Orlando

This is my new go to perfume--it may even be a signature scent for me. The scent is truly transformative--big blooming orange first then amber, patchouli, middle, with a very misty and unrelenting musk finish. Having read Orlando, this smell reminds me of her/his pursuit of Sascha across the frozen temps. There is something reminiscent of that early, consuming, obsessive love in this perfume, not as a soul sickness, but rather the feeling of a strong, emboldening feeling, that transforms the soul. Seriously gorgeous and a must for any wo/man in medias res. Not for summer! Fall and Winter.

I am sitting here enjoying the dying embers of the wood notes from Orlando, clinging to my robe, the composition somehow turns whatever they were into a fantasy sandalwood. Must be one of those things, surprised by those who find the dry down impossible. O well there are other perfumes for you, save the Orlando for me.

this a beautifully spiced woody scent ,one of the most elegant and partcular i ve smelled lately it's not a power sillage bomb but stay long on the skin ,very good choice for any frag collectors 7.5/10

Wow what polarising reviews. Intriguing, mystical and inviting opening. I do understand the 'urinal cake' comparison on the dry down - when smelt 'nose to wrist' there is a stark aroma. However when I'm wearing this and just catching whiffs of it it's fine - 'that smell' just creates a musky/powdery vibe. In fact the same was true of another powdery scent I wore recently - Poudre de Riz by Pierre Guillaume. When smelt close up it had an awful chemical smell but whiffs of it were fine.

Every time I wear it, it’s like time travel to Virginia Woolf’s times. I like to go there from time to time. It’s fancy and aristocratic, powdery-dry and absolutely not modern, but in a good way. Not a scent that screams out, but stands straight up and strong as if put in a corsage. From the start, I smell a mix of patchouli, Peru balm and spice, with a bit of citrus/bergamot and maybe soap. No way I am buying a bottle, but I am cherishing my sample :)

A nice peru balsam centered scent but I was hoping for so much more. Too much Peru balsam and musk. I was looking forward to lots of clove and ginger. More Amber and guaiac wood would have been great. To be fair the spices do develop and glow more with time but still not enough to make me happy. I think my skin is amping up the gloopy Peru balsam. A nice unisex scent with good longevity and sillage.

Starts with a sparkling orange top note and some soft equally sparkly ginger. I'm not sure what Bay Rose is, but I get a white floral note similar to White Musk or White Tea Rose which dominates. This to me is a floral scent, but a heavy scent, not quite dirty or dank, but definitely not a refreshing, clean scent. I get some spice notes which makes it feel slightly dark to me. The base is Gaiac wood, Musk and Peruvian balsam. Gaiac wood I typically associate more with masculine fragrances. Which could be an attempt to make it more unisex given this is based around Virginia Woolf's Orlando book about gender roles. However, to me this leans more towards the feminine side. I like the concept and the fragrance, but this isn't for me. I would have preferred something more citric, but maybe I'm a bit bored of rose and musk fragrances at the moment. Price in the UK is very reasonable at £85 for 100ml or £30 for 20ml roll on. Lasted around 4 hours on my skin before it became a skin scent with it still being detectable the next day, so top marks for longevity. I can see people falling in love with this scent; I enjoyed trying it, but it's not bottle worthy for me. 6 out of 10 1ml sample

Sadly I have to agree with the majority. I wanted to like this perfume very badly. But it just doesn't smell good to me. Especially the drydown. I once had a good laugh with someone's review stating that a certain scent smelled like a urinary cake in the men's room... I know exactly what he or she meant now. Above mentioned object in an old fin de siècle brasserie with defective plumbing in Brussels. Scrubbing with nail polish remover was a good tip I read here on Fragrantica too ;0)

Nice scent, not overpowering, sillage not good at all. Lasts 2-3 hrs tops. On skin you'll smell a faint of the parfum after 3 hrs. Will continue to wear but on occasions I'm not looking for an audience to ask me "What are you wearing"? 7.5/10

As much as I love the name of this fragrance, unfortunately I have to write a bad rewiev... The top notes are very agreable, but they disappear after a few minutes leaving something that can be only descibed as moth-balls (!!!) NO NO NO :(

Fragrant mothballs. The chocolate side of patchouli. A room full of old well-kept clothes where the windows haven't been opened for years. When I was a child, they still used mothballs and I remember oneiric places like this. I would always get hypnotized by smells like this. A room full of memories, no longer remembered by anyone I guess. Later on, I encountered the same smell in storage rooms in theatres. Patchouli was also used to protect fabric from moths; Peru balsam has similar insecticidal properties, and so does clove. In a way, it's a smell of protection, of preservation. Add a little brightness on top, orange maybe, sweet amber? - and you have a piece of olfactory art. Not exactly to wear in public, but to have this little encounter with the past you probably never lived in.. .

There is an open air museum in County Durham - Beamish. Entire streets, houses, buildings, shops and collections from deceased person's houses have been shipped in and meticulously rebuilt to provide a journey into the past. It really is like stepping back in time. This frangrance is basically the inside of every building in Beamish, save the ones where baking is taking place. You can smell mothballs and some undefined disinfectant, coal dust and the distant aroma of farmyard. As an experience, it's interesting, but no, I wouldn't want to wear it.

the top note tricked me quite good in away that i was just about to take it home with me! freshly gingered pepper, ginger sweet with a tobacco effect of pepper and citrus. worked fine for 15 minutes then the dry down raised. the dry down was amazingly awful! to put it short dry down = dried saliva sometimes it's a cheap deodorant effect smell in a hot weather! needs more tests i guess! maybe and maybe not!

I was enjoying this at first until it finally dawned on me the drydown is exactly one man show gold edition which I love. ok a little less rough and quieter but up close I'd never tell them apart.