Fiori d'Ambra Profumum Roma

Desirability: Decant

Source: www.parfumneroli.hu

Having already tried and been won over by another amber from Profumum Roma namely Ambra Aurea, I had high hopes of falling in love with Fiori d'Ambra. Well it's not quite a love but it's a firm like. 

I don't particularly like overly powdery ambers and well Fiori d'Ambra did start rather floral powdery and dry on me, giving it a vintage air similar to the scented drawer sheets my mother used to line her armoire until they went out of production like a decade ago. Thankfully the powder blows away revealing a spicy floral heart both dark and beguiling with a strange herbal vibe about it that isn't unpleasant but is well, strange. A smooth semi sweet amber enters unobtrusively and with time the scent has this balmy "glowing coals in a grate" effect. 

It has a much smaller presence than the booming personality of its relative Ambra Aurea and Fiori d'Ambra seems to perform a appearing/disappearing act throughout the day so rest assured it lasts a good while even if discreetly. 

Sabbia Bianca Profumum Roma

Desirability: Decant

Source: www.travelviaitaly.com

Sabbia Bianca or White Sand had a limited release of 500 bottles (rumour or rather Google claims) in 2011 and there's so little about it on the internet that I couldn't even find a photograph, hence the white sandy beach above. I was very lucky to have been gifted a sample of Sabbia Bianca by a kind fellow fragrance traveller who knows well my love of white florals. 

Sabbia Bianca is a Big Fat White Floral (BFWF) born on a tropical beach. If there was a checklist for the perfect tropical white floral, Sabbia Bianca would have ticked off all the qualities on that list. Creamy as coconut milk, lush narcotic florals- tuberose, gardenia, ylang ylang, tiare, a little sweet vanilla and just a touch of green leaves- somehow the green bit makes me think of waxy banana leaves. Not complicated, linear and it's been done before but a sunny and joyful scent that smells natural and has some serious lasting power. 

I am quite relieved to say that although I adore BFWFs and am a fan of Profumum despite their prices, I do not crave a full bottle of this rarity. It's undoubtedly beautiful and would appeal to those who adore white floral scents or tropical island beauties, but there are alternatives and cheaper ones at that, even if they may not match up to the phenomenal longevity of Sabbia Bianca. I'm thinking Guerlain's Terracotta Le Parfum though there isn't tuberose in it but the tropical white florals more than make up for that loss, or maybe Isles Lointaines by Keiko Mercheri. 

Thundra Profumum Roma

Desirability: Sample

Source: www.profumum.com 

Thundra smells minty, fresh, green and waxy at the same time, like how aloe vera leaves look like outside and the refreshing, succulent inside. Exuding a meditative calm, Thundra feels more like an ambience than a perfume, like how I imagine sitting in the cool green woodlands in the Twilight movies (minus scary vampires and wolves) would fee like. Wood and the smell of earth enter the scent in the later stages, continuing with the Nature theme but warming up the scent a little as if the ice were melting in the tundra and allowing some life to break through the permafrost. 

Thundra is very soft on me, possibly the softest of all Profumum Roma scents that I've tried so far but the longevity is decent. Not my favourite from this house but I can see this being popular with those who enjoy quiet scents, nature and solitude. 

Ambra Aurea Profumum Roma

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: www.profumum.com

Smooth criminal.

This is like a sensual and languorous trip that winds and loops, doubles back and proceeds once more through creamy vanilla, smoky incense, sweet myrrh, dusky warm labdanum, freshly shaven wood and a hint of camphor. Despite being a gourmand lover of sweet things, I prefer my ambers not too sweet and thankfully the sugar level is controlled in this smooth, rich and dense fragrance. I have to mention its ridiculously persistent longevity (ditto sillage) which seems to be a common trait amongst Profumum Roma scents. Mind the oily residue when sprayed though it does give one the fantasy factor of applying liquid amber on. 

