GB Fragrances

A Fragrance Blog

Categories: All Year Round Fragrances, Best Gourmand Perfumes

DIADEMA | MORESQUE PARFUM

 

Diadema

 

Bottle of Diadema Moresque Parfum
Bottle of Diadema and someone spraying the perfume

 

Introduction To Diadema By Moresque Parfum

 

There’s no better introduction to this gourmand fragrance than the one that the house itself can make.

From the house: Diadema takes its name from “diadem”, the distinguishing symbol of sovereignty and nobility. This perfume gourmand crowns luscious and charming caramel, an ingredient that, for many, takes its origins in the discovery of “Kurat Al Milh” (“ball of sweet salt”) by the Arabs.
A delightful scented jewel that evokes the high value Caliphs were said to attribute to sugar. Diadema is adorned with fruity notes of cherries, bergamot and orange. Its central ornament is a delicate and floral accord of rose and jasmine. The base marks the triumph of sweetness.

Moresque is one of those niche houses that never ceases to impress me. To say Diadema is beautiful is an understatement. I’ve always been a fan of Italian perfumery, especially niche perfumery because I feel their fragrances smell regal even if we’re talking about a simple, everyday floral/musky composition.

The Fragrance


Diadema is an exquisite “non-edible level” gourmand perfume, and what I mean by “non-edible level” is that although the gourmand component is present and the fragrance is delicious, sugary, and decadent, it has just the right amount of sweetness that keeps the sophistication intact, and won’t make you feel like a walking dessert which I’m grateful for (as much as I love desserts, I don’t want to smell like one).

I love gourmand accords, don’t get me wrong, but it’s very hard to find an “edible-gourmand” fragrance that also smells sophisticated. These type of fragrances can be yummy and cozy, but not sophisticated (let alone luxurious-smelling), and as I said above, as much as I love my sweets, I don’t like to smell like a walking cupcake, just like what happens with coffee. I can’t imagine my life without it, but that doesn’t mean I like to smell like a capuccino.

What I love about Diadema is that it has just the right amount of decadence; enough to make me crave something sweet, but also to give me the sophistication and luxurious vibes I love in fragrances, especially in the niche realm.

The opening is velvety, cozy, and fruity with a very present cherry and a slightly bitter orange note that becomes a bit “smoky” and deeper after 20 minutes. Now, the cherry here is neither a Lost Cherry wannabe nor juicy and syrupy like a Luxardo Maraschino cherry or even those notes that remind us of Amaretto liquor. Instead, the cherry note here has its own identity, and it’s been blended in a way that smells completely different than what we’re used to.

The gorgeous and addictive opening slowly transitions to a floral core that eventually leads to a resinous and caramelized vanillic dry down that lasts about seven hours on my skin.

The Notes


Top Notes: Cherries, bergamot, orange

Middle Notes: Ylang ylang, rose, and jasmine sambac

Base Notes: caramel, vanilla from Madagascar, benzoin, and patchouli.

If you like to smell unique like me, you need to try Diadema. Even if you’re not a gourmand lover you should give it a try.

If you want to learn more about the house and buy this gorgeous fragrance, check it out here (disclaimer: this is not an affiliate link. I bought the fragrance myself and this is my opinion based on my perception).
If you love gourmand fragrances, check out my blog post where I talk about other amazing gourmand perfumes.

 

Wearability

 

This is an all year-round fragrance, but I feel it performs better in the colder months. It’s a compliment-getter, great for any occasion but it leans more on the formal side.

 

Performance

 

Sillage is above average, you’ll definitely leave a nice trail behind you. It lasts about 6-7 hours on my skin, and it projects beautifully in the first two hours.

 

Categories: Best Gourmand Perfumes, Seductive Perfumes, Sweet Fragrances

ITALICA | Xerjoff

 

Today I want to share with you my thoughts and review of a fragrance that for years was considered a unicorn: Italica. Is Italica the best gourmand fragrance? I don’t know the answer; that would be the same as claiming “these are the best brownies in the world”, however, this fragrance is a gourmand lovers’ dream, period.

Italica was launched in 2016. Then it was discontinued until the house (Xerjoff) relaunched this gourmands’ lover dream for Valentine’s Day in 2021. It belongs to the Casamorati line. Casamorati was originally a fragrance house, and nowadays is the name of a collection that takes inspiration in the traditional Italian perfumery.

The first time I sniffed this fragrance was through decant, and I felt the exact same thing I felt when I received this full bottle: Italica is beyond a scent; to me Italica is a whole experience.

