Hungry Heart Bitters End 1997

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7.6 / 10 158 Ratings

A popular perfume by Bitters End for women and men, released in 1997. The scent is woody-floral. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Woody

Floral

Smoky

Fresh

Spicy

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Hawthorn

Jasmine

Orange

Ylang-ylang

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Florentine iris Peach

Peach

Lotus

Lavender

Base Notes

Precious woods

Ratings

Scent

7.6158 Ratings

Longevity

6.1126 Ratings

Sillage

5.7127 Ratings

Bottle

7.5110 Ratings

Value for money

6.835 Ratings

Submitted by Ripieno, last update on 06/13/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance was created for the 40th anniversary of the town twinning Florence - Kyoto.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Eclix

Coven

Reviews

6 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/27/2012

7.5
Bottle 5
Sillage 10
Scent

MemoryOScent
37 Reviews

MemoryOScent

Helpful Review 5

treasures from the attic

Citta di Kyoto is one of the most recent releases (2004) of a house that claims a continuous production since 1612. Anyone who is familiar with their releases knows that they are quirky, not always easy to wear but always come through as unpretentious, clear and yet sophisticated fragrances. So how is this managing with its recent releases? In one word, perfectly.

Citta di Kyoto was released to celebrate the 40 year old affiliation of Florence and Kyoto and what better way to do that than combining notes of florentine iris and japanese lotus. I must admit I am not familiar with how lotus smells but had I read the official note listing I would have been put off: “The perfume opens with vibrant, fruity and fresh top notes of jasmine and ylang-ylang, which are punctuated by the deeper hints of bergamot and orange. These are followed by base notes of Florentine iris and lotus”. No, no, no, no! It starts with a magnificent paint diluent note (admittedly this can be attributed to ylang ylang as it sometimes has a mentholated aspect)that quickly fades into the driest, palest, softest cedar. The most opulent orris butter kicks in to smooth out the rough woody surface. The overall effect is that of velvety, dusty suede. It makes me think of smelling uncooked rice. Much to my astonishment this is listed as a feminine scent which together with the official description are doing a great job at restricting this fragrance’s target group. This is dry, woody, leathery iris at its best and Dzongkha lovers please give this a try. In another perfume world Citta di Kyoto could very well pass as a masculine version of Equistrius. It wears close to the skin, feels like it sinks into the skin and radiates from there but it has an exceptional longevity even though it is an eau de cologne.

Notes from my nose: paint diluent, cedar, butter, iris, rice, incense tears

06/03/2025

ClaireV
731 Reviews

ClaireV

1

Sweet nothings

I don’t mind the soft projection or poor longevity of Cittá di Kyoto, but what I can’t forgive is its vagueness. It is mostly iris – that rooty, plaster-of-Paris iris material that Santa Maria Novella uses – over a blob of bitter, musky cedar, but it is dry enough for people to imagine they smell Japanese incense, sweet enough for people to think they smell fruit, and softly hawthorn-ish enough to make people think of Daim Blond.

However, nothing ever tilts too firmly in one direction or another, so you get this diaphanous, blown out blur of root and wood and petal refuses to commit to even one of those ideas. It flip flops between one thing and another so quickly that it could get elected to local government at least. Some people find this charming. I find it irritating, just as I do that dreamy, opaque way old Irish people have of answering every question with a half-laughed ‘ah sure, now, you know yourself’ when in fact, no, we don’t know, which is why we asked the question in the first place, you muppet.

I suspect that were it not for the evocative name or the inspiration, nobody would peg it as smelling particularly like Japanese incense or the woody air of an onsen in the forest, and so on and so forth. Indeed, in the hands of any other brand, it might even be called – gasp – unfinished. I bought a bottle, and not even blindly, simply because I had successfully mind-swindled myself into hearing the rustle of silk screens and bamboo mats.

But repeated wear just erodes the fantasy of Cittá di Kyoto a bit more each time. I can squint my eyes all I like but no amount of mental acrobatics is going to turn that damp, bitter blob of cedar into the airy, silvery-green hinoki of my imagination, nor is that dry iris and hint of smoke ever going to transform into a wisp of coreless Shoyeido incense, which itself smells far more characterfully of cloves, benzoin, and aloeswood that anything suggested by this milquetoast of a perfume.

Every spring since 2015, I have dutifully taken the frosted bottle out of the cupboard, dusted it off, and hoped that this would be the moment when it reveals its true beauty to me. And in truth, I don’t hate it. It is not a bad fragrance, objectively. But life is just too short for such low-impact fragrance.

02/11/2019

7.5
Bottle 5
Sillage 5
Longevity 8
Scent

Turandot
39 Reviews

Translated Show original

Turandot

Top Review 51

East wind - west wind

Even as a young girl I was fascinated by the simplicity of Japanese spaces. At that time I wished to be able to furnish my later apartment in this style. Well, at 15 you don't think about how to heat rooms with paper walls, nor where to put all that stuff if you don't have cupboards. The only thing that has remained of these dreamers is the aversion against dust catchers of any kind and decorations for the apartment may only ever move in as a single piece and then always only one at a time with me. I'd rather take turns.

