Teint de Neige by Lorenzo Villoresi (2000)

Solid!

Teint de Neige is a really nice “white” musky-aldehydic soapy scent floating in a plushy, dusty cloud of talc, with Oriental notes of tonka, spices, amber, vanilla, a powdery and graceful accord of flowers with a prominent pollen-like note of heliotrope. Warm and cozy, and quite superior quality-wise to many other Oriental “white-sweet” scents. The texture here is thick, rich, deep, smelling round and clean – I bet Villoresi (which for long time has been a great, honest and professional nose) used excellent ingredients here. I really enjoy the golden exoticism blended with a mellow, soapy and “chic” feel of warmth - feels like being in the coziest bath tub in the world. Despite being soft and sweet, is not exactly a discreet scent, so I’d use it more as a “comfort scent” at home; people around you may not enjoy its quite powerful sweet-Oriental projection. It’s refined, just a bit bold for a while. After a couple of hours it turns towards soapy-pollen notes of flowers, becoming a bit more grey, dusty, dry, with a more prominent presence of amber, slightly melancholic and pleasantly “outdated” too (the camphoraceous aftertaste of white musks plus aldehydes, I guess), always with exotic hints of tonka. Shortly just a bit less plushy and sweet than the opening. Long-lasting, mellow drydown with mostly talc-soapy-ambery notes. Graceful and refined. I thought of Jaipur Homme at some points. Really nice!

7,5-8/10

Two Villoresi crowdpleasers!

Here's my reviews for two scents by Lorenzo Villoresi which I recently tested, and that I found somehow quite close as for inspiration, structure and general "mood". Spoiler alert: two nice and super safe alternatives to your other "office scents" - with just a touch of "niche".

***

Theseus by Lorenzo Villoresi

Year: 2011
Nose: Lorenzo Villoresi

Pleasant and classic opening, even a bit "retrò", of spices, suede leather, citrus notes, translucent but dense and with a bold salty/metallic undertone. Green/mossy counterpart of oak moss, vetiver and patchouli, elegant and dusty, which emerges more and more strongly as minutes pass, until it basically becomes a straightforward, refined, pleasant, aerial and modern vetiver, still slightly salty and aquatic, really pleasant and fresh. A subtle animalic note with amber and vanilla enriches the base, which eventually becomes drier on leather and oud (however much subtle and delicate). A sort of light, contemporary vetiver-based fougère with just a hint of "trendy" (Iso E, oud), that basically smells like a self-tribute made by Villoresi to his 1994's Vetiver - which was however richer, darker, rougher, earthier and more classic (in short, for me: better). However this Theseus is really nice to wear, surely well-made and balanced; an elegant "crowdpleaser" which may suit any vetiver fan as well as any man who wants to smell classy and good, yet not boring or mainstream. Decent persistence.

7/10

***

Sandalo by Lorenzo Villoresi

Year: 1995
Nose: Lorenzo Villoresi

A good, pleasant, cozy, aromatic sandalwood-vetiver scent, simple and honest, with cedarwood-like notes and a mellow "rounding" accord of something like cashmeran, which I personally like quite much. Classic masculine "eau de cologne" structure: amber-woods with a floral touch and an earthy-mossy counterpart. I also smell a hint of incense and tobacco, but that may be just a trick of my nose. Really pleasant, elegant, bright and effortless, vibrant but relaxed. A bit delicate, but boldly persistent: also perhaps slightly "unpersonal", I mean without a defined personality, but perhaps its strenght is exactly in not having one – just being cozy and elegant, without being boring. A well-executed and versatile "crowdpleaser" and all-year, all-climates, all-outfits rounder. My review may not sound that enthusiastic, but instead (for what it's worth) I quite like this!

7,5/10

Vetiver EDT by Lorenzo Villoresi

Year: 1994
Nose: Lorenzo Villoresi

The opening is just great: a powerful, invigorating, super-classic vetiver, harsh and savage, with a bold and earthy patchouli-oakmoss accord (I also feel some cocoa beans dusty sweetness), some delicate floral notes (lavender, neroli) which shape and restrain the rawness of the green/woody notes, and a refreshing accord of bergamot and citrus which then sweetens progressively. Straightforward, earthy and dense: a beauty. After a while you also feel some spicy/peppery notes, and the oak moss note emerges more clearly in all its barn-like splendor, together with a really pleasant salty note. But then, all of a sudden, here comes the downpart: it all sags down a bit. Too soon. It still remains great, pleasant, natural, vibrant, with a superb balance of components; but still, all just "tones down" far before you expected – and wanted, since as I said, it smells gorgeous, so you wouldn't really want it to wash away so quickly. This is the only "con"; apart from this I really like this scent. A pleasant, vibrant, elegant and persistent "eau de cologne" which deserves its place in the "classic heritage" side of vetiver fragrances.

8/10

Piper Nigrum EDT by Lorenzo Villoresi

Year: 1999
Nose: Lorenzo Villoresi

Explosive opening, a bomb of spices, flavours and herbs, mainly cloves, pepper, cinnamon and cumin. Still not in a traditional Oriental meaning – this is more in a dry, organic sense, like opening a bag of spices walking in a vegetable garden. There is a base of green aromatic herbs which actually makes me feel like wandering my dad's garden – oregano and fennels, he has them both (actually this scents reminds me of my father for some more intimate reasons I still can not get). As a counterpart, a pungent, bitter lemon/lime note, which to be honest does not much "fit" in there (pungent on pungent, kind of cloying). As minutes pass you feel a warmer, softer base emerging, mostly comprising a sweet balsamic-resinous accord and amber. The most prominent smell for the whole cycle will however remain the accord of cloves (eugenol), lemon, cinnamon and pepper. You also feel a mentholated/balsamic vibe emerging, which gradually makes the whole scent more and more closer to a medicinal/herbal feel, which is how it ends – I mean that the drydown is in fact undoubtably medicinal, as in Diptyque's Eau Lente or Esprit du Tigre by Heeley. Cloves, balsamic notes, a debris of pepper, dry vetiver and dry resins again. Which in turn gradually developes a kind of gingerbread note. Overall is a peculiar, powerful, challenging scent, with a really complex texture and and elusive personality; all is vibrant, naturally "alive" and dynamic, but still it is also a bit messy for me. There is some accords just layering on others and that creates weird, cloying and noisy superimpositions. Surely unique and interesting to smell, but really challenging to wear – if you manage to do it, it can probably turn into either a disaster or a total win. Strong projection and persistence.

7,5/10

Alamut EDT by Lorenzo Villoresi

Year: 2006
Nose: Lorenzo Villoresi

Powerful classic chypre, deep, spicy and animalic, soapy and baroque, wich rich floral notes – tuberose, rose, narcissus: an overhelming, sensual, majestic triade. Halfway between the classic Chanel's like Bois des Iles and Cuir de Russie, and the more contemporary Amouage's or other opulent Oriental florals, just less thick and dense, more simple, with a more essential and mediterranean twist. Earthy, mossy and moderately dark base of patchouli and vanilla, with soft musks and a dusty sweet feel. Everything sounds loud and clear, all materials smell high quality and the composition is just perfect to make each of them work at its best – both alone and in the blend. More restrained and discreet than it may seem from the composition: the opening is powerful, but it soon calms down. It becomes a mellow, soapy, floral, dark and elegant leather chypre, with spicy notes. Really well-balanced, refined, pleasant and versatile.

8/10