Sushi Imperiale

Sushi Imperiale is so very, very complicated. This isn't an everyone thing - this isn't an everyday thing - THIS is as individual as they come. At first, I didn't understand why this was named Sushi. However now, during my 2nd time wearing it, I totally understand. You know that sweet yet salty smell Sushi has because of the seaweed wrap? Think of that - and then imagine that smell teaming with whatever herbs and spices (including sweet spices) used in the rice filling part of the Sushi. Think AROMATIC rather than Gourmand - and there's the Sushi element. And I don't eat Sushi, but damn I love the smell. Star Anise, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, fresh Pepper meet Patchouli, Vetiver, delicate florals and vanilla - then they briefly mingle with the citrus notes which are not overpowering in anyway, they exist just enough to give everything else a little bit of extra shine. It's sweet yet salty, spicy yet fresh, floral yet in NO way girly, feminine yet masculine...AMAZING. Both men and women could get away with this - but I'm guessing this one is either going to love your body chemistry or hate it, so I would never recommend blind buying with this particular perfume. Verdict? Amazing longevity & projection, great silage and one of the most unique, exquisite perfumes to ever sit on my skin. This is timeless in the most original way! Update 27th Oct 2013: I never put perfumes into categories in terms of gender myself (I believe ALL fragrances are unisex personally) - however I've had three different people now ask me what aftershave I'm wearing when I have this on LOL. To men, it smells masculine - and to women, it seems to smell masculine as well. To me, it still smells of unique, exquisite perfume wearable in any weather (Definitely not just in cold weather, it's a humid Spring day here and Sushi Imperiale smells like it was made for this weather).

Sushi Imperiale is an excellent warm spicy citrusy perfume with aromatic, powdery, woody nuances and a hefty amount of vanilla in the base. It was my third favourite scent that I have tested from Bois 1920 about two summers ago while on a holiday in Florence. I clicked with it instantly because it reminded me of my beloved Carlisle from PDM. I am not saying here that Sushi Imperiale is a dead on dupe for PDM but it’s in the same scent profile. And it’s so much more affordable, I got it recently during a sale. It’s such an exquisite blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, mandarin orange and vanilla with a sparkling duo of lemon/bergamot, black pepper and smooth sandalwood. The magic of Sushi Imperiale lays in the quality of the oils used and the masterful way they are blended. Even though it has a very citrusy, fruity, aromatic opening, the heart and base notes make it more appropriate for cooler weather wears. It’s such a warm, comforting, cozy perfume with an amazing longevity and moderate sillage. Considering that it has a mix of fruits, mix of soft spices, sandalwood and vanilla, I think it can be suitable for all seasons, although it’s not my first choice to use during summer hot days. Maybe during summer nights.. One thing is sure: I love it so much and I will use it interchangeably with Carlisle without having to think about how much it costs to repurchase, like I think when I wear Carlisle.. This Florentine house has outstanding perfumes that for some reason don’t get much attention. If you want to wear something different than everyone else, try their creations. Some of their older releases are currently cheaper than most of the designers perfumes. And smell more sophisticated...

First of all I was going to blind buy this fragrance until a very generous Fragrantica member sent me a sample (big shout to alunwill) so I got to sample it and I foolishly thought I could predict what this smelled like from the notes, reviews and just my expectations. Needless to say it didn’t smell the way I’d imagined, I’d say it was much more powdery than I thought. This fragrance reminds of four fragrances, the opening of a little sharpness citrus and sweet spices instantly brought Caron L’anarchist to mind except much more pleasant, sweeter less challenging without all the musk and metal. This is a far more cozy experience which then got me thinking about Costume National Homme but without the cherry and actually very different but stylistically similar. Then comes the drydown and much more masculine woody powder Boucheron Jaipur Homme and then finally and probably most obviously, Yves Saint Lauren Opium pour Homme. The cinnamon star anise and powdery, creamy old skool combo with something like carnation in there makes it very similar and I love Opium, so it’s not a bad thing at all. This is definitely sweeter the creaminess is vanilla which makes it different and slightly more upbeat. I’ve got to say I’m not put off by any of this, not what I expected but I loved it anyway. The smell reminded me of a friends mum when I was a kid, she was a bit of a hippy and into aromatherapy and more worryingly homeopathy, anyway Sushi Imperial put me in mind of the smell of their house sometimes. The lasting power is very good and it’s clearly of excellent quality.

