Italica

Opening: Cherry + Vanilla Toffee cookie + Almond nut + Milky-Lavender + Spices, possibly with Cardamom + a touch of citrus to brighten it up + Saffron to make it female leaning giving it a hint of mid 1980's perfumery smell + a touch of wood to give it's body a base + a touch of powder. Dense-velocity gourmand. You're not getting this scent & style in a regular department store. This is one of the most beautiful female leaning fragrances i've ever smelt! Id eat a girl up if she smelt like this! This is hyped?? I hear hardly no reviewers talking about this today, and imo this is slept-on! It's sexy. Even as a guy that bought Guerlain's - L’Homme Ideal as one of his first fragrances, and felt it's so cloying he never touched the bottle ever again and got so turned off from the note of Cherry in perfumery ever since, this just pulled me back into Cherry, (as well as Xerjoff's - Naxos). Cherry is not listed on the pyramid, but my nose is picking it up, whether it's in here or the ingredient combo is playing tricks on my olfactory, regardless it's the first & most prominent note i pick up on the opening. Interesting that the bottle color is also Cherry ;) AND, multiple people below me have also mentioned that note being in here as well. Im also shocked that Lavender is also not listed or even mentioned in the comments. Bizarre.. Mid/Heart: Cherry is still the strongest note, as is Saffron. The notes are becoming more distinguished within the heart dry-down process but over-all still smells the same, thus this is a linear fragrance - what you smell on the opening is what you get in the end-dryoff, just like their other frag 'Lira'. Im selling the 2 bottles of L’Homme Ideal that i bought and replacing it with Naxos and Italica for the best non-cloying cherry frags i've found to date (although i have just started casually exploring female frags because im curious to find the best for reason of opinion). Again im not the biggest fan of cherry in frags because it's not real cherry juice it's synthetic, and id rather eat & smell real cherries to my olfactory. Im not a fan of synthetic fruity notes as it smells fake & cheap, but with this frag i can give it a pass enough to keep my bottle. I feel it is slightly over-priced about $30-$50 but you can also argue that not only are you getting quality juice, but you are also getting a quality bottle, and some of the best packaging that i've found in the industry to date. The quality & artistry packaging for their gourmand line really is so fantastic you want to display the box on your shelf! <3 You are giving yourself the feeling of luxury when opening & owning this. This frag won't be for everyone, but if your nose's personality loves it then you'll love this dna for long-term. If what you are reading in my review sounds like it's to your liking, then you can safely blind-buy. But if you're still unsure it's 100% worth buying a sample. Personally im not "crazy" or "obsessed" with this fragrance dna, but i do enjoy it and respect it, and again it's pure quality in a bottle! Gentleman's clap to Xerjoff for this & Lira's frags. 4.5/5 Woofs!

S Y N T H E T I C S A F F R O N , MY BELOATHED Holy mother of smothering acrid cherrypit bitters. This indonone laden potion dances between careless splashes of bright marzipan liquor and effluviant vapors laced with mortuary cleaning chemicals, as benzaldehyde takes flight at first breath and escapes the room. This shocking combination of suffocating sensory messages leaves one to juggle a dry, stifling prim powdery almond accord over a heavy antique stack of weathered leatherbound tomes, with the wondrous acrid flavour from nervously nibbling cheap ink directly from your nearest pen barrel during a 3 am study deadline. Well within the hour, Delirium will insist this snack shall be sweet as any hallucinatory pastry found from fanning through thick sleek magazine pages, chasing shadowy fogbanks of baking sugarplum delight from one laminated splash page to the next... but there's nothing save cumulus clouds of fluffy musk dissipating quicker than cotton candy, and fleeting hints of cursed ancient cedarwood containing something stirring restlessly, what we shall not dare name. Italica is Something... marvelously gruesome for those Nightmares before Christmas. One must only use in the driest depths of the frozen times, to truly appreciate it's unholy, gangling, petrified and soulsucking beauty. This treat is not for tasting, it is one which consumes the wearer and leaves its crimescene without a trace soon after.

