In the fashion world, Issey Miyake is known globally for his signature pleats. The 'Pleats' range was introduced into ISSEY MIYAKE in 1989, and has since been developed every season thereafter. PLEATS PLEASE ISSEY MIYAKE became a stand-alone brand in 1993. As you can see in the images below, fashion from the Pleats Please range is vibrant and energetic and so the Pleats Please fragrance has been created to be equally vibrant and energetic and to compliment the fashion line.
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| Photo credit: I'm the it girl |
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| Photo credit: Issey Miyake |
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| Photo credit: I'm the it girl |
What they say: To capture the joyous, light-hearted character of Pleats Please, Aurélien Guichard has composed a bright and cheerful bouquet. A nectar of bliss, an incitation to savour the pleasures of life. The sparkling top note opens with the intriguing aroma of nashi, a hybrid fruit that oscillates between pear and apple, with the pear note predominating. For this new fragrance, the exuberance and heartiness of a floral bouquet was a must — flowers to define the femininity of a subtle delicate composition. The joyous, upbeat middle note suggests a graceful sensuality, blossoming forth with fresh peony and sweet pea. Indole adds a fleshly, voluptuous touch and “gives substance to the note”, the perfumer explains. The accord is warm and vibrant, like “an invitation to fluidity”. The base note prolongs the sensation of mildness, settling into the rich woody notes of cedar while patchouli, taking on a vertical character, permeates the composition. Sweet, sensuous vanilla infuses the trail with radiant warmth. An absolute of creamy “white vanilla” blends with cosy white musks for a mellow finish.
What I Say: This is a classic fruity floral. After spraying this I am instantly hit with mouth watering juicy fruitiness. The perfume really sparkles at first. I can't say that I can detect nashi pear as a note, nor pear or apple but it is undeniably fruity. This fruitiness lasts about five minutes before the floral bouquet starts to emerge. It is at this point that the fragrances moves from being purely fruity to fruity floral. I can detect these fruity floral notes on my skin for around two hours before the dry down takes over. The vanilla base notes are very evident and this gives the fragrance a real creamy warmth. It is definitely more vanilla than musk, and with the fruity notes still lingering this produces a delicious combination. The dry down is actually my favourite part of the perfume, which is a good thing as this lasts another two to three hours on me.
The top and middle fruity-floral notes weren't particularly unique - you won't initially be thinking 'wow, I have never smelt anything like that before'. However, I did find the dry down to be more unique. The delicious creamy vanilla mixed with the lingering fruity floral-ness really is gorgeous.
The top and middle notes have strong sillage, they leave a definite scent trail; however, the dry down stays much closer to the skin.
This is an incredibly vibrant and joyous fragrance and a perfect one to wear in the spring and summer months and especially during the party season. It doesn't last incredibly long on the skin - although the dry down can still be detected after about 5 hours, it remains close to the skin so you would probably want to refresh after three hours or so.
I can see me getting a lot of wear out of this fragrance during the warmer months. I find it to be more of a fun daytime/party type fragrance rather than a classy evening fragrance. This fragrance is completely different to L’eau D’Issey. Where L’eau D’Issey is cool and watery Pleats Please is sparkly and vibrant. I have to say that I think I prefer Pleats Please to L’eau D’Issey though perhaps that is just because I have been smelling and wearing L’eau D’Issey for years whilst Pleats Please is all new and shiny!
In addition to creating the new fragrance, a lot of thought and design has gone into creating the bottle to represent the pleats made famous by the fashion line. Issey Miyake was once quoted as saying:
“Pleats never
cease to fascinate me, conjuring up a multitude of images.” “Pleats move and
change form with the wearer’s every movement. As the pleats move they change
colours, creating an optical illusion like a kaleidoscope.”
The bottle has been designed to capture this optical illusion. I have included photos of the bottle from every angle for you to see just how beautiful it is. This would have to be one of my favourite bottles in my collection - it's just a shame that I store my perfume in their box in the cupboard, to protect them from light, and that it is not out on display.
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| Front view showing off pink tinged liquid |
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| Front again |
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| Back view |
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| Side view |
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| The lid |
Do you like the sound of Pleats Please or do you think you will stay on team L’eau D’Issey and it's flankers?
All opinions are my own and I received no remuneration for this post. This perfume was provided to me for consideration.