Dame de L'Île

This has an addicting & sexy musky quality to it. It’s that type of comforting and familiar “you but better” musk, but with a twist. You definitely get the lime & some vanilla with a slightly animalic musky base. It’s really nice, I was not expecting to like this as much as I do. Edit: I’ve only worn a couple times and received multiple compliments. It’s seriously good and unique. I bought a bottle!

This is such an intriguing scent! Every single note listed is very apparent and easy to pick out in the bottle as well as on cotton and if it kept that balance on my skin, I would buy a full sized bottle instantly. Unfortunately, it becomes very lime-forward on my skin and distracts from the other notes for a good 20 minutes. After that, though, it's as if someone blended the best parts of Clinique Happy and Aquolina Pink Sugar and added just enough other notes to feel like a completely unique creation. Despite cotton candy being one of the notes, it is leashed by the lime and bergamot so instead of being an overly young & sweet fragrance, it merely hints at candy and is perfect for someone in their late 20s to early 40s as a daytime fragrance. I also think it would be absolutely divine in the summertime.

Dame de L’île really intrigues me, like I’ve almost smelled it before but haven’t at the same time. The contrast of musk and citrus is both captivating and strange, but I sort of enjoy it. Bright, zesty notes of bergamot and lime combine with floral nuances of jasmine and rose which provides a refreshing backbone to the scent. A touch of salty ambergris gives way to a thick, dry and fluffy synthetic musk which is significantly sweetened up by vanilla. To me, this sort of achieves what Erba Pura set out to do. They don’t really smell similar, but you can see the same intention is present. This is refreshingly pleasant yet unique enough to stand out from the crowd.

The opening is intensely sweet, not so much lime as over-sugared limeade. It's not a bad smell, just very sweet. The immediate projection is also reasonably large. As it develops, it turns into a vanilla-musk concoction; after 30 minutes I don't get citrus at all. Amber and animalic notes combine to make it smell like vanilla saltwater taffy rather than pure vanilla. After an hour or so, it's a skin scent and all I smell is baby powder, which lasts at least 12 hours.

I was only very superficially familiar with the brand Gritti - so superficially that I remembered nothing at all. I tested the fragrances literally on the go, in passing, and no real impressions stuck. When I saw an original sample of Dame de L’Île by Gritti for sale, I decided to order it. The first spray - and I was already ready to run out and buy a full bottle. It was a soft, creamy, enveloping, slightly animalic, sweet and sensual musky scent, with a light citrus-lime juiciness and tartness. An unusual combination - attractive and alluring. I would love to smell like this. But after about five minutes, all of that disappeared, and amber and vanilla took over. It became much less interesting and even a bit rough. Compared to the opening, it wasn’t very pleasant, though still tolerable. Another five minutes later, ambrocenide appeared... and stayed. It doesn’t burn my receptors and brain as aggressively as it does, for example, in Kirke, but personally I find it unpleasant and I don’t like it. I want that creamy, enveloping, limey “animalic” cloud from the opening - not ambrocenide (which some reviews refer to as “Tiziana’s musk”). P.S.I’m one of those people who are sensitive to ambrocenide, and it irritates my trigeminal nerve. If ambrocenide is not listed in the marketing pyramid, it doesn’t mean it isn’t part of the perfume composition.

A big no for me! Initially I got the lime and flower and thought this would develop nicely, but that and every other note disappeared within 10 mins and is a single note on me that was left...I am not sure if it's the ambergris or the animal note? I have other perfumes with animal notes and ambergris that I like, but with those, other notes are very present in the mix. May be better on other peoples skin, but I would definitely recommend a tester before buying a bottle.

One commented brought up salt water taffy and I agree. If you're longing to smell like a sweet and sour lime Tootsie Roll, you'll probably be happy with this fragrance. There's a slight difference between the notes listed above and the notes on both my sample and the Gritti site which say: HEAD: Lime, Bergamot, Cotton candy HEART: Jasmine, Rose jam, Powder BASE: Vanilla, Musk, Amber Since I enjoy most of those notes (especially jasmine, musk, and lime), I thought I may like this or it might grow on me. I didn't care for it the first time, but couldn't remember why. Spritzed it again tonight and, at first spray, thought the lime and cotton candy were what predominated, but in the drydown, I should appreciate this more. However, the lime, cotton candy, and amber just intensified on my skin as time went on. Maybe the jammy rose, too? I'm not detecting rose, but I can smell the "jam" aspect. The lime is not a juicy lime. This is more powdery, rather than refreshing. Not my cup of tea, but might be exactly what someone else is looking for.

Salty musky powder--like opening a facial powder compact. It's flat, dry, and one dimensional on my skin--I get no lime, no citrus, just linear musky makeup powder. For my taste, it needs lift--fruit, moss, citrus, something to add dimension. It also reads a little masculine for my taste. So this is a pass for me, but if you're looking for a pure powdery musk without a lot of frills, this one may work for you. Note--I'm a little shocked at some reviews using language like "cotton candy"--if someone is smelling that, sincerely, this must be quite the changeable scent, so be sure to test before blind buying.

Synthetic wood/animalic/leathery musk notes completely ruin fragrances for me. If you're the same, I would stay away from this one unfortunately!

Didn’t like this at all but luckily it only lasts 30 mins tops projection wise but the dry down smell clings to skin and clothes for awhile. I hated it so much I had to rewash the shirt I wore with it. I love musky scents but this just wasn’t good to me. It’s not my type of musk. It smells like harsh musk to my nose and has something rather off putting immediately after the top notes fade which is quite fast. I’m guessing it’s the animal notes making me feel uneasy. They are a hit and a miss note to me, just depends on the blend but in here the way the animal notes come through and mix with the florals along with the type of musk they used didn’t work for me at all. Very gross. Definitely sample first.

This is such a gorgeous blend. The opening is a very creamy and whipped like blend of citruses and light florals and it doesn’t really transition noticeably to me. It’s not a heavy one by any means. I really thing this embodies exquisite femininity. Oddly, my sister says it makes her nauseous but not at all to me. It makes me feel delicate yet powerful when I wear it. I love this one! The longevity for anyone who cares isn’t stellar but it’s above average to me for a citrus and musky scent. It sits a little closer to you though, but again, I actually don’t overspray my love because I’m not sure I want to.

This is a bit of a weird one. The opening is very strongly lime and something else. The combination ends up smelling a bit like funky cheese, which I don’t think I’ve encountered before. The dry down is nice - like a sweet, fresh vanilla musk, but it’s not very strong. I can barely smell it after an hour. Definitely sample first.