Japanese Aurora

Japanese Aurora opens on a burst of juicy cherry and cherry blossom, sweet and almost candy-like, the budget echo of Escada's summery Cherry In Japan. A clean jasmine floats through the heart, softening the fruit into something prettier and more floral, before a fluffy marshmallow-and-tonka base settles in - that powdery, dense sweetness reviewers compared to a marshmallow in the original. Where Escada's version is a juicy, Swedish-fish-sweet fruit bomb with a soft floral drydown, this take reads a touch flatter and simpler, the cherry less three-dimensional and the projection softer. Longevity sits in the moderate-to-light range, much like the original which itself often asked for a reapply. It is a cheerful, easy spring and summer scent - playful, flirtatious and unmistakably cherry - that captures the fun of the Escada without the designer price, even if the juiciest, most vivid facets are only suggested.