Coming back from my afternoon walk, half hidden by
plywood box of items, I found a simple and small yellow envelope, with postage
of £ 2.75. It was a gift from the other author of this blog, Michele Simula, a
sort of perfume-y detour through the border of day and night. He delicately directed the notes list in Un
songe à Roberta. (Yes, it’s more than a customized frag: probably, the most touching
homage to my personal perfume obsession I’ve received).
This fragrance is undoubtedly one of the most labyrinthine,
multi-layered, fragrances that I've ever worn. A true tortuous dream, with an
unpredictable substratum of unspoken desires.
Definitely, a fragrance with many different notes and an awesome blending.
Only at first, distracting impression resembles a venerable nineteenth-parfait
amour: pink and golden in color, translucent and serene in its hexagonal glass
cell.
But I just had to remove the plastic wand to make a
magmatic African neroli tighten in the sweaty fist of sirocco. The elytron of a
bee resonates in sheltering air and her turgid queen wrings pampered in her hex
cell, no longer made of glass, but now waxy and opaque. Vespers candles, a camphorated
wheeze ensnared by a black lace mantilla, shady chill
of a remote, balsamic note, roses fainting in incense smoke. It is,
finally, a clear sky brightly lit by sidereal tracks, the vertigo that precedes
sleep in the lap of the night
At the beginning I can smell lots of notes. Honey, a toned down amber,
citruses (bergamot, perhaps?), lots of neroli, some floral notes –an assertive
rose that towers upon other floral hints, some woodsy notes – mainly guaiac, a thick veil of a numinous redolence, austere, dark spices...
Good Lord, what is going on here?!
But, not surprisingly, all these notes interfused together masterfully without
making the scent chaotic and obnoxious. This is what I'm calling it art in perfumery.
In fact, it was created by Abu al Hifs, probably one of
the most talented guys who handle notes, extracts, etc… I have been discovering
and appreciating his stunning creations
since 2014. He considers himself, “just an amateur”. This simple
statement implies that he is light years away from the arrogance of some
horrendous self-styled perfume alchemist.
Un songe à Roberta opens with an honeyed bliss, not one of those inane or
sugary ones. Honey is kind of mature glance, with a resinous, ambery vibe, creamy sweetness and warm sensual
feeling.
There is a sparkling whirligig of citruses in the background that gives the frag
slightly fresh sent but just for a while. Then, the anise note takes the floor
and begins to exale its brisk breath.
I clearly perceive a fiery coulee of neroli at the opening: a stiftling, old-fashioned
and strange kind of aroma that somehow may remind me of strong “acqua di nanfa”
note that mellows beautifully with an ancient rose in a Sicilian grocer’s shop.
There is a mellow incense –a sort of flailing veil- that gives the scent
slightly smoky and slightly powdery feel. Un songe discloses some ylang-ylang
in the heart, that it amps up the powdery feeling of the scent a little bit
more.
In the mid the rosy, neroli notes settle down dramatically and meanwhile exotic, earthy roots and woods overcome them.
While the scent is restless, just like flames of a bonfire, warm,
creamy, incensy, powdery and dry flowery due to neroli, the woosdy note gives to this passionate potion a rooty
and earthy feeling that gets a little stronger as time goes by, shaping a more
mature and even a bit masculine scent.
There are some woods in this part as well that they make the scent a little
more mature and at the same time taintless.
While the opening was slightly smoky and mind-numbing because of incense, in
the base notes is distinctly perceivable a more vaporous aura. I assume that
depends on balsamic notes that keep merging
through the scent.
In the base I'm getting almost the same smell as mid, but now I can detect a
spicy and kind of peppery aroma beside all these notes plus a faint and hard to
perceive animalic note.
Projection is close to skin and discreet, never shouted nor obtrusive, longevity
is awesome. More than 12 hours plus a shower.
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