Isn't it Romantic(a) a new fragrance, Romantica by Anna Sui @annasui

Ella Fitzgerald: Isn’t It Romantic?

Isn’t it romantic?
Music in the night, a dream that can be heard.
Isn’t it romantic?
Moving shadows write the oldest magic word.
I hear the breezes playing in the trees above
While all the world is saying you were meant for love.
Isn’t it romantic
Merely to be young on such a night as this?
Isn’t it romantic?
Every note that’s sung is like a lover’s kiss.
Sweet symbols in the moonlight,
Do you mean that I will fall in love perchance?
Isn’t it romance?

Sweet symbols in the moonlight,
Do you mean that I will fall in love perchance?
Isn’t it romantic?
Isn’t it romance?

Lyrics by Rodgers and Hart

supermodel Ine Neefs is captured by famed photographer Steven Meisel for Anna Suit Romantica

Fashion Week is in full swing. If you’re fortuante, you’ll be seeing the latest fashions from the fabulous designer, Anna Sui. But even if you aren’t at fashion week, you can make a new fashion statement with Anna Sui’s latest fragrance: Romantica.

Yes indeed, Anna Sui is a romantic. The designer, beloved for her boho chic fashions and beautifully packaged fragrances is quoted as saying:”I’ll buy flowers and love decorating them in my house. Flowers have the power to convey memories and remind me of special moment in my life, travels, fun times, my childhood, good friends. Their elegant shapes, vibrant colors, gorgeous smells make them very attractive decorating objects. Arranging a bowl of flowers in the morning gives me a sense of quiet and happiness on a busy hectic day. ROMANTICA is the Floral Jewel in my fragrance collection. If fairytales were made of flowers – undoubtedly they would smell like ROMANTICA: charming, fresh, fabulous! It is like an enchanted bouquet of blooms, sure to cast a magical spell! —- And no one is too old for fairytales!!”

As a beloved designer, Anna is known for getting inspiration not just from the things that give her personal joy (like flowers) but also from her many travels to the South Seas, London, China or Morocco where she sees crafts and new colors, sounds, smells and sights. All her fragrances, and her fashions and accessories, reflect this.

Romatica is true to the Anna Sui brand, offering delightful packaging and pretty fragrance. Romantica will make you fall in love…with the fragrance, with daily life…maybe someone very special!

Let’s begin this review with the obvious: the presentation is gorgeous. An art nouveau design, quite splendid — ,hot pink, light pink, and gold (what could be more glamorous than this?!). Roses abound detailed in gold, the topper over the spray diffuser. It’s gold, featuring a stylized rosebud. When you hold the curvaceous glass bottle, clear at the bottom, gradient to medium pink at the top, you feel the embossed, raised surfaces that make it special. It also helps you grip the bottle. The outer carton is also spectacular, with a romantic, art nouveau design featuring stylized flowers and dragonflies., laced with golden vines. It looks totally modern, but also old fashioned as a romantic scent should be.

Fragrance bottle collectors will covet Anna Sui Romantica for the bottle, and you will too. But it’s the actual Eau de Toilette that you’re purchasing. Does it stand up to the fabulous flacon? Is it worth your consideration as your next fragrance?

Steven Demarcado of Fragrance Resources designed this sparkling floral. He has designed a lot of “celebrity” and popular fragrances some of which The Advice Sisters have reviewed and liked a great deal. I don’t know if this is the entire list of fragrances that Mr. Demarcado has produced, but there are lots of winners in this group! Brooks Brothers Black Fleece Women (2009) Cereus Pour Homme No. 11(2008) Escada Magnetic Beat (2003, with Pierre Bourdon) Escada Magnetism (2003, with Pierre Bourdon) Jennifer Lopez Love at First Glow(2006) Guess Guess Man (2006 ) Gwen Stefani Harajuku Lovers G (2008)Jessica Simpson Fancy Nights (2010) Kenneth Cole Men (2002) Marc Jacobs Blush (2004) Marc Jacobs Blush Intense (2006) Marc Jacobs Women (2001, with Loc Dong) Michael Jordan Cologne Michael Kors Kors for women (2003, with Christophe Raynaud) Michael Kors Notes from Michael “Houndstooth” (2001) Michael Kors Notes from Michael “Tattersall” (2001) Nicole Richie Nicole (2012) Paris Hilton Anniversary Edition (2015) Paris Hilton Paris Hilton ( 2004, with James Krivda) Paris Hilton Just Me (2005) Paris Hilton Tease (2010) Queen Latifah Queen by Queen Latifah (2009) Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Girl Jeans (2003) Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Girl Summer for women (2002 limited edition) Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Summer for Men (2002 limited edition, with Patricia Bilodeau) Victoria’s Secret Very Sexy for Him 2 (2003) Vince Camuto Vince Camuto by (2011)

Romantica by Anna Sui Eau de Toilette is pretty in pink. It’s feminine, but not overly girly nor is it overly a heavy floral. It’s light and slightly fruity. In fact, I would designate this is a fruity floral but the press literature says it’s a “sparkling floral.” I did some research but really couldn’t figure out what the actual difference is. The top notes are Calabria Bergamot, Mandarin Essence, Sparkling Pomegranate, and Watery Quince, Followed by a heart of rose de Mai, Osmanthus Absolute, Jasmine Petals, and Orange Blossom, water Lily and Peony Blossom. The fragrance would be overly fruity floral without the sensual base which has White Ceylon Cedarwood, Sheer Amber, Indonesian Sandalwood, and Creamy Musk. As the scent dries down, the fruits and florals remain but the bottom notes (which give the scent some staying power) start to poke through.

The scent feels youthful and fun, playful in fact. But it’s not a “big” fragrance in terms of feeling as though you’re wearing a cool weather “substantial” scent. I think it’s meant to be the kind of fragrance you spritz to feel happy, and to please yourself. Others will have to come up close to enjoy it on you. This makes it good for an office environment or any place where your fragrance shouldn’t announce your arrival/departure.

Anna commented on her Romantica fragrance: “I want to feel as lighthearted as a flower petal, floating softly in the breeze. ROMANTICA fuels my passions and colors my senses!”