Photo: Courtesy of Viktor&Rolf.Flowerbomb: Whether you love or hate this super-popular fragrance, there's one thing we can all agree on. It's really, really sweet. So, when designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren (also known as Viktor&Rolf) decided that they wanted their next perfume to be even sweeter, they were creating quite the challenge for master perfumers Serge Majoullier and Cécile Matton.
Aside from the cloying scent, the other inspiration for the new fragrance was a feminine-shaped bottle. "We didn't design it with any one woman in mind," he says. "We were mostly thinking of the bow." The symbol is taken directly from Viktor&Rolf's couture, but feels less high fashion and more universally accessible thanks to its precious shape.
AdvertisementADVERTISEMENT
As for what sort of sweetness the symbol would invoke, the designers wanted to go an edible route.
What they decided on? Toffee. So much so, in fact, that there are notes of toffee in every single aspect of the scent — top, middle, and base. To balance it out, the perfumers infused the base with woodsy notes. "It's like the smell of caramel darkening in the pan," says Matton. There's also a sprinkling of orange blossom and jasmine at the center of the fragrance; though, at first whiff, it smells 100% like a dessert.
That decadent, edible quality of Bonbon definitely sets it apart from other fragrances in its class. It's as sugary as Flowerbomb is flowery. Despite its saccharine content though, there's something incredibly sophisticated about it — it's not the brown-sugar vanilla moisturizer we all used in high school. It's more like a dessert that wouldn't be on the kid's menu.
Viktor&Rolf Bonbon, $115, available at Saks Fifth Avenue.
Like this post? There's more. Get tons of beauty tips, tutorials, and news on the Refinery29 Beauty Facebook page!