Immaginazione

For the exquisite candle enthusiasts, you will remember Fornasetti's Otto. I have never fallen in love with a scent more than I did that fragrance. Of course, my pessimistic brain reminds me that it seems like when I fall in absolute favor for anything, it seems to go away, or get re-formulated. And, sadly that day came where Otto was no more. Otto was a MASTERPIECE created by master perfumer (works for Chanel), Olivier Polge. Fornasetti realized that this fragrance was indeed a magical gem, and hired P. Terenzi to re-create the gem, and re-name it Immaginazione. When I heard about this perfume coming out, I waited for samples to eventually appear- and that didn't happen. A friend of mine did a blind-buy of the whole house, and I politely asked him for a decant, and he sent them to me. I am no stranger to blind-buys; however, $500 is a bit steep to take a gamble, especially when it is only sold at Harrods, and that is 4,700 miles away from me. When I received the sample, I was not expecting a duplicate, but P. Terenzi actually did well-- my dear Otto is back- in perfume form. The original Otto was: top: thyme, lavender; middle: orris, cedarwood; base: tolu balsam, incense, birch, labdanum, and that is exactly what I smell. If you love amber/vanilla/patchouli scents like Amouage's Material Woman, 14 Hour Dream, or Mystic Sugar (hidden gem soooo good), get this. Thank you P. Terenzi for re-creating my happy place. 10/10

Let me start by saying that I’ve been microdosing this beauty via the small tester I got in Italy for over a year now, regretting daily that I didn’t buy a VAT-free bottle at the time. Tonight I sit down to write this review having treated myself to a celebratory spray from that well nursed sample, giddy with the knowledge that my very own bottle is finally on its way! With my deplorable attention span and admitted changeability, spending a whole year coming back to the same scent over and over again with an I-need-this level of adoration each time is a rare and undeniable sign of true love. I think that Paolo Terenzi pulled off some masterful tricks here; incredible performance without blatant chemical undertones, a buttery smooth blend of notes, and an overall scent that strikes my nose as completely unique. For me, Immaginazione plays out on skin as a floating cloud of herbal and aromatic sweetness which hovers above a dense core of amber and woods - a buoyant balloon grounded by its ties to a weighted basket. The balance of sweet and herbaceous notes hits the spot just perfectly, and I never get tired of smelling it!

I dunno if I’d buy FB ($520) because of price alone, but man this thing is gorgeous. I get lemon (citrol), vanilla, old fashioned labdanum (amber), and a menagerie of aromatic herbs and woods. It’s a distant cousin to Chanel’s Le Lion (lemon, vanilla, labdanum) and the better, more complex fragrance by a long mile. This is the fanciest candle you’ve ever smelled but better. The dry down is superb. Well-blended and, despite the heaviness of labdanum and cedar, soothing. Someone described this as opening an 19th c. explorer’s wooden trunk and I think they’re right on the money. To me, this is the scent of a Byzantine lady in finest diaphanous silk and dripping in pearls. Transported cedar wafts in from the harbor and dried herbs sit in a nearby vase. This is what I’d expect Enya to smell like because there’s truly something Old World about this frag. Unisex and almost fougerey with the lavender-vanilla. Incredible lasting power. I could still smell it on my jacket two days after spraying. Wish they sold half-bottles!

Once I received the sample I had to get a full bottle. I don’t get many samples that make me want to immediately purchase a $500+ bottle of smelly water but this fragrance was exactly what I was looking for. So, of course I went and bought Invasion Barbare in hopes that it will subdue my want for this expensive bottle, but needless to say I now have both. It’s an amazing fragrance and I’m happy with my purchase. I will say that it does give off a bit of Naxos on the dry down but much much better.

At first I didn’t think it was anything that great. Somehow “meh” and pungent at the same time. After about an hour I started to love it. It does smell similar to A Midsummer Dream by Roja, but warmer and spicier—A Midwinter’s Dream. I still smell it on my wrist more than 24 hours later. Faint but there. Glad I gave it some time! Will love to wear in winter.