Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.
I consider myself a fairly open minded perfume lover, ready to experience a new fragrance without any preconceived notions. At the very least, I keep my biases in check. I reason that a perfumista’s equivalent of an omnivore is someone who disregards the minutia and goes straight for the juice. So when Avon Infinite Moment for Her crossed my path, I managed to get past the blandness of the moniker. Even the ad that seems to be taken from the cover of a “bodice ripper” novel did not faze me. These days my courageous testing often leaves me smelling like a candy factory on fire, but Intimate Moment for Her rewarded me with a creamy floral wrapped in vanilla and soft woods. While not offering anything original, it is nevertheless a sophisticated, easy to wear choice.
Infinite Moment was originally created by perfumer Christophe Raynaud for Avon’s Valentine’s Day presentation. Raynaud has more than a hundred fragrances to his name, but I was familiar with his work mostly through the glitz of Paco Rabanne One Million and L’Instant de Guerlain. Infinite Moment may not be Guerlain, but it certainly smells far more expensive than its $24 price tag.
On skin, the fragrance smells of raspberries and violets. The berries are juicy and tart at first, but they quickly turn into a jam. The violet gives the composition an adult character, and as Infinite Moment dries, it makes me think of vintage lipstick. A trace of powder diffuses the brightness and tones down the volume. Sheer jasmine forms the heart of the fragrance, with a transparent, crisp rose in the supporting role. There is nothing remotely animalic or dark about the jasmine in Infinite Moment. It is as clean and innocent as a Cover Girl ad.
The main element that tempers my enthusiasm for Infinite Moment is the predictable drydown. After the lipstick smeared florals, the banal prettiness of powdery musk and vanilla is disappointing. However, Infinite Moment takes such a surprisingly long while to get there that on some days it is not an issue. The contrast between berries and creamy florals reminds me of Yves Saint Laurent In Love Again and Clarins Par Amour Toujours, two particularly interesting fruity-floral fragrances. Avon does not, however, mislead anyone with the name as it accurately describes the lasting power of this fragrance. On the blotter it lasts for weeks, and on skin, it is likewise very tenacious.
This pleasant discovery reminded me that I should sample more Avon fragrances. But whenever I open the catalog, I get so overwhelmed by choices that I put it away without selecting anything. Do you have any suggestions?
Sample: my own acquisition
25 Comments
Amer: It is impossible for me to get into the mind of the person who made the choices for this ad. I don’t understand why avon, oriflame and other companies of that style have such awful visual aesthetics when it is clear that a good picture costs as much as a bad one. And yet, it is always the bad one that gets printed… March 1, 2012 at 8:44am
Victoria: I had such difficulty picking an image for this review, Amer! All other ads are even worse. This lurid purple glow in the background, the artificial poses. Even just a nice shot of the bottle would have been enough. March 1, 2012 at 8:49am
Suzanna: While traveling around my home state, I’ve often come across modeling shoots where women are lying in the sand being visually undressed by hunky young men or women tarted up like streetwalkers posing, lips pursed and chests thrust out, on sidewalks in Miami, surrounded by softened strobe lights and a poor shmuck whose job it is to hold a lipgloss at the ready.
I always thought these pictures wound up on cheesy calendars, but now I see they also wind up in the Avon catalogue, where they must have an appeal or else we would see something sensible–as Victoria suggests–like a picture of the bottle. March 1, 2012 at 9:25am
Victoria: 🙂 Now, the mystery of these garish ads is solved.
Infinite Moment, on the other hand, smells much more expensive. It definitely can compete with the so-called luxury brands. So, it made me curious about other Avon perfumes. March 1, 2012 at 9:32am
Amer: if someone told me that prior to the photo-shoot the model was involved in a car-crash I would have believed them. I also have another theory that rules of appropriateness keep me from sharing with you. March 1, 2012 at 10:28am
Susan: Hi Victoria. I have several Avon fragrances, most of which were gifts. My favorite two are Rare Pearls and Imari. Imari is a soft powdery oriental, Rare Pearls is a classic floral, kind of in the 80s style.
Infinite Moment sounds pretty worthwhile. March 1, 2012 at 10:36am
Victoria: LOL! The model is a Russian pop singer Vera Brezhneva. This seems to be her typical look–very tousled! March 1, 2012 at 11:42am
Victoria: I like Imari very much, and the 80s style floral sounds very good to me.
Infinite Moment is definitely a great budget choice. March 1, 2012 at 11:43am
Alexa: It’s the “poke your eye out” posture that annoys me!
