Carolina Herrera Carolina Herrera 1988 Eau de Parfum

The other day I came home from work, there was a white cardboard on the kitchen table with golden dots and the simple inscription "Carolina Herrera, New York, Eau de Parfum". My husband, who has been wearing Herreras 212 exclusively for almost two decades, which also suits him well, had ordered it for me; just like that, as a surprise, without knowing it himself. He usually always asks me what I have on my wish list, but because he thought that nothing wrong could come out of Herrera, this time he simply flew blind. I have to say that I didn't have the scent on my radar before - sometimes you just turn around your favourite scent locations, even if you run the risk of only being curious about scents that you can judge well. But dear heaven, one should be surprised much more often once!

What flies towards you from the plainly elegant bottle is incredibly beautiful. We are dealing here with a bombastic bouquet of flowers shimmering in all colours - orange blossom, fresh green, lily of the valley, narcissus, jasmine, hyacinth, ylang ylang, apricot, and oh my God... Tuberose. This wonder of fragrance, heavy and warm, sweet and sensual, the queen herself, the mistress of the night, as she is also called in India. All this is discreetly orchestrated by musk, amber, vetiver, cedar, rosewood and oakmoss, in order to at least partially ground you again a little, because one thing is clear: this scent pulls the ground away from under your feet, but you don't fall on your nose, but realize that you can fly.

The opening is a fabulously pure, opulent tone, as if by a large choir singing through the theme in one voice. Only after this opening do the individual voices break down and continue singing in perfect harmony; a full-sounding bass, a finely balanced tenor, a reliable alto - and above all, setting the tone and moving, the soprano, followed by all the others to form the basis for his refined flights of fancy. We are dealing here with intoxicating, sweet music, with grandeur, large orchestra and a gold-decorated music club hall. If Carolina Herrera's scent were music, then he would be an opera, at least by Verdi, and at least with the Callas in the female leading role. Certainly nothing for every day, but if you give yourself to it, it is a sensual, enchanting experience.

The shelf life is truly remarkable: with a gentle spray I get through the day and can still perceive the scent on me in the evening. By the way, if you dose it sparingly, it is not only suitable for everyday use, but also a wonderful, elegant and charming companion for all situations in life. However, one should proceed extremely cautiously with the dosage. I think that this scent quickly turns into an infernal stench when exaggerated; so it doesn't belong in children's hands, but wants to be carried by an adult personality who knows that less is sometimes actually more.

I'm surprised, by the way, that I can find so little about this scent here. Who does not know it yet and feels attracted to flowery, feminine scents should definitely try it out. And I'm grateful to my husband for showing it to me.