Tuscany Per Donna

I was curious and skeptical about Tuscany per Donna because of the Samsara comparisons: Samsara is one of my all-time, top-tier, ride-or-die fragrances, and I have never smelled anything else that reminded me of it even a little bit, aside from the vague memory of a shampoo I liked as a child in the 1970s and, ever so slightly, the scent of Kerastase Huile Ultime. Well, I get it now. Tuscany per Donna and Samsara are not twins, not even sisters, really, but maybe they're close first cousins or something because the balsamic base, that deep herbaceous ambery base that makes Samsara's drydown so addictive to me, I'm definitely getting that--it's not as intense as the base of Samsara, but damned if it doesn't remind me of it. This is so great that I'm guessing I should probably hunt down a vintage bottle because it's probably even better, if it contains real sandalwood, for instance. Either that or Frederic Malle will get his mitts on it, and they won't make it available below the $280 price point. I told myself I wouldn't buy anything else for the rest of 2024, but Tuscany per Donna is sorely tempting me, even though this 1.7 ounce bottle in the infuriatingly terrible bottle will probably last me the rest of my life, since it's never going to replace Samsara in my heart. I'm still glad to have it, though, and I love the somewhat different floral and herbal notes that give it a bit of its Italian countryside vibe. Update: Wearing it today, I love it even more than I did before. The drydown is very Samsara-like, which is to me the ultimate compliment. I think this is a true undersung gem of the Lauder house, and I hope it remains exactly as is, in a 50-ml bottle that costs about $65 and not in an admittedly superior-because-functional bottle that costs $280. I like Tuscany Per Donna in its current formulation, which is no doubt inferior to the original formulation, which probably had real Mysore sandalwood. In fact, I like it more than I like any one of the Frédéric Malle re-releases for Legacy. Call me a prude and a dumb American prole, but I don't want to smell like I'm sweating off last night's tacos; I want to smell like a fancy floral soap in an antique drawer. Tuscany Per Donna probably ought to make me feel like I'm running around in a field consorting with a virile Italian amid the wildflowers, but who has time for that? I'll find serenity by nestling fragrantly among my lingerie, gently tucked away in the sandalwood drawer of my dreams. Update: I have been wearing it for the past couple of days, and I'm starting to see why the Samsara comparisons are so prevalent--it's not just the obviously similar sandalwood or synthetic simulacrum and the rich, almost cola-like balsam base; it's that slightly indolic jasmine, too, and maybe some shared "herbal notes." (Some green note or another also reminds me of the clover accord in Coco EDP). Anyway, this is an undersung gem, and I wish they would put it in better bottles with functional, properly fitted caps, but in the meantime I'm just going to sit back and hope they don't discontinue this or let Frédéric Malle get his cumin-scented mitts on this pretty lady, which is essentially the same as discontinuing it, as far as I am concerned, a person who is philosophically opposed to paying $280 for a bottle of scented water that costs literal pennies to produce.

I never smelled the original but I really love this reformulation. I need this in my life and will be getting a full bottle. Indolic jasmine, spicy carnation and I get so much carnation w/ this perfume. Sandalwood and vanilla dry down that lets the carnation and jasmine linger and soften. Like the flowers have been kissed w/ sandalwood and vanilla. So pretty, has a vintage style to it. Smells very sweet as well. Like the thought of fruits, of fruits yet to be tasted. It's not a fruity perfume, I can't explain it. Tuscany per Donna smells so fancy yet so relaxed at the same time. It is very sensual. My husband said it was unique and special. That sealed the deal, I will be adding this to my collection this weekend when Macy's runs their perfume sale. Love this. Edit: 12/26/22 I just sampled Chanel's Allure EDP and Coco Chanel and I find Tuscany per Donna is a good alternative to both of those perfumes. It has the peach/citrus and similar floral combinations, and it has the herbal notes like Coco (Coco has clover Tuscany has herbal notes) But what I like about Tuscany over the Chanels is it isn't aloof. Chanel fragrances, even the ones I like have an aloof quality that is hard for me to get passed. Plus, Tuscany costs quite a bit less. A 1.7 is $63 regular and you can get deals. I got mine for $56. Chanel Allure is like $115-120 for 1.7. Plus, I happen to like Tuscany better. Compare them blind some time. I did (my husband prepared the test for me, so I didn't know which was which and Tuscany won in a 3-way contest between Tuscany, Coco, and Allure edp. Now this is just my nose, everyone is different, but I bet I'm not the only one who would have the same result. Also I had a chance to sample the vintage Tuscany per Donna and this reformulation is the best of all the reformulations of this classic line IMO. And I have tried almost all of them.

