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