Saturday 7 November 2009

6.11.09 - "DKNY Delicious Night" Day


Remember, remember the 6th of November...that title needs some explaining, I know.

Well, sudden onset perfume mania struck me on 29.1.08, and not long after the initial frenzy of Internet research I began buying carded fragrance samples on Ebay. The very first one was DKNY Delicious Night. I had high hopes of this scent, as I had seen a review of it illustrated by a twinkly backdrop of the New York Skyline. Of course this reeled me in immediately, even if you could only just make out the spire of the Chrysler Building in the shot. As a total newbie, I was also mesmerised by the description of the mysterious and sultry sounding fragrance notes:

Frozen pomelo, crushed ginger, chilled blackberry martini accord, purple freesia, night-blooming orchids, satin jasmine petals, purple iris, molten amber, incense, myrrh extract, patchouli and velvet vetiver.

Here was a intriguing mix of very cold and very hot things, smooth textures, exotic fruit, strumpety flowers that only come out to play after dark, and sophisticated cockail ingredients. It simply couldn't get any better than this.

The reality was a raspy, fuzzy scent that reminded me principally of Ribena and steel wool. It was cacophonous and rough - and chilly, all at the same time. At this tender stage in my perfume appreciation I could so easily have been put off from further exploration. Luckily I wasn't, but the presence of the carded sample in my drawer all these months has had a strangely dispiriting effect - acting as a symbolic reminder of the many disappointments that can ambush a budding perfumista in her quest for the Holy Grail Scent.

And then yesterday a swapper on MUA asked to take Delicious Night off my hands, along with a bunch of other scents I was not sorry to lose, mostly of the berry-centric variety. As I type, Delicious Night is on its way to a new life in the USA, and the spell is broken. My sampling future looks bright, and I will never again be seduced by things "satin", "night-blooming" or featuring "chilled blackberry martini accord".

8 comments:

lovethescents said...

I think we've all been seduced by crafty marketing...particularly as new-onset perfumistas. I think a lot of the time we read the notes and think, "sounds delicious", and assume it would smell just as good as a fragrance. My version of you DKNY was the gross Geisha Blue by Aroma M. The notes, according to Luckyscent are: blue chamomile, green tea, leafy greens, jasmine, honey. I thought, oooooh, that sounds so soothing and comforting. NOT! It is oily, heavy, cloying and flat, all at once. Never did it ever settle on my skin, but rather hovercrafted over it. F- for wearability, A+ for defeating gravity.

Vanessa said...

Oh, I am sorry to hear that. Don't you find that oiliness is a quality you can never determine from a note listing, but it dogs quite a few scents I can think of.

lovethescents said...

Just reread my posting...note to self, no writing on public sites when sleep-deprived!! Can't believe the typos! Now I do agree with you. Oiliness can almost never be detected by the literature and can only be miserably experienced in practice.

Vanessa said...

I only spotted one small one, and I am not immune to typos myself. And it was more than offset by the stellar coining of a new word in "hovercrafted"!

Qwendy said...

V, it's great to see you blogging, although our tastes are quite divergent, I adore your writing, it's always a pleasure!

It's handy to remember that whenever you are reading notes of an inexpensive (or in the case of DK completely commercial) scent, that all of the "notes" are synthetic, and do not exist in the natural realm, so their descriptions are always to be taken with a grain (or spoon) of salt! I know you have already moved to more satisfying niche realms, brava!

Vanessa said...

Ah yes, W, in the early days of my hobby I was indeed naive and easily suckered by a seductively slinky sales blurb. : - )

Unknown said...

i agree. I prefer the original Be Delicious over delicious night.

Vanessa said...

That's the apple one, isn't it? I know a few people who wear/have worn it.