Outstanding perfume! Tuscany per Donna (the new formulation) is an Oriental Woody fragrance with a citrus-herbal lightness that makes it a perfect daytime fragrance with just the right zing to make it better than the average office perfume. The floral top and middle notes (rose, lily-of-the-valley, jasmine, honeysuckle, peony, and carnation) carry the fragrance, but married to the sandalwood, it becomes an exotic elixir that captivates the senses. Truly stunning. For lovers of Samsara, Sira des Indes by Jean Patou, and Dune by Christian Dior.

rene, you sold it to me. i m also a samsara whorre. having a small 7.5ml original and the new 2021 legendaries, i can say i love them both and im always hunting for copies, dupes, similars. i even set aside a fund for another bigger, original vintage samsara, which i can dip my hands into, for this beauty you so poetically described. also major LOL for the frederic malle and his cumin hands🤣 edit: discontinued. of fuckingcourse

This smells a bit like Venezia

I used to wear the original Tuscany per Donna back in the 90's and early 2000's - the one with the coppery cap and box with a floral tapestry on it. I have not smelled the 2020 release. Anyway, I recently got a sample of Belle Cherie EDT by Fragonard and I think it smells so much like the original Tuscany per Donna! Fragonard fragrances are not that expensive either. Maybe get yourself a sample of Belle Cherie EDT and see if it satisfies...

I never smelled the original formula, so I don't have that to compare this against. As for how this is now, I'm still unsure. Right now, it smells as if they mixed Gloria Vanderbilt with Mackie. That wouldn't be half bad as I love both those fragrances, except there's a heavy plasticky note that is running throughout this fragrance from beginning to end. The culprit might be that this is the wrong time of year to be wearing it. I found it for a steal of a price at a department store online and bought it on impulse blind without paying much attention to the note profile. Though I now know from looking at the note profile that this might be the wrong time of year to wear it, I still couldn't resist. Fragrantica gives no classification for this scent, though other sites classify it as a woody floral. But to me it wears like a lightly spicy heavy amber, or actually, a lightly spicy fruity amber since I am picking up fruit notes very strongly and any woody notes are not apparent to me at all. I'm not sure if the fruit I am smelling is peach or not, since it smells more like a mélange of fruit rather than just one fruit. I barely pick up the floral notes either and am sad that I am not as I would have loved to smell that dirty jasmine @ LSAUG mentioned. Heavy amber fragrances do not wear well on me in warm weather, (and I don't have such an easy time with them in the winter either), so that might be why I am not getting the full effect of this perfume. Performance, as for all the perfumes in this line, is stellar. For now, I will put this away and try again when the weather gets cold. I have a feeling that this just might need the right weather conditions to smell differently. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that. Edit - 11/2/22 - I wore this again in the cold weather and my suspicious were correct that it does wear better in cold weather than in warn. I am no longer getting a heavy plastic note though it hasn't entirely gone away. I do not know where I was getting fruit notes before as I do not smell them now but there is still something here that is giving me that idea. I think it might just be the combination of notes and the way they play out on my skin. The dry down of heavy amber and sandalwood reminds me of Samsara, and also the fact that like Samsara I am not getting anything spicy which is usually used in conjunction with ambery fragrances, but this is a nice change from that. While I like how this smells now, I still don't love it. Another thing I'm not loving is the silage and longevity. I know we often complain about scents being weak but here I am complaining about the opposite. It is not screaming loud, but it is a big fragrance that sticks around way longer than I would like. After a shower this should be gone, but it is not. I still got wisps of it after that. I just checked the Samsara EDT review page and Wow; a lot of other people also think the dry down smells like this. Samara is a little drier though, which I prefer.