If you have trouble understanding the name behind this scent, try smelling real, freshly seasoned sushi rice! Sushi is as much about the rice as it is about the fish and fillings. You may see the similarities. Sushi Imperiale opens with a smooth sourness that reminds me of warm sushi rice, soft and sticky short-grain rice that has been generously seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar, and salt. I can only imagine this being the steamy smell of a king's personal kitchen making sushi rice on a cold winter's day. A path from the kitchen leads to the king's dining room, adorned with the finest embroidered rugs and gold accessories. Truly luxurious and addictive. Sushi Imperiale smells velvety, wealthy and powerful. The scent profile is mostly citrus, supported by sweet tonka and anise. I believe the anise and nutmeg keep this a cool-spicy scent, despite the warm notes you see listed. I get more lemon than any other citrus note, and the spices are very well blended with no sharp edges. If you don't know the smell of sushi rice, Sushi Imperiale can also be described similar to a room-temperature lemonade, cider (with lemons instead of apples), or hot toddy. Despite the citrus, this is not a bright or fresh scent; it has weight and can be worn into early summer. This scent is certainly very interesting, and as someone mentioned below, is slightly (slightly) reminiscent of Coco Chanel, though Sushi Imperiale smells much more modern and smoothly blended to my nose.

This was love at first sniff. Elegant, gentlemanly (to my nose this is masculine scent), classy, versatile, it's one of my best spring/summer scents. It shines though in mild warm weather. It's not for very high temperatures. Rich blend, exotic, spicy, citrusy and it's strong stuff. The biggest surprise was its performance. Much stronger than many modern edp & edt. The opening is very pungent then it calms to a moderate sillage & projection. It smells better in the air so do not stick your nose on the spot to sniff it. It's a strong scent. Dominant notes are nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper, mandarine, star anise, mild vanilla & lemon, faint jasmine and sandalwood. I also get tiny traces of linden blossom but this could be a mind game from the exceptional note combo. There's also something bitterish with semi-watery edges at the background. I do not get anything edible as some reviewers say. No apple cider for me and definitely is far from being a gourmand. It has the same structure, the same philosophy as Boucheron Jaipur Homme and some similarities with Yves Saint Laurent Opium Pour Homme but it does not feel old school or classic. Definitely it's not for school boys but anyone above 30 yo would be OK. Highly recommended if you want to smell different from the other people. Nowadays this smell is uncommon and exotic. Btw read the review of EmilyTheStrange. Quite interesting.

I love this stuff. Ive got to admit I thought it would be very spicey but its moderate. I get as much of the citrus and vanilla as I do spices. I envy those who get apple pie. On me its not sweet enough for apple pie but more savoury like Sushi lol. We always traditionally add a few clove buds when making apple pie and there is no clove present here. Apple and clove are a match made in heaven. The star anise, cinnamon and nutmeg are pretty easy to identify. The tonka bean provides some sweetness along with the vanilla. The citrus notes definitely keep this fragrance from becoming over sweet and cloying. They provide some zingy freshness that really works well with the spices. The rose, tonka bean, vanilla, sandalwood come much more to the fore after an hour out two. Pepper is listed but it is very low key on me. Definitely a unisex fragrance and one I think I could wear all year around. I cant say it smells Christmassy because theres just not enough sweetness and spiceyness to say that to me. Moderate sillage and longevity on my perfume gobbling skin.

Just reading through these reviews and have to throw in my two penn'orth. This is NOT a criticism of other reviewers' comments. So many reviewers are commenting that this fragrance smells masculine to them; I'm not criticising them. I don't adhere to the premise that perfumes "should" be worn by whichever sex the producer designates - wear what you like! However, I understand that some scents may seem more suited to men than women and vice versa; for example, Laroche's Drakkar Noir - which I loved to smell on my ex-husband in the late 80s/early 90s - is a prime example of a "masculine" scent (to me). But... Sushi Imperiale? I have this and love to wear it in autumn (yes, it smells autumnal); to me though, this smells more feminine than masculine. I was in my late teens at the beginning of the 1980s; my perfumes of choice were Opium, Fendi Fendi, Magie Noire - those bombastic, spicy orientals which may be viewed by some as more masculine, now. It's interesting how people's perceptions differ, isn't it?

Warm, cudly, but somehow fresh. It has most amazing quality, the sillage and longelivity is beyond hopes :) At the opening I can detect "black tea" F_A already mentioned, but the most noticable note for me is anise, which I greatly love - it's fresh and sweet. There are bits of cinnamon and pepper spicing things up here. At this point the scent becomes a little bit masculine, but not too much. From the flowers I feel only rose which here is not dominant and just gives feminine and elegant twist to the all scent. What I like is that this, even being an oriental, isn't heady and "too much" as it sometimes happens. It's just extremely wonderful, warm and enjoyable without being "in your face". I'm impressed as it's very easy to wear and works very well with my chemistry. And I must say - this is an extremely sexy perfume as well, it has this sensual quality that it's hard to resist sniffing my wrist all the time. DO TRY! :) You won't be dissapointed.

Finding niche perfume where I live is pretty difficult. I ordered Sushi Imperiale without trying it, and for a really banal reason and without even looking at the notes, but I just liked the name so much! Only after ordering did I start getting worried, since this is not really a kind of perfume I would wear (not being a fan of citrus notes). However, once the bottle arrived, I was nearly ecstatic, it was probably the best “pig in a poke” one could ever get. I have sprayed on my wrist the other morning and could not help sniffing it throughout the whole day. Sushi Imperiale is a wonderful unisex fragrance. At first it smelled more masculine and fresh, very spicy and reminded me of my father's cologne, but there is something so warm about it at the same time. The combination of nutmeg, cinnamon and lemon won my love for this perfume and I don't think I will be able to part with it during next months.

