Fantasy is a women's fragrance from Elizabeth Arden, and is the second
perfume to be endorsed by Britney Spears. It is described as "a fragrance alive
with enchantment and rich with the thrill of the chase" and as "a magic love
potion of sweet temptation that leaves a tantalizing trail of embracing
sensuality." The ad's tagline is "Everybody has one."
It was released in the U.S. on September 15, 2005, following the hugely
successful previous perfume from Spears, "Curious," which made over $30 million
in sales in the first three months of its launch.
"Fantasy" was created by Jim Krivda, and its notes are red lychee, golden
quince, kiwi, cupcake accord, jasmine petals, white chocolate orchid, musk,
orris root and sensual woods. It has been described as initially smelling
fruity, then very sweet, showing the promised smells of cupcake and white
chocolate, with a very light floral smell.
Products
"Fantasy" is an eau de parfum, and is available in 50 and 100 mL bottles. The
bottle is hot pink in colour, and is accented with tiny green sparkles. Apart
from these bottles of perfume, there are also:
Solid perfume in a jeweled compact.
"Work Your Magic" Body Soufflé, similar to a moisturiser, this is a
scented cream.
"Look My Way" Colour Kit, containing four eyeshadows in shades of
"Enchanted Forest," "Pixie," "Midnight" and "Flicker," along with "Fairy
Dust Face Highlighter" and "Glimmer Lip Gloss."
"Surprising Twist!" a lip gloss on one end and a roll-on fragrance on
the other.
Sales
Net sales increased 7.2% to $227.4 million for the three months ended
September 30, 2005, from $212.2 million in the comparable period of the prior
year.
The sales growth was driven by the launch of the "Fantasy" Britney Spears
fragrance in U.S. department stores and the Elizabeth Arden "After Five"
fragrance into international markets as well as greater shipments of fragrances,
including the "Curious" Britney Spears fragrance, to mass retailers.
Excluding the favorable impact of foreign currency translation, net sales
increased 6.2%.
REVIEW::
I should begin by admitting that I am so entirely outside of the target
market for this fragrance that my opinion is pretty much meaningless. To start
with, I am more than a few years past the age cohort of interest, which is said
to be 18-30. My advanced age, perhaps, explains my second handicap, which is
that I only vaguely know who Britney Spears is, and it may also explain the fact
that I do not find the bottle design particularly appealing.
I did recently (finally) try Curious, and found it a pleasant enough light
fruity floral. It is not something I would wear, but it is considerably more
wearable than I had expected. Fantasy, for those of you who follow such things,
is meant to capture Britney's new, grown-up status, according to a brand
spokesperson:
Curious was about taking chances, being rebellious, bold and young. Fantasy
is more romantic and sexy. Now that Britney is married and starting a
family, it's time for a more seductive, elusive fragrance.
Fantasy starts with tart fruits, but that lasts nanoseconds. Then it is very
sweet fruits and the promised cupcake accord, which smells pretty much like a
vanilla cupcake with a little dab of chocolate icing. The sweetness (and the
bakery vibe) lessens considerably as it dries down to warm, creamy, musky woods
with very subtle hints of vanilla and chocolate and the tiniest whisper of a
floral note. It is not a terribly complex fragrance, but it does have more depth
and sophistication than Curious, and it is nowhere near as one-dimensional as
Aquolina Pink Sugar, to which it is frequently compared.
Fantasy is an Eau de Parfum, and is available in 50 and 100 ml bottles or in
a "Work Your Magic Body Souffle". It is available at most major department
stores and will undoubtedly be at the discounters soon.
