Il Mondo di Odore

When I started my fragrance journey, I got a bunch of these from Target to give as gifts. I liked the shape of bottle and its name. It smelled decent though a bit old school. With time, as I tried more fragrances, I thought this is a knock off of other aldehydic florals. Stopped caring for. A few years ago I came across vintage version on eBay for cheap and snapped it up. And I am glad I did cause this version is simply amazing.  You can smell the whole floral symphony with 3D effect. But that is not even the best part. The drydown is where you see its beauty in full. Soft, powdery sandalwood. It is hard to describe how good this is. I have Arpege, No. 5 and Joy in vintage formulation and I find First to be superior. Arpege is too indolic, First goes low on indoles and uses civet to add the funk. Arpege and No. 5, both blind with aldehydes while First uses it for a shimmering glow. Joy is a great white floral but it is overpowered by Jasmine. Lacks the evolution First has.  Al...

I started my fragrance journey in 2015. For a newbie, the world of fragrance can be very intimidating. I would have floundered had it not been for the kindness and guidance of the community members like Aromi. Aromi was very patient with me and helped me understand the world of vintage fragrances. He was generous with samples and PMs. I would love to give the same patience, knowledge and experience gained back to the community. I hope that by continuing this blog I can do just that.   Thank you Aromi for giving me this chance to carry the blog forward

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome fellow Basenoter Epapsiou to the Il Mondo di Odore blog.  To my readers, please accept my apology for allowing the blog to lapse and basically stagnate these last few years. I have no excuse except LIFE happens to all of us and diverts our attention. Now, I'm experiencing a life altering health event that will permanently change things from this point on. Enter my friend and fellow enthusiast Epapsiou. He has agreed to pick up where I left off and I'm happy about that. His taste in fragrance is very similar to mine and even if it wasn't, I'd still be glad that he's now heading up the blog. He loves the hobby and his opinions are accurate, honest and sincere. Thank you bro for wanting to do this.

  Top : Bergamot, Lemon Heart : Sandalwood, Incense, Patchouli, Labdanum Base : Vanilla, Musk I'm not quite sure when this Russian Patchouli was initially released, nor am I sure which rendition of Patchouli Magique I actually have. I have the bottle and box pictured. Most images I've seen, over the years, are in different bottles. The formula may or may not have ever changed. I have no way of knowing as I've tried to score a bottle for years. I recently found a stateside seller who had this, so I pulled the trigger. It was a 25ml. spray with box and had about 5ml. missing. I've read the reviews, where I could find them and most were positive. I now know why people have liked this one. So, is it really magic, or at least magical? No, but it is a worthy, lighthearted patchouli with a very comfortable dry down. To me, that's where the magic lies. Patchouli Magique opens with a slightly alcoholic blast of biting citrus that already has musk integrated into the opening ...

  Aldehydes, Bergamot, Clary Sage, Lemon, Lime, Neroli, Rosewood Carnation, Cedarwood, Jasmine, Iris, Patchouli, Rose, Sandalwood Amber, Benzoin, Castoreum, Labdanum, Leather, Oak moss, Musk, Tonka Bean, Vanilla This 1992 release from Ettore Bugatti is a literal boatload of ingredients that has classic masculine aficionados rubbing their hands together in anticipation. I know I looked at the accords and said "Damn" out loud. There is a Basenoter, by the name of Andre Moreau who has researched this particular fragrance, among others, rather extensively. His "digs" into certain fragrances are actually deep dives. He has owned and given opinions on three different versions of this release. They are insightful and concise. In his opinion, the above imaged version is the best of the 3. It's the version in a frosted bottle with gold cap. I have to defer to him on this because I have only sampled the pictured version and have no experience with the other 2. My opinion ...

  Aldehydes, Bergamot, Fruit Note, Orange, Pimento Carnation, Cedar, Cinnamon, Orris, Patchouli, Rose, Sandalwood Amber, Benzoin, Honey, Moss, Musk, Tonka Bean, Vanilla. In 2009, I did a review of the reformulation that was available at that particular time. Reading my own review, I felt there was no need to seek out the vintage since what I already had was very good. Enter the year 2013. My bottle from 2009 is gone and I pick up another. It's a different reformulation; brighter and more shrill with a phantom sawdust note. It's still good and I like it, but it's different. I still have a reference atomizer of it for comparison. If I had to choose between the one I had in 2009 and 2013, I'd choose the 2009. It simply was more robust and "full" I now have a vintage bottle from somewhere between 1990-1994. It wasn't a vintage-only purchase. I just happened to come across it while looking for a replacement and the price was right. Surprisingly, the vintage isn...

  Patchouli, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Labdanum, Vanilla, Tonka, Vetiver, Musk. My Achilles heel has always been the Patchouli note. I know it's a love it or hate it note for many. I have always loved Patchouli dominant fragrance since the 1970's. Yes.....I said the 70's. I had an extended hospital stay in 1977, One of the nurses, who worked my floor, wore patchouli every day. That's all it took for me. I've owned Reminiscence Elixir, Eau de Patchouli and a revised version of this. All were different and all were good. The original version of Reminiscence Patchouli, which I am reviewing, is also different and more related to Bois 1920 Real Patchouly and definitely related to the updated release in my previous review. The first thing one notices when spritzing this particular Reminiscence version of Patchouli is..........Patchouli !!! I'd say it's moist as opposed to wet and within minutes the perceived condensation evaporates, leaving a drier version of patch m...