06/23/2014
NaughtyKitty
6 Reviews
NaughtyKitty
4
An unfound treasure.
I bought this perfume because I found it at a great price online, without knowing what it smelled like. It was my first introduction into the Micallef house.
Micallef No 11 opens on me with a huge blast of green notes. At this point, it is somewhat reminiscent of chypre perfumes like Silences and Niki de Saint Phalle, which share an initial powdery greenness and woodiness. There is NO sweetness whatsoever in this perfume on my skin. The first two hours of Micallef No 11 are a cool, as opposed to warm scent. But give it time, and soon you will realize that Floral No. 11 is actually chameleon which transforms into a powerful warm scent; one that shows her true beauty in cool winter weather.
After the "cool" green stage, Micallef's complex creation becomes a warm resinous woody musk. I find this to be the most complex and intriguing stage of the perfume. I could not stop smelling myself when I wore it simply because it had a certain richness and eccentricity to it. The musk was strong on my skin. In fact, I doubted I could even smell musk in perfumes until I smelled this one. Musk is very prominent throughout, but at the perfume's "warm" stage it acquires a rather animalic quality to it. This animalic quality is light and inoffensive in cooler weather, but becomes overpowering and rather vulgar when attempting to wear on hotter days. This is why I only recommend No. 11 for cooler weather (think below 70 degrees Fahrenheit). And what a beauty it was when I wore it on a cold rainy day! It's richness and greenness combine with the scent of petrichor and cool ozonic air ever so harmoniously.
The strength of No 11 is moderate on my skin, but I suspect it may be have much bigger projection on others (I have perfume-eating skin). The longevity is great, and the dry-down is long with an ever present animalic touch.
I think that fans of classic chypres and floral woody musks should definitely give this a go. I am amazed at the ambiguity of this scent and it's relatively low price point. For a scent of its quality and classic style, one would think more people would appreciate its uniqueness and complexity.
A warning to those who love their perfumes very sweet: this is probably not for you unless you also love powdery woody classics. It is also not a very modern scent and is more reminiscent of perfumes created during the 80's and prior eras. But if you are a perfume collector and interested in exploring different notes or owning an interesting and beautiful perfume, then you aren't really losing much by dishing out the $17 that this is currently worth on most online sites. To my nose, this is truly a masterpiece worth more than its asking price, and a severely underrated classic style perfume.
Micallef No 11 opens on me with a huge blast of green notes. At this point, it is somewhat reminiscent of chypre perfumes like Silences and Niki de Saint Phalle, which share an initial powdery greenness and woodiness. There is NO sweetness whatsoever in this perfume on my skin. The first two hours of Micallef No 11 are a cool, as opposed to warm scent. But give it time, and soon you will realize that Floral No. 11 is actually chameleon which transforms into a powerful warm scent; one that shows her true beauty in cool winter weather.
After the "cool" green stage, Micallef's complex creation becomes a warm resinous woody musk. I find this to be the most complex and intriguing stage of the perfume. I could not stop smelling myself when I wore it simply because it had a certain richness and eccentricity to it. The musk was strong on my skin. In fact, I doubted I could even smell musk in perfumes until I smelled this one. Musk is very prominent throughout, but at the perfume's "warm" stage it acquires a rather animalic quality to it. This animalic quality is light and inoffensive in cooler weather, but becomes overpowering and rather vulgar when attempting to wear on hotter days. This is why I only recommend No. 11 for cooler weather (think below 70 degrees Fahrenheit). And what a beauty it was when I wore it on a cold rainy day! It's richness and greenness combine with the scent of petrichor and cool ozonic air ever so harmoniously.
The strength of No 11 is moderate on my skin, but I suspect it may be have much bigger projection on others (I have perfume-eating skin). The longevity is great, and the dry-down is long with an ever present animalic touch.
I think that fans of classic chypres and floral woody musks should definitely give this a go. I am amazed at the ambiguity of this scent and it's relatively low price point. For a scent of its quality and classic style, one would think more people would appreciate its uniqueness and complexity.
A warning to those who love their perfumes very sweet: this is probably not for you unless you also love powdery woody classics. It is also not a very modern scent and is more reminiscent of perfumes created during the 80's and prior eras. But if you are a perfume collector and interested in exploring different notes or owning an interesting and beautiful perfume, then you aren't really losing much by dishing out the $17 that this is currently worth on most online sites. To my nose, this is truly a masterpiece worth more than its asking price, and a severely underrated classic style perfume.