I get no citrus, just instant warm spicyness with a rather prominent minty fresh top. Its a rounded spearmint kind of wibe I get and i have no idea where this mint comes from when looking at the notes, but i get it nevertheless and it stays for the duration of the perfume. The scent is very elegant, mature, comforting and (imo) manly. My wife on the other hand always says that im wearing "womens perfume" when i put this on - its weird how perception can vary. I guess these different perceptions of it is proof that it is truely unisex. Longevity is good but not great and it stays close to the skin after the initial blast. It is inoffensive and i think most everyone would enjoy it at some level. I highly recommend this perfume as a daily scent for the office, at a dinner party or a more formal lunch.

I think I appreciate this one more than any other fragrance I own. This was not a love at first sniff. I was actually put off by something - the mixture of spices maybe? At any rate - I found myself wanting to grab for it again, but couldn't figure out why. It was a really weird deal. Now I am thoroughly enjoying this scent. I do believe it can be worn year round - and i'm positive it will really pop during the cooler fall weather. The spices/orange make for a very calming scent when it soaks into your skin. I think this is what a country bakery would smell like. If you, like me, didn't like this at first - give it another shot and let it ride out. Great scent! 7/10

Sushi Imperial, is an amazing scent which can be worn any time of year! It opens up sparkling and divinely develops on the skin. It’s a bit spicy with the cinnamon coming through on my skin. I love the warmth it gives off! I am looking forward to this when sweater weather comes around I can smell this on my sweater how enchanting this will be! As for the drydown it happens quickly making it a warm scent. As for longevity this can linger for hours, it’s not weak or fleeting. Sillage is excellent and will get you noticed. As for the notes I don’t get the citrus, I mainly get the middle notes and the base notes. Definitely a recommend 10/10

Leans masculine right at the top with fresh bergamot, vetiver and pepper. Dry and refreshing, but soon becomes warmer moving toward the middle of the gender scale. Cinnamon brings in a feeling of comfort with a few petals of soft flowers and earthy anise. Missing from the notes is Madagascar vanilla which is beautifully present without being heady at all, just pure joy with a woody warmth and earthy spice finish. Very wearable and great quality, everything about it is appealing except the price. For me to pay that much, I'd want something a little more distinct.

Wow, such an incredible scent. I am in love, on me this is very citrus based but not a summer scent at all. The cinnamon makes it very unisex and a great fall and winter scent. I will be wearing this all winter long. Too heavy and almost spicy for summer or spring for that matter. This is one for the record will be a keeper in my collection, honestly I alway loved this but never had a fb. Unisex, longevity is great but settles as a lighter spicy citrus in the dry down. Recommended 8/10 FYI it does come off powdery at some point and almost clean!

Love at first spray!! When I first spray this I get an irresistible wave of citrus and freshness. Next I get the floral which is done to perfection!! The rose/jasmine blend brings out the best in each imo and is done in a way that you can identify the floral without it being cloying or ever taking over in the blend. Then comes the spice and apple, at this point I think I had a full on scentgasm. It does smell a bit like apple cider (fine by me). It progresses to the warm woody, still slightly spicy base. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!

This is a MUST Have in any collection! This Beautiful Fresh scent was Love at first spray, I was at MiN New York and was introduced to this Beautiful fragrance by Alejandro, he said this was a must smell and he was right!The Notes are just incredible,The Lemon,the Nutmeg and the Vetiver and black tea are just amazing.It does last a while, I must have had 3 Complements from different women on the Train ride to work this morning! I truly love this Fragrance and am So Happy I purchased it..

This is my new love along with Sables. It has everything going for it in the right direction. Citrus, spice, sweetness and some woods for added depth. Plenty of dimensions and versatile enough to wear throughout the year. Very long lasting with great silage. It has jumped into my top 5. The only drawback is that it is more masculine than feminine which is fine since I am a guy. It has been discounted on occasion and I am very tempted once my decant runs out!

Sampling Sushi Imperiale... A very unique and addicting blend of notes resulting an entirely different olfactive smells from the original notes composition. It's like having a delightful Japanese cuisines highlighting the infamous 'umami' Japanese ketchup sauce used to elevate almost all Japanese dishes. Everyone enjoying salty gourmand will most likely love this.

Sushi Imperiale is another fall fragrance that I love. Anise, nutmeg and cinnamon at the beginning give it warmth. I smell some vanilla in there as well. Then in the dry down comes wood and some citrus to balance it out. Lasts a long time on me.

A high quality citrus forward scent with some interesting facets. It doesn’t really smell like anything else. It’s elegant and reserved, so if you’re looking for an in your face “beast mode” frag then this isn’t it.