Lei, Mazzolari

I've had the pleasure of Lei's company for a number of times and can't decide yet if it will develop into a full relationship. 

I adore patchouli in all its various characters and Lei is chock-full of patchouli, sweet, earthy and dark. I don't smell chocolate or cacao but Lei smells like a chocolate brown to me, something in the spectrum of Serge Lutens' Chergui with its amber hues, not Lei's own pale gold liquid. 

Further contributions to the warm brown imagery, come from the labdanum and vetiver. The vetiver is smoky and woody, like how it smells in Le Labo's Vetyver 46. Labdanum is a multi-faceted gem and in Lei, it plays a role in the balmy quality of the scent, further introducing a leathery note that adds to the alluring glow of Lei. It truly is an oriental scent from the first sniff. 

Lei dries to a citrus-tinged, woody vanilla base, that's as snug as a bug and reminds me of the dry down of Guerlain's Shalimar. It is because of this similarity to Shalimar that makes me wonder if I need Lei in my life. Lei has a bitterness that is downplayed by its overall sweetness whereas Shalimar is a sublime, smoky vanilla without any bitterness. 

The scent projects well from my skin for the first four hours and subsequently remains as a skin scent for much longer.

Conaffetto Hilde Soliani

Desirability: Full bottle

Bye Bye Alessandro (Mazzolari). Hello Conaffetto. I will start by saying that Conaffetto needs to be sampled on skin not paper, I tried both and on paper the bitter almond is overemphasized and wipes out its companions whereas on skin...it's heavenly...

Bitter almonds galore on opening. The sweetness from both the orange flower and sugar notes starts as a suggestion but as the scent warms on your skin, they warm up as well and the bitterness fades until you have the perfect marriage of bitter and sugar with orange blossoms instead of confetti scattered about. Like I said...it's heavenly...

wedding send-off with confetti

Ok so throwing in some trivial knowledge. Raw almonds can taste mild and nutty and sometimes have a cherry smell to them(which disappears with roasting them). Why do raw almonds smell like cherries? Well they are related, both belonging to the family of "stone fruit", genus Prunus, including nectarines and apricots. The trees get hybridized to achieve different fragrant profiles and hence you get almonds that smell like cherries and vice versa.

There are sweet almonds and there are bitter almonds.Sweet almonds are the ones we see in nut mixes and cakes. Bitter almond is poisonous and only its oil or extract are safe to use.The term bitter almond is sometimes used interchangeably with apricot kernel which bears a similar appearance and shares the same poison as well as taste profile.

 Apricot kernels are used together with almonds in the making of Amaretto and Amaretti biscotti as well as apricot preserves and marzipan. These bitter almonds/apricot kernels are rich in vitamin B17 or amygdaline, used in alternative cancer therapy. Ingesting as little as ten of these bitter almonds can result in cyanide poisoning as amygdalin releases cyanide in the gut through enzymatic action. 

The almond in Conaffetto is decidedly bitter but not poisonous as I'm obviously still typing this as I wear it. What's really precious about Conaffetto for me is that it has the bitter almond note like Mazzolari's Alessandro and retains the warmth of Alessandro while passing on the powdery dry down of the Mazzolari which was a negative point for me. Then there is a fresh and lovely orange blossom note to brighten and sugar to sweeten the bitterness but both notes playing a smaller role compared to the almond. Conaffetto approaches but never quite becomes a gourmand for which I am thankful, enjoying it the way it is, blissful and with an air of nostalgia. It has an average projection but is tenacious and lasted more than a day on clothes. 

Kate Moss' wedding dress designed by John Galliano is still number one for me.

Alessandro, Mazzolari

I've had Serge Lutens' Louve as the solo bottle in the "bitter almond" category for a long time and we were initially happy with our arrangement. But of course, nothing lasts forever. She was feeling lonely. I occasionally felt that she was a little too cold for me when I needed a hug and comfort. 

In came Alessandro. Apparently the name Alessandro means "the defender of man", but I beg to differ on two points. Firstly, I would humbly rename it Alessandra as the juice is as feminine as can be without being being theatrical. Secondly, this is a not a defender of man but it is a defender of bitter almond. 

Alessandro shares the same bittersweet almond facet of Louve without the chilly air I feel in the Lutens. Actually it smells so much like my favorite chinese desserts made from almonds, namely hot almond cream and almond jelly. Anyone who has eaten these will know instantly the smell of Alessandro.

The notes listed on Fragrantica are roasted almonds, vanilla, heliotrope, powdery notes and honey. I get a whole load of the almonds and some vanilla essence. The powdery notes are present but not stealing the show and for that I am glad as I want an almost pure bittersweet almond scent with some warmth and coziness i.e a 180 degree turnaround from the ice queen Louve.

This would have been a match made in heaven had it not been for the softer-than-a-whisper scent trail this leaves on me despite heaping it on. The longevity is almost as abysmal, I didn't get more than two hours out of the few trials I gave this.

I can't quite get Alessandro out of my head but I have been given some hope that Hilde Soliani's Conaffetto (such a beautiful name isn't it!) or Profumum Roma's Confetto might be a better candidate for what I am seeking.

Despite the longevity issues, I would still recommend this as a refined and excellent almond scent.