Hot Couture (2000)
by Givenchy

My mother, bless her heart, chose to give this to my girlfriend for Christmas last year. The sickly-sweet fruit smell just about put me into a diabetic coma. It made my girlfriend smell like an adolescent brothel.

Mmm, this is nice...like a vamped up, more exotic Hanae Mori Butterfly. This is a fruity scent for a grown up, sexy woman. Must get a bottle soon!

Many years ago, I first tried this in sample form and was struck by the wild energy of this potion. It was powerful (in both statement and diffusion) but not unpleasant. In fact, part of the delight I found in smelling "Hot Couture" is the same quality I've found of all Givenchy fragrances; they all smell distinctly like "perfume"---not some auric cloud of feeling or a perfect imitation of some natural thing, they are paintings, some still wet-seeming, dripping with color and texture. After revisiting this fragrance years later, I find that such is still the uniqueness of "Hot Couture"; it opens in a burst of spicy, yet "tweedy" sweetness, while magnolia prepares the nose for those velvety-wood undertones already evident before drydown. The rasberry is subtle and sweet, while retaining a crisp tartness; dusky-smooth magnolia (with the same dry-sand quality found in Dior's "Dune") mingles with this sweetness and explodes with a buzz before melting into the contemplative, reedy comfort of amber and vetiver. "Hot Couture" has such a magnetic and unique personality, that it melds well with many situations if the personality suits it and smells particularily appropriate on a fitted jacket or evening gown. I find "Hot Couture" best describes the sacrifical femininity that goes hand in hand with high fashion; personally, it makes me think of 1920's-40's films and big band dance halls, when "artificial" was an art--oh, the coiled/cropped hairdos and blood-red lipstick!--and not just about fooling people into thinking you just happened to be bronzed from being on vacation. Noone actually had lips that were naturally such a color...and that's what made wearing red lipstick properly, such an artistic accomplishment.

This is raspberries simmered with spicy pepper to make a thick, slightly sweet sauce, which is drizzled over an iced magnolia blossom, with the heat of the sauce bringing out the slightly lemon-y smell of the flower.
Delicious, but not in an overtly gourmand way.
Love it. Loved it from first sniff -- and it gets better and better each time I wear it.

A fragrance my mother still uses, I helped her to select it some years ago, when she was looking for a replacement for her old Chistian Dior's Dune, as she wanted something strong but not in the oriental trend.

The top note is fruity, mainly raspberry with some orange and bergamot. The raspberry note stays and fades down just a little when the middle note appears, based on magnolia. At this point the aroma is soft fruity flowered. The base notes has some sandalwood, musk and a bit of ambar.

Suitable for daytime or office use, and also for evening events, for warm and cold seasons. The raspberry and magnolia gives it a soft sweet note, also suitable for a romantic event. A noticeable fragrance, for women in the range 25-60 years old.

I hate this smell! It's smells like Diesel plus for men, diluted with berries! My mom got this as a gift, and thank goodness I only had to smell that briefly...