An'na Annayake 2011

I know you! I'm racking my brain, but I can't figure it out. At some point, later, tonight at 4, I'll have the epiphany. But for now, I have to describe you without having a reference at hand.

In fact, at the beginning, you are still disguised; I don't recognize any similarity to another fragrance. The mandarin is incredibly fruity and zesty, almost beautifully tart, offering a yellow-orange color spectacle, quite different from what your packaging and later scent progression truthfully promise in magenta.
The blackcurrant joins in, and you become a bit more austere; your fruitiness darkens, your zest transforms into a slight chypre direction, a light tartness remains and fits excellently.

After a while, your heart reveals itself, and by now, I know you from much earlier. I’ll figure it out... Jasmine, rose, and tuberose appear radiantly beautiful, with none of the floral heart ladies taking the lead, not even the usually intrusive tuberose. And that’s somehow also due to the coriander, which adds a distinctly dull spiciness here that harmonizes deliciously with the floral notes and offers a distinctive twist (though, I still need to clarify the whole "distinctive" part...). But the heart note is captivating, sensual, feminine, and special. It lingers long before a gentle base of amber and patchouli joins in. The amber is soft and bright, the patchouli appropriately mild. No oriental heaviness (dis)rupts the strangely floating yet powerful core made of dull-powdery coriander flowers, which, despite all the spiciness, somehow seem red, as a tiny bit of fruitiness from the opening is preserved.

Chypre-fruity-floral, says the manufacturer. And I'm still pondering. Let me take a quick look in my "Had-it Collection," maybe it will help.
1 minute later.
Ha! It HAS helped. AN'NA has a well-known predecessor, one that has a fruity opening, rose, jasmine, and coriander in the heart, as well as a light patchouli base. Ta-da: Gucci Rush, also a Chypre Fruity. AN'NA is a zestier variant, rosier, with a fruitiness that lasts a bit longer, but the similarity is indeed astonishing. I like both; they are quirky and unusual compositions, striking and very wearable. And the prettier bottle is probably AN'NA.