‘Truth or Dare’ will always be the Madonna movie that turned me into a super-fan, but it was also the name Madonna chose for her first fragrance. While its heavy floral bouquet of tuberose and gardenia was way too much for me the first time I smelled it, I find it’s lovely for wearing around the house every once in a while. Like on a rainy spring day when you are still in isolation for safety, and the weather is not cooperating. With some neroli and jasmine, it is very much a deep floral, which I can only take in small doses. It almost veers into old lady territory (and that’s not an insult in my world), but there’s a youthful spirit to it that befits the agelessness of Madonna.
She conjured the fragrance in memory of her mother’s own perfume, and several connoisseurs have indicated it’s also quite similar to Fracas, an expensive classic also top-heavy with tuberose. The best perfumes are those that combine memories with decadence, beauty with history, and for Madonna, ‘Truth or Dare’ seems to contain all of the aforementioned. For me, it’s a scent of spring, to be worn only on special nights when you find yourself wanting to indulge, and not needing anything other than the skin you’re in. (Hello, ‘Naked.’)
A single spray of a gorgeous scent as one heads to bed for a few moments of reading is one of life’s more unheralded pleasures.
