5th Avenue Nights Elizabeth Arden 2008

Some fragrances don't suit your taste, style nor chemistry, but you can still appreciate it has to offer, and 5th Avenue Nights was such one for me. A blind purchase based on a few less reliable 'reviews' elsewhere, it was different from anything I had chosen as my personal fragrance till now and required some time to get used to, but within a year, my nose and I had become accustomed to it and even like it.

At initial spray, I was hit by a strangely plastic smell, followed by sour citrus which stood out on the creamy, milky background, not as smooth as I had expected from the feedbacks. Fortunately, the plastic smell subsided after the first minutes, leaving it all for the vanilla, musk and white chocolate to create a heady, lemony milk (almost butter) cream scent with sprinkled coconut flakes - coconut isn't listed, but there is some fatty tone underneath the vanilla sweetness like that of coconut fruit.

However, despite such edible notes, this is not a 'gourmand' fragrance, and those looking for such would be disappointed: It is a musky, clean white floral (taken from the original 5th Avenue) with a twist of fluffy, creamy vanilla, never losing a certain edge, be it by cyclamen which isn't my favourite and tends to be perceived stronger.

Although discontinued, this is a nice everyday fragrance while it still is around, an affordable, non-stuffy casual floral with good longevity of over 8 hours on my skin, and longer on my clothes.

On a side note, the 'modern' type of musky cleanness in this fragrance for me does really recall some shopping tours in polished, perfectly air-conditioned department stores - so, while the 'Nights' part of its naming may not be fitting, the 'city flair'-allusion is met indeed.