-- Calling attention to a perfectly nice women's perfume that might otherwise get neglected because of its image. Launched in 2008 for the generation that wants to connect, Curve Connect by Liz Clairborne was like a mirror reflection of Calvin Klein CK IN2U introduced the previous year in 2007, at least in its target audience and hyper-awareness about digital connectivity. Curiously enough, in spite of the fact that everyone and their grandmother are on the Internet, this type of sales pitch is mostly aimed at adolescents. For this reason, Curve Connect looks like a teenage version of a perfume flacon, but smells more versatile than that. It smells above average good, as I realized one day finally opening that purple can of perfume {see after the jump} seemingly holding the promise of a trash TV reality show fragrance more than anything else, something you could imagine seeing on the vanity of a Jersey Shore girl (I know, my references are already retro like this review and I've only glanced at the Jersey Shore anyway) {Here are the real Jersey Shore people}...
In 2008, Liz Clairborne stated on a dedicated Facebook page which today looks like a forlorn cemetery or a digital ghost town abandoned after a quick, mad gold rush, "It’s not about what you have, it’s about who you know.
Curve Connect – stay connected and see where it takes you. In a world filled with so many connections – love connections, missed connections and internet connections, isn’t it time to make a distinct connection?"
Part of a duo of her and him fragrances, the brand whose license is held by Elizabeth Arden further stressed,
"New Curve Connect for Men and Women is a fragrance designed for those who are motivated by social networks, meaningful relationships and staying interconnected. Curve invites you to connect with yourself and those around you through the powerful aura of scent."
While the perfume looks like it's been discontinued and is available mostly through down-market channels and discounters, social media are even stronger today than they were then so the message is still relevant, as is the scent.
Curve Connect opens on a delicious fruity accord of bergamot, tangerine, white juicy melon and cactus fruit soon leading to a woody impression for which the description "vintage woods" seems apt and adding the sensation that it feels like wet drift wood. It also wafts of the scent of olive wood to my nose. Imagine olive wood rubbed with fresh green olives, a smidgeon of olive oil and fruits like passion fruits and tart berries. It may not sound very appetizing on paper, but it smells very good on skin.
A hint of raspy white musk starts weaving in more obviously its way in the composition but fortunately does not get too conspicuous. The heaviness of the fruits tames it like a tree branch bending under the weight of an over profusion of fruits growing on it.
The spicy facet of the perfume with saffron and cinnamon bark is blended in rather than Orientalized. The fragrance is not banal, smelling a bit offbeat but in an understated way. The cedar note might contribute to this sensation as I often find in mass-marketed fragrances which insist on having a quirky, "strange" note albeit a discreet one. The vanillic aspect is present but not heavy; it smells creamy and plummy at the same time. Drydown smells boozy a bit, like casket rum.
Base notes officially rest upon vintage woods, sheer patchouli, sandalwood, Tahitian vanilla and amber crystals. While the brand underlines the effect of an "inviting and seductive trail", I was more struck by its waft-back effect. To me, the difference between a sillage and a waft-back, the latter not being official terminology and a category of my own based on observation, is that a waft-back has a much shorter radius of action and needs the proximity of warm bodies to waft back towards you.
A sillage is really what trails behind or in front of you on a much longer distance. It can linger on for eons of minutes and minutes even when you are not around anymore. Have you ever entered a building or an elevator or a room and smelled the perfume of someone who was there before but have since departed? That's "sillage" for you. It signs their presence even when they are not around anymore. A waft-back is more immediate. So Curve Connect for women wafts back at you in a very enticing manner. Being a true eau de toilette, it has oomph in the beginning but lacks it a bit towards the end. It's a bit thin in final analysis, but has some nice touches to its composition. It is well-balanced overall and is a nice woody twist on the musky-fruity idea of smelling sexy.
