Quick impressions - Made in Italy

Picture: The Capitoline she-wolf with the boys Romulus and Remus. 13th century AD with figures of Romulus and Remus added in the 15th century
Museo Nuovo in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome,
Source: Wikipedia Commons

I truly appreciate the dramatic and not always so well-polished italian fragrancestyle. Here are impressions of some nice ones I have sampled:

Rosamunda (Laboratorio Olfattivo): A pink Lady Vengeanance, even if this is a rose/(light)oud mix instead of rose/patchouli in the contemporary style which I appreciate so much. Uplifting and longlasting, perfect for a summerday.

Nirmal (Laboratorio Olfattivo): A Prada Infusion d'Iris follower, lighter, a bit sweeter and maybe a bit meek in comparation with the Prda. Overall a nice iris which is suitable for office, couldn't bother anybody.

Roma Imperiale (Profumi del Forte): This sweet flowery beauty with some wellbalanced almost cookielike notes with some dangerus, on the verge to dirty notes luring behind mus be a Maria Candida Gentile creation. I recognize the latter intriguing notes from creations of her own line.

Versilia Aurum (Profumi del Forte): How could a fragrance with strawberry be so good? Smooth, tender, not too sweet, longlasting and a pleasure to wear. It's like the strawberry blossom has been bottled in a golden nectar.

La Divina Tubereuse (Antonio Visconti): True, fresh and crispy daytime tubereuse growing in the garden.Not the dangereus, carnal nighttime facet of this beautiful flower. One of the very best, if not the best, fresh tubereuses I have tried so far.

Rebel (Antonio Visconti): Elegant and polished patchouli, no dirty hippies which could be indicated by the name. This is the minor rebellion of the well-bred heir.

Piper Nigrum (Lorenzo Villoresi): The ultimate spicy fragrance, it's like true spices are bottled. A bit harsh and strong for me but just perfect for Mr Parfumista after some testing, the first test was not successful..The Villoresi fragrances is not easy, they don't flatter at once, they have to be worn several times to be truly appreciated.

Teint de Neige (Lorenzo Villoresi): I have reviewed TdN earlier but as I like it more and more (it has grown to love) I have to mention this stunning gunpowdery/soapy Villoresi creation where some dirty notes just could be glimpsed under the white cleanness. The model for contemporary, retro, soapy aldehydes

Chanel Les Exclusifs - Chanel No 22

Picture: Greta Garbo in a publicity still for Wild Orchids (1929)
Photo by Ruth Harriet Louise for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio, (this
work is in the public domain) Wikimedia commons

A softer, more flowery version of the icecold, aldehydic, marbel beauty Chanel No 5 that was released 1921, a year before Chanel No 22. Both these classics were created of Ernest Beaux (as usual when it comes to the oldest Chanels). The No 22 I have tested is the Edt-version from the Les Exclusifs Collection and it’s of course just in the case with No 5 reformulated since 1922.

No 22 starts with an elegant, subdued white floral but sparkling aldehydic accord, reminiscent of No 5 but softer and somehow less aggressive even if a huge dose of delicate aldehydes. After a while the dry, gunpowder note that I appreciate so much in different strengths and interpretations, comes through. It’s a smooth and finetuned version of the gunpowder of Lorenzo Villoresi Teint de Neige, Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Ambre and Antonio Visconti Temps d’Hiver. The white flowers, with a note of tubereuse with a light and pleasant almost nailpolishnote coming forward, is still there and now and then a slight tart, orange-citrusy note glimpses by. When No 22 settles down in a slight powdery, soft incense base where a light, fresh vetivernote, balanced some sweetness, is clearly present. In the later stages of the basenotes, the smooth incense becomes clearer as also the dry, almost transparent vanillanote.   

Chanel No 22 is a seamless blend with a timeless, sophisticated, elegance, a fragrance for a timeless beauty like Greta Garbo. It’s a fragrance which makes most of the contemporary perfume selection to appear as rude and loud. Even the elegant Chanel No 5 seems a bit unpolished compared to the most refined No 22. It’s like No 5 could be imaged as the pushy, extrovert older sister and No 22 as the quiet, intellectual and refined little sister. Chanel No 22 has an almost regal aura and I can see it be worn by a royalty by some reception. It’s a real pleasure to wear and a fragrance that makes me think of cleaning out considerably in my fragrance collection. Sillage is close and longevity almost for 24h.

Those who like interpretations of aldehydic, powdery, elegant fragrances as for example Puredistance Opardu, MDCI Chypre Palatin, Montale Powder Flowers and Oscar de la Renta Esprit d’Oscar will probably also like Chanel No 22.

