D&G Anthology L'Imperatrice 3.

Dolce&Gabbana's D&G Anthology arrived in 2009 as a tarot-inspired collection, five fragrances named after Major Arcana cards, each with its own character. L'Imperatrice 3 corresponds to card 3, The Empress. The collection was photographed by Mario Testino, with Naomi Campbell as the face of L'Imperatrice. The campaign was characteristically bold, showing the models stripped of anything ornamental, the scent itself as the statement. It was Dolce&Gabbana doing what Dolce&Gabbana does, sensory, provocative, impossible to ignore.

The note structure here is unusual in how literally it translates fruit into fragrance. Watermelon and kiwi aren't abstracts in L'Imperatrice 3, they arrive almost as you expect them, bright and juicy on first spray. What keeps it from reading as a room scent rather than a perfume is the cyclamen, a blossom that carries a green, almost dewy edge that most floral accords miss. Paired with the pink pepper, the result is fruity without being childish. The base, musk and sandalwood, does what bases do: it keeps the watermelon honest, giving it somewhere to land instead of just evaporating into the room.

The opening hits sharp and tart. Kiwi and rhubarb arrive together, giving the first minutes an almost effervescent quality. The pink pepper adds a subtle heat underneath, a whisper rather than a shout. This is the bright phase, the one that makes people turn their heads. Then the watermelon takes over. Not as a subtlety, not as an accord, as the main event. Watermelon and jasmine form the heart, and the effect is almost tropically literal. Bite into a ripe wedge of melon on a hot afternoon. That exact sensation. The cyclamen keeps it from being purely sweet by introducing a faint green, dewy note that reads as freshness rather than sugar. The drydown is where L'Imperatrice 3 earns its reputation. The watermelon fades. The musk and sandalwood arrive to stay, warm, skin-close, the kind of drydown that lingers for hours on warm skin and outlasts the initial burst. On fabric, it can go a full day.

L'Imperatrice 3 is a confident, charismatic presence. The tropical fruit-forward profile, watermelon, kiwi, pink pepper, reads as summer energy distilled into a bottle. The opening bursts with bright, juicy watermelon that immediately captures attention, softened by the slightly tart, nectarous quality of kiwi. Pink pepper adds a subtle spicy lift that keeps the fruity blend from feeling too sweet or one-dimensional. As it settles, the fragrance reveals its moreish character, the fruit notes lingering while musk provides a gentle warmth underneath. The overall effect is loud, unapologetic, and unmistakably Dolce&Gabbana.