Rajasthan

Gosh but this is beautiful! There’s a point in drydown that lasts a long time where Rajasthan becomes so ethereal it’s almost unreal. The layers of rose, black locust, amber, lemon, deeper fruit note (cassis per Fragrantica notes), mimosa, clean and SOFT musk (no bite whatsoever) all flex and twine and layer around each other so perfectly! The opening hits amber and rose most, with a light resin/incense of labdanum. Perhaps unique to this fragrance (and perhaps Lush’s Rose Jam) the lemon grows more noticeable later into the dry down. It’s a lemongrassy lemon. There is some skeletal similarity between Etro’s Rajasthan and Lubin’s Grisette - they both have a subtle amber anchor (less so in Grisette) and - especially after a fairly long dry down in both - a similar musky, fruity rose. Grisette hits the rose harder, Rajasthan the mixed florals. You could easily have, and wear both - they’re not smellalikes, but sisters or cousins. This really is exquisite but coming from Etro, it’s not surprising. They have scents that are so complex and evocative that they are art.

I am dearly adoring Rajasthan. The oriental wibe in Rajasthan is alive, realistic, peaceful, sunny and happily self-content. Not hectic, not glamourous, not loud. Very feminine, sunnily colourful, brightly spicy, velvety and India in its best- bringing the most cheerful contentment to whatever you are attending. Apparently I'm tenderly smiling all the time when wearing it... EDIT: together with heavy snow and -15°C Rajasthan awakes to a new life- sparkling of a luminuos, creamy, spicy and even more pronounced radiant, colourful character. When temperatures decrease- instead of staying inside, Rajasthan encourages you to jump out to the sun and snow, bringing the healthy pink to your cheeks. I can truly appreciate that!

The frag is quite lovely! I appreciate mimosa notes, perhaps because I like my fragrances powdery. This fragrance opens quite aquatic, with green notes and a tart, juicy rose. Roses are not my jam, but the mimosa and acacia (they're in the same family) sure are! I feel like they meld really well with musk and the human skin. The powdery character of these notes is a bit soapy and really evokes clean, soft skin for me. I really like this frag as a clean, subtle my skin but better scent. Not trying to be sexy, not trying to be anything but clean. And that's kind of sexy. Still, this frag is the epitome of office appropriate and would make a great everyday scent.

I absolutely love this, it's bright and beautiful, like an explosion of colour in smell. I am not sure if some people expect it to be rich, thick and musky and are disappointed that it's not? For me it's a delight; soft, warm, sensual, powdery, sweet with a hint of spice, if colorful was a smell this would be it, with rose and lemon running through. Love at first sniff.

Tested from a sample. OMG.....I love this...but performance is average on me. This one reminds me of something else....but I cannot figure it out yet...LOL. I own 5 other Etro scents...with varying performances good and mediocre. But I love this house. Very good quality compositions. So, Rajasthan will be a full bottle purchase soon !!