Classic and classy (Elizabeth Arden: 5th Avenue, Eau de Parfum)

Member Name: the_oracle123

Product:	Elizabeth Arden: 5th Avenue, Eau de Parfum
Date:	12/08/05 (1021 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Understated, classy and expensive

Disadvantages: None

I don't shop around when it comes to perfumes. I have my favourites and they're what I wear - I've always liked the idea of a signature fragrance and I tend to just stick to one or two. The only perfumes on my dressing table are Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle (my unchallenged all-time favourite) and Elizabeth Arden's 5th Avenue.

While it may only be my second-favourite perfume, I'll say now that I'm hugely fussy about scent. Of all the perfumes in the world, I like very, very few of them. And I like 5th Avenue very much.

**History of the product**
5th Avenue is a relatively new perfume, introduced by Elizabeth Arden in 1996. Since then it's become a classic fragrance, one that most women have heard of and many women know.

**How much is it?**
Eau De Parfum 125ml is £48.

**What's the packaging like?**
When designing the bottle, the designers were inspired by the New York skyline. As such the bottle is tall, fairly thin and clear, with a square gold lid and a small, square label. The box is also very understated and classy, a plain gold box with, again, a small square label bearing the name 5th Avenue.

**Generally, what's the fragrance like?**
In terms of formal perfumery, 5th Avenue is classed as a floral/oriental fragrance. (There are 3 main types of fragrance: oriental, floral and chypre, and 5 other sub-genres: woody, musky, aquatic, spicy and fruity.) Like all perfumes, when first sprayed it smells strongly of alcohol, but this soon settles down and the individual scents can be distinguished. All perfumes contain different combinations of oils, giving the fragrance its distinctive scent. 5th Avenue contains lilac, linden and mandarin, which gives it a mildly oriental twist but not enough to make it heavy, as some oriental perfumes are.

**What are the top notes in 5th Avenue?**
Top notes are the scents you smell first when you spray the fragrance. 5th Avenue's are, as mentioned, lilac, linden and mandarin.

**Heart notes?**
Heart notes are different scents which develop after the perfume has been on the skin for a little while and has "settled down", typically 10 minutes to 1 hour. Here they are violet, ylang-ylang and jasmine.

**Base notes?**
These form the basis for the fragrance and are the last scents to develop, about 30 minutes after you spray the perfume. 5th Avenue is based on amber, musk and vanilla.

**How do YOU define it?**
I'd say that it's definitely floral, definitely has a hint of oriental about it but above all has a fresh, clean scent. There's nothing obvious about 5th Avenue and it definitely smells classy! It's not cloying or over-sweet, and the balance between the floral and the musk has been well judged, making 5th Avenue a well-rounded, balanced and understated fragrance.

**Is it overpowering?**
Absolutely not. I'd be sparing with the spray, as a little lasts a fairly long time (which is good), but as it isn't a heavy perfume, unless you really go for it and spray yourself a LOT, you won't smell overpowering!

**When can you wear it?**
Personally, I'd say that 5th Avenue is suitable for wearing at any time, day or night. It's fresh enough to wear in the daytime, and sensual enough to wear in the evening. Perhaps it's not a jeans and scruffy T-shirt kind of perfume, but I don't know...I think it might even be up to that if you really loved it! Above all it's adaptable and can be worn at lots of different times.

Summary: A lovely and timeless fragrance.