I am not an experienced wearer of perfumes.  In fact, before I discovered Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger, I had only owned one perfume, and that had been purchased for me by my mother when I was a teenager.  I have absolutely no expertise in these matters; all I can say is that, after sampling many and liking almost none, I loved this perfume the minute I smelled it, and I still love it.

Perfumes are expensive; Prada Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger is very expensive.  I own the 100 mL bottle, which cost $135.00.  That’s a pretty shameful amount of money to have spent on 100 mL of anything, but this is the only perfume that I use.  I use it every day, and a little goes a long way.  I put three spritzes on my wrist each morning; in nine months, I have used almost a third of the bottle.  Perfumes have a shelf-life; they are alcohol-based, and can evaporate.  More than that, light and heat can degrade their smell.  I store mine properly (in the cool and in the dark), and Prada uses very good ingredients in their perfumes; still, I run the risk that I will not have time to use my entire 100 mL.  In future, I may buy a smaller bottle, but, if I can, I will certainly buy another.

Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger comes in a lovely, simple little bottle; its packaging is similar to Prada’s other perfumes.  It comes in a deeply colorful box, decorated in theme with the odor itself (in this case, a deep green with orange blossoms).  The bottle is squat and square, with almost no adornment save the inset oval metal Prada Milano label on the front, and the paper label on the right side.  This paper label is bright orange, and matches the paper wrapped around the silver cap.  It is elegant and small, and in stark contrast to many perfumes, whose beautiful and varied bottles seem to be a large part of their appeal.

Obviously, the most important aspect of a perfume is its smell.  There are two phases of perfume smell: one, immediately after application, is strongly alcoholic and wears off within about fifteen minutes.  The other, less known before purchase but ultimately more important, is the second: how the perfume smells after fifteen minutes on your skin, and therefore how you will smell for the rest of the day.

Many people have commented that Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger smells soapy.  It is one of Prada’s irritatingly-named ‘Ephemeral Infusion’ line, and was developed by the same woman who developed their well-loved Infusion d’Iris, which I have never smelled but which was apparently more satisfactorily floral.  Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger is, in fact, extremely soapy-smelling; I love that about it.  It is why I chose it.

Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger is a strong-smelling perfume, especially immediately after application.  I can’t smell orange blossom in this perfume, but I can smell soap, and I can smell musk (at one point, I can almost smell carrots, but in a good way).  This is not a subtle perfume; even after it mellows on the skin, the smell is distinct.  It is soapy, and that soapiness remains.  I think it smells clean, almost herbal.  I wouldn’t describe the smell as particularly feminine, either.  It doesn’t smell like a man’s cologne, but it isn’t floral or fruity in the slightest.  Perhaps the best way I can put it is this: some perfumes smell to me like perfumes; when someone walks by wearing one, I think, ‘I like that perfume’.  This perfume smells like a smell.  When I have smelled it on other people, I always thought, ‘That person smells really good.’

My more perfume- and cologne-capable friends talk about scents as appropriate for day or for evening, for winter or summer.  There are, apparently, different perfumes for different occasions.  I have no earthly idea what these people are talking about.  I don’t know how an evening perfume might smell different from a work-a-day perfume.  I wear this perfume every day, and have now worn it through three seasons without feeling at all out of place.  Perhaps because it isn’t particularly floral, Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger is a more flexible perfume.  Perhaps I am a rube and smell deeply unsophisticated.  I am very happy to have found a scent that I like, and I’ll wear it cheerfully until it runs out.

Because perfumes are alcohol-based, they don’t necessarily last very long once applied.  Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger, however, is extremely durable.  My daily three spritzes last me all day; I can smell this perfume on my wrist at the end of the day.  If I’m going out at night, I will re-apply it, but this perfume is unimpeachable for staying power.

Just in case anyone was wondering, Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger also contains Tunisian neroli oil, orange blossoms from both Tunisia and Morocco, Indian tuberose (which is related to agave), and Indian sambac jasmine.  These ingredients are listed on the orange paper slip on the side of the bottle.

Infusion de Fleur d’Oranger is a limited edition Prada perfume, put out in 2009.  I do not know how long it will run, but I do strongly recommend that, if you are a fan of simple, clean scents, you get your hands on a bottle as soon as possible.  I know that the price tag pinches a little, but it’s worth it.

Recommended: Yes