Source: kultflick.wordpress.com

Of course I have to compare it with my Holy Grail of ambers...Ambre Sultan, Ambra Aurea is glossy and lustrous where Ambre Sultan is dry and spicy. Ambre Sultan takes me on a magic carpet ride to desert lands of Peter O'Toole's Lawrence of Arabia whereas Ambra Aurea is like the Sex and the City version of the Middle East i.e. a bit OTT but still loveable in the end. 

Source: dailymail.co.uk

Both are glorious amber perfumes in their own right and for those who can't decide whether they need a bottle of Ambra Aurea if they already own the Lutens I would say go for it. Many thanks (or not) to the fragrant friend/fiend who sent me vials of Fiori d'Ambra and Ambra Aurea, both labelled "smell me immediately". I obeyed your instructions and am now hooked.

Tagete Profumum Roma

Desirability: Decant

Source: Luckyscent.com

A sunny white floral that never succumbs to decay.

There's nothing astounding or unique about Tagete but yet I feel a little like Olaf singing "In Summer". This is such a good-natured and lovely scent that one cannot fail to feel upbeat when wearing Tagete. It smells of sunny days with thick white puffs of clouds floating in a bright blue sky, fresh vivid flowers and long blades of grass bobbing their heads in the gentle breeze.

I have no idea what tagetes smell like, a visit to the nearest plant nursery did not answer my question either, the potted marigolds were available in riotous colours but I smelt pretty much zilch. What I do smell are the white flowers jasmine and tuberose with the latter calling the shots. Tuberose lush and lusty, reminiscent of the diva Tuberosa but here the creamy coconut-like sweetness instead of an animalic edge, has tints of something green and tangy like the rind of citrus fruit that lightens up the narcotic headiness of the white floral notes. Cosy in the drydown, it becomes earthier and ? inky as time passes as if the day is darkening into twilight but the basic storyline does not change. It is a happy and perfectly natural scent from beginning to end which I might add is a super duper long time away. Just like the other scents from this house, a little goes a long way. 

Rosae Mundi is my Valentine!

Desirability: Full bottle

Source: pinterest.com

A living rose.

A decant of Rosae Mundi and some others from the Profumum Roma line came just in time for me to celebrate Valentine's day my way- perfumed, with a good book and Serge purring at my feet. 

Rosae Mundi. Rose of the world. For a detailed and interesting write-up on the history of this phrase, read here. 

I don't know if Rosae Mundi is the Rose of the world but it definitely smells like the Rose of the earth or rather Rose and the Earth for that is what I smell in equal parts. Roses and earth-dirt, plants, animals, basically all that lives and breathes. The roses are the first to be noticed, huge blooms of perfumed roses that are a little powdery, a little tartly green and a little sweet. Don't write off the perfume as just another rose soliflore, that's just the beginning. 

Rosae Mundi moves out from behind the white picket fences into the real world and gets gritty. Dry, dusty and the smell of the earth after the rain has passed and under the tropical sun, steam practically rises from the cooled ground. That smell. Not just one smell but a smell that is complex and made up of the scent of many others, the watered soil, the plants-their roots, leaves and flowers, the soaring trees above, maybe even the worms and caterpillars. The roses are still blooming but the earth and its living things take the centre stage in this later part of Rosae Mundi. The scent stays this way for the rest of its long lifetime, it is there until you scrub it off with a good amount of soap and arm power. 

Source: pinterest.com

THE ROSE OF THE WORLD

by: William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)

Who dreamed that beauty passes like a dream?

For these red lips, with all their mournful pride,

Mournful that no new wonder may betide,

Troy passed away in one high funeral gleam,

And Usna's children died.

 

We and the labouring world are passing by:

Amid men's souls, that waver and give place

Like the pale waters in their wintry race,

Under the passing stars, foam of the sky,

Lives on this lonely face.

 

Bow down, archangels, in your dim abode:

Before you were, or any hearts to beat,

Weary and kind one lingered by His seat;

He made the world to be a grassy road

Before her wandering feet.

