Top Notes 
Rose absolute
Raspberry
Cinnamon
Clove
Heart Notes 
Bulgarian rose
Frankincense
Patchouli
Poppy
Base Notes 
Amber
Benzoin
Musk
Chestnut wood
Myrrh
Drseid
828 Reviews
Drseid
2
No Substitute for Portrait of a Lady...
Porpora opens with a mild raspberry tinged thin, slightly airy rose underpinned with moderate clove spice and animalic musk support before transitioning to its heart. As the composition enters its early heart the thin, airy rose turns piercing green as it adds a clove-laced incense facet, shedding most of its raspberry accompaniment with slightly earthy patchouli joining as co-star with the musk remaining in support. During the late dry-down the composition remains highly linear, as the rose and patchouli gradually recede, leaving the remnants of the musk and piercing clove-laced incense combining with amber from the base through the finish. Projection is good and longevity outstanding at over 20 hours on skin.
Looking at the ingredients list, many have compared Porpora by Paolo Terenzi to my favorite perfume, Portrait of a Lady by the great Dominique Ropion, finding it an excellent alternative for far less money... Money aside, it was with great interest that I secured a sizable spray sample to see if I agreed. To save those that want an immediate verdict from reading further, the answer is "not even close."
Porpora opens immediately with a *faint* similarity to Portrait of a Lady with its rose and raspberry tandem, but the ingredients and implementation are completely different. In Porpora, the rose is thin, slightly synthetic smelling and the raspberry very subtle, with an odd smelling musky undertone that is rather off-putting. By contrast, in the original formula of Portrait of a Lady the rose is jammy, huge, natural smelling and the raspberry much thicker and more intense, with patchouli already playing a key role in the development. In the middle of Porpora, the synthetic thin rose joins modest earthy patchouli with the odd animalic musk remaining, but now adding a sharp-pitched, whiny green tinge from poorly implemented clove and incense. Portrait of a Lady keeps perfect balance of the jammy rose and patchouli, with ambroxan from the base by contrast. The late dry-down of Porpora is very linear and that high-pitched green tinge to the remnants of the rose with the odd musk remains through the finish, only adding in slightly sweet amber to the mix that doesn't improve things. Portrait of a Lady, by contrast, also remains linear, but in its case the perfect balance of rose, patchouli and ambroxan remains through the finish. Both perfumes have unbelievable longevity at nearly a full 24 hour day, but Porpora is much less vociferous. The bottom line is the $170 per 100ml bottle at discounters Porpora may have an ingredient list similar to Ropion's greatest masterpiece Portrait of a Lady, but passing similarities are all that overlap, and the "average" 2.5 stars out of 5 rated Porpora comes up *way* short both by comparison, and unimpressive when judged independently, mustering a neutral recommendation by itself, and a *huge* avoid if being considered as an alternative to Portrait of a Lady at any price.
Looking at the ingredients list, many have compared Porpora by Paolo Terenzi to my favorite perfume, Portrait of a Lady by the great Dominique Ropion, finding it an excellent alternative for far less money... Money aside, it was with great interest that I secured a sizable spray sample to see if I agreed. To save those that want an immediate verdict from reading further, the answer is "not even close."
Porpora opens immediately with a *faint* similarity to Portrait of a Lady with its rose and raspberry tandem, but the ingredients and implementation are completely different. In Porpora, the rose is thin, slightly synthetic smelling and the raspberry very subtle, with an odd smelling musky undertone that is rather off-putting. By contrast, in the original formula of Portrait of a Lady the rose is jammy, huge, natural smelling and the raspberry much thicker and more intense, with patchouli already playing a key role in the development. In the middle of Porpora, the synthetic thin rose joins modest earthy patchouli with the odd animalic musk remaining, but now adding a sharp-pitched, whiny green tinge from poorly implemented clove and incense. Portrait of a Lady keeps perfect balance of the jammy rose and patchouli, with ambroxan from the base by contrast. The late dry-down of Porpora is very linear and that high-pitched green tinge to the remnants of the rose with the odd musk remains through the finish, only adding in slightly sweet amber to the mix that doesn't improve things. Portrait of a Lady, by contrast, also remains linear, but in its case the perfect balance of rose, patchouli and ambroxan remains through the finish. Both perfumes have unbelievable longevity at nearly a full 24 hour day, but Porpora is much less vociferous. The bottom line is the $170 per 100ml bottle at discounters Porpora may have an ingredient list similar to Ropion's greatest masterpiece Portrait of a Lady, but passing similarities are all that overlap, and the "average" 2.5 stars out of 5 rated Porpora comes up *way* short both by comparison, and unimpressive when judged independently, mustering a neutral recommendation by itself, and a *huge* avoid if being considered as an alternative to Portrait of a Lady at any price.
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