I must say that as I’ve now received most of the spring releases it looks like one of my wishes has come to be; less rose perfumes for the beginning of the year. I have reviewed several mass-market releases which have left rose on the shelf without leaving behind the seasonal vibe. It just means there are alternatives to rose not that they stopped making rose perfumes for spring. For me to find a rose, at this time of year, of any interest I have to see something a bit different; Givenchy Live Irresistible Blossom Crush manages to achieve this.
Givenchy started the Live Irresistible in 2015 with an Eau de Parfum composed by perfumer Dominique Ropion. That was a fall-themed pineapple, rose, amber grating megaphone of all three notes. Almost a year later M. Ropion did enter the spring rose sweepstakes with, Eau de Toilette, another grating fruity floral where pear and raspberry accentuated the debutante rose. Then last year with Delicieuse M. Ropion thought we’d like some cake with our rose in a misguided gourmand. My expectation that Blossom Crush would be enjoyable was near zero. Except M. Ropion puts his bullhorn away in favor of something much less aggressive along with a modulating note cleverly chosen.
Dominique Ropion
In the ever lightening of fragrance overall and especially at the department store Blossom Crush is an example of where it is an asset. M. Ropion keeps it completely simple with a dewy rose matched to a mid-weight musk. That is common, this time M. Ropion chooses to use a gourmand note in a precise way to give an unusual effect to the rose which allows for the musk to pick it up in a different way.
In the first moment and for a few minutes beyond that this is that dewy rose that crowds the fragrance counters. In this case it is made a bit fresher with peony. Then the use of cocoa is what sets this apart. Like a needle slowly entering within the floral accord a subtle bitterness tunes the floral sweetness. If there was a common complaint from me on the earlier Live Irresistible releases, they were way too sweet. In Blossom Crush the cocoa works to remove some of the natural floral sweetness. What I found really smart was to never allow the cocoa to become gourmand-level strength. It acts as only as a background effect. It also bridges the floral to musk which is not so fresh but one which also has a few bitter facets for the cocoa to attach to.
Live Irresistible Blossom Crush has 6-8 hour longevity and average sillage.
At the end of the day Blossom Crush is mostly a typical spring rose but if you’re looking for a new one for 2018 there are much more banal choices. Give the bitter rose of Blossom Crush a chance.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Macy’s.
–Mark Behnke
