Avon's Mark brand has launched Sophistique, a new fragrance for women:
An unexpected blend of sheer, precious lotus, basmati rice and golden amber wraps you in irresistible warmth; while orange blossom and ginger wood add a sophisticated femininity.
Sophistique was developed by perfumer Olivia Jan; additional notes include mandarin, seringa flower and teak wood.
Mark Sophistique is available in Eau de Toilette, size unknown, for $24, and can be purchased now at the Mark website. (via mark)
Basmati rice? That’s a new one on me.
It’s in some other fragrances…Ormonde Jayne Champaca, for one.
Well, I do love basmati rice, and some of the other notes sound good too. I wonder if anyone has smelt this yet and can say if it lives up to its description?
I never get to smell anything by Mark, sorry — hopefully if someone else has smelled it they’ll chime in.
Hi – I sell Avon, so I get the products before they actually are released to the public via the demo book. I got a bottle of Mark Sophistique two weeks ago with my Avon order, and I have to say, it’s been enjoyable to wear. For the last few weeks, we’ve been having cooler than usual weather, and this scent suits it perfectly – it definitely reminds me of warm vanilla sugar from BBW at first, so the basmati rice note sticks out. The drydown becomes mostly amber, but not an overpowering amber; more of a cozy warm amber. For the price, it’s definitely worth it for a nice fall/winter comfort scent. Also comes in body butter.
Thanks!
Thanks Jessidz!
I think Kenzo Amour has Basmati rice as a note? And I believe the long gone but not forgotten Annam had a similar note. This sounds really nice. I want to try it, and for the price, I wouldn’t be out much if it’s rather boring. There were a couple tropical frags I wanted to pick up from Mark as it is, so this is just the catalyst.
It does sound nice! Not sure if Amour had basmati rice in particular…I think the note was just called “rice steam” — although it’s neither here nor there since these are presumably synthetics & have no relationship to real rice of any kind 🙂
I was thinking this one reads like a nice comfort scent. Maybe it won’t be too bad…?
And, Ferre (2005) also has a rice accord. I think of it more of a structural accord than an actual smell per se. It keeps the base from getting too sweet and adds body, rather than just using musks all the time.
It does sound very appealing.
Looks like Lauren Conrad, LC, the BIG reality Show breakout star is fronting this, huh? I know you don’t know who she is, Robin. I’ll break her down some
She has a clothing line @ Kohls
Her book topped the New York Times’ Best Seller’s list
She’s a reality show star.
LOL…thanks, you saved me the trouble of googling. She’s cute, whoever she is.
She started at the reality show “Laguna Beach” some years ago.
Lauren “LC” and another girl Cristen Cavallari (sp?) where the 2 killer blondes from Laguna beach in a love triangle for the love of a boy (Stephen or Steven).
In one episode the guy was driving to LC’s house and listened to Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'”. After the episode aired, the song skyrocketed to #1 in the iTunes store.
I think that is an example of how influential this reality stars can be on impulse purchases, and that is why I think there are so many celebrity endorsements for products in general, not only frags.
That is a reality show I’ve never even heard of.
Basmati rice is alright….but I just bought a 25lb bag of Jasmine Rice at Sam’s yesterday , opened it and took a huge whiff. Even raw, Jasmine rice has such a delicate almost floral note. Yum.
Oh, somebody should do that fragrance!
25lbs? Are you having a sushi party?
Nah, no sushi for moi. The only place around here to get decent quality Jasmine rice is at Sam’s Club….in a 25lb bag…but at least it’s at a super great price….anyhow, I empty the bag into sealable containers. Sealed up , rice keeps nicely in the cool dark basement for quite a while.
I’m a big fan of basmati rice, but I’m not familiar with jasmine rice – does it actually taste of jasmine?
No not really, but it does have a very nice, light flavor. Basmati has a stronger more “grainy” taste which is good for some dishes. If you cook a lot of rice and you’ve never had jasmine rice, you really need to try some. However, the jasmine rice I’ve seen at the local grocery chains has not been the best. My favorite brand is Lucky Elephant but Golden Star is good too.
