Even during the retest last night, this perfume threw me back into a bath of contradictions.
It is a strange mix... alluring, fascinating, and at the same time unsettling, as the components do not quite harmonize on me.
Rose and mild oud - both of which I like very much - I find here to be very pleasant. At the same time, there is a honey-sweet, indefinable blend of gourmand notes, which is also quite beautiful. But the sour citrus notes just don't quite fit in. And then there's the strawberry! I do like it in purely fruity perfumes, but here it doesn't quite integrate and comes across as somewhat fermented. I had a similar divided experience with the strawberry note in "Sadanne." It's also a fragrance that fascinates me, but one that I wouldn't wear outside. The same goes for "Aurum." Perhaps too much was simply mixed in here, leaving my nose overwhelmed.
And yet, just like during the first test, I could hardly keep my nose away from my inner elbow or the back of my hand. The scent just won't let me go! I'm struggling with the rating and have corrected it multiple times. 7.5 seems to be a fair subjective judgment.
I find the strawberry in there quite enchanting. It peeks around the corner delicately from time to time. It really adds to the fragrance, making it lighter in its otherwise very dense structure.
I think it's great!