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08/08/2023
Exciter76
77 Reviews
Exciter76
1
Watered Down Nostalgia Is Still Nostalgia
Thoughts on August 8, 2023:
I have a "backup bottle" of Tuscany per Donna (2015) from 2020. I had to open it up to see how different it was from the older reproductions of Tuscany per Donna (2015) from Estee Lauder, and further back, to the original Tuscany per Donna Eau de Parfum. It's watered down, which I fully expected. What was en vogue and au courant in 1993 is now dated; loud spices and ostentatious sandalwood need to be muted for today's tastes. It's still a throwback scent, muted as it is.
I didn't know Samsara Eau de Parfum existed in 1993. Tuscany per Donna Eau de Parfum was readily available in every American suburban mall and was Samsara Eau de Parfum's loud gum chewing sister. Both were strikingly gorgeous but there was a slightly trashier edge and accessibility to Tuscany per Donna Eau de Parfum that made her fun and possibly more suitable for a seventeen-year-old bookish girl. I waxed poetic about my prom night and this scent in my original review of Aramis's version. I still get nostalgic when I smell it. I still have a late 1990s bottle in my possession for reference.
Given my history and nostalgia with Tuscany per Donna Eau de Parfum I think I'd be within my rights to hate this reformulation. I don't hate it, though. It's not what I had back in 1993 but I'm not that bookish seventeen year old. And I'm okay with all of it. It has it's basic structure—it's more or less the same scent—but with a gossamer haze. I've tried reformulations of other nostalgic fragrances that have been neutered and hacked beyond recognition. If a gossamer haze is all Tuscany per Donna (2015) got in the end, I'm okay with that, too.
So, proceed and remember, my thoughts and feelings haven't really changed. Just sprinkle the word 'gossamer' to my original review.
Original review from July 29, 2012:
I cannot help but tie this fragrance to nostalgia; I wore this fragrance to my senior prom. Nostalgia aside, this is actually a really enjoyable hearty fragrance. Tresor may have popularized the spicy pitted-fruit floriental trend of the 1990s but Tuscany Per Donna perfected that trend. TPD smells like the 1990s but it encapsulates the best of what the decade had to offer in a bottle.
TPD is distinctive, redolent with spice-laden stone fruit preserves. There are no spices listed but it smells spiced—I think the spiciness can be attributed to the carnation (I’m not a fan of carnation but it is so irresistible here). (An aside from 2023: I LOVE CARNATIONS! I was still learning what I liked and did not like in 2012, and I thought I didn't like carnations. I have since learned I have a love-hate relationship with aldehydes, which were often used with carnation perfumes. The more you know, right?) It does not take long for the vanilla, amber, and warm woods to imitate the scent of bakery goods—those fruit-filled butter cookies come to mind. It’s blissful! This decadent scent will stick around from first spray to next shower. The sillage and projection are typical of most 1990s scents: strong and sturdy.
I have an aged bottle—my second one—from the late-1990s that has only gotten richer with proper storage and time. I liked it when I was seventeen but I love it now that I am old enough (read: evolved) to appreciate all its phases. I love TPD for its unabashed personality and its ability to be gourmand at heart without being sickly saccharine.
I have a "backup bottle" of Tuscany per Donna (2015) from 2020. I had to open it up to see how different it was from the older reproductions of Tuscany per Donna (2015) from Estee Lauder, and further back, to the original Tuscany per Donna Eau de Parfum. It's watered down, which I fully expected. What was en vogue and au courant in 1993 is now dated; loud spices and ostentatious sandalwood need to be muted for today's tastes. It's still a throwback scent, muted as it is.
I didn't know Samsara Eau de Parfum existed in 1993. Tuscany per Donna Eau de Parfum was readily available in every American suburban mall and was Samsara Eau de Parfum's loud gum chewing sister. Both were strikingly gorgeous but there was a slightly trashier edge and accessibility to Tuscany per Donna Eau de Parfum that made her fun and possibly more suitable for a seventeen-year-old bookish girl. I waxed poetic about my prom night and this scent in my original review of Aramis's version. I still get nostalgic when I smell it. I still have a late 1990s bottle in my possession for reference.
Given my history and nostalgia with Tuscany per Donna Eau de Parfum I think I'd be within my rights to hate this reformulation. I don't hate it, though. It's not what I had back in 1993 but I'm not that bookish seventeen year old. And I'm okay with all of it. It has it's basic structure—it's more or less the same scent—but with a gossamer haze. I've tried reformulations of other nostalgic fragrances that have been neutered and hacked beyond recognition. If a gossamer haze is all Tuscany per Donna (2015) got in the end, I'm okay with that, too.
So, proceed and remember, my thoughts and feelings haven't really changed. Just sprinkle the word 'gossamer' to my original review.
Original review from July 29, 2012:
I cannot help but tie this fragrance to nostalgia; I wore this fragrance to my senior prom. Nostalgia aside, this is actually a really enjoyable hearty fragrance. Tresor may have popularized the spicy pitted-fruit floriental trend of the 1990s but Tuscany Per Donna perfected that trend. TPD smells like the 1990s but it encapsulates the best of what the decade had to offer in a bottle.
TPD is distinctive, redolent with spice-laden stone fruit preserves. There are no spices listed but it smells spiced—I think the spiciness can be attributed to the carnation (I’m not a fan of carnation but it is so irresistible here). (An aside from 2023: I LOVE CARNATIONS! I was still learning what I liked and did not like in 2012, and I thought I didn't like carnations. I have since learned I have a love-hate relationship with aldehydes, which were often used with carnation perfumes. The more you know, right?) It does not take long for the vanilla, amber, and warm woods to imitate the scent of bakery goods—those fruit-filled butter cookies come to mind. It’s blissful! This decadent scent will stick around from first spray to next shower. The sillage and projection are typical of most 1990s scents: strong and sturdy.
I have an aged bottle—my second one—from the late-1990s that has only gotten richer with proper storage and time. I liked it when I was seventeen but I love it now that I am old enough (read: evolved) to appreciate all its phases. I love TPD for its unabashed personality and its ability to be gourmand at heart without being sickly saccharine.
