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Thursday, November 13, 2014

Review: Antonio Alessandria Noir Obscur

Hommage de La Lune, the new trio of fragrances by Antonio Alessandria first piqued my interest with the pretty frosted glass bottle photos.....I'm a sucker for a pretty bottle.  I kept seeing little snippets about newcomer Antonio Alessandria almost everywhere I looked, perfume-wise, suddenly.  I liked the concept of a poem told in three fragrances.  According to his website, all three fragrances are contrasting, but all contain a leather note.

I have tried all three, but this review will be for Noir Obscur (the black bottle).  Notes as per http://www.antonioalessandria.it :
Top: Orange, Tangerine, Davana, Rum, Spice
Heart:  Bulgarian rose, Jasmine, Iris, Osmanthus
Base:  Leather, Patchouli, Vetiver, Cedarwood, Incense, Amber, Musk

The first spritz of this fragrance immediately informs me that this is, first and foremost, a sweet incense fragrance.  I get mostly sweet spicy citrus steeped in rum, but perhaps enjoyed by a church in winter.  It's very enjoyable and certainly unisex.  It is, however, quite sweet and I'm left wondering if it's going to become just a spice scent.

I need not worry.

The rose and jasmine, when I read the notes, had given me that idea that at some point this fragrance would take on a floral quality.  At one point, these notes become apparent but simply add more structure to the topnotes.  The florals enter as the sparkling citrus departs, the lovely citrus spice of the opening join the rose and jasmine and is supported by them.  Now I am reminded of some of my favorite long-gone floral scents, but only a ghost of them, as this fragrance never becomes floral.  The incense is now started to show itself as a seperate entity from the initial spices.  Though leather is listed in the notes, at no point to I sense it in the fragrance.  The patchouli adds the lightest touch of smoke but overall, in the end, this is a spicy floral incense scent.  It's beautifully done and I find it quite feminine, although men who have a penchant for sweeter scents will find this one worth sampling.

I think that this is going to be my Christmas gift to myself.  It's a very holiday-appropriate scent,  reminding me a bit of pomanders and church and warming Christmas drinks, with everyone dressed up and having a good time.


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