Source: mrt.com.mk

Dambrosia Profumum Roma

Source: Fragrantica

I love eating figs fresh or dried and have recently started looking to expand the fig section of my scent wardrobe, Diptyque's green and woody Philosykos having been the stand alone fig for the past three years. 

Caramelised Figs with Hazelnuts. Source: teaforsix.com

Profumum Roma offers both options when it comes to fig, Ichnusa a herbal non sweet green fig that I recall was interesting and quite special but not something I would wear often therefore a 100 ml would be wasted on me and then there is Dambrosia on the opposite end of the spectrum of fig, that's more like a fig dessert and is perfect company for the other gourmands in the Profumum Roma range. 

On paper it's sparkling and green but the freshness is more transient on skin and it's a lusciously sweet fig and pear fruit salad that develops on skin with a dollop of cream to make it just a bit sinful. My cravings go haywire as the day progresses with Dambrosia evolving from fig as a healthy fruit to fig in a fruit salad to a caramelised fig served with vanilla ice-cream, one of my favourite desserts, it's heaven crunching through the thinly glazed outer shell and biting into the succulent ripe belly of the fig. Also in the dry down I smell a sweet woody note that reminds me of Le Labo's Santal 33, an airy sweet sandalwood that's perfect for tropical weather and matches perfectly well with my fig dessert. 

Fig+Pear Tart w/Honeyed Goat Cheese & Balsamic Caramelized Onions.
Source: meritandfork.com

Dambrosia in mythology is nectar for the gods and compared with the other gourmands that I've tried from Profumum Roma such as Vanitas, Confetto, Dulcis in Fundo, Sorriso etc, Dambrosia is not as sweet as Vanitas and is more on par with Battito d'Ali's level of sweetness which is mildly sweet (apart from the candied orange blossom opening) and not tooth-decayingly so. Dambrosia may not be as unique as Ichnusa (based on my quick sampling of Ichnusa anyway) but I'm more of a Dambrosia girl and would prefer to smell Ichnusa on someone else. Projection and longevity are superb for Dambrosia.     

Tuberosa Profumum Roma

Source: Luckyscent

Fracas: "Magic Mirror on the wall, who is the loudest tuberose of all?"

Magic Mirror: " Famed is thy beauty, Majesty. But hold, a lusty maid I see. Alas, she is more bold than thee."

Source: obsessivesweets.com

Can there be a a white floral louder than Fracas? I thought not till I met Tuberosa. 

It starts with the smell of powdery lemon that reminds me of the face-numbing sour outer layer of Nobel Super Lemon hard candies and just like how the sourness of the candy gradually wears off and you can relax the rictus snarl, so do the citrus notes wander away leaving the headiest of heady tuberose-dominant white floral notes. Tuberosa sits between Fracas and Carnal Flower, the former being a buttery lush white floral and the latter being more green and fresh. 

Source: projectwedding.com

Like Fracas, Tuberosa is all about a gigantic bouquet of white flowers( Fragrantica lists both jasmine and gardenia as accomplices but I detect only the jasmine) with the tuberose staying front and center at all times. The opening is bright and fresh thanks to the citrus zest that clings on for a good amount of time keeping the potent narcotic floral notes from being nauseating, but the scent eventually shifts to a creamier and darker ending like flowers that have almost exhausted their bloom and are on the edge of wilting. Some perfume friends have described the drydown of Tuberosa as animalic and for me I interpret that as the faint smell of decay, as if the tips of the flowers were tinted brown.

I might be tempted to get a bottle of Tuberosa if I'm done with the 10 ml decant I'm using. I doubt I'll be through with the 10 ml any time soon though as is with most of the Profumum Roma scents that I've tried, a little goes a very very long way. The first time I over did it and my head was assaulted all day by blasts of it with every movement which made it quite a horrible experience despite being an avid tuberose fan. Since then I've been much more careful and I find that two sprays is more than enough to take me from morning to the following night. 

