Venezia Giardini Secreti

One of my favorite jasmine centric perfumes. The amazing Dubrana uses a simple composition of jasmine, a touch of rose, myrrh and ambergris to conjure up the essence of this old city. You can smell leather, dust, sea water and of course jasmine. According to the website "It is inspired by the courts of Venice that contain secret gardens, hidden within the maze of the city." Since his perfumes are all natural and do not have chemical fixative (phthalates) to increase longevity, they definitely need re-applying and totally worths the effort. Another way to enhance the tenacity is to wear unscented lotion before.

According to the website,Venetzia Giardini Secreti is one of a series that represents the scent essence of a garden in the Italian city. This is one I requested a sample of instead of a mini bottle. That was a mistake- this is a lovely complex fragrance. I get whiffs of sun warmed stone, flowers and green leaves and sunshine; and of the skin scent of familiar people. By that I mean the smell of skin that is not dirty, not smelling like soap, but the somewhat milky scent of a baby or clothing that holds a human skin smell. When I was younger I had an incredibly good sense of smell, and that human milky smell is one I will never forget. The jasmine is pronounced but not too dominant, as if it had mature blossoms on the vine and also the slightly indolic character of older jasmine blooms fallen and crushed on the ground. I don't get any spicy green or woody scents at all, nor any leather. According to the description on the La Via del Profumo website, there is ambergris in this fragrance which smells of milk, leather, and the sea. The smoky element is indeed in the base with just a hint of what the air in Italy, where almost everyone smokes and there are churches everywhere, smells like. Yes, I have been to Italy, but not Venice. As the scent continues to fade, I get a clean smelling almost salty scent with very light, lovely jasmine. This man is a master of creating a story with his fragrances. I recommend you visit his website. Ignore the occasional grammatical errors in the writing and enjoy the marvelous world of La Via Del Profumo.

I just received a sample and my first impression is that there is something very familiar about this perfume. Not in the sense that it reminds me of another scent but that it's like turning a corner and experiencing deja vu. But this time I've turned a corner and I'm in a sunlit courtyard, the light dappled by a green canopy, small flowers peeking out of cracks in the cobbles and a brambly rose climbing a wall. It's like this place has been waiting for me, patiently, to find it again. This is the scent of that place: quiet, private, and otherworldly. That was my first impression. Over time this scent becomes more human, even sensual. There's salty skin under the florals and an almost spicy green lifting it up. Projection is moderate but I have only dabbed from a small sample- not that there's anything wrong with having someone lean in to smell this. I compared this to Tawaf, because I was curious about how the jasmine might appear in both, and unlike Tawaf's almost sticky density, VGS's jasmine is higher and brighter without losing its intensity. I like this perfume a lot, but then I'm frequently impressed by La Via del Profumo.

People who are afraid of jasmine CAN TRY THIS! It's reminiscent of the garden. Because it's very natural and aromatic. I feel a lot of live plants and lavender scents.

The top note of this perfume... That first inhale is Eve biting into the forbidden fruit, the juice trickling down her chin. It is like nothing I have ever smelled.