This is a nice fragrance, nice but not too playful. It makes you feel like you are using a luxury perfume as soon as you spray it because of the saffron and cinnamon in the opening (although there is no cinnamon in the announced notes) . Too much sweetness is going on🙊 Sweet and spicy... To enjoy this scent, you have to make sure you like sugary and spicy scents😃 And of course milk 🥛 The milk note is quite distinct. Although saffron and cinnamon fade into the background over time, they never leave the scene. It reminds me 100% of the smell of Starbucks' "caramel waffle" standing next to the cash register 🧇🤤. Sometimes it smells like biscuits when I smell it, but the milk note is always there. Although it is not a very tricky perfume, it was a perfume that made me very happy. Rather than sweet/sugar perfumes alone, spicy/sweet or woody/sweet scents give me real pleasure. 2 sprays for all day and you are good to go. This is how performance is insane. Even a single spray fills the room. So I think she definitely worth the money that will be spent. Gentlemen who like sweet scents will also like it. It's not a gender-selective perfume. I hope it doesn't disappear from the market ❤️

I feel I do not have much more to add beyond what has already been said about the fragrance. I DID blind-purchase a 100ml bottle. And yes at first, I felt uneasy and unsure about the fragrance. But as time passed and I wore the scent on a regular basis, I definitely fell in love. It's about four months later and Italica is a TOTAL love for me. One of my top 5-6 favorite fragrances currently. Italica is a STRONG, polarizing fragrance with clear identifiable notes. Opens with an EXTREMELY powerful, strong, almost astringent almond and saffron accord. The almond-saffron notes quickly blend with milky, lactonic, creamy, sweet and sugary, bakery-type notes. There's an almond croissant, or almond biscotti-type feeling with Italica. Quickly sandalwood and musk notes emerge, which add the perfect base to an otherwise very sweet fragrance. The perfume lands and wears as a strong vanilla, slightly spicy, musky, sandalwood fragrance with prominent toffee almond notes. You gotta love ALMOND fragrance, like Almond Extract kinda fragrance (aroma) to love this. For me, the creamy, dense, well-blended, super lactonic, woody, musky, almond, toffee dry-down is to die for. Total obsession-love.

I hated this perfume. Truly hated it. Every time I smelled Italica, it was nauseatingly sweet to me. Overwhelming. Too much. I told everyone this was my one blind buy fail and fully planned to sell it. When I checked reseller sites, there were tons of bottles listed, which honestly made me feel validated. Like okay, it’s not just me. I decided to keep it anyway, thinking I’d eventually layer it with something or revisit it later. About a year passed. I tried it again and... wow. I love this perfume now. I mean love it. I’m so glad I didn’t get rid of it. On my skin, it smells beautiful. Rich, creamy, and comforting. It gives off a cherry almond vibe even though there’s no cherry note. I know that’s the saffron doing its thing, but my nose reads it as sweet almond with a soft cherry nuance, and I’m obsessed. It’s also very long lasting. I’ve been sniffing my arm all day like a weirdo because it just keeps getting better as it wears. This one taught me a lesson. Some perfumes need time. Skin chemistry changes. Taste evolves. What once felt like too much can turn into something magical. I wear Italica now, and I genuinely love it.

My precious! Can't believe I finally got my hands on this. First, a perfume has finally delivered for me in the almond category! Initial spray is all saffron and almonds, I'm swooning. It's smooth, creamy and sweet. Five minutes in, the toffee and cream appear. I'm getting the milk note, but it's blended so well. Nothing is screaming it's name, just wonderfully melded together. Ten minutes in, the woods show up. I'm getting a lot more cedar than I am sandalwood, which is fine by me. My skin usually amps up sandalwood into a nauseous mess, and happily I'm just getting a teensy drop of it. At twenty minutes, it's gloriously gourmand. A creamy caramel with whiffs of cedar. I can almost detect some incense in the background. The opening almond has died down, but I get glimmers of it here and there. This was an early birthday present to myself, and the most money I've ever spent on a fragrance. I took an expensive risk blind buying this so I'm ecstatic that this works on my skin. Also, the presentation is gorgeous. It felt like I was opening up a relic. High praise for this one.

