Amour Indian Holi is Kenzo's new limited edition flanker for 2006's Kenzo Amour fragrance. It's named for the Indian Festival of Colors, and the original Amour juice has been reworked by perfumers Daphne Bugey and Olivier Cresp. Additions to the mix include rose, peony, and, wait for it......yep, pink pepper, the note du jour.

I liked the original Amour very much when I tried it in 2006, and I still do. I've been flirting with the idea of buying it and I may do so yet; wearing it today reminds me of what a perfect comfort scent it is for cool weather. Many people complain that it is too bland, but I find the vanilla-rice-pudding-blandness part of its charm, and the dark woods and incense in the base keep it from being dull (the original notes were cherry blossom, rice steam, white tea, frangipani, heliotrope, thanaka wood, incense, vanilla and musk).

I rather thought they'd do something more exotic with Amour Indian Holi. As much as I like Amour, it doesn't quite evoke the "couple's voyage through India, Japan and Vietnam" that it was meant to, and if it'd been up to me — and it never is, is it? — I'd have amped up the incense and thanaka wood and added a goodly dash of some spice or another.

Kenzo has gone in the opposite direction. You'll recognize strains of the original Amour in Amour Indian Holi, but the top notes are sweeter and fruitier, the woods and incense in the base are milder, and the peony-rose-pink pepper medley, while sheer, gives Indian Holi a more generic-mainstream-department-store-fragrance feel. It smells like it's been "pinked up".

I don't hate Amour Indian Holi, in fact, as pinked up fragrances go, it's rather nice. Still, we've plenty of pink on the fragrance counters already. I don't need it, but if you found the original Amour lacking, it might be worth a try. The bottle is adorable enough that I'd like to own it even though I wouldn't be likely to wear it.

Kenzo Amour Indian Holi is available in 50 ml Eau de Parfum. You can find it now at Nordstrom; presumably it will be in wider distribution shortly.