It reminded me of when I was living in Europe, and I’d go to an Italian coffee shop and see the baristas working behind those steaming espresso machines and the experience of that cozy atmosphere with an exquisite espresso aroma and the delicious and unbeatable Italian bakery.

 

Xerjoff Italica

This fragrance reminds of a blend of flavors, but one that truly stands out to me is the flavor of a typical Italian biscotti cold Cantucci, a type of cookie that it’s baked twice, usually loaded with nuts especially almonds, sometimes pistachios, and the Italians dip it in a dessert wine called Vin Santo. Italica to me is all these and more.

 

 

Italica xerjoff
Italica Casamorati by Xerjoff

 

Fragrance Profile

 

 

The top notes are saffron, Sicilian almonds, and milky notes. The middle notes are Bourbon vanilla and toffee, and the base notes are sandalwood, cedar, and white musk.

It’s very opulent, super rich, thick, syrupy, and what I’ve found strange when I first tested it was that I picked a fruity accord; not fruity in the sense of a raw fruit, but more like baked fruit, and it was weird because Italica doesn’t have fruit notes or accords in the composition.

For a few days I couldn’t figure out where that strong fruit scent could come from. I was literally picking caramelized or baked apples. Since I love cooking and baking I’m very familiar with these type of aromas.

After much thought, I realized it was the toffee what was giving me that caramelized fruits scent. Toffee is basically caramel cooked at a higher temperature for a longer time so it becomes very crunchy and brittle, and this is what was giving me this baked fruit accord as I mentioned above. When you bake pears, quinces, or apples for example, they come out of the oven very juicy and caramelized and this is what Italica reminds me of.

It’s super sweet yet not cloying if you wear it in the colder months, and it’s not a girly fragrance. Usually very sweet fragrances tend to lean on the feminine side. Although Italica pulls feminine on my skin, I think this is an addictive fragrance, intoxicating, and mouthwatering unisex fragrance.

There’s nothing you can find on the market that could be similar to this fragrance, but if you want to get similar vibes for a more affordable price, you should definitely check out La Danza Delle Libellule by Nobile 1942, and Atlas Garden Le Vestiaire de Parfums Collection by YSL. They have the same type of sweetness, and they’re also syrupy, thick, and addictive.

 

Wearability

 

It’s a 100% a night time fragrance that I would only wear during the colder months. In fact, this is the type of perfume that the colder the weather, the better it will perform. Now mind you, you can wear this or any fragrance anytime, and any season, but my best recommendation is to wear this particular perfume during the colder months, otherwise it can be cloying especially for people around you.

This is also a fragrance that I would wear not only during the night, but also on special occasions. I’m a firm believer in that WE make the occasion special, and whatever it means to you this is a fragrance I’d wear on special occasions even if that means staying home and cooking pasta Bolognese.

It’s very almond-y, nutty, and also very creamy probably coming from the sandalwood and the almond milk concoction; a deep, well rounded, and very well balanced fragrance.

It’s also slightly spicy, you can get the saffron which it’s a spice that I love both in perfumery and in the kitchen, very aromatic, deep, and velvety. Saffron is a very fragrant, yet not spicy spice, however, the milky note here tones down the saffron which makes it different than otherwise typical amber spicy fragrances.

It’s a very strong perfume. I recall the first time I sprayed it I filled up an entire room, and I only sprayed it five times. Projection is about two arm lengths and lasting power is stellar on my skin. After three hours (I set a timer because I wanted to give you guys accurate information), I could still smell it on on myself which is rare because usually I don’t smell anything on me after one or two hours. I only have a few fragrances that I could keep smelling for a few hours and this is one of those.

Sillage is above average, I’d give it a 7/10, I think projection is better than sillage, I would give projection a 9/10, the scent itself to me is a 10/10, and lasting power 9 /10. I don’t say 10/10 because for some people 10/10 would be a fragrance that lasts until the next day, and Italica doesn’t last until the next day but I get at least 9 or 10 hours which is still a great performance.

This fragrance smells very expensive I always say that it’s very difficult to create a very sweet fragrance like this one without smelling cheap. Sometimes when fragrances are too sweet the line between smelling cheap and expensive is very thin, so this one not only does not smell cheap but it smells expensive and luxurious.

Italica is a pretty linear fragrance which I appreciate because I love how this fragrance smells in the opening and in the following 20 minutes. Italica basically won’t change, only after four hours it becomes softer and closer to the skin when you will start smelling more of the musk, but it will still smell pretty close to you what it was in the opening.