every time you spray this scent it feels like a teenager in the 1980s, when everything was amazing and nothing hurt.this is a fragrance created by a young entrepreneur and a master perfumer to capture the scent of youth. The scent has a vintage feel to it, with notes of sweet lime and grapefruit with a hint of vanilla. It's perfect for that millennial who's trying to recapture that adolescence in adulthood, or who just wants to smell good. it smells so stunningly beautiful that it makes me want to give up on the outside world. This scent is not just a pretty fragrance, this is an experience. In this world of synthetic scents, you are one of the few who is a connoisseur of true fragrances. For some, it's just a hobby. For others, it's a lifestyle and a profession. Apparently, the brand creates one of the world's most authentic scents, which are the result of masterful blending. You will find yourself feeling like an adolescent again with this new artisanal fragrance

I blind bought Italica this week and started testing it yesterday. The package is beautiful, very regal. The bottle brings to my mind vintage fragrances but Italica is a modern, gourmand fragrance. It is sweet, indeed, and I was a bit anxious thinking it would turn excessively sweet on my skin but no. The first blast is of sweet almons and maybe yes, Marzepan. But it becomes toned down with something slightly spicy and I can smell some delicate flowers. Perhaps citruses even, something delicately lemon-like. I really don't have an impression is strong, too sweet and unbereablable. In fact I see myself using it on a regular basis, perhaps not in summer. It's a perfume you can use in the evening, just for yourself, when you're at home, it's snowing or raining outside and you're reading and sipping a cup of tea with honey or a glass of wine.

I don't know where some of these reviews have come from, or their "expectations"... but it's legitimately *hilarious* to hear anyone try to trash Italica. You might as well tell me nothing beats Axe. I have about 200 bottles & this would certainly be considered "bringing out the big guns" in the world of high-end gourmands... Several collector friends picked this up right after I did & would be in total agreement. This is cold weather gourmand heaven. Ignore the detractors & try it for yourself if the notes interest you at all. Otherwise you'll still be trying to find something this indulgently good in 2030. Real talk. If you're shocked by almonds or sugar in a scent that straight up advertises toffee & almonds as MAIN NOTES, then obviously, stay away & don't complain when it's exactly what was stated... lol wth?!

When I first got my nose on this, I hated everything about it. It was bitter, harsh, and synthetic, and I was so disappointed because I wanted to love it so much. But the very next day I decided to give it another chance and I hoped it would prove me wrong. AND BOY DID IT PROVE ME SO WRONG. The more I smelled it, the more intoxicating, sweet, nutty, and creamy it became. It transformed into almond milk ice cream inside a warm, freshly made waffle cone. I think my nose just needed time to adjust. This is a very sweet, milky, creamy, delightful treat and after giving it a second chance, I purchased a full bottle and I cannot wait to get it! I’ve learned to stop judging on first impressions when it comes to perfume!

Italica... Yeah, love it! One of my absolute favorite holiday fragrances. The first few minutes are a bit challenging because of the overwhelming sweetness and the slightly artificial cherry like accord. But from there it is gorgeous. And with Italica, I know my business, since I’m way in to my fourth bottle. Smells like Italian holiday desserts with glorious musk. A dense marzipan loaf stuffed with syrupy cherries and almonds is the image that comes to mind. It get’s better as it dries down and this one has insane longevity. It does not, however, get me any compliments what so ever. It reamins a true staple of mine.

