Esprit d'Oscar: In the Spirit of... Guerlain

By Marina There are two Guerlain scents I love dearly and never want to be without, Apres L'Ondee and Quand Vient la Pluie. For the last couple of years, however, I felt out of tune with both. The former smells too pale, transparent and melancholy to me, the latter too intense, sweet and bright. You might be surprised to hear that I found a happy medium in the new Oscar de la Renta fragrance, Esprit d'Oscar. As Goldilocks would say, it's just right. Esprit d'Oscar smells "like a Guerlain" to me, more particularly, like a close relative of the two scents mentioned above, with more body and color than Apres L'Ondee, less zaftig and honeyed than Quand Vient la Pluie. The perfume's tag line is "a modern take on the classic de la Renta scent", but in this case "a modern take" does not mean, "young", which became a four letter word for fragrance lovers, since it usually means, fruity, sparkly, generic and twee. Esprit is none of those. There is a certain olfactory "shimmer" to the scent, from the citrus notes, which also have a certain understated candied feel, and from orange blossom in the heart, but not so much as to make it truly "sparkly", which to me is as tiresome in fragrances as constant cheerfulness in people. What makes Esprit d'Oscar so appealing to me, and what makes it "Guerlain-like", in my mind, is the generous dose of heliotrope. The note, together with tonka, provides a velvety, moderately plush backdrop for an elegant floral blend of jasmine and tuberose in the heart. Powderiness in a scent, when done right tends to lend perfumes a "classic" feel, or rather- a certain air of timelessness, agelessness, always-in-fashion-ness. This is the case with heliotrope in Esprit d'Oscar. Having said that, I wouldn't call this a heliotrope-centered fragrance at all. Like all "proper perfumes", it doesn't smells of any one particular ingredient, and is an abstract composition. To sum up: love and hope you try it too. Available in "select department stores", $78.00-$98.00.