Authority For Women

Authority opens soft and creamy, white lotus petals and white ylang-ylang lifted by a powdery violet that sets a romantic, slightly soapy tone in line with Maitresse. The heart fills out with osmanthus, jasmine sambac and rose, a gentle floral bouquet that never turns shrill, all of it resting on the composition's defining feature: a velvety white suede laced with musk. That suede-and-musk pillow carries from the opening right through to the drydown, giving the scent its second-skin sensuality. Compared with the genuine Agent Provocateur, this budget version flattens some of the original's quietly complex interplay of aldehydes, iris and woods, leaning more straightforwardly powdery-floral, and the longevity falls short of Maitresse's generous staying power. Still, it keeps that intimate, refined character that makes the original such a flattering close-wear scent, equally at home on a daytime office day or a romantic evening.