I don’t know; perhaps my expectations are too high. Maybe I’m hard to please—possibly a bit of both. Conceivably I shouldn’t have checked the notes on these scents before I sampled them. Whatever the case may be, three out of the four fragrances in today’s first impressions blog post were a disappointment in one way or another.
Perris Monte Carlo – Arancia di Sicilia – Promised a summer gourmand, but instead, what I detect here is a simple freshie where the citrus top dominates through dry down. The gourmand notes are nowhere in sight; vanilla, coffee, almonds, and cinnamon never become apparent on me. The citrus here is reminiscent of Orange Sanguine from Atelier Cologne. Pleasant, but I see no reason why you would need this scent if you already own Orange Sanguine. It lasted 4-5 hours before disappearing.
Imaginary Authors – Telegrama – This house has been a real mixed bag: a few hits and plenty of misses. Telegrama is a big swing and miss. According to the marketing blurb, the scent should evoke the vintage first-class transatlantic flight experience with talcum powder and clean, fresh linens. However, it doesn’t quite live up to it. The fresh linen note is obviously for marketing purposes, its non-existent. The vanilla powder is far too heavy and overbearing, and when mixed with the lavender gives the scent a powdery, licorice, caramel sickly sweetness. I only pick up lavender and the heavy vanilla powder, but fortunately, only for an hour or so before it faded to nothingness. If you want something laundry fresh and clean, check out a scent by Acca Kappa called White Moss, its streets ahead of Telegrama.
Nobile 1942 – La Danza delle Libellule – Perhaps most disappointing of all is this one by Nobile 1942. It was way too sugary sweet for me. The apple is candied and drenched in sugar, the heart overloaded with cinnamon and cocoa, and the vanilla is syrup-like and heavy-handed. It may be a gourmand lover’s dream, but I wore it a few times and had to wash it off on a couple of occasions. Its tenacity cannot be denied, with the one time I wore it through seeing it last over 10 hours. Cloying and artificial. Billed as fragrance to make you smile, it made me cringe.
Nobile 1942 – Cafe Chantant – Fortunately we have Cafe Chantant, which according to the brand was inspired by:
“The golden age of La Belle Époque in the XIX century and the “Chantants” who were the charming performers of the “Singing Cafes” of Paris”. The scent pays homage to the atmosphere of the singing cafe, from the perfumes worn by the women to the tobacco smoke of the men, and the delicacies and cocktails they enjoyed in abundance.
The cherry in the opening is juicy and lingers throughout. Think cherry liqueur, not cough medicine. Superb interplay between the almond-like heliotrope, creamy, smoky vanilla, and balsamic benzoin. Powdery, but not overly so, sweet without being sickly sweet. Cafe Chantant has a more mature vibe than La Danza. More evocative of almond pastry’s and black forest gateau than coffee, Cafe Chantant is well-balanced and well worth a sample.
Have you tried any of these fragrances? What did you make of them?