By boomtownrat , June 20, in Limited Editions. Fresh from the lab and judged on its own merits, as I'm not familiar with the originals, but I couldn't resist the description. In the bottle: I primarily get the bright effervescence of the bergamot and the mandarin, with a soft drift of florals or amber behind it that adds a roundness and depth.
After 10 minutes on my skin: I get the citrus and a glow of warm saffron, but despite those notes, I don't find it at all gourmand or foodie in nature. It's also much less bracing than I'd expect from having citrus in the front, just an impression of freshness and tartness. The citrus doesn't last on me, but the longer I wear it, the more an entwined serpent of rose and sandalwood comes to the fore, amping up until it rules over a soft hint of brightness and a distant ground of musk.
It's a red rose, rich and mature, and with the sandalwood, it stays on me far, far longer than rose usually does. In the very end, after a few hours, in the dryer spots of application, only the sandalwood lingers. Wet: Whoa! Hit right off the bat with lots of citrus from the mandarin and bergamot.
On second sniff I'm getting a small bit of a musky rose. It's a lot nicer than I anticipated! Dry: The citrus has stuck around and is still going strong, and some amber has popped out. The rose is much more prominent on the dry-down, but it's a liiiiittle soapy now. Rose doesn't usually play well on my skin, so I'm not too surprised about the soapy bit.
If rose works for you though, I think this is something a lot of people would enjoy! On first application, the bergamot is so powerful, edging into men's cologne territory, that it had me scarambling to the Lab web site to see why the heck I was attracted to ordering this. However, the bergamot relaxes, unveiling the mandarin and then the magic happens with notes of rose, sandal and spices. This is exactly the kind of oriental perfume I so love. Long lasting, with the skin becoming more huffable as the notes deepen.
