Who else but Camille Rowe could have embodied the alluring and nonchalant femininity of Poison Girl? At twenty-six years of age, and with one hundred and twenty-eight thousand and counting Instagram followers, the model represents a generation of uninhibited, fun-loving, optimistic young women.1
Ah, who else indeed? In case you were wondering how many Instagram followers you might need to front a major youth-oriented fragrance campaign circa 2016, now you know.1 And you know Christian Dior's latest, Poison Girl, is geared young, because they're talking up Rowe's Instagram in the first place, plus she is writhing on a dance floor wearing hotpants and later, strutting around in not even so much as that, whereas Natalie Portman, who fronts the somewhat more "mature" Miss Dior (Ms. Portman is thirty-five), wears Dior couture and smells rose petals and whatnot, plus, she isn't even on Instagram. (Then again, Charlize Theron, who fronts J'Adore and is now forty years of age, has 1.2 million followers.)
So anyway, Poison Girl is geared young, and not surprisingly, it smells like it. It hasn't any real link to 1985's Poison, other than the name and the idea ("I had an idea of youth. A woman who is very strong-willed, almost provocative, maybe even scandalous.")3 It's a floral gourmand, and while it shows a few strands of DNA from 1998's Hypnotic Poison, it's more likely to remind you of the many other modern gourmand prestige fragrances in its class, from Lancôme La Vie Est Belle to Viktor & Rolf BonBon to Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium.
The opening is strong, sweet and pink ("It puts everything front and center right away. Therefore I worked heavily on the top notes so that they would be representative of the fragrance as a whole")4 and smells sort of like cherry-orange-rosewater bubblegum, if such a thing existed, and if it could be done in neon hot pink. Poison Girl is every bit as hot pink as its juice, maybe even more so, and as you'd expect of something done in neon hot pink, it is not quiet about it. The rose-ish floral heart is sweet ("I thought about a sweet treat from my childhood in Grasse, where rose petals were soaked in sugar")5 but not quite so sweet, or loud, as the opening. The dry down is a bit softer still, with plenty of vanilla and undertones of bitter almond, and possibly a dash of bitter cocoa as well.
The lasting power is fantastic. If you put it on, prepare to spend the day with it. The sillage, however, can not quite live up to Poison. There will be a hot pink cloud around you for an hour or two at most.
Verdict: Poison Girl is not perfumista bait, that's for sure, much less old-school-perfumista bait. So I'm not meant to like it, and I feel just fine with the fact that I don't. Modern gourmands don't always leave me cold, though, and in fact the first thing I thought of when I smelled Poison Girl was Diesel Loverdose, which to my (cranky-old-school-perfumista) mind would have been a perfect flanker to Hypnotic Poison, and which struck me as way more fun — and chic, and sophisticated — than Poison Girl. Loverdose Tattoo was fun too. But what do I know? I'm not on Instagram either.
Dior Poison Girl is available in 30, 50 and 100 ml Eau de Parfum. Unless I am mistaken it has not yet officially launched in the US.
1. Via Dior Mag.
2. And as of today, she has 191k. See Camille Rowe’s 10 Most French Instagram Posts if you're wondering what she's up to but can't be bothered to actually get on Instagram.
3. François Demachy of Parfums Chrisitian Dior, also via DiorMag.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
Ah…We will have to accept the fact that fragrance is the new dessert Robin.
Get ready for BonBon Couture! The new flanker to BonBon from Viktor&Rolf.
It is actually SWEETER than BonBon if that’s imaginable.
I tested it yesterday at Saks in NYC (exclusive to that store and location) and has vanilla and Neroli.
I almost went into a diabetic coma…
Sweet I don’t mind. Sweet pink, though, I can’t do.
It is really hard to imagine sweeter than BonBon!
I LOVE BonBon! I need to smell this newness you speak of!
I tried Bon Bon when it first came out and for someone who likes sweet, it was too sweet. Whenever I stop by Saks and pass near where Bon Bon is displayed, I get an instant toothache. Sadly, I CAN imagine something sweeter — blrgghhhhh.
I have this one…and the fake leopard fur coat to match….and I think of it as ‘Narcisco Trash’ ( white cube) more than Loverdose Tattoo ( which I also have ). It is strong on cherry but I find that the cherry hit ( kapow! ) is quite bitter and the sweetness sits beside the cherry somehow . I wasn’t keen on the original Poison ( 30 PI…that’s pre instagram ) but i have worn Poison Girl a few times as I like the residue it leaves on my dog-walking shredded polar fleece jumper….Yes, I know, I shouldn’t have said no when they asked me to be the face of the scent…Anyway, my verdict: good on clothes or as a doggy-car spray. Also good if you are feeling totally bored and you are stuck in a room full of blowhards who take life too seriously, and the booze has run out.
Narciso Trash, LOL! I liked that one. I was not keen on the original Poison either. Anyway, glad you are liking this one.
I my, now I think I need a bottle of this to take to work. You crack me up!
Oh my.
me too — that’s an AWESOME review!
Hey Kanuka, maybe we should all follow you on Instagram and you can be Leopard Grrll.
I haven’t been to the local Mall-Plex in ages, so don’t know if this has arrived at the Local Saks/Nords/Needless Markup what have you… But I want to get a whiff of it. Sounds, Fun!
I have not seen Poison Girl online at any of the usual mall stores in the US, at least, not online — I have not been the local mall since late spring myself.
So, it hasn’t made it to the U.S. yet.
I’m sure when it does, every little tween girl in my school building will be attempting to wear it. Great!
Well, what are they wearing now? It might not be all that much different from what you’re already smelling at school.
LOL! You’re right. They wear any and every scent Victoria Secret makes and they mix it with Bath and Body Works products. I keep my migraine medicine close by.
Using the word “girl” says it all and that message is: for very young, sugar- sweet loving perfume fans.
Thanks, but I’ll pass.
Bottle’s not half bad, however.
Now off to grab a slice of that chocolate cake I made this morning
Hey, pass the cake!
This one has been on Dior counters in Australia for a couple of months now. I must say it looks gorgeous – its silvery pink really stands out from the other Poisons. I’m sure it will sell like crazy.
It’s too sweet for me, though as Kanuka says, there is a bitterness in there somewhere which helps keep it interesting. ‘Well done for its type’ was my take-away from Poison Girl.
Agree about the bitterness, and think if they had gone a shade further in that direction I might also agree with interesting
At any rate, it did not bother me as much as BonBon.
I know BonBon only as something to be given a wide berth if I see it on the shelf. More like a NonNon than a BonBon.