Sorriso Profumum Roma

Source: Fragrantica

Source: flickr.com

Sorriso smells like a chocolate version of Dulcis in Fundo, which means I'm smelling like a chocolate dipped waffle cone today. I find the Profumum Roma perfumes to be slightly oily so be careful if wearing a white top as it'll leave a mark and Sorriso is no exception. 

It starts with a dose of vanilla powder, by the way I smell more vanilla than chocolate throughout its lifetime which is pretty much infinite. The chocolate does show up and sticks around but plays a supporting role to the vanilla. If you were looking for a scrumptious creamy chocolate fix, Sorriso didn't do it for me as it's a thin chocolate similar to an Easter egg's chocolate shell as opposed to a solid egg of chocolate. There is also a sweet and delicate orange blossom note and like the chocolate, it flavours the vanilla which shakes off its powder to become more substantial like thick cream.  

Chocolate Mousse Easter Egg. Source: www.howdoesshe.com

I've read opinions that Sorriso is an improvement over Battito d'Ali (personally I don't think it needs improvement) and I do find similarities between them, both have the same orange blossom note and give off a similar vibe akin to ambient lounge chillout music by Hôtel Costes but I prefer Battito d'Ali with its bittersweet smoky myrrh.

Sorriso has a modest projection, better than Dulcis in Fundo and less than Vanitas, enabling one to wear it to the office without announcing its presence to the entire building while allowing the wearer to enjoy their chocolate fix discreetly albeit a low calorie version. 

Battito d`Ali Profumum Roma

Source: www.profumum.com

Battito d'Ali. The beating of wings.

That Profumum Roma fragrances are of good quality and amazing longevity if not always sillage, (I'm thinking my almost love Dulcis in Fundo) cannot be disputed. However there is enough overlap with existing fragrances from other brands that so far I've only added Vanitas to my closet.

Vanitas may soon be joined by Battito d'Ali.

I was in a bitter chocolate/cacao mood one day and Battito d'Ali was recommended for a cacao scent. On me it's more about orange blossoms than cacao. I love orange blossoms, be they ethereal and dainty, soapy or skanky. I had been satiated for a little over a year but I recently reignited my search for new orange blossoms to fall in love with. I tried Love by Kilian which was a total candied orange blossom that was too sweet for even my gourmand-inclined tastes. Then came Battito d'Ali and her dreamy self.

Battito d'Ali isn't a dainty orange blossom like Elie Saab's Le Parfum, not a chic one like Maison Francis Kurkdjian's APOM Pour Femme nor is it heady like Luten's Fleurs d'Oranger. It doesn't have the salty sweetness of Tauer's intriguing Orange Star nor the honeyed sweetness of L'Artisan's Seville a l'aube. It's a citrus-tinged white floral that balances the sweetness of a creamy vanilla with the bitter smokiness of myrrh. Starting a little like a candied orange blossom, the sugary beginning dissipates and the scent evolves into a bittersweet balmy treasure that stays close to the skin and lasts what seems forever and a day.

I'm missing the cacao note that many have mentioned, on me Battito d'Ali started out as a gourmand white floral and blossomed into a heavenly soft oriental. Quite otherworldly.

Vanitas Profumum Roma

Vanitas is a vanilla-centric scent, another in the line-up of olfactory antidepressants from Profumum Roma that are decadent without one piling on the pounds.

The opening is bordering on medicinal, the myrrh being responsible for that and it's a little cold and bitter initially. The myrrh here reminds me of Annick Goutal's Myrrh Ardente, which started out similarly with a cold resinous vibe but warmed to a smooth and subtle dark sweetness on me. In Vanitas, I smell the orange blossom and woody notes but they blend so seamlessly with the vanilla and myrrh. As it starts to warm on skin the bitterness and medicine melt away and it develops into a sweet resinous vanilla. It's not complex or profound but it is obviously of good quality ingredients and has an air of sophistication, which makes it different from your usual vanilla line up found in department stores and worn by teeny boppers.

