The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Glam Star arrived in 2012, timed for the winter holiday season. Alberto Morillas designed it for Custo Barcelona with a specific setting in mind: the glamorous parties and fashion runways of New York. Not a quiet dinner, the kind of event where the elevator opens and heads turn. The bottle design matches the intent: golden hues, shimmer, gemstone accents. Nothing about this fragrance suggests blending in. Morillas, whose career spans decades and countless compositions, built Glam Star to capture that specific energy, the excitement of getting dressed for something that matters, the confidence of a room that notices when you arrive.
What makes Glam Star distinctive is its top note: pear brandy. Not fresh pear, not pear blossom, the actual spirit. That boozy, slightly sweet lift sets it apart from the typical fruity-floral opening and gives it an almost celebratory quality from the first spray. Paired with tangerine and bergamot, it creates an effervescent brightness that doesn't apologize for itself. The heart, jasmine, raspberry sorbet, blackcurrant, strawberry sorbet, layers sweetness with enough floral depth to keep it from reading as mere candy.
The evolution
The opening arrives confident. Pear brandy and citrus hit together, that slightly boozy sweetness cutting through the air like a cocktail at a rooftop bar. Tangerine brings the juice, bergamot the polish. Within twenty minutes, the fruity heart takes over, jasmine and raspberry sorbet sliding in soft and sweet, the blackcurrant adding a darker berry depth that keeps it from reading as mere bubblegum. The drydown is where Glam Star earns its name. Cedar and sandalwood build slowly, patchouli grounding the sweetness, vanilla emerging last as a warm, close finish. Six to eight hours on most skin, moderate sillage that stays intimate rather than filling the room. The next morning, there's a faint warmth on skin, vanilla and cedar, the ghost of the night before.
Cultural impact
Glam Star occupies the fruity-floral-chypre space with an unapologetically bold attitude. Custo Barcelona built its identity on expressive confidence, loud prints, statement silhouettes, and the fragrance collection follows that lead. It's not trying to blend into the background of a boardroom or quiet dinner party. It's for the person who treats getting dressed as an event, not a routine. Within the broader landscape of fashion-house fragrances, Glam Star represents that specific moment in the early 2010s when mass-market brands began investing in compositions with real character and longevity to match.
