Lemon Almond Cake With Bitter Topping

Cleomenes. The climate's delicate, the air most sweet, fertile the isle, the temple much surpassing the common praise it bears. — W. Shakespeare The Winter's Tale.

With its appearance of a medieval village, its ancient Greek soul, the colours and scents of the Mediterranean vegetation, Taormina is one of the most beautiful places to visit in the world. And ALV Taormina is sparkling, solar, and reflects the joyful atmosphere of an enchanting place where the sea breeze's scent blends with the fragrant notes of citrus fruits, flowers, and the typical notes of the Mediterranean scrub. The scent itself is a citrusy, bitter, light, rosy cologne.

Call it cosy, homey, intimate, snug, or whatever you like. Eventually, all colognes look alike and show that cool familiar burst followed by floral sweetness or woody dryness. I want to clarify that ALV Taormina differs from the classic colognes. The traditional colognes, which make up one of the oldest perfume families, have an aromatic and fresh structure reinforced by the woods' dryness. Their citrusy facets are in the lemon and bergamot family, accented by neroli bloom. Modern colognes are softer, being wrapped in warm veils of moss rather than sharp cedar shavings. They feature notes of jasmine and orange blossom in a way that makes them quite delicate and luminous, suggesting sun-warmed skin rather than a cool shower.

If you browse the web, you may come across the following description "An embrace of sparkling Orange, Mandarin and Blood Orange blossoms leads to a refined heart where it differs from Orange blossom and Juniper, diluted by Almond. White Musks, Cumin and Galbanum, complete this intensely feminine fragrance." However, I seem to smell a perfume apart. For me, ALV Taormina has the damask rose in the head, in the heart still rose and fruity notes, and in the dry-down sweet woods, ambergris and musk.

ALV Taormina opens with a fresh, dewy rose dipped in juicy citruses. The perfect pairing of mandarin and rose, summer rose, mild and fragrant, making for a dazzling and energetic opening. The fruity tone arises, dancing between the bitter and the sweet, refreshing and juicy. Thankfully, the citrus in this fragrance doesn't turn too sour on the skin. Yes, there's some citrus, but the zesty fruits seem not to dominate. The opening is like a lemon almond cake with a bitter topping.

The effulgent beginning transports us to a refined heart where the orange blossom emerges, sweetened by the scent of blanched almonds. The white Almond is fragrant but not bitter, ain't no Amaretto flavour, and adds a milky, creamy vibe to the middle phase. Then a delicate rose touches the skin and remains there, with softness and extreme sweetness. It is a synthetic Damascene rose (rose ketone-4), yet it is not bad at all. Oddly, I don't perceive Juniper with its mentholated gin-style vibe, not even its slightly mushy pine look, with a bitter touch. Instead, from now on, the scent is eerily similar to Dove soap scent. It is bright but dark. It engulfs me in a cloud of rosy comfort and conundrum.

The musk is clear and quite soapy, light as dew. There are a softness and a slightly musky and vanilla scent that lingers on the skin. Thus, musk introduces its purifying nuance and the touch of vanilla, almost burnt but creamy. Very intoxicating sweet baby roses fresh in spring, and even if vanilla is not in the notes, this smells like musky, lovely roses and vanilla.

Truly, ALV Taormina is not so disruptive and reminds me of other perfumes like Montale Roses Musk and Mancera Roses Vanille, but even Zara Rose Gourmand to deliver. It's a fresh, polite, and classy musky thing with something creamy and sweet lurking just below the surface. The bitterness seems to come from an almond-like note; the acidity is the unusual mandarine orange, and the muskiness is something but not hateful. A perfume for the spring and summer months for daily work and free time.

This review is based upon a 100ml bottle I own since March 2021.

#fresh #sweet #floral #spicy #musky #milky #powdery #woody