Taylor Swift successfully captures in a perfume bottle what it's like to listen to Taylor Swift
As they are the male and female counterparts in the innocent fumbling of the modern preteen’s psyche—their musical yearnings stretching like a rainbow chastity belt around the world—it stands to reason that Justin Bieber’s recently debuted fragrance would be answered by one from Taylor Swift, and provide a complementary expression of a generation’s vaguely defined kissing fantasies. Boasting the eminently Swiftian portmanteau Wonderstruck, after a line from her song “Enchanted,” Swift describes her perfume as capturing the sense of “falling in love… a moment every girl daydreams about… that magical feeling of promise and hope and intrigue” before it gets all icky.
And what does falling in love smell like? Similar to Bieber’s equally wistful Someday, Wonderstruck is a “gourmand floral” composed of “freesia, apple blossom, raspberry spark, blissful vanilla, sun-drenched honeysuckle, white hibiscus, golden amber, and lush peach,” an overwhelming concoction restrained only by the fact that unicorns aren’t available in powdered form and ground-up Trapper Keepers are odorless.
But rest assured that whatever essences of Taylor Swift’s confetti persona have gone sadly underrepresented in the fragrance’s bouquet have been captured in the packaging:
“A perfectly charmed deep purple bottle holds this enchanting fragrance. The iridescent rainbow finish, never before used in the fragrance industry, gives the bottle a magical glow. The antiqued gold charms that adorn the bottle were hand-picked by Taylor and are reminiscent of her unique style. The Moravian star, dove and birdcage charms are signature decorative elements that evoke Taylor’s whimsical flair. The charms appear once again within the intricate detail of the embossed cap, capturing Taylor’s love of hidden messages. The carton is a modern day patchwork, homage to the many fabrics Taylor has collected on her travels. The finishing touch to the package is a gold embossed 13, which fans will recognize as Taylor’s lucky number.”
So all very meaningful, then. By the way, Swift’s publicist asks that we take pains to point out that “the correct charm on the bottle is a Moravian star not an Arabian star, thanks!”—although we don't know why anyone would assume anything but, given the significance of Germanic Advent symbolism in Taylor Swift’s music. We’re not dumb, gosh!