I think Safran Secret should be the posterchild for the fact that a minimalist note breakdown doesn't equal simplicity. It is definitely a multilayered complex experience that took me multiple wearings to finally be able to review. It starts with a strong saffron note. Real saffron smell, as opposed to the BR540 cotton candy-like note; like you took a jar of the stuff and gave a huge whiff. I get the same kind of opening from Spirito Fiorentino, but this is better crafted. Then the woodiness comes in, and for a while, you can separate out the woody notes from the saffron note. The woody notes aren't specified but I definitely get cedar and some kind of slightly smoky gaiac or palo santo or something. After a couple of hours, the woody notes and saffron sort of mix and you get what a lot of reviewers are calling the "hot iron" smell, where metallic nuances from the saffron are combining with the warm woods. Finally the saffron fades away entirely and you are left with a very nice woody drydown. Smoky, warm, enveloping. This is like 6 hours in, of probably 9 hours longevity. Really nice scent which I thoroughly enjoyed my sample of. I think I want to replace my current bottle of Spirito Fiorentino with this, since I didn't really like that one, and the opening of Safran Secret is similar.
