Aqua Allegoria Gentiana

Of the entire line of Allegorias, this is my best preferred one. Obviously discontinued. After just 4 years. I remember buying it in 2001 when it was first issued, enjoying it with a passion, just to discover in 2004 that it had been put out of production. I did invest copious amounts of money to hoover up every single bottle i could find, in various perfumery shops and on ebay. I ended up with 15 bottles, and won't tell you how much i spent. I am set for life!! This is to give an idea of how I cherish Gentiana. It was an underrated and underestimated fragrance. A floral-green fragrance that reminds me of taking a walk in the garden accompanied by a gentle springtime breeze. Bergamot, orange, and Japanese citrus at the beginning are followed by the intensive aroma of orange and pear, dried orange, like the candied fruits coated in fine granulated sugar. But Gentiana is not that sweety-gourmand type, oh no! It has a peculiar bitterness (the gentiana flower) that stays for hours and counterbalances the fruity notes. To give you an idea, it shares some similarities with Chanel 19...they're by no means the same, Gentiana is way fresher, easy to wear and summer like. My office go-to frag for the summer. I don't see similarities to Pamplelune (i own as well) , Pamplelune being almost only grapefruit and little else. If you have the chance of smelling Gentiana do not hesitate, as there are no dupes for it. Hope they bring it back. Ps: Ohhellozippy couldn't be more on point; the current AAs are planets apart. And not in a good way .

I keep telling myself to stay clear of discontinued perfumes - it's a recipe for heartache and frustration. But do I listen? I do not. This is such a lovely scent for the hot Australian summer. I've been looking for a nice citrus fragrance. I have had Pamplelune as well - that's a very sharp citrus in contrast to Gentiana - if a nose could pucker, it would. Gentiana is more gentle, balanced by the lovely soft florals, but still crisp enough to be refreshing. I love it! The performance isn't terrible. Longevity and sillage have only been moderate on my first try today, but that's Allegorias for you. Could be worse. A scent experiment for you:- If you have a bottle of Angostura bitters in your liquor cabinet, trying sniffing it side by side with Gentiana. Angostura is gentian bitters. This really isolated the gentian note for me, as I'm not familiar with the flower.

i have a long love affair with this beautiful fragrance from the end of the jean paul guerlain era - and am lucky to have a few bottles and a coffret set. so much more than a typical aqua allegoria. with a defined floral accord to the left of the composition, and a remarkable citrus woody masculine accord to the left, the sillage and tenacity are as good as some of my guerlain extraits. i have huge affection for this fragrance. the rarely discussed and unusual study in citrus, genitana <3

The bergamot and lime indeed start the show, crisp and clean. After a few minutes it develops into something sweeter, which I think is the pear setting in - sort of reminding of dried fig (at least for me). I cannot for the life of me smell the gentiana separately, although I know this amazing little flower very well. It grows wild where I come from. I have a lot of allegorias I must say this is my top favourite along with herba fresca.

I just got a miniature bottle of this in a bundle, and it's an instant love. I wish I knew it was discontinued and so hard to find before I tried it, as now I'm gutted I won't be able to get more. I love the intense fruity notes, so sweet, tangy and refreshing, slightly artificial, sort of like opening a cold can of fanta on a hot day (in a good way). I wish the initial fruit burst lasted longer!