Kiss Me Tender

Kiss Me Tender arrives as a confection wrapped in spice—Patricia de Nicolaï has crafted something simultaneously edible and unsettling, where aniseed's liquorice bite collides with bitter almond's marzipan character before lemon cuts through with sharp citric clarity. This is no straightforward gourmand; the opening salvo announces a fragrance with genuine tension, one that refuses the expected sweetness until the heart fully blooms.

And bloom it does. Heliotrope and jasmine anchor a gorgeous floral-sweet core, but they're not alone—cinnamon and clove add a spiced warmth that transforms the composition from delicate to almost dessert-like, whilst orange blossom and ylang ylang contribute creamy, slightly indolic richness. The interplay between these notes creates something distinctly powdery, that characteristic almond-tinged dryness that powder accords bring, which prevents the fragrance from becoming cloying despite its 88% sweetness rating.