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.

To me this is in the same universe as Female Christ or Scout Dixon West’s incarnate and though it leans slightly more hippie-ish due to the patchouli. It’s sweet and resinous and really giving and authentic church vibe. So warm and delicious I feel like a saint when I wear this.

Incensey balsamic scent that goes heavier on the patchouli than most. The patchouli is dry and almost grapey like a scented eraser, supported by vanilla and dry resins. Similar to 1969 Female Christ, but blended way better in my opinion.

Somehow this smells like an old pirate ship to me, wood, cigars, rum.. Love it!

With a name like Cristina, you'd expect this to be more feminine than it is. This is without a doubt the most masculine fragrance I've smelled that is marketed as unisex. Here is what Cristina smells like on my skin: the smell of charred wet wood, something bitter and acrid (maybe birch tar?) a little bit of labdanum and something that might be the earthy facet of patchouli. No sweetness, and no respite from the burnt, bitter, oppressive character of this fragrance. Definitely not for me.

Perfect patchouli on the opening, like pure patch essential oil. Vanilla in the background gives it a little more warmth and vanilla comes out the more it dries down. Honestly the most wearable Hilde fragrance for me, I just wish it was more intense with the longevity and sillage. An hour or two in and it's a skin scent, another hour and it's barely noticeable. Howeverrrrr I combined this with Gold Knight by Kilian for that STRONG showstopping patchouli vanilla honey smell undeniable sexy church scent and it was delicious. Is it worth it for that??? Prob not but maybe someday for the option on special occasions

I put a sample of this on my wrists before work, and now I am sitting in my office smelling like a haunted victorian mansion. It's smells very antique, like an old jewelry box my parents used to have. Powdery, dusty, vintage box of oxidized metal. It's old fashioned and interesting, but I don't want to smell like this at work.

Patchouli x vanilla, so delicious. Opens with a pungent patchouli that’s herbal and cool, almost aquatic? Labdanum is here but she’s quiet, a slight peppery tickle to the nose. Settled on my skin as an earthy patchouli with a kiss of sweet vanilla. A lovely unique patch scent, thank you Hilde!

Cristina is definitely a patch/vanilla fragrance, although without the sweetness I usually associate with vanillic fragrances. This perfume has a dry, incense-like quality, and I like it very much. Within a couple of hours of application, Cristina becomes a skin-scent on me.

Vanilla patchouli, love it. The patchouli is dominant, slightly sweet and basalmic. There is a slight floral in the very background. I can’t quite but my finger on what exactly it is. Powdery to woody at the final dry down. So far my favorite from this house.

I wanted the pirate ship smell! But I got smoke from burning rubber, vanilla and screamy wood. Kind of hated it until I scrubbed it off, then it became a pretty nice patchouli vanilla. But overall, this one is a bit of a miss for me.

Vanilla, patchouli, sandalwood, & lapdanum.... Simply put.