Rating: 5 

Notes: Aldehydes, bergamot, neroli, peach, jasmine, tubereuse, ylang-ylang, rose, iris, vetiver, vanilla, incense

Oscar de la Renta - Mi Corazon

Picture: Polianthes tuberosa (flowers), Plants of Hawaii
Photo: Attribution to Forest & Kim Starr (cc) Wikimedia Commons

Mi Corazon ia another nice flowery fragrance in the Oscar de la Renta Essential Luxuries-line. Mi Corazon is created to Oscar de la Rentas daugther Eliza, his heart, and will symbolize their shared interest for gardening and their mutual liking to the ylang-ylang flower.

To me Mi Corazon is a tubereuse dominated fragrance to that extent that I will classify it as a tubereusefragrance. Of course the other flowers are there, but more as supporters that lifts the star of the show, the tubey. Despite my writing about the tubereuse as the star of the show, the tubey of Mi Corazon is no indolic, Grand Diva a la Fracas. Instead the tubereuse is of the contemorary, sparkling, uplifting and clean version. Mi Corazon starts bright, sparkling and with the crispy light greenery that accompanies bulbflowers. In this stage Mi Corazon reminds me of the 80s bright, green and warm Gianfranco Ferré  (signature). The tubereuse is there from the start and it is present during the whole dry down. In its heart and base notes, Mi Corazon, get sweeter and deepens a bit with the caranation and ylang-ylang which adds an slight honeyed texture to the tubereuse. In the basenotes there is a passage that reminds me of a gentler interpretation the dark tubereusecentered blend of Ysatis by Givenchy. The overall impression of Mi Corazon is that it is a good example of a classical, clean floral that smells somehow natural, probably a sign of high quality ingredients and skillful composition.

Mi Corazon is a very wearable fragrance, perfect for work as there is absolutly nothing disturbing in it. Suitable year around. Even if spring and summer seems as the natural choice for a fragance like this, it's very comforting to wear in the winter as Mi Corazon is a warm fragrance even if containing these green, crispy, elements described above. To me Mi Corazon is a perfect, classy fragrance for a young girl, instead of the syntethic, musky, floral, fruitiness intended for this group from the marketing.

Those who like bright tubereuses like Kiss My Name from Ramon Monegal, La Divina Tubereuse from Antonio Visconti and  Un Air de Damas Tubereuse from Parfums Dorin will probably like Mi Corazon.

Rating: 4

Notes: Peach, narcissus absolute, carnation, tubereuse, ylang-ylang, cederwood

Parfums de Nicolaï – Musc Intense

Picture: Portrait of Madame de Pompdour (1721-1764)
Francois Boucher, 1756

Musc Intense is a sensual flowery, high quality white musk created by the great parfumer Patricia de Nicolaï for her own house, Parfumes de Nicolaï in 2012.

First of all I want to calm those readers down that don’t like the white musk performed in many of the reacent years mainstream offerings. Musc Intense is nothing of that characteristic almost wet slight chemichal note that could be too much in some offerings but that I like in many, if handled with care. Instead Musc Intense is all about a dry, powdery, luxary musk that integrating the flowers and other ingredients in a subtle manner.

Musc Intense starts with a pleasant, very dry almost gun powdery accord. It’s not the distinct wet gunpowder as in Lorenzo Villoresis Teint de Neige neither the less harsh but anyway close opening accord of the beautiful Temps d’Hiver by Antonio Visconti. But Musc Intense has similarities with both this fragrance openings but is lighter and smoother, just like an elegant loose powder on a powder puff. There is a lighter version of the typical gunpowderaccord of the two former ones,  which I think (just speculating I’m no chemist) consists of rose, carnation and maybe the musc or some other ingredient that could show powdery facetts. As Musc Intense reaches its heart, the powdery, subdued, flowery notes slightly reminds me of the beautiful powdery violet of Opardu by Puredistance. Some subdued liquery notes deepening the accord in a finetuned manner.At last, Musc Intense is anchored in a dry, powdery, not especially sweet musk and there is a deep but at the same time light, pink rosenote that emerges on my skin.

Musc Intense is a subtle and elegant fragrance, well blended of high quality ingredients as we are used to when it comes to creations of Patricia de Nicolaï. The only weakness is that it seems like my skin just eats Musc Intense and the scent therefore is faint to me, even if described as sensual and subtle it’s a bit too subtle to me. The longevity is for about a day and the sillage is very close.

To me Musc Intense is a scent as was it created exclusive for Madame de Pompadour.It’s the essence of the rococoera, delicate fabrics, pastels, powder and musk. Musk Intense is a fragrance for those who likes some of the fragrances mentioned above but also my own favorite musk Les Nombres d’Or Musc by Mona di Orio, also a slight flowery musk but more distinct and less powdery. Also Les Nombres d’Or Ambre by Mona di Orio has a similar drieness and some of the gunpowder of the opening.  If you like Les Nereides Musc Samarkand and Annick Goutal Musc Nomade you probably also will like Musc Intense.

Rating: 4

Notes: Liquer, different types of roses and white musks, carnation, violet, jasmine