My god, thank goodness for this site. Otherwise, I would not have known they were selling this again on the xerjoff universe website for a limited time. Like Pixidust2 so eloquently noted, when I opened this up for the first time, I felt like I was opening up a dame relic!!! I thought I heard of this so many years ago and was so mad I couldn't get it in the US. My boyfriend thought I lost my mind when I jumped up and down after getting this in the mail. Until I wore it out and everyone wouldn't leave me alone I smelled so good. Then he said, okay, I get it now. Ya dame right!

Just wow! If your a gourmand lover or not this will blow you away. I own a lot of fragrances and I have always overlooked Xerjoff italica and now I am in the hunt of getting a full bottle presentation of this. This will probably be my number 1 fall/winter fragrance. I got a sample of this from a haul from fragranceBuyCA Scent profile: this fragrance is very comforting and delicious smelling. The almond mixed with the toffee and vanilla and sandalwood composition is everything. I’m not sure how to detect milk but this does smell creamy I’m sure because of the sandalwood note.

I was growing tired of my usual florals, mostly white flowers and light aldehydic types, yes they are quiet perfumes.. but mind you they are still beautiful.. only thing is, it does not make an entrance in a crowded room. So I decided to go shopping.. I had oud versions in my mind.. later after many hours of exasperation; and nearly walking out of the chic fragrance boutique.. I saw a matte red burgundy bottle with a uniquely shaped gold cap. So I said I’m going to try one last bottle and that’s it! I had a whiff and suffice to say... I found The One

got a sampler of this and it smells... stale? it's a fresh sample from a reputable house, so i'm sure that's not it, but i'm pretty sure this will be too much for me. i'm getting the almond, but something in the spices feels like it's been on the shelf for too long, or is mixing with plastic like others have said. it's strange how your nose starts to "recognize" what it's supposed to be smelling, but if as the wearer it's difficult for me to tell, i don't know if i want others smelling it on me during a brief encounter.

Oh my goodness what a beautiful fragrance. I love the opening soo much, in the dry down I can smell the lactonic but it’s not bad or off putting it’s done so well, blended beautifully. As much as I love this perfume, it just doesn’t last on my skin for more than an hour. If that much. So I won’t be buying a FB for now. I will buy a couple of 10ml decants and live with it for a while. Then maybe i’ll buy a bottle one day. I must say it’s a very lovely and unique perfume but I love everything Xerjoff. So I’m bias. :)

Italica is my work from home in the depths of winter comfort scent. I love it but I understand it's going to divide people. It's VERY gourmand. It's a warm almond croissant dipped into warm milk sweetened with dulce de leche. I love it. I layer it with the Amande range from L' Occitane and top it off with a spritz of Hypnotic Poison because I really enjoy the intensity but my husband says the combination is lovely at first sniff but headache inducing after a while. I don't care what he says, I smell delicious

okay day two of this fragrance! i was wondering what i was getting so much off, and i compared it to my yves rocher bourbon vanilla spray- a HEFTY load of bourbon vanilla! and not synthetic by any means. this IS growing on me, it is very liquor-ish, like Baileys, super boozy and intoxicating to me i guess my nose just needed to adjust a bit, as i do not have much experience with the notes longevity and sillage are both crazy IMO i will be wearing this in summer and you cannot stop me.

Cannot understand the hate one bit. This just smells like the absolute best of Italian delicatessen Christmas goodies. I get saffron, almond, sweet milk and toffee . I feel like a walking panettone with marzipan chunks, candied citrus peel , toffee and cherry pieces embedded inside. It smells delicious on skin. Nothing plastic, nothing synthetic, nothing rotten, nothing sour about it. Need a full bottle asap. Wonderful gourmand. I want to smell like this from now til January!

I hated this at first. The milk was revolting and it had a very synthetically sweet vibe. In general milk tends to turn baby vomit on me. HOWEVER, I let it sit for over a year and tried it in the dead of winter just for fun and it is now MAGICAL. The saffron is very strong so you would have to like that part. The almond is pleasant and harmonious with the toffee now instead of sharp/marzipan-y. Honestly I would consider this unisex.