I write often in my The Sunday Magazine column how much I enjoy all the sweet goodies around the Holidays. One I haven’t written about is Clafoutis a kind of fruit infused version of flan baked in a pie dish. The first time I had it cherries were the fruit. Once I learned how to make it I decided I didn’t want to spend time pitting cherries and so in Poodlesville our Clafoutis is made with raspberries. It is that ridiculously sweet dish which only seems appropriate during the holidays. It seems like the Tommy Hilfiger fragrance brand wants to try the same thing with perfume in Hilfiger Woman Candied Charms.
I am pretty sure if this perfume crossed my desk at any other time of the year I would have dismissed it. Arriving just as Thanksgiving hit its timing was perfect. The flankers of 2010’s Hilfiger Woman have been steadily moving towards a sweeter style Candied Charms might be the end of that evolution as it is the sweetest of the bunch. Perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux goes full-on gourmand which turns out to be just the right choice. It is a fruity floral clafouitis fragrance.
Rodrigo Flores-Roux
Sr. Flores-Roux takes a crisp pear and mandarin as a fruity attention getter before dunking it in heavy cream scented with jasmine. It is the creamy aspect which predominates as the jasmine swirls throughout. The sweetness intensifies over time. A bit of fig provides some respite but only fleetingly. There seem to be a full suite of salicylates floating throughout adding more depth to the sweetness. Vanilla eventually adds in the final amount of gourmand-y fun.
Hilfiger Woman Candied Charms has 12-14 hour longevity and average sillage.
Having spent time with Sr. Flores-Roux I can almost feel his infectious laugh bubbling through Candied Charms. This is a real perfume but composed with the fun of baking in an olfactory kitchen. If sweet or gourmand are not your style, then this is something to avoid. On the other hand, if you want some sweet foodie perfume that is probably not good for you spray some Candied Charms on and join the party.
Disclosure: This review is based on a sample provided by Tommy Hilfiger.
–Mark Behnke
