Elizabeth Arden Mediterranean

I recently reviewed a bottle of Mediterranean as a birthday gift after I had previously admired the beautiful blue bottle and the Riveria inspired promo photos.  It's a good thing that I ended up liking the fragrance as much as I liked the packaging.  This fragrance is described as a "woody floral", all the middle hotes are florals and the the woods become evident during the drydown and allow the fragrance to last all day long.  Mediterranean is a very warm fragrance, reminding me of the smells of Italy that I encountered on my visit several years ago.  In fact, this fragrance reminds me so much of Italy that it could be from Dolce & Gabbana or Versace, Elizabeth Arden did a great job capturing the essence of Venice and the Italian lifestyle.

Catherine Zeta Jones is the model for this fragrance and her description of the fragrance is up on the company's website.  "I love Mediterranean, it is a captivating fragrance...one to wear when you're not feeling shy."  I agree with her on both counting, this is a very captivating fragrance and is not one to wear when you want to blend into the crowd.  This fragrance is one of the strongest ones that I have ever smelled and will last all day and into the night.

The top notes of this fragrance are: Peach Nectar Sorbet, Silician Mandarin, Damask Plum.  The middle notes are: Radiant Wisteria, Star Magnolia, Madagascar Orchid.  The bottom notes are: Addictive Sandalwood, Fluid Skin Musk, Golden Amber Whisper.  Magnolia is one of the few fragrance notes that always works for me and helps to explain why this fragrance lasts all day on my skin.  The strongest notes are the magnolia (of course), the peach, and sandalwood and amber base.  This fragrance is also very multi-faceted, I have worn it to work, out at night, or for a casual shopping day. 

This bottle is stunning and is what originally drew me to the fragrance in the first place.  The bottle is deep blue and resembles the ocean water of the Mediterranean.  It reminds me of the Italian glass that I saw all over Venice and always wanted to take home for my house.  The top of the bottle is a hammered silver topper and is the perfect complement to the blue shade.  This one looks beautiful on my dresser and is one that I could continue to display long after the fragrance is used up.  Which will be quite a long time, since I was given the biggest bottle of this perfume and it lasts so long that I don't need to reapply it throughout the day. 

This scent is my first from Elizabeth Arden and has set a high quality standard for this company.  It also makes me really miss Italy and I love that I can wear a bit of Italy with me throughout the whole summer.  I have never met anyone who has worn this fragrance so I am always unique when I have this on.  Ladies come up to ask me what I am wearing when I have this on and no one has ever heard of it so far but I believe that smelling is believing so head to the Elizabeth Arden counter and try this one on...

photo courtesy of Elizabeth Arden