It's a month closer to Christmas, let's get festive... [reviewing Festive Fantasy edt, by Britney Spears]

Opulent. Vibrant. Hypnotic.

Live to celebrate life! Enjoy the simple pleasures of every new day, as they encapsulate you into opulent color, dreams and delight. 

Jubilance and vibrancy will be your addictive signature. Festive fantasy, the new enchanting fragrance... 

 

I'm either late for last Christmas or early for Christmas 2021, but now that last year's flanker of Fantasy - Festive Fantasy - has been lowered in price, I want to take a closer look at it. 

Is it a great bargain, or something to skip past?

Festive Fantasy is strong on the fruit notes. The notes of plum and cherries stayed with me all the way through the floral hearts notes; it's very similar to Midnight Fantasy, except that there is a shot of a fresh blackberry-type note to freshen up the sweeter fruits. As Festive Fantasy has some really bold fruit notes, I found that I can't separate the floral notes very well - except for a vague hint of lily and jasmine, there is just a powdery background to the fruits that could be a range of florals.

I’d have thought the base would be sweet, but it’s not; the notes of sugared vanilla and amber in the base is actually quite subtle. I can pick out the musky tones and woodsy hints, but the plum still manages to linger and remain the star attraction in the fragrance. The longevity and sillage are both impressive for a mass-market EDT concentration; this wears for around 7 hours and doesn't go too-close-to-the-skin too quickly. 

Official scent notes: Ripe Black Cherries, Damson Plum, Southern Dewberries, White Freesia, Star Gazer Lilly, Delicate Jasmine, Warm Vanilla Beignet Accord, Sugar Musk, and Creamy Sandalwood. 

When I think 'festive' I think 'Christmas', but Festive Fantasy isn't a very Christmassy fragrance in my opinion - Hidden Fantasy (my review is here) is a much more festive fragrance to me. Festive Fantasy is more seasonless, so makes a nice every-day casual fragrance. 

I do think that this is actually a very good Fantasy flanker, but this a Midnight Fantasy flanker; like with Midnight fantasy, this is all about the fruity notes and largely ignores the floral notes. Personally I love plums and cherries so I do adore this updated version of Midnight Fantasy - I thought that Midnight  fantasy could actually be sickly in warm weather, so this fresher re-imagining is a great find. 

 You can buy the 100ml bottle of Festive Fantasy for under £20 now from places like The Fragrance Shop, Superdrug, Boots and Amazon.