Italica is one of those fragrances I’d never layer with anything. It’s just too beautiful and potent to layer, and I think it’s a risk. In first place, I don’t want to lose any of the gorgeous notes or compromise it’s beautiful DNA, and when you layer fragrances sometimes you’ll have to compromise on notes. I also think it’s rich enough and it has everything I ever wanted in a gourmand fragrance, there’s no need to layer it with anything (why fix it if it ain’t broken right? ).

Is it worth the money? Well, I’m no one here to say what is worth your money, you’re the only one capable of making this judgement. All I can say is that in my opinion this is an amazing fragrance and if you are a gourmand lover, if you like sweet fragrances that remind you of a delicious dessert or pastry, Italica is definitely worth trying.

If you want to buy this glorious perfume, you can use GISELLE10 and get a 10% discount HERE (Disclaimer: this link is an affiliate link, meaning that if you click through & make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!) – Read full disclosure here.

 

I’ve also dedicated an entire video on YouTube to review Italica which you can also check out here:

 

https://youtu.be/LbdUcVzlkhE

 

If you like gourmand fragrances, check out my review on A La Carte N0.6 by Leng Ling Munich here.

 

Categories: All Year Round Fragrances, Best Gourmand Perfumes, FRAGRANCE REVIEWS

A La Carte N0.6 | Leng Ling Munich

Hello my gourmand lovers! If you’re looking for fragrances with that yummy and mouthwatering scent that will possibly make you hungry, then this post is for you :-). I’m going to review a gorgeous fragrance called A La Carte No.6 by the German niche house: Leng Ling Munich.

Bottle of a La Carte No.6 - Leng Ling Munich
A La Carte No.6 – Leng Ling Munich

I discovered this great house last year in Germany while strolling the cozy cobblestone streets in Munich. I remember it was late at night and since aesthetics is something I care for, I was immediately drawn to this perfume shop (see picture below). The aesthetics alone captivated me so much that the next morning I was there to do my favorite thing in the world: fragrance sniffing and testing!

Leng Ling perfume Shop in Munich, Germany.

I’ve spend quite some time testing their beautiful creations. The concept behind according to the house is that “only when we achieve balance, we achieve a feeling of perfection”. Leng and Ling are two different energies that complement each other like the Yin and Yan, and let me tell you that their fragrances are exquisitely well balanced and smell like nothing I’ve ever smelled before. They’re very unique, made with very high quality ingredients, and no matter which one you choose you can’t go wrong. I have several fragrances from the house and each one is very unique.

A La Carte N0.6 is a gourmand perfume, no doubt, but it’s gourmand in a unique way. This is what I’d call “A gourmand fragrance for adults”. I hear all the time that many people dislike gourmand fragrances because they smell too “teenie”, too sugary, or “Barbie-like; well I’m here to tell you this is not the case; this is a grownup gourmand scent, extremely elegant and luxurious; vibes we certainly don’t get from the typical gourmand mainstream fragrances. I always say that it takes a master perfumer to create a gourmand perfume that smell luxurious at the same time since the line between yummy and cheap-smelling can be very thin, however, this fragrance has been masterfully blended to perfection, and it’s suitable for those gourmand lovers that don’t like the typical tooth-achingly sweet fragrances we find in the market.

This gorgeous fragrance opens pretty sweet although not sickly sweet, and spicy, with a very present styrax that gives the fragrance not only sweetness but also a slight floral and clean balsamic scent, however, after 10-15 minutes the transition begins and you’ll start getting more of the gourmand notes in the base with a very present vanilla, toffee, and a strong nutty accord from the pistachio and the heliotrope notes. In my opinion the dry down is where the magic happens.

FRAGRANCE PROFILE

1. The Notes

LENG-Note

This is what the house calls “Fatal Oud” and the notes are Oud, Australian sandalwood, styrax, and olibanum.

LING-Note

This is what the house calls “Sugary Delicacies”, here’s where we get the gourmand side of the fragrance and consist of pistachio, toffee, pink pepper, vanilla, heliotrope.

2. Wearability

This is a fragrance that performs better under cold weather conditions, however, during the summer, the gourmand notes truly blossom so I can say that is an all year-round type of scent, a crowd-pleaser, and a compliment-getter. It’s a great perfume for any occasion, but I’d wear it on more formal occasions, day or night.

In my opinion, this is 100% a unisex fragrance although it leans more feminine.

3. Performance

Performance is great, sillage is above average, you’ll definitely leave a very subtle and sheer trail that will follow you every step of the way. It lasts about 6 hours on my skin and it projects beautifully in the first two hours.

If you want to learn more about this amazing German niche house, click here (Not sponsored. I bought the fragrance myself and these are my own opinions).