Today.

Olivier Cresp designed Today as an invitation, not a safe bet. The 2004 brief asked for a fragrance that could capture a feeling, the specific electricity of a moment that matters, that you'll remember. Cresp chose to focus on the honest and immediate: white florals, green cactus, and tropical blooms that feel like they're opening in real time. The composition avoids nostalgia in favor of presence. Today became the first chapter in Avon's trilogy of love, backed by a campaign starring Salma Hayek and capped with a 2005 FiFi Award for Fragrance of the Year Women's Private Label.

What makes Today work is its refusal to soften. The tuberose is full-bodied, the animalic notes are present without being aggressive, and the green cactus note cuts through the sweetness in a way that feels intentional rather than accidental. Cresp built the fragrance around authenticity reading as confidence. Each tropical bloom, strelitzia, Buddleia, hibiscus, contributes a distinct layer of richness without becoming a single dominating element. The result is a white floral that feels sure of itself.

The opening hits fast, green cactus and crisp freesia arrive together, a cool note that doesn't linger. Within the first hour, the heart opens up: tropical blooms that smell like something discovered, not designed. Strelitzia, bird of paradise, brings an unexpected green-lushness, while Buddleia (butterfly bush) adds a softness that reads as almost powdery without being dusty. The tuberose doesn't compete with these; it holds the center, creamy and insistent. By the third hour, the composition has settled into its base. Cedar emerges, not sharp but warm and woody, anchoring the florals. Rose water adds a final coolness, a reminder that the freshness was always there. The drydown is musk and skin, close, intimate, present for another three to five hours. On fabric, the florals linger for days.

Today won the 2005 FiFi Award for Fragrance of the Year Women's Private Label, cementing its place as one of Avon's most celebrated releases. The campaign, starring Salma Hayek, positioned the fragrance as an invitation to self-expression, a first chapter in Avon's trilogy of love. It represents Avon's move beyond accessible pricing into something that could genuinely compete with higher-end fragrances, earning respect from those who'd never associated the brand with sophistication.