Ostara

1996 is a syrupy, medicinal, labdanum rich amber that begins with a sharp and tangy juniper note in the opening. It's a piercing, clarifying note that serves to liven up what is otherwise an almost leaden feeling composition. There is not much development beyond the point that the juniper disappears in the heart. The base is dark 'leathery' labdanum and patchouli flecked with birch tar and immortelle nuances. As 1996 dries down it becomes an almost startling imitation of Annick Goutal's Ambre Fetiche (AF) minus the smokey incense note.

Having owned and drained a bottle of AF, I have no desire to get a bottle of 1996. It smells good and in line with what we've all come to expect this genre of fragrances should smell like but it's ultimately less distinctive and interesting than many other niche amber centric offerings. Put plainly if I was in the mood for something like 1996, there's be at least a half dozen other compositions in the same vein that I would buy and wear before I picked up a bottle of this.

Shanghai Lily is amazingly well blended, so well blended in fact that its almost hard to pick out individual notes. On my skin it opened woody and spicy and then quickly developed into a muddled, thick, rich, floralized spiced incense. The scent is interesting and distinctive, full bodied but not actually lush since the spicy elements balance and dry the floral elements.

Many in the community have said it smells like YSL's Opium. I can see where they are coming from. I can't say that I think it actually smells like Opium myself, but it does remind me of it a bit. Though SL is complex, spicy and incensey, it is much more subdued. Opium relies heavily on spice and incense where this is more balanced between spice, floral, wood and incense. The underlying creamy florals change the timbre of the fragrance from Opium's throaty purr to something just as pleasant but a bit higher on the register.

I can see SL's potential as a unique but accessible signature scent for a particularly fashionable and polished person.

Mysterious myrrh, dark resins, ambergris and rose in equal amounts. Calligraphy Rose starts with the delectable taifi rose opening which fades to reveal a hot, slightly animalic crescendo of warm resins and a syrupy myrrh note. The dry down is what I would call a 'fantasy skin scent' meaning its what you'd hope your skin smells like on the best day of your life: warm, softly sweet and enticingly walking that fine line between clean and dirty. This was instant love for me.

A pale, shimmering and aqueous rose over a squeaky clean blend of citrus, peony and lily of the valley and a base of Iso E Super, Ambroxan and salty musks.

So what does that mean? Well it means Rosa Nobile smells like a sheer, radiant floral on top of D&G's Light Blue. This is a crowd pleaser with significant projection and longevity that smells clean and light. The overall effect is pretty, but not outstanding.

L'Attesa opens on a glorious orris note that is rooty, starchy, papery and cold.

There's a slight bready nuance that follows soon after the opening and then transitions into a cool dusty, powder textured scent that evoked strong childhood memories of the smell of wet playground pea gravel on a cold winter day. That cold, earthy, powdered mineral accord is what captivates me and moves me. It actually enticed me to do something I never do -- buy a bottle before I'd experienced a full wearing of the scent. I haven't smelled this beautiful and strange minerally powder accord in any other iris perfume before, and I've tried most of them.

Unfortunately, the long lasting base note in this seems to amp up on my skin after a few hours in a rather unpleasant way. It's an unrelenting woody freshness, as though the smell of an entire laundry soap aisle of a grocery store is projecting off of my wrist. After a few hours of only this note shrieking at me full volume I find it hard to love this scent.

Those who are either partially anosmic to this base or who find it pleasant won't mind, but for me L'Attesa went from a sweet symphony to a fog horn.