06/28/2023
Saturnalis
26 Reviews
Saturnalis
3
resinous tuberose and rose redemption
i wrote a review of this years ago (2014!) on another website that was very unfavourable towards this perfume, but smelling it again now i can say that it's nowhere near as devastatingly horrid as i made it out to be. it still has facets of what i found back then, but it's not as honey-drenched and nose-numbingly powdery or synthetic-smelling as i remember. instead i find this to be primarily a menthol-y and fleshy tuberose with some fruity and spicy facets in the opening, coming from dry styrax (that remains a pillar through the composition), coriander and what i imagine to be blackcurrant leaf. i don't actually find it to be particularly honeyed at all, perhaps just hinting at it, which i find incredibly odd as that's basically all i could smell last time i tried this. the rose comes more to the fore as the tuberose loosens its grip a little, but remains in the shadows still, where chewy styrax and labdanum act as a resinous, dry platform. i do get a little of the bug spray smell i found in my first try, but it's not as forceful, long lasting, nor quite as apparent, instead blending in with the whole. by this point i actually really like it. it still isn't something i'd personally wear overall, but quite lovely all the same and definitely appreciate it more now.
