Mefisto Gentiluomo

Imagine yourself walking around the Tuscan countryside... It’s the middle of summer, and in your hand is the finest lemon gelato... suddenly, you come up to a fully bloomed lavender field, it’s a cool afternoon and the air breezes through the field spreading its amazing scent... and just as the breeze reaches your path and the scent of a million lavender flowers enters your body, you take a scoop of your soft amazing lemon gelato... that is exactly what Mefisto Gentiluomo is! A cooling creamy and soft lemon/lavender potion, that it’s equally elegant as it is magnificent. Citrus perfumery is not something I would usually gravitate towards, in fact, I kind of dislike most modern and ultra hyped citrus opening perfumes... very much the same way I dislike most lemon or orange desserts... for me there are some notes/flavors that shouldn’t be combined... and I’ll say it again, I’m speaking for myself. That is why my impression of Mefisto Gentiluomo is even more surprising to me, and I also believe, more meaningful. Tu put it simply, this is the best fresh perfume... scrap fresh... the best cooling perfume in the market, elevated, luxurious, pleasing, inviting, and delicious! The Lemon and the rest of the citruses are bright and masterfully worked to avoid any bitter notes... the Lavender is just soft and airy... the Iris and Violets are luxuriously creamy and aromatic... and finally the Rose, which is nuanced to perfection in order to blend with rest of the flowers bringing them together without overpowering the composition. The three base notes also compliment the fragrance in the most amazing way... the Musk creates the creamy powdery environment... the Amber lends its soft sweetness and warmth... and the Cedar, although distant, it is still detectable and perfectly blended with the other two to create the most alluring ambiance in which the Lemon and the Lavender can brightly shine. The Xerjoff/Casamorati website speaks of a Barber Shop Cologne from the 19th Century... I can certainly understand the origins of this perfume... but this scent is so much more than that, so much more... this perfume captures the true spirit of a Gentleman. This amazing liquid can be worn all year round, in any weather and in any setting... it is equally sport as it is elegant... and although marketed for men, I don’t find any reason why a woman couldn’t wear it and smell fantastic... even sexy. After a few hours, when the drydown is almost coming to an end, the Xerjoff in Casamorati starts coming through... there is some very faint animalic accord coming to the light... it’s something almost undetectable, something that won’t bother anyone... but still, something undeniably recognizable as characteristic of the brand... it’s an accord that I absolutely love in all Xerjoff perfumes, and that I have become addicted to. Projection in this perfume is moderate for the first couple of hours, which is actually quite good and surprising for a fresh scent... regarding longevity, it’s been 7 hours since I sprayed myself and I can still smell it, although projection has now become intimate. Mefisto Gentiluomo, the definition of what an elegant and masterfully created scent should be!

Sprayed on a card, Gentiluomo and Mefisto are VERY similar. the differences are there but subtle until applied to skin. Gentiluomo smells exactly the way the bottle looks. Very watery and cool, air bubbles rising to the surface of aqua blue waters. The iris is toned way down and the violet and grapefruit raised to the top in its place. I really enjoy the smell but my opinion nothing about it is related to a barbershop and definitely not of one from the past. The scent is very modern so possibly a barbershop from 2039? Either way it is a great fresh scent, losing only a couple points for this slightly synthetic/chemical nuance I get if I smell too closely. I believe this mystery note is what is giving the very watery/airy feel to Gentiluomo, that pops and sets it apart from the original Mefisto. Its my belief that it is the entire point of the remake and the way it was made possible alongside a shifting of the formula mentioned above. It is the younger brother that will be perfect for the warmer weather or year around when the sun is out. I would say owning both is a bit redundant so if you are looking for classic, go Mefisto. If your aiming for modern, Gentiluomo is a solid choice and my personal pick out of the two with 1888 and Italica still acting as the standouts of the collection. Update 1/24/2019: After diving deeper I sold Gentiluomo and found a new love for the original. Rediscovered just how perfect it is as a warm weather or controlled climate scent. Easily can be the only warm weather scent a man or woman owns and would never be left needing more. The more I wear it the easier it is for me to say it is my favorite sunny weather scent. Along side my workhorse for the same time of year, AdP Colonia Oud, Mefisto makes me feel ready to enjoy the present and not worry about the past or future. It is timeless and a mainstay in my collection. Natural smelling and void of the synthetic nfacet I that haunts Gentiluomo to my nose. Original Mefisto is my pick of the two after further testing. Gentiluomo served a purpose in helping appreciate the bottle I already owned and overlooked for almost two years. I was dead wrong when thinking it was just “nice but nothing special”. I happily stand corrected.

