Top Notes 
Coffee
Rose
Spices
Heart Notes 
Leather
Frankincense
Oud
Saffron
Base Notes 
Musk
Sandalwood
Vanilla11/20/2025
sabashioyaki
2 Reviews
sabashioyaki
1
Not a safe blind buy, but I love it all the same.
I begged my friend who went on a day trip to Florence to pick a bottle of the perfume up for me in the Bois 1920 shop in Borgi Santi Apostoli, armed only with the knowledge that I have never met a Rose-Oud fragrance that I didn’t like. I am blessed with great friends who put up with my requests that demand for adventures, as she succeeded in getting me a bottle (and she may have ended up picking a bottle of Maraviglia for herself hehe) and bringing it all the way home to Manila.
I am very pleased to inform you, my dear reader, that my 98 euro gamble paid off; XXV Marzo does not disappoint.
I understand now what some people mean when they say it smells like Lancôme’s Oud Bouquet. While the rose and the oud notes come in quite quickly, similar to Oud Bouquet, I must insist that XXV Marzo is so, so much more than that.
In the opening, alongside the scent of spices and the rose notes, there is a tinge of bitterness there, perhaps from the coffee notes. I then smell the incense (Parfumo here lists it as frankincense! Ooh~), giving it a somewhat smoky, mysterious feeling, like roses at the foot of the altar after a Latin mass. It all gives way to a warm vanilla, but perfectly balanced with the sandalwood notes at the base.
As someone who loves “oriental” fragrances, this one is a sound wonder for me. While I love all fragrance profiles, however, this perfume taught me that not everyone loves the same things. My mother, who likes clean, musky scents, was quick to remark that I “smell like tobacco,” and I was quick to remark, almost like a fed up teenager, that “it’s the incense mom,” with maybe a little attitude sprinkled in. While it is for me, and it may be for you, it may not be a perfume for all, and that’s okay.
I am very pleased to inform you, my dear reader, that my 98 euro gamble paid off; XXV Marzo does not disappoint.
I understand now what some people mean when they say it smells like Lancôme’s Oud Bouquet. While the rose and the oud notes come in quite quickly, similar to Oud Bouquet, I must insist that XXV Marzo is so, so much more than that.
In the opening, alongside the scent of spices and the rose notes, there is a tinge of bitterness there, perhaps from the coffee notes. I then smell the incense (Parfumo here lists it as frankincense! Ooh~), giving it a somewhat smoky, mysterious feeling, like roses at the foot of the altar after a Latin mass. It all gives way to a warm vanilla, but perfectly balanced with the sandalwood notes at the base.
As someone who loves “oriental” fragrances, this one is a sound wonder for me. While I love all fragrance profiles, however, this perfume taught me that not everyone loves the same things. My mother, who likes clean, musky scents, was quick to remark that I “smell like tobacco,” and I was quick to remark, almost like a fed up teenager, that “it’s the incense mom,” with maybe a little attitude sprinkled in. While it is for me, and it may be for you, it may not be a perfume for all, and that’s okay.
Updated on 11/21/2025
Berry22
Rotti75
