K by Dolce & Gabbana
Anyone weighing up a concise fragrance against a complicated one should look at K by Dolce & Gabbana Eau de Parfum, which makes the case for the former in three materials.
Cedarwood, lemon and fig is the whole of it. The cedarwood is dry, clean and faintly sharp, and it occupies the centre of the composition rather than hiding beneath it. Lemon handles the opening, bitter and bright and over fairly quickly, as citrus always is. Fig is the material that makes the arrangement work, green and milky with a bitterness at the edge, and it bridges the gap between the sharpness above and the dryness below so that neither of them is left standing on its own.
Short compositions have a practical advantage, which is that nothing in them turns on you later. The scent you approve of on the first spray is the scent you will still be wearing at six in the evening, and that cannot be said of every fragrance built from twenty materials.
Eau de parfum strength is doing real work here. It gives the cedarwood the oil it needs to last and keeps the fig from fading into nothing after an hour, while the overall effect stays close to the skin rather than filling the space around you. That makes it practical for offices and for travel. Daphné Bugey and Nathalie Lorson are the perfumers credited. Men are the market, and any month of the year will do.
Two designers founded this Italian house in 1985 and continue to shape everything it puts out. The fragrances, though, are produced elsewhere: Shiseido has held the exclusive worldwide licence for Dolce & Gabbana perfume, makeup and skincare since October 2016, operating it from Paris.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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