At first mist, WITHIN enchants the senses with a floral effusion. As mysterious as the name implies, WITHIN is waiting to express its inner beauty with floral accords that reincarnate the essence of every blossom and flower.Ilona Makari created WITHIN to represent a personal beauty within every woman and this complex floral scent makes a stunning debut emerging with notes of soft pink cyclamen, delicate African rose petals, fully bloomed pink peony, with a hint of passion flower and a dash of sweet clementine. This floral bouquet is enlivened with suggestions of English ivy leaf and Italian mandarin nectar. Minutes later, deeper notes take center stage with white orris, high mountain jasmine, blue hyacinth and gardenia petals are anchored with Australian boronia flower, authentic teak wood and a sheer sensual musk. WITHIN is unmistakably feminine, unyielding alluring and undeniably sensuous. Definitely not your 'little girl' fragrance, this should be worn by a very secure woman who's not timid! Limited to three products, WITHIN is available in eau de parfum, perfumed body lotion and scented candles. Ilona keeps it simple and keeps it wonderful!
I've been holding back this review back until I thought I had a better understanding on how this fragrance kept evolving on my skin. Since I've gained more confidence in how designers achieve such complex fragrance blending, my conclusion is: this is a very sophisticated floral perfume that refused to be ignored by me. I was hoping for something just a little more 'sweet' to come forth and finally my patience was rewarded when the gardenia notes were fully bloomed and that juicy tart citrus clementine engaged in a seductive slow dance with peony while the rose petals looking on and blushed. This scent is slow to develop, takes a few detours in the journey, but in the end I was rewarded with a beautiful, mysterious and very long lasting scent.
The founder, Ilona also has an amazing skin care line that was actually developed first. She owns a very prestigious Day Spa in the very upscale Cherry Creek shopping district in Denver, Colorado. Several years ago, while Christmas shopping, I happened to visit her salon. All I can say is, "breathtaking luxury" and had I not been sharing a ride with my best friend, I'd surely have spent the rest of the day and my entire shopping budget enjoying the pampering treatments offered. Founded by a Hungarian immigrant, Ilona Makari, the spa offers authentic European facials using their exclusive products line to its devoted clientele. Miss Ilona herself still can be found behind the counter, examining the work of her experienced team of aestheticians. WITHIN is available online at www.ilona.com