I blind bought two bottles from Saks off 5th for a good price because of "People who like this also like..." and some of my favorites are on that list. That said, I am just okay with Tuscany Per Donna . I think it sits close on my skin and has an un-offensive jasmine, citrus and herbal scent to me. Sometimes I get a very slight whiff of amber. On complete dry down I'm getting more herbal, amber and sandalwood, but absolutely no vanilla for me. Not that I miss it. It's very light as opposed to my other favorite fragrances and I think it would be very appropriate for office wear especially after an hour in from applying. I do get how someone said it has a plastic-y smell to it. I can get that if I try but it wasn't the first thing I thought of. I'll use it up when I don't want to offend anyone but I'm pretty much just meh about it. Update: I have to say that I'm liking it more and more. I do think its very soft and nice and won't blow anyone away when wearing it. I chose it this morning for a client meeting in a small room so I didn't want them to be overwhelmed by fragrance. This fit the bill and I will keep it for this purpose. Mostly I wear fragrance for myself and I like big, monster sillage and longevity but I do consider that others may not share my preferences so I tone it down a bit when I need to.

I have this bottle version but the scent description of the juice in the previous bottle is more like what I smell than what I see described here. I smell the hyacinth note and and an indolic one, I guess that’s what to call the note that smells slightly of stale urine? I don’t smell that on my skin, just when I sniff the sprayer. I would describe this fragrance as an amber spiced white spring floral, perfect of those cool early spring days or later in the fall.

According to the listed notes I thought that I am going to love this fragrance, but I use it as an air freshener instead, as I don't even like it (( It smells like an apple and that note is not even listed there! Apple and more apple. I really don't like it. I own Samsara edt, Dolce Vita, Sensuous and I love all those and also own Venezia ( both - edt and edp) yet those I just like, yet Per Donna smells nothing like all those mentioned, even though it is supposed to smell close, but it just doesn't :-( I wonder if it is because of reformulation..? I checked the original fragrance notes and they are very similar to those in Dolce Vita, but this reformulation is nothing like that. Also I love vanilla in fragrances, but don't smell any vanilla at all in this one, even though it is listed! Amber.. What amber? Apple and more apple. I will try to get the original Per Donna as it is supposed to be a great fragrance. But would I use or buy this particular fragrance? Definitely no.

This was a disastrous blind-buy during the pandemic. Smells like something that women would have worn in the 70s. Very dated. Has a sour powdery after-smell at the end, like an air freshener hanging over a bin of soiled baby diapers. Definitely try before you buy.

Not my olfactory preference. Get a lot of grassy herbal note. But there is this lingering weird dirt smell, not the good earth smell, but somehow stale dirt smell. If those notes are muted in favor of prominent flower notes, I might like it. This is a pass for me.

Jasmine, amber, and vanilla. Really intense, but if you apply just a small amount, it works in hot weather. That means one tiny spray. Then you get wafts of rich sweetness now and again. I am shocked that peach is not listed in the notes, because this smells so much like peach schnapps. Must be the amber and vanilla. The sweetness is not a gourmand sweetness. It is a floral sweetness, like being by a jasmine vine in bloom on a hot day. Less is more. If you overspray this you will give yourself a headache. It would be fascinating to wear this to the beach. The salty air and ocean smell would mix delightfully with the sweet florals. But today I wore it to my hot humid backyard. I need to wear this one more. Now it is starting to remind me of Oscar de la Renta's Volupte. I don't care what the notes on this page say, there is PEACH in this. Smells like a Sophia Grojsman type of scent.

Just got this today, OMG it is beautiful. Sandalwood is very prominent, vanilla and amber too. Out of the flowers, I can mostly pick out the peony, the others are too blended to really tell them apart but I do detect the spicy carnation. It's a tiny bit soapy as well. I can tell this one will be worn a lot by me this summer and fall. It's a love! Edit: Even though I've never smelled Bronze Goddess, this is what I imagine the skin of a bronze goddess would smell like!

Felicite34, I too recently noticed its absence from EL's website. I contacted a rep via chat, who confirmed it is indeed discontinued. I'm sad, but the spicy carnation I loved so much has been almost absent from Tuscany per Donna for a long time. I continue my quest to find a new signature with a spicy, clove-y carnation note. Open to suggestions!