The Profumum Roma line is expensive no doubt, but they are sold in travel sprays of 20 ml for about 60 Euro versus the 190 Euro for 100 ml. Unless you choose to have just this one perfume, I don't think a 100 ml is necessary as it is a very tenacious scent although with a soft trail and a little bit goes a very very VERY long way.

This is a scent for cuddling and lazing in bed on the weekends, it's so comforting, light-hearted and filled with positive vibes. I don't find it a "sexy" vanilla like for instance Dior's Addict which is a vampy vanilla, instead I liken Vanitas to the sweet and charming Snow White of 1937. On a different note, it also makes me crave for Sabayon. 

Vanitas Vanitatum, Omnia Vanitas “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”

I did some research on the word "Vanitas"and it's as bittersweet as the myrrh and vanilla in the perfume. In Latin, it literally translates to "vanity" and is used to mean "emptiness" or "futility". Ecclesiastes 1:2;12:8 from the Old Testament, is often associated with this term and in the book he proclaims all the actions of man to be  inherently futile as the lives of both wise and foolish men end the same, in death. So as humans, we are powerless over the transience of life, but while we have life, we should enjoy every day of it, but our actions being kept in checked by following the 10 Commandments. Or simply put, do whatever you want so long as you hurt nobody or yourself in the process.

After that slightly grim note, I shall leave you with something more positive. Carpe diem!

Dulcis in Fundo Profumum Roma

Dulcis in Fundo literally translates to "the sweets come at the end" but it's used to mean "last but not least". 

With regards to the perfume, the sweets do not come at the end. They are there at first and at last and trust me there's nothing "last" or "least" about this perfume. 

I've ear-marked this, Vanitas, the two ambers, Battito d'Ali and Confetto as possible buys for my NYC trip that's coming up. I'll try to get what I can in their travel spray bottles (20 ml) as the Profumum juices are so strong, you don't need more than a couple of sprays to last you over 24 hours and counting. Their tuberose grand dame Tuberosa almost gave me a headache (my first ever perfume induced one) with just one spray. Not exaggerating here.

Dulcis is actually quite a light scent for me compared to the other Profumum Roma scents that I've sampled. I need about 4 good sprays before I am confident to leave my bottle at home ( I get withdrawals during the day if I can't smell my perfume). I suspect Dulcis in Fundo plays hide and seek with me, as sometimes I get a strong whiff of it and other times I feel like it's gone but then it shows up again. 

So what does it smell like? It smells of sunny days, children scampering about in a playground, lovers embracing on park benches, the tinkle of the ice-cream seller's bell...you walk over and find that they sell crepes and waffles as well as ice-cream cones(the yummy types not the obviously factory made without any passion except making money types). Bundle all that joy, that bright sunshine, the waffle smell and ice-cream...and there you have Dulcis in Fundo.

handmade waffle cones

Yes it is sweet. Yes it is definitely a gourmand. But no, you haven't smelt anything like this before (previous work experiences behind ice-cream counters or in waffle cone making factories excluded of course). Please banish all thoughts of Pink Sugar and the like. Those are for the lack of a better word and I mean no insult (I use PS myself for days that I NEED sugar), "chav" scents that use overwhelming amounts of sugar to hide the lack of anything else. Dulcis in Fundo is a classy scent. It's the quintessential uptown gourmand. I don't smell the citrus note as citrus zest/orange fruit, the citrus and vanilla meld into the scrumptious concoction described above. 

It's quite linear a scent on me, but when one smells like a walking ice-cream cone with a scoop of top-notch vanilla ice-cream, I don't see linear being a problem. Needless to say, the longevity of this is outstanding like all the Profumums I've tried. I highly recommend this to gourmand lovers and even to those who don't usually go for gourmands but crave an uncomplicated, happy scent. 

Overkill