u/Aggressive_Cut4892

Power of You from Emporio Armani

Type: Fruity gourmand

Notes that I can discern: passionfruit, other summery fruits, citruses, vanilla, amber

Going by the notes and reviews and all the hype it received this year, I had predicted that I would hate Power of You. It sounded too frivolous, too generic designer, too girliepop, too mass-pleasing. Surely too mainstream for perfume snobs such as I 💅🏽.

Then I sampled it and had to eat my words. It is one of the best fruity gourmand I have ever worn, and it is mass-pleasing because it is genuinely beautiful.

It’s a simple enough perfume, it doesn’t try to be too many things at once. We get bright sparkling summer fruits, most prominently passionfruit but also mango, sapota, banana. The texture is more like fruit mocktail than fruit pulp, thick and sweet but not sticky or overripe. All this paired with ice-creamy vanilla and a golden amber base. It’s supposed to have plumeria but I don’t get floral notes at all. It’s a fruit sundae for the most part of its stay, though the amber accord becomes more and more pronounced as the hours pass.

It has a pleasant projection for the first 3-4 hours, not a room filler but not too shy either. After that it stays closer to the skin, but I keep catching whiffs even at the end of the day.

Although it is being marketed as a summer perfume in the west, Power of You is far too heavy and sweet to be wearable in Indian summers. But I think it will shine beautifully in cooler weather. I look forward to wearing it this winter. I think the vibe is perfect for a winter lunch with girlfriends.

If you’ve been considering it, I strongly suggest sampling first. It is objectively beautiful in the air, but on skin the fruitiness might be a bit overwhelming, especially for the migraine-prone. This is not a subtle or lighthanded perfume.

I enjoy layering perfumes that aren’t very complex and I think Power of You works as amazingly as a layering scent as it does as a standalone. I’ve tried layering it with vanilla forward scents, incense scents, tea scents, and white florals and it adds a lovely fruity kick to all of them.

This bottle was a gift from my husband, if I were to buy it myself I’d probably have picked a smaller size. Anything more than 50ml feels a bit daunting these days. Nonetheless, very happy to have this and I feel certain I’ll be able to use it up. Also it’s really good to see designer houses releasing new and unique perfumes rather than an endless stream of flankers and almost identical scents in different bottles and names.

In my darkest hour, on my lowest days, I turn to her. She gives me more than courage, she reminds me of who I am. She’s the closest thing I have to a deity.

Esme Weatherwax, pen on paper by me