24/7 Electric Eau de Parfum

Donna Karan 24/7 Electric Eau de Parfum has one of the longest note rows in the house's range, and the interest is in how far it travels between the first minute and the last.

It opens as a fruit and citrus scent. Bergamot is sharp, tangerine is sweeter and rounder, and mango brings a thick, slightly creamy tropical sweetness that is unusual at the top of a fragrance aimed this way. The heart is white flowers, all three of them substantial: jasmine soft and faintly animal, gardenia creamy and almost waxy, orange blossom cleaner and greener, cutting through the other two.

Then it changes character completely. Benzoin and vanilla warm the base with a smooth balsamic sweetness, sandalwood adds a milky grain, patchouli brings damp earth, papyrus is dry and papery, oakmoss contributes a bitter green dampness, incense lends a cool resinous smoke and musk holds it all against the skin. That is eight materials in the base alone, and the result is far darker and drier than the opening would lead you to expect.

Laurent Le Guernec composed it. At eau de parfum strength it wears long, with the fruit gone inside half an hour and the base carrying the rest of the day comfortably. It is aimed at women, it is better in cool weather and after dark, and it suits someone who wants a fragrance that moves rather than one that holds a single pose. Two sprays is enough given the weight of the base.

Donna Karan set up her label in New York in 1984, after a spell designing at Anne Klein, and became known for bodysuits and for soft fabrics in quiet colours. The fragrances have always been produced under licence rather than in house.