I expected to hate Prada Candy. The name, the picture on the box, the colourscheme… it all seemed a bit twee to me. I’d used several Prada fragrances in the past and the whole branding of Candy seemed such a huge departure. So love at first sniff came as quite a shock…
I thought this would be a young girl’s fragrance – and I’m guessing that part of the branding was an attempt to draw in a younger clientele. I expected sickly sweet, candy shop, make-me-choke type scent, but no. It is a little overpowering at first, but please don’t let that put you off as it settles on the skin like it belongs there – and lasts very well on me.
The Notes: A cocktail of musks, an overdose of Laotian Benzoin, an explosion of caramel
To me, Prada Candy is a grown up scent. It’s vanilla; it’s caramel; it’s warm; it’s powdery. It reminds me of my favourite elderly aunt in her fur coat, who would always produce a powder compact and shocking pink lipstick from her snap-shut handbag.
[The same handbag that usually contained a bag of sweets (in the days when they came in quarters in paper bags) – Cherry Lips or Mint Imperials – and she’d sneak me a few in the back of the car when mum and dad weren’t looking. Yes I digress…]
I may not like the image on the box, but I LOVE the girl in the ad above and HOW gorgeous is the bottle…
‘The pure indulgence and enjoyment of Prada Candy lies in its excess. Prada Candy is a fragrance with a novel olfactory balance combining exceptionally high-quality ingredients in excessive proportions. Magnified by White Musks, noble Benzoin comes together with a modern Caramel accord to give the fragrance a truly unique signature.’
Prada Candy is a marmite perfume: you’ll either adore it or hate it. Personally I fell head over heels with it immediately. I wanted to inhale it. I walked around town sniffing my arm getting the strangest looks from old men.
A hug in a bottle, a little bit vintage, (even verging on a little old lady – but don’t let that put you off!). It’s sweet - but warm, pudding in the oven sweet - not sickly sweet (I HATE sickly sweet smells). It’s soft, sensual, seductive, comforting and perfect for Autumn-Winter. Oh and the bottle is Deeee-vine and I shall not rest ‘til it adorns my dressing table!
Yes I’m heartbroken to inform you that I still don’t own this bottle of gorgeousness, though I do have a couple of precious sample vials. I’m a bit odd about buying perfume for myself, so it’s on my Christmas list and I’ll be sending my husband a link to this post (if I can bear to wait that long, which is debatable).
Prada Candy Eau de Parfum costs around £40 for the smallest size, 30ml/ 1 FL oz.
~ Many thanks to Louise for providing me with the original images for this post ~