I don’t know if I just got a beast mode batch of this, or what, but I can’t believe that people are saying that this is weak juice. This stuff lasts beyond 12 hours on my skin, and projects HEAVILY for the first 2-3 hrs, followed by admittedly moderate projection up until the 7hr mark. I can smell it on skin after showering. Even after the projection dies down the scent is quite strong, inside of the bubble, and I would say that it is quite long lasting. It is very floral and green so, if that is not something you like in a masculine scent look elsewhere. I would never recommend that someone blind buy this. I feel like that should go without saying for niche perfume, but I know some of you are crazy like that. The citrus notes off the top are very much in the background and, for me, this one is all about the florals and, once you get into the dry down, the cedar wood. As others have said it has a slightly soapy vibe, once it dries down, in a subtle fashion. It’s not unlike reflection man, in that regard, starting out extremely floral and moving into a soapier woody phase. That is the only way in which those two scents are similar, though, and if you like reflection I would not automatically assume you will like this. It is much more niche, if you catch my meaning. All in all I really like this one, but keep in mind that it is not for everyone. I think it is a great example of niche perfume that almost no one will be offended by, could be worn anywhere, but many would also say they would never wear it. It’s actually quite an accomplishment for Xerjoff, when you think of it that way.

I have only used this 7 to 8 times and not yet in warm weather. So it is a bit early to write an opinion about this. However, it is already obvious from the first impressions that this is not what one might expect: this opens fresh but it is not actually a citrus freshie. It is rather an aromatic, powdery and musky floral fragrance. The opening is very fresh and citrusy, and I love those few fleeting minutes that it lasts. Once the lemon starts to fade, the lavender and florals start to show the true nature of this fragrance. So if you test this, wait throughout the full wear, as dry down is absolutely not linear. Which makes me appreciate the quality and complexity of this fragrance. Absolutely marvellous and it stays interesting. I love both the opening blast as well as the smooth and interesting drydown. This is fairly easy to wear in office, casually, formally or gym. Maybe not the best date fragrance, as the very gentlemanly character lacks bad boy effect. The fresh opening makes this feel as not being suitable for winter wear, but the dry down in my opinion is. Longevity is ok but not great. Maybe 5 hours but I need to wear this more to really understand how long it lasts. My first couple wears I thought longevity was bad but then I started to pick that aromatic and musky smell lingering around for a long time if you pay attention.

This one is a must have staple in my summer collection. I have a small but fine collection where I limit myself to only own 6 fragrances for summer and 6 for winter for a toal of 12 fragrances: 2 for going out/evenings, 2 for office/work/formal and 2 for daily wear. Each for summer and winter. The original Mefisto is already amazing but gives a rather floral and unisex vibe. This one takes the very same DNA (around 70% identical) and gives it a much more masculine touch. As a fragrance lover, i much more lean towards freshies as my preference. I love the Aventuses, LV Imaginations, Xerjoff Renaissance or PdM Greenley's of this world. Freshies however usually have the same vibe: citrussy, orangy and fresh. This Mefisto here is different. It has a fresh Fougere vibe to it, its perfect for the summer but adds a very pleasant powdery touch to it. As the name suggest, its very gentlemanly. I have this as my Office fragrance next to Terre d'Hermes. The latter is the classical office freshie, very formal, elegant and slightly edgy. Mefisto on the other hand is soft, powdery while still having a fougere DNA. This makes Mefisto Gentiluommo hyper unique in my collection. I will make sure I always have a bottle around :)