Review | DKNY Golden Delicious

I haven’t ever knowingly eaten a Golden Delicious apple, so I can’t comment on the scent authenticity of this fragrance compared to the fruit but it has a definite whiff of apple…as well as accompanying floral and sugary notes that make this a pleasant scent to wear.

DKNY Golden Delicious is described as a fragrance that ’embraces a radiant modern spirit with the contrast of glistening florals and delicious heat’ but it’s more pretty than sensual; a sweet lass versus a sexy siren.

The top notes are orange flower water, mirabelle plum and the signature Golden Delicious apple – Crisp, juicy and somewhat refreshing; fruity but not too tart or cloying.

The heart notes are white rose, Casablanca lily, vanilla orchid and muguet (lily of the valley) – A bouquet of feminine florals that distinctively mark the fragrance.

The base notes are musk, sandalwood and teakwood – Purportedly to spice up and sensualise the fruity and the floral notes but I’d say that while they add a hint of underlying warmth, they’re somewhat unobtrusive. Rather, they seem to underscore the other tones in the perfume.

A subtle effervescence rounds off this lovely scent.

Golden Delicious is fairly linear; there are no surprises in this straightforward – some say unexciting – fragrance. Some reviews I’ve read have likened it to cheap shampoo but it doesn’t have that synthetic edge to me. Instead, its sugary and floral accents seem to intertwine nicely to impart a pleasing whiff.

It is versatile in that I can see it suiting women of different ages and it is nothing unusual by way of olfactory discovery (no interesting notes here, sorry!) but I suppose that like its namesake, it is sweet and comforting.

It is ironic that the brand went with the concept of opulence and luxury, weaving a theme from the ‘golden’ aspect of the product, yet the perfume seems to be a crowd-pleaser and not the regal jus it is described to be. This is fine by me, though – I like this clean and sweet floral fragrance precisely because it is such an easy and wearable scent. In the past month alone, I’ve worn my press sample of this scent three days in a row in different time spans, breaking up the three-day blocks with mistings of Jo Malone Wild Bluebell or Penhaligon’s Juniper Sling.

It is fairly lasting, helped along by the fact that I usually only spray it on my nape and into my hair – both of these areas seem to hold fragrances well.

Unfortunately, this fragrance has a huge drawback in its packaging: I completely understand that the smooth spherical bottle is meant to mimic the shape of an apple and while I appreciate the intent and enjoy the aesthetic curviness of the receptacle (I especially like the smooth curve of the spray nozzle), the rotund glass bottle is possibly as danger-inviting to the user as the apple was to Eve. Every spritz is a precarious exercise in itself and I have to be extra careful not to have on moisturiser or hand cream (any product at all, really) before handling the round bottle, for fear of dropping and breaking it. Thankfully, I now have an easy decanting alternative, although I have to ascertain if it’s workable on the nozzle.

I’m not one for unwieldy packaging and gold hues (I much prefer pewter and silver) but the fragrance is so pleasant that this is one apple I wouldn’t mind having in my beauty garden. ;)

In Singapore, the eau de parfum retails at S$90 for 50 ml and S$123 for 100 ml. The sprays are complemented by a shimmer body lotion which retails at S$63 for 50 ml.

Image source: DKNY Fragrances