All those recent stories about how the celebrity fragrance trend is dying? Don’t believe ’em. They’ve been saying that every year that I’ve been writing this blog, and look around — do you see fewer celebrity fragrances? Au contraire. The pie might be shrinking, but apparently everyone still wants a slice. And here is Mariah Carey (you might not recognize her right away given the wildly enthusiastic photoshopping) with Forever, her third fragrance in two years (not counting one flanker and two collector bottles).

Forever hopes to reflect Carey’s satisfaction with how well her life is going:

I am in a wonderful place right now, surrounded by all the things I love, and Forever captures this moment in time.¹

Forever is supposed to be a “modern opulent floral”, and if you take modern opulence to be watery rather than full-bodied, that’s exactly what it is. The opening is crisp, fresh and watery, with tart apple plus some added greenery and citrus; the heart is a watery gardenia/tuberose floral blend with vaguely fruity undertones. The florals are strong and diffusive for a very short time, after that, they’re sheer, and need not scare anybody…

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