Reliqvia Filippo Sorcinelli 2021

Every fragrance enthusiast sooner or later will discover Reliqvia. Be it through social media or spotting it in a fragrance boutique, it's a hard fragrance to ignore. Just look at that bottle! It demands your attention, as do many other of Sorcinelli's fragrances. But given the more "hazardous" look of these bottles, many people take a more careful approach. In reality, there's nothing to be scared of, for as dangerous as Reliqvia looks like, it is just as soothing and smooth.

As it is known, Sorcinelli's signature accord is incense, so it's fairly regular to see churches being mentioned in descriptions/reviews of some of Sorcinelli's pieces. And Reliqvia is included, but more so, it reminds of a church's dusty, wooden attic. But until you get up there, you have to go through the main hall. There, you are greeted with waxy, citrusy incense from the elemi, which envelops a tart, fruity-sweet blackcurrant beautifully incorporated with dusty nutmeg spice. A soapy aldehydic accent is also present, which fits like a mitre on a bishop.

Things take a nice turn once you reach the attic - clove warmth & spice offers this slightly biting undertone, while the mastic and pine hint at the structure being built with coniferous wood - piney, resinous, balsamic, even a little moldy. By now, the incense no longer leads the scent, but it remains present throughout. Stale woodiness starts pushing more and more, presenting a combo of spiced and musky undertones beneath the woods, sandalwood being the most prominent but without adding any unneeded creamy qualities. Just smooth, clean woods, incense-infused, with the Guaiac wood aiding in keeping a tiny smoky accent alive. Beautiful; a church I definitely want to revisit.

To my surprise, Reliqvia managed to reach ~12 hours on my skin, although that was achieved in fairly favorable weather conditions. Projection, however, stayed more consistent when tested in slightly different atmospheres. But as is the case with many of Sorcinelli's incense-driven creations, pushing power is more... meditative. Right from the start, it stays calm, with moderate projection not surpassing 1-2 feet. It keeps that intensity for a good while, but after 2 hours, it starts to noticeably soften down, and it is largely inconspicuous by the time you reach the 4 hour mark.

But I can almost hear Sorcinelli say "it is not a fragrance you wear to the club" with a strong Italian intonation. And he'd be right, this is not your regular head-turner scent, apart from the bottle. It's a fragrance that teaches you to wear the fragrance for yourself first, not for others. But if we're to add contextual usability, I think that Reliqvia is highly versatile, maybe one of the most versatile iterations of the genre. Even if less suitable, I'd still rock Reliqvia to school or the office. And given the tamer projection/sillage, you do get some liberty to the amount of sprays you can put on. Just don't go overboard.

Not bold, not challenging, definitely not for everyone still, and hell, not even Sorcinelli's best, in my opinion. But Reliqvia is a fragrance well-worth discovering regardless, as it goes beyond the "ultra niche" hype it gets on social media. For anyone wanting to explore incense fragrances within the niche realm, Filippo Sorcinelli is the place I'd point towards, since it's a good place to start, but also a good place to come back to. There's something so soothing and calming about the incense of Reliqvia, _Quando_rapita_in_estasi_, LAVS, etc. You just feel like coming back to them. Sure, most people will buy one or the other mostly for the unique looking bottles. But for those who truly focus on the scent first and foremost and are willing to pay €200-€220 for Reliqvia, the bottle design just ends up being a nice extra.

Overall Rating: 7.7/10

I tried Reliqvia a few months ago, but I think I got scared away by the bottle designs. Luckily, I’ve been able to get my hands on some samples to test some of these Filippo creations out.

For the opening, it mainly feels dusty, nutty, smoky, and spicy. Filippo is making it simple for me to figure out from which note the smokiness is coming from: “smoke.” Of course this is accompanied by his usual church-like incense. The nutty and spicy aspects definitely come from the clove and nutmeg, giving the composition a unique twist. It’s hard to detect, but I can kind of smell a bit of orange.

In my opinion, the fragrance shines the brightest in the dydown. It gets smoother and woodier, giving an incredible trail in the air. I have experienced it lasting longer than 8 hours, so you’ll be able to enjoy the drydown for a long time. Testing it with only 1 spray, the projection is still good.

It’s a joy to test Sorcinelli fragrances, so don’t mind the bottles like I did. Especially when he has such unique scents like this.

I tried it from a sample in perfumery in preview, it is an ecclesiastical incense, cathedral, as the incense seems to remain very adherent to the skin not by sillage, (you should try to wear the fragrance) it reminded me of the catacombs, sacred casket , coffin, dust.
In my opinion it is a difficult fragrance to wear, if not for ecclesiastical or gothic characters, it is more a work of art

Reliqvia is... special. While I was not fond of the Memento collection (but I need to test them again, for I noticed that my tastes in perfumes changed quite a lot since I first approached perfumery), this one hits all the right spots for me. Smoky incense, deepened by tobacco, but with that orange little crack that feels as if in a gloomy sky, a shy ray of sunshine is piercing stormy clouds. It has all the seriousness of a dusty, ancient cathedral, and I'm loving it so far so I wanna write down all my thoughts about it.
It's solemn, serious. Risus abundat in ore stultorum after all, doesn't it? One of the closest scent to the Church I go every Sunday. I don't get any kind of sweat tho, I don't know what some people are up to.
Said so, it's pretty intense and very good (I'm still looking for a sample of Ambrosivs tho). And while it's slightly resinous it's not a resin overload like I was pressing my nose to a tree as in some Adi Ale Van... I'd gladly stuck with this one for now.

This is so beautiful! It’s very spicy, a little bit mossy, and very hot. If I smelt this on a man I would fall in love.

At first, this smells like an old bible - very smoky and woody, but also quite dry, it reminds me of my church I went to at my Catholic high school. It almost has a dusty element to it, like the pews I used to sit in during mass. It does warm up after a while but stays dark and dry. It smells like ancient relics and worn robes with incense burning nearby. Very strange but beautiful. Honestly, this is the embodiment of an entire church in a bottle.

Much warmer and mossier as opposed to LAVS. They are both beautiful and probably my favourite incense fragrances and probably the best ones out there in my opinion. Oh Filippo Sorcinelli the man you are, I don’t think I’ve tried a fragrance by him that I don’t like.