Thanks for the tips – will have to try it. We have a Sam’s Club here so hopefully they’ll have the same. My husband runs a cafe, so using up gigantic bags of things shouldn’t be a problem : )
I love these notes! I thought the girl looked like Carrie Underwood, probably because I don’t know who Conrad is, except of course I’ve heard of her since I am still a step away from a cave. No offence Robin, my sister doesn’t watch much t.v. either.
Daisy, you have to be one of the busiest and most industrious people I know (and thoughtful). I’m going to have to order some shea butter from you.
-Joy,
Becca
No offense taken, I know I’m out of it!
I had to look Conrad up as well….in a cave, under a rock….current celebrity gossip and events don’t filter down so quickly you know.
Not to mention, I’m not so sure it’s something to be ashamed of! Given the – ahem – “quality” of television and such these days, I don’t feel I’m missing a thing. Do miss my football, though, but not enough to do anything about it.
LOL me? industrious? nah…..me laaaaazzy. I’m only industrious if it’s something fun…..”work” on the other hand and I’m more like Yogi Bear….elaborate avoidance schemes and the whole business. (yes, I love a picnic basket too) 😉
I smelled this in an Avon brochure I was perusing at the gym–it’s not bad. I would have to smell it again to tell you anything more than that. I will say that the Mark scents have been a step up from Avon’s usual fare.
Basmati rice is also a note in B&B Works Warm Vanilla Sugar, one of my fave bubble baths.
Oh, I’ll have to give WVS another sniff!
I’m not a vanilla fan, and I wouldn’t wear it as a perfume, but it makes an nice, comforting bubble bath.
Interesting, I like the BBW Warm Vanilla Sugar (I have the lotion) but didn’t realize it had a rice note.
My sister has a couple of the Mark scents and they are nice enough, although they smell similar to me. They’re rather inoffensive, work-friendly scents. The notes of this one do sound pretty good.
They’re certainly reasonably priced. Wish it was easier to test them.
I thought the ginger might make it interesting, but then I reread it and it’s “ginger wood”, not “ginger”. Is that, like, really tough ginger? And seringa could be good (had to look that one up, it’s mock orange?). This has definite potential.
I assume ginger wood is another fantasy note, but I don’t really now. Seringa should be mock orange though.
OK, here comes the nit-picking copy editor… Shouldn’t it be “Sophistiqué,” or even “Sophistiquée”? Without the accent, I think it has something to do with sophistry, and somehow I don’t think Lauren Conrad is familiar with that concept.
HA! I agree!!
Gosh. Don’t think this will matter to the audience!
Yup, that and the fact that she does not seem “sophisticated” to me at all. More like a trendy pseudo-ingenue
Hi! I’ve been “lurking” here (jeez, I don’t like that term) for a year now (!!!) enjoying every word, but the idea of a basmati rice perfume was so delightful I decided to just give in and say hi, and thanks for this lovely, lovely blog. I’m addicted! I first found nst when I bought my first real perfume (I had some shameful experiences in my real young days), Bulgari Red The, and even though the review wasn’t that positive (that’s cool; I like to have different noses have a say!) the list of notes had me sniffing again and again, trying to discover this whole new world! I have since added Bulgari Green Tea and Philosykos (Robin, your love song is totally apt, it’s one of the most beautiful fragrances I’ve ever smelled) to my list (I’m slow at this collecting business, especially being a penniless just-college-grad), and both of those purchases were inspired by this blog. Thanks for everything, Team NST! And Kevin, your black tea addiction suits me so so well. I’m still looking for that perfect black tea note, so keep up the search! Sorry for all my parenthesis, and thanks again!
Hi and welcome, and thanks for the very kind words! If you love the idea of a basmati rice scent, you really must try the Ormonde Jayne Champaca mentioned above, it’s perfect and very rice-y. On the other hand, it isn’t a cheap scent, and even the sample set is price-y — so maybe wait until you’re no longer a penniless just-college-grad!