Cristina

Warning: possibly biased review ahead, please read with a mountain of salt. Or not if you are a patch-head too. I love Cristina. It was divine Providence that a sample of this sweet gourmand patchouli and I met. Cristina is everything Coromandel failed to be on my skin. It's THE smoulderingly sexy patch. It's the sweet, nutty patch. It's the comforting, chocolate patch. It's the earthy/leathery PATCH (thanks to labdanum here, another bias of mine). It's all the highlights of C'est la fete Patchouli/Horizon(or other gourmand patch + Psychedelique/Nobile 1942 Patchouli/Noir Patchouli(insert other earthy Woodstock type here) rolled into one. It might be a little sweet for guys who aren't into gourmands, personally I find it on the sweeter side of life; it might be too much of a patchouli for some, but on me and for me it fills in every possible blank. To hell with modesty, I smell gorgeous and I radiate positive vibes in rainbow colours when wearing this! The icing on the cake? We share the same name, well almost. How could I possibly say no to a full bottle? The longevity and sillage of Cristina are very very good, it stayed put on my pjs the whole weekend. P.S: to the angel/minx who included the sample in a swap/split, I thank you but my purse doesn't.

Perfumes can smell very different on one person and on the next, and while I don't normally write reviews, I don't want people to ignore this one simply because it doesn't work for some people. It is lovely on me. A sweet nutty scent that reminds me of walking through the Public Garden in the winter when the vendors are out selling roasted nuts. It really has that delicious roasted sweet and nutty smell. Good projection, good lasting power. Actually my patchouli gateway fragrance, which I suppose is worth something. People have told me that I smell sexy when I wear it, but it's so warm and lovely I couldn't care either way. I'm waiting until autumn to decide whether or not to purchase it.

I agree with fanciful. For some reason this reminds me how I imagine a pirate ship to smell. Wood planks, casks of vanilla from Madagascar, barrels of rum and fine silk fabrics wrapped up in patchouli leaves to keep the pests away. It's one of my comfort scents. I rarely wear it outside but mostly at night time a few hours before bed. I love waking up to the dried down vanilla and patchouli smells. They are so smooth! It lasts forever on me too.

Hilde Soliani Cristina is, like many of her creations, a relatively straightforward blend--in this case, of patchouli, vanilla, and labdanum. The creamy, sweetness of vanilla and labdanum artfully contrasts the herbal, earthy, vegetable quality of patchouli, and in that respect, it's a pleasant blend of contrasting elements. The patchouli / vanilla pairing specifically is one that seems to work well in a lot of cases. I recall liking it a lot in the Tauerville limited edition 15th anniversary release for Luckyscent, When We Cuddle and I can Smell Your Perfumes on My Clothes. Like this, Cristina pairs the raw, herbal, earthy qualities of patchouli with the creaminess of a resin and vanilla. It’s a nice performer and feels pretty versatile, though I’d much prefer to wear it in cooler weather. I’m not sure if I’d buy a full bottle of this, but Hilde Soliani’s value as a brand is very good, in my estimation, with inventive, rich, generally well-performing scents all bottled at $160 for 100ml (sold only through Luckyscent in the US), roughly on par with a house like Kerosene (whose offerings are all $140 for 100ml). Cristina is a pleasant scent, quite good but not quite as outstanding as some of her other offerings like Buonissimo, Sweet Home, Una Tira L'Altra, and Orgasmo. 7 out of 10

I love it for exactly all the reasons Eos does not :-) . To my nose it's a straightforward patchouli + vanilla with some sweetness thrown in for good measure. It's not your parents' patch, but it's way closer than, say, Dior's Patchouli Imperial. It is not a light, feminine patch by any means - but I think it'd smell super-sexy on a lady. Longevity isn't amazing, at 4 hours or so. It's pricey juice, so reapplying three times a day could get spendy! Definitely gonna wear my sample a few more times for sure - we'll see if I pick up a flacon or not.