I'm not quite sure, but I think my love for the books of Pearl S. Buck was not innocent of this phase. Today she is also accused of having written more trivial literature - she has that in common with Rosamunde Pilcher. But I can remember that I devoured especially "The women of the house Wu" or "Ostwind - Westwind". Of course, I did not envy the torments the main character suffers because of their tied feet. Even today, 13 books dream of Pearl S. Buck on my bookshelf. I think I'll do it again.

Città di Kyoto, of course, was created much later to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the twinning of Florence and Kyoto. So this fragrance is understandably not a Mediterranean feeling to experience, but the fragrance reminds me much more of L`original by A. Putman. For me he embodies the simple beauty of Japanese rooms or ink drawings and lets me breathe a sigh of relief.

Since our Japanese customers either used very light fragrances or loved everything that came from France, I'm not sure if Città di Kyoto would have met their taste, because the fragrance captivates with clarity, clean floral notes and actually a hint of woodiness in the base, but amazes me with its unexpected durability, at least on my skin. The Italian perfumers have obviously taken the trick, because the pyramid sounds much more flowery and violent than the fragrance is, but accompanies me for many hours with its almost meditative aura.

The issue of partnership between East and West is well illustrated here. Italian craftsmanship meets Asian ambience, and Santa Maria Novella is not the only perfume to show all its skills.

07/11/2019

9
Bottle 7
Sillage 7
Longevity 9.5
Scent

Can777
131 Reviews

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Can777

Top Review 57

The Silk Dragon

How does Città di Kyoto smell? Come over here and sit down. I'll describe it to you!

Imagine you are in a beautiful garden or park somewhere in Japan. You just bought a silk kite and you want to fly it in the park. The wind is gentle but strong enough. He's got a lot on him. The air is enriched with delicate tones of citrus fruits. Their smell is slightly bitter-green. You run along the endless path through the park leaving more and more kite line free while you run and run faster and faster. Smells will brush your nose. You perceive the scent of delicate blossoms. They're not classified, but they're beautiful. Its fragrance is fine and delicate. The silk dragon is now already very high in the bright blue sky and is making its way there in calm and gentle movements. It has the shape of a Koi and has also been painted like this. The painting is like a precious Japanese ink drawing in the most watery-pastel colours. Gently the silk ribbons flutter at the stylized fins of the kite in the airy height as if it would swim up there.

Then you lie at a big pond on your back in the wet grass and look into the sky where the silk dragon stands almost like meditating in the sky. The lotus has blossomed and blends with the delicate scent of moist woods and roots. A gentle touch of fresh water is in the air. You hear a soft giggle behind you and look around easily. Three Geishas are walking the way behind you along the pond. They fall silent as they notice you and nod to you friendly and synchronously. Their faces are immaculate and painted with iris-like rice powder. They seem to float above the ground as they cross the wooden bridge where the irises grow. As you continue to lie on your back and watch the silk dragon still standing meditatively in the crystal blue sky, you slowly become more tired. You still hold the dragon shear tightly stretched in your hand. And then you can hear it! It sounds like a geisha is playing a string instrument far away. But it's not! It's the wind you can hear through the kite string in your hand. It is the song of the wind in endless height. You still notice how slowly your hand opens while you gently slide down and fall asleep releasing the kite. And then he flies off gently. Like all your worries and sorrows in the wind in this one moment

That's how Città di Kyoto smells. Like a silk dragon in the wind. Carefree, meditative, light and infinitely free!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BTZl9KMjbrU

11/29/2020

10
Pricing 8
Bottle 5
Sillage 7
Longevity 9
Scent

Toppine
8 Reviews

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Toppine

Top Review 49

Both

At the urgent suggestion of a highly esteemed perfume, I am chasing my comment on 'Acqua di Cuba' after another one on 'Citta di Kyoto'. Both fragrances have made a big impression on me, although they couldn't be more different.

First of all, a few words about the Santa Maria Novella brand as a whole: all fragrances - whether light or dark, delicate or strong, loud or soft - captivate with their amazing quality and flawless composition. Some have a clear flow, others are quite linear. The impression of synthetics does not arise at all, rather they leave a completely natural basic mood. How something like this is done is beyond my knowledge. But they always smell expensive, never cheap. Considering the price/performance ratio, profit cannot be the driving force behind the manufacturers. An extremely likeable brand, even if not everything is to my taste.

Citta di Kyoto is a filigree, finely woven web of scent, which for me paints a picture of old, past Japan. An ink drawing that could not be more delicate. White flowers with yellow and orange speckles are flooded with smoky light. The smoke is as light as a feather, but present and intensifies the magical aura of airy lightness. Nothing is too much here, neither the white flowers nor the lavender nor the fine sweetness that flows through the fragrance like clear water. A feeling of peace and harmony overcomes me, which is strengthened and grounded by the fine wooden construction of the fragrance.

This fragrance means purity to me. A quiet purity of spirit, which can hardly be achieved in this form today. Maybe I should take a closer look at Zen......:-)

In any case, the honouring of the town twinning with Kyoto with this fragrance is a complete success.
A decision between the warm, deep Acqua di Cuba and the feathery and disembodied Citta di Kyoto is of course not possible. It will therefore come down to both. So both!!
With thanks to the above mentioned perfume colleagues...

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