Same Lady, Change of Gown

In my recent browsing at the various perfume counters in town, I noticed something of the unusual: two limited edition scents that I have grown very fond of have made a sneaky comeback. Sneaky because they have now returned with a new name, new bottle yet the exact same fragrance as far as I can remember.

In the fragrance world, the opposite is more common: every day, an old favourite is reformulated while its visual representation and name are maintained. Observing the opposite is encouraging, especially when the two fragrances in questions are two that I have grown to enjoy and love quite enormously in the past three years.

Allow me to introduce the first lady: Opium Poésie de Chine, formerly known as Opium Fleur de Shanghai. With notes of magnolia, star anise, vanilla, mandarin and myrrh it has captured my heart three years ago when it was released, for summer 2006. I have done everything I could to make it more popular, including stocking up on it and raving about here on SmellyBlog. My efforts seem to have paid off as the scent is back now, with a new name and new packaging. The magnolia floral printed bottle with (somewhat cheesy) ivory plastic cap is now replaced with a minimalist red frosted bottle decorated with verses of poetry in Chinese characters.

















The second dame is non other than the not-exactly-a-perfume - Estee Lauder’s Bronze Goddess, formerly known to us as Azuree Body Oil. The scent remains exactly the same, the body oil formulation seems the same as well. It is also offered in a glittered body lotion. While the delightful turquoise is replaced by shades of brown and orange, there is no mention of Tom Ford’s name anywhere on the packagin whatsoever, which is somewhat a relief (if your affection for the line was thrown off by his pornographic campaign for his recently launched namesake masculine scent).