Ostara

The opening of Isvaraya smells strongly of blueberries and plums to my nose, almost like a warm syrupy compote made of the two fruits. As it settles a literal smoke note emerges along with a woody patchouli and a voluptuous but restrained jasmine note. On dry down, I'm left with an almost narcotic-heady bouquet of beautiful plum soaked jasmine and woody-waxy patchouli buttressed by thin wisps of smoke and musk. There's a slight undercurrent of salt in the base and unlabeled note that makes it slightly savory (kind of like thyme) which pulls this back from being too sweet.

Isvaraya is a fruitchouli, but in my mind it might be the stripped down and streamlined pinnacle of its genre.

Hands down the most 'noir' fragrance I have ever smelled. It calls to mind a film noir femme fatales who are always impeccably dressed and who are never without sharp lipstick and cigarette.

The opening of Fate Woman is a nose tickling blast of pepper, tannins and spice which quickly turns into a well balanced and smooth cinnamon note. The heart still has cinnamon, but a wonderful leathery labdanum emerges and is supported by frankincense, a distinct dry cedar note, a pinch of cumin, something else animalic (could be a mixture of one of the white florals and castoreum) and a vague creamy floral which is probably rose. The dry down is beautiful and ambraic: featuring more cinnamon, labdanum, cedar and benzoin/vanilla. It's a nice mix of hot and dry, but also so alive and energetic. There's some kind of interesting spice material here that my nose interprets less as a smell and more like static electricity, it makes the scent crackle and pop.

I was initially was puzzled why cedar is not listed here. It's the second most prominent note in the heart of this fragrance to my nose and clearly discernible. I'm realizing that what my nose interpreting as cedar is actually the frankincense, some of the spice and some of the labdanum. It all combines to make a warm, dry, woody resinous smell that resembles fresh milled cedar. Cumin is also not listed here but clearly present.

Fate Woman has quite the reputation as a powerhouse scent that's a bit difficult to wear. Imagine my surprise after sampling it from a dab vial and finding it pushed all my personal buttons as a comfort scent! Perhaps its because it bears some resemblance to Opium which was worn by several female role models of mine. Or perhaps when it is dabbed, this just comes off as cozy. It's rare that I finish a sample but I wore this for 4 days straight.

Overall, this is a very nice fragrance and perhaps something I will eventually add to my wardrobe. The craftsmanship is clearly evident in how simultaneously smooth and complex Fate Woman is---all notes are well blended and perfectly rendered.

Wear Fate Woman and experience true perfume luxury.

Odori's Iris is beautiful and easy to love. While this was apparently marketed to men, this would be stunning on anyone.

The opening is a blast of cold, papery irones (iris) mixed with their less expensive cousin, ionones (violet), to produce a crisp and clean and almost aquatic purple floral accord. The ionones in this case read like violet leaf more than flower giving it a greenness that bolsters the coolness of the irones. There is a sweetness present from the first spray that is also more characteristic of violet fragrances than of iris.

As it dries down this gets less cold, less austere, less overtly floral. A warm musky vanillic (heliotropin+ a very soft ylang + amber combo) base accord rises to meld with the cool purple floral accord creating a very realistic reference to old fashioned lipsticks. I can't smell the star anise, but that's just fine with me.

Important Note for Iris/Orris Lovers: While there is orris in this, the prominent violet and heliotrope keep this from being a typical gray toned orris fragrance. As an avid fan of the funereal, gray toned orris fragrance genre, I admit that I was initially bummed by the violet since it is not listed and was therefore unexpected. Even still this is an excellent iris + violet combo. The dry down of this is ethereal.

Iris is a soft fragrance, it wears fairly close to the skin and smells chic, clean and sophisticated. This is a beautiful addition to any iris and violet lovers collection.

In the same general olfactory neighborhood as Guerlain Apres l'Ondee, Guerlain L'Heure de Nuit, Malle L'Eau D'Hiver, Dusita Splendiris, and Heeley Iris de Nuit.

The first half of Intense Cafe (IC) reminds me a lot of Guerlain's Gourmand Coquin. The notes of IC combine to conjure an olfactory illusion: one of rich, floralized chocolate. The rose is powdery, velvety soft, slightly fruity and pink toned. Combine that with the luxuriously creamy vanilla note, a big dose of lactones and the dark bitterness of coffee and VOILA!: Chocolate. After about the 30 minute mark the chocolate hologram fades and most of what I get for the rest of the considerable wear time is a vanillic rosey musk.

Both phases are appealing but the chocolate facsimile found in the opening/heart of this fragrance is notable in that I actually find it more chocolate crave-worthy than other scents actually marketed as chocolate such as Gourmand Coquin, Chocolate Greedy, and Amour de Cacao. I've owned all of these at one point and got rid of the other full bottles in favor of my decant.

This is delicious, interesting and special. It performs as you would expect a Montale to, you're going to get noticed wearing this.

Alessandro is an uber-intense powdery scent.

The opening is not my favorite. Alessandro is very specifically reminiscent of the pink opalescent soap that can often be found in American public restrooms, along with whiffs of something vaguely animalic and sharp (probably the honey note).

The good news is that as it dries down it looses its sharpness (and that unsavory soapy association) and becomes a soft powdery cloud of makeup and sweet almond oil. Wonderful stuff for powder lovers who are searching for that "makeup bag smell". I prefer this to Teint de Neige which to me smells much more like baby powder (rather than makeup) with bitter edge.