Nesra

Summer scents are a difficult category for me, as many things just become annoying in the nose at high temperatures.
And I should have known: The fragrances from this house are often too loud, not refined enough, not finely tuned enough, too linear. And then coconut - the scent tree vibes almost always creep in sooner or later. But I let myself get hooked.

The fragrance is just right when after the 10th rum, everything is irrelevant anyway. It fits in overcrowded beach bars with karaoke nights in full swing, in the background pink-blue-green fairy lights blink S.O.S, the night is sultry-hot, and the next morning you wonder how you actually got home.

The scent starts with lime - but by no means a wonderfully fresh, authentic lime like in "Tales from Zanzibar." Rather, it’s a cleaner lime that is perceived as diffusely citrusy. And then comes a brutally artificial coconut note on musk that dominates everything - until the rum comes in, which finally knocks you out.

The fragrance is loud, synthetic, and about as fresh as stale cola.
I’m sorry, but sometimes there are just bad parties.

The scent strikes me as confusing. What I had imagined: Something harmoniously delicate, tending towards elegance and unobtrusiveness. In the direction of a tea ceremony with fine pastries and some beautifully garnished fruit.

But reality always brings you back down to earth. Because what you get: A black currant jam in an extra tart version. Alongside blueberries that don’t quite know where to place themselves in light of the currant dominance. There’s a splash of East Frisian tea blend with a hint of cream - but not too much, we have to watch the calories. And as an ambiance, the alpine violet wilts away on the windowsill.

The individual components do not blend into a harmonious whole but remain perceptible on their own. Sometimes the currants dominate, then the blueberries come to the forefront again. Tea and soft notes are more of a hint; they stay in the background for me until the end.

Fortunately, it is not a sweet scent but remains slightly tart throughout, without appearing particularly masculine. It is a gourmand, but not a cookie-vanilla-caramel-marshmallow gourmand. Those looking for that will be disappointed. An interesting scent, I don’t really know anything comparable. One is also tempted to constantly sniff oneself, however, due to the fact that one wants to embrace this scent, but the brain cannot quite piece the individual parts together. I wouldn’t buy it, but I would give extra points for originality.

There are fragrances that are somehow different. Special, without one being able to say exactly why. This scent falls into that category for me.

Due to a lack of travels to Zanzibar, I immediately envision the Amalfi Coast with this fragrance. It’s early afternoon, the heat shimmers, you drive along the coast away from the tourist crowds, searching for a spot where you can briefly dip into the sea. You climb over rocks down to a small bathing cove. But before that, you stand on one of those rocks, you smell the sea, but also the dry warmth and the wind brings a spicy-fresh note for a few seconds. That’s exactly how Tales from Zanzibar smells.

It starts with distinct citrus notes, which to me smell most like grapefruit or green mandarin. These citrus notes remain surprisingly noticeable for a long time, accompanied initially by a light spiciness. As it moves towards the drydown, the scent becomes softer and warmer. The coconut rounds out the fragrance, but fortunately, it’s not an artificially perceived coconut, nor is it unpleasantly sweet or dominant.

Although unisex, the scent initially seems rather masculine to me, but in a way that I find very wearable as a woman, especially if you like more robust fragrances. Later it becomes more feminine, but still remains unisex. I really like the slight bitterness because it prevents the scent from drifting into the same old summer monotony. I smell little fruit outside of the citrus, although citrus notes usually come through quite distinctly on my skin.

A summer scent that has everything you could wish for: longevity, sillage, citrus notes, development on the skin, and liveliness without synthetic overkill.

The idea of representing the effects of messenger substances or hormones through scent compositions is incredibly fascinating to me. Because how often do we associate scents with situations or specific people, with emotions or memories? I experienced this with this fragrance as well.

What should have been clear to me, but wasn’t: The effect of hormone scents is significantly influenced by synthetics, and the fragrances are obviously perceived very differently depending on the skin.

The difference between spraying it on paper and skin was extreme with this fragrance: On paper, it was pleasantly fresh and without any disturbing undertones, but on my skin, it developed into a 1:1 copy of Cool Water Woman. And if there’s a fragrance I truly find terrible, it’s this one. It brings back memories of the time when everyone wore it, and even in every train station restroom, a persistently clinging scent trail of Cool Water overshadowed all other smells, as long as someone had applied that fragrance. And This is Not GABA surpasses that by far. The longevity is so incredibly nasty due to the synthetics that I could still detect clear traces even after a thorough shower. It’s one of the few samples I had to dispose of because the scent was so persistent that even my sample box only smelled of it. In short: Absolutely not my fragrance, although I always find overwhelming synthetics difficult. Those who enjoy such things might be pleased.

What do you do on rainy days? You simply sort through your perfume samples, exactly. That's how I came across Rose the One. Now, there are reasons why
this sample has gone unnoticed until now. Until now, there hasn't been a D&G fragrance that truly convinced me. On the other hand, I often struggle with rose scents - either they are too light and insipid or too oriental with Oud-leather for my nose.

But today, I had a brief moment of YOLO and sprayed Rose The One. And I was pleasantly surprised! Well, that might not be too difficult when you don't have high expectations, but still: the scent has something.

It starts off quite fresh, I primarily smell grapefruit. The rose comes in quite quickly, for me it's a distinct, clear rose, enhanced by peony. Fortunately, it's not an overpowering peony, everything is relatively subtle and harmoniously balanced. Later, the scent becomes softer, slightly vanillic, slightly creamy through musk.

For me, it's a very wearable daily scent that has a noticeable but not excessive sillage. More summery, it fits well with the season. On my skin, it lasted a good 6 hours.

All in all: The first D&G fragrance that I like. Maybe I need to pay more attention to rose scents in the future.