With Avon, it's like with many other perfumers - once they have launched a classic, or something they consider a classic, the spin-offs follow. After Euphoria comes Euphoria Blossom and Forbidden Euphoria. After Cašmir comes Cašmir Festival. But when a company feels like it releases 500 new fragrances every year, then it can afford to do a bit more. Thus, following Far Away, Avon's perennial favorite from 1994, there are no less than seven spin-offs, not counting the men's version. In random order: Dreams, Exotic, Paradise, Fantasy, Bella, Sensual Embrace - I can imagine the Avon marketing team desperately flipping through the dictionary to see what they haven't yet combined with Far Away, until one employee shouts: "Gold! We haven't had a Gold Edition yet!" And so, in 2014, Far Away Gold was launched as the latest representative of the series.
Visually, of course, the bottle is golden. Otherwise, it has the same rather interchangeable Far Away look, with a round bulbous cap and a playful tassel that is supposed to evoke an oriental feel but ends up looking a bit more kitschy. I don't want a pom-pom on my curtains, so I certainly don't want one on my bottles. However, Gold has one of the most elegant appearances of the entire franchise. And it appealed to me enough to buy it as the first representative of the line. I probably shouldn't have done that, of course - I've never been able to resist the allure of the series, and now I naturally need all the other Far Aways as well. Avon knows what they're doing.
In terms of scent, the Gold variant, which was supposed to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the fragrance, is meant to come across as a refined version of the original. I have tried both and must say that I prefer Gold significantly - it is less fruity than the 1994 version and less flat in its presentation, but there are still so many parallels between the two variants that if you’re not caught up in the collecting fever, you only need one of the two, and I would recommend Gold. However, this scent is also of the Janus-faced variety. On some days I find it wonderful and love it above all else. On other days I find it disgusting, nauseating, and want to get rid of it as quickly as possible, and it’s precisely then that you notice what kind of longevity Avon has given this stuff. Truly one of the Duracell bunnies among fragrances!
The listed components Ylang-Ylang, Jasmine, and Vanilla don't even bother to distribute themselves across a fragrance pyramid. Everyone who uses Avon knows that the top note is always Avon, and only Avon: typical, chemical, synthetic, slightly piercing. Then Jasmine slowly makes its way - with the typical Jasmine habit of initially smelling heavily of cleaning products. Whether the hint of Sidolin streak-free ever completely disappears depends on my mood or the condition of my nose: I am wearing the fragrance for the fourth time now. The first and third times it was great, the second time it was disgusting, and right now it’s somewhere in between, which is why I can't evaluate it objectively. Today, it is definitely very Sidolin-like.
Another problematic case is Ylang-Ylang: it follows the Jasmine and announces itself with a clear, loud voice. But it also doesn't always hit the right notes. Sometimes I find it great and am pleased that it's possible to have exotic scents that clearly smell like flowers and not like coconut or pineapple or some other compote. But on other days I perceive a musty, decaying note, still a flower, but one that attracts flies rather than butterflies. Sweet decay. Not necessarily what I want to smell like. And then there's the Vanilla. It always smells like vanilla; it has no other choice, even if it sometimes smells more like real vanilla and sometimes more like artificial baking flavor.
The result, a sticky-sweet oriental, leans very much towards Cašmir, without being an exact dupe, but the, let’s say, friendly inspiration cannot be denied - both (Cašmir and Original Far Away) hail from the nineties, and both boast a bulbous appearance, and neither wants to seem entirely contemporary. Far Away Gold may refine the old scent, but it still doesn't really bring it into the new millennium, let alone our decade. If you don't want to complete your collection, can't pass by any oriental, or at least want to own an Avon fragrance, you can't go wrong with Far Away Gold and won't regret the purchase.
But it certainly won't become the new reference scent, and even though Avon can’t use the word 'classic' often enough in connection with its Far Away line, the individual representatives (I have also tested Exotic) are so interchangeable that if, like me, you feel compelled to complete collections, you can only hope that Gold was the crowning conclusion of the series and that no further ones will follow. And if they do, then please in the future without pom-poms.
Top Notes 
Ylang-ylang
Heart Notes 
Jasminum auriculatum
Base Notes 
Bourbon vanilla
Anessa
Ergreifend
Sonjoschka
Würmchen
BlueVelvet
Mina33
