Say it like you mean it: Outspoken by Fergie

Since sitting down to write this post a slew of Fergie and Black Eyed Peas [BEP] songs have been popping into my head.  The one that's got stuck is Fergalicious.  Please forgive me if I break into song!

Fergie (and BEP for that matter) found success in 2003 with the release of their Elephunk album.  We all remember Where is the Love, right?  Since then Fergie has gone from strength to strength in her music career.  It is wholly unsurprising that her next step was to expand out of music and into beauty.

In 2010 Fergie paired with Avon to launch her first fragrance: Outspoken.  It is said to be a courageous scent for a confident woman.  Feeling both courageous and confident, I opened the fragrance and began its evaluation.

Immediately top notes of sweet citrus reach out.  They are interwoven with white floral tuberose and musk aromas.  As the fragrance settles, there are subtle hints of green that lift it from its deep white floral-musk depths.  The tuberose, green, and musk combine well together to create the heart of this fragrance.  The scent remains linear as it dries into a slighty sweet-tuberosy-musk scent.  As is characteristic of tuberose, there is a hint of dirtiness to the fragrance that hides way at the back, underneath everything else.  Whether or not this note is noticeable probably will depend on how the fragrance sits on your skin, or if your nose is keen enough to pick it out.

Overall, the fragrance is decent.  It is an uncomplicated scent and not very courageous or Outspoken.  Oh well - this is why one must never take marketing too seriously!

One last comment, since the fragrance is associated with a Top 40, Grammy award winning recording artist, a fair assumption would be that the target consumer age is between 20-30.  Interestingly, I think they've missed the mark.  The scent, mostly due to the tuberose and musk combination, is probably more suited to a woman who is at least a decade older than Fergie (she's just turned 37!).


(And yes, Fergalicious is still stuck in my head ...)

Avon: Today. Tomorrow. Always. Forever...

Launched in spring 2012, Salma Hayek joins the Avon celebrity fragrance crew with the Forever scent in the Today Tomorrow Always range.  How does her fragrance compare?  Let's find out.

“I know love can Forever surprise me, time and time again.” – Salma Hayek, Actress, Mother, Producer & Director 

As soon as you gently whiff Forever you are hit with heavy musk notes.  The heart of the scent is powdery and interlaced with a light floral aroma.  This aroma serves to heighten the fragrance from its warm musky-depths.


The scent becomes more interesting as it dries: the musk sinks quietly to the back which enables dry, peppery notes of pink peppercorn to come to the front and make themselves known.  Besides this slight hint of intrigue, Forever is not a very complex fragrance and remains, overall, linear from top notes to dry down.


Avon Forever has good longevity and, due to the prevalent musk notes, has a classic fragrance air about itself, which makes it, I believe, a stalwart fragrance for the discerning 40+ woman.