iconic Rochas Eau de Rochas EDT (R995 for 50ml and R1 395 for 100ml, exclusive to Dis-Chem) and like how luxuriously heavy the bottle feels in your hand.

As for the juice itself, it hasn’t changed since 1970 so you’re still looking at a mix of herbacious and citrus top notes and a floral heart that includes rose, carnation, jasmine and the teensiest dash of spice on a bed of oak moss, myrrh and vetiver. Again, as this contains so many different notes its hard to imagine what it smells like but the best way I could describe it is zesty and ‘cologne-y’ up top in a way that’s almost masculine (lime comes through loud and proud) with a woody dry down where oak moss gives it a slight mustiness that you’ll either love or hate. In all, if you like tonic-esque fragrances like Lancome O Lancome or Eau d’Hermes this will go down well.

I’ve noticed a real trend with older fragrances stepping back into the main stream and I think it’s going to delight the older consumer who loved them the first time round and might hold interest to a younger set of vintage-loving millenials who get a kick out of wearing an atypical, classic scent in the same way they appreciate vinyl records and 35mm film cameras.

Now tell me, which fragrance do you love that’s been discontinued in South Africa and you’d love to get it back? Me? I’d love Gucci Rush 2 to make a come back. Whenever I start to feel a little sentimental about the 90s I tend to pick up a bottle on eBay.

Love, love

Leigh