Alexa March 1, 2012 at 1:02pm
Victoria: You guys are killing me! 🙂 March 1, 2012 at 2:03pm
Musette: I haven’t sampled many Avons for the same reason you listed – there are just so many. Awhile back there was one (hang on, let me go see if I can find it) – we were all yarking about it…. okay, it was either the Cynthia Rowley or the Christian Lacroix….omg, the list on Fragrantica! it’s 1000 miles long, with some of the funniest names (Derek Jeter Driven Black – are you kidding me? ExpressionsbyReeseWitherspoonLiveWithoutRegrets (pant! Pant!) Actually, I want to wear that just so I can see if I can say that whole thing in one breath without passing out! LOL!
xo March 1, 2012 at 2:57pm
Victoria: LOL! I tried to say
ExpressionsbyReeseWitherspoonLiveWithoutRegrets in one breath and I failed. It makes a pretty good tongue twister though. I dare anyone to say it out loud as fast as possible. March 1, 2012 at 3:01pm
Amer: Russian you say? I would swear it’s Bollywood gone blonde (no offense to Bollywood actresses) March 2, 2012 at 7:59am
OperaFan: The lady next door to our house (back in the ’70s) was an Avon Lady and she used to let me sniff her samples. If we could turn back the time I’d have a handful of fragrances to recommend: Moonwind, Charisma, Bird of Paradise, Sonnet, Field Flowers, and some of the loveliest and true to scent soliflore sachets.
I’ve no idea what their products are like nowadays, but it’s nice to see that they still produce some reasonably competent fragrances. Their prices certainly are reasonable overall. March 2, 2012 at 4:28pm
Victoria: Maybe my expectations were very low, but I’m pleasantly surprised by the quality. I can do without the neon-bright fruity notes in many of their fragrances (the ones that I smelled, at least), but they can definitely compete with the much more expensive prestige brands. March 3, 2012 at 11:30am
Rain Adkins: Nice to see an Avon review here! I hope you’ll also review Today, a white floral I’m in love with; I think it’s their best in a long time. Like you, I like Imari, which reminds me of the original Woodhue. I’m taken with the honey note and general leather-and-lace vibe of Outspoken, and wear it a good bit with jeans. I like Rare Gold very much for dressy times, but have a love/hate relationship with the (to me) strikingly animalic note in the otherwise demure Rare Pearls. Sophistique by Mark (an Avon sub-line) is being phased out after a longish run; you can get it now for nearly nothing off the website. It’s a warm, deep, soft neroli/ambery/woody composition , and despite its name, I wear it just about anywhere, mostly in cool or cold weather. There’s a new Mark fragrance called Night Iris that I’ve only sampled and can’t really describe, but do check it out–it jumped straight onto my Gotta Havvit list. Avoid Timelesss at all costs–it ages you 20 years and then announces that to total strangers standing a mile away. 🙂 Odyssey is pleasant but puts me to sleep, and I’m of two minds about Candid. Sweet Honesty is its own sweet self after, what, 40 years? Night Magic Evening Musk is an oldfashioned guilty pleasure.:)
There are also some very nice light, sheer summer scents (and they crank out a few duds every year, like everyone else.) They’re not strikingly original, but the best ones are certainly a match for most houses’ summer flankers. I would suggest Haiku, Haiku Sunset, Windscape (also going away soon), and possibly Pur Bianca. Haiku and Windscape I wear a lot.
And that, as my Irish ancestors would say, is enough to be going on with. 🙂 March 5, 2012 at 10:07am
Victoria: Wow! Thank you so much for this great list, complete with tempting descriptions. I keep forgetting that Outspoken is Avon, and yes, I also like it very much.
This is more than is enough to be going on with. At least, for now. 🙂 March 5, 2012 at 5:50pm
Thalia: The one Avon that I really love is discontinued (but still all over eBay for practically nothing) – Absynthe. It’s a really lovely rich warm herbal-woody scent. March 13, 2012 at 7:52pm
Suzanne: My favorite Avon is Far Away. It is a lovely and luscious tuberose with lots and lots of amber, vanilla and sandalwood. It smells much more expensive than it is! April 28, 2012 at 6:03pm
Victoria: Thank you, Suzanne! I have a sample of it, but so far I wasn’t tempted to try it. Now, I’m definitely going to smell it. April 29, 2012 at 9:52am
Carla Haiduk: I love many Avon perfumes. Far Away Exotic is coconut spicy goodness. Surreal Garden is green with a unripe banana smell. Timeless ( I had to import it, not sold in Brazil) , Charisma is very Chanel-like. May 27, 2012 at 10:00pm
Henrique Brito: I only found now your lovely review about this one Victoria. The fragrance seemed interesting at their perfumed page on the catalog, too bad that it’s hard to find samples here of the line.
I have one suggestion of an avon fragrance to you: tomorrow for her. It a lovely ambery fragrance, of good lasting power on skin. August 4, 2012 at 5:56pm
Victoria: Thank you so much, Henrique! More Avon fragrance to try. August 5, 2012 at 12:54pm
Robert: I like Avon Musk for Men, of some thirty years ago. I’ve got my eye on vintage Night Magic Evening Musk, too. June 22, 2013 at 9:46pm
Silvana Siddali: As far as I know, the original Imari was actually considered a chypre. It’s a wonderful perfume, particularly in the lotion & talcum powder.
A couple of years ago I found a vintage bottle of Occur! (a black rubber bottle very similar to the one Tabu used to come in) — I think Occur! went out of production about 20 years ago. It is also a chypre, possibly Avon’s only fragrance in that line until Imari. I love it, even though it has a bit too much sweetness (something I find in many of the vintage Avon fragrances) — but if, like me, you love all chypres, this is definitely worth seeking out. It’s not particularly expensive on ebay. August 2, 2013 at 8:21am