Johana

This is a masterpiece of a scent. It is so interesting how it behaves differently on everyone. The development on my skin is amazing. First I get a blast of chrisantemum with a touch of rose and lors of galbanum. This phase is the hardest part. It lasts about an hour and then turns paler as a powdery iris takes over, but not alone. Like a smoke rising from a ritual shrine I get incence and a hint of sandal wood. The long dry-down is warm despite the cold impression this flower may make - yes, Chrisantemum comes back and embraces the incence in a dance that goes on for hours, light and fine like a dark purple veil I don't ever want to let fall from my body.

This is a really compelling scent. Sprayed on a wrist I'm catching whiffs of it as I work and it has a terrific development. From a somewhat light weight opening it deepens as it moves into its mid notes and by the time it lands on a soft vanilla incense base it has delighted with each of the notes coming to the forefront before slowly fading till the next takes over. I'm getting compliments from those passing by and its tenacity has been very good as well. Really a masterful composition and for me definitely fbw.

A different kind of floral perfume as it is rare to find so much wisteria and chrysanthemum in a perfume. Many might find this rather disturbing, but I think it is nice, though a bit headache inducing, the powdery sweetness at some points is simply too much for me. As for the other notes, I get cacao, but it is not as gourmand as one could think it will be - here it gives more a powdery than sweet turn. Also there is a tiny bit of iris. Nevertheless there are all the other notes as well, but they are simply too well blended together to stand out, which is a very usual thing with perfumes from Keiko Mecheri, she makes a masterfully well blend stuff. Though "Johana" is not for my taste as it makes my nose itchy, this could be a winner for weird floral lovers, the longevity is very good and silage is moderate making this a very delicate and ladylike scent.

Johana is a very pretty scent. I was very pleasantly surprised. It is bright, sparkling, cheerful. I mainly get wisteria, cascades of it, and a big bouquet of chrysanthemum. On my skin, I do not get cacao or patchouli, or incense. It's a symphony of gorgeous flowers. There is a touch of sweetness here, but it is a clean, fresh scent above all. I developed a fondness for this type of scents, low-key, simple but well blended and charming. Johana is a very feminine, comforting scent. It fits me like a glove and would be an amazing scent for summer. The big, big minus of this one for me is the longevity, or rather the lack of it. A mere hour after spraying, there is nothing, NOTHING on my skin. Which is why I would not really consider a FB unfortunately. It disappears way too quick.

For me Johana was a shock to begin with: I got such a massive hit of galbanum, I literally felt the bitterness in my throat (no, I didn’t spray it on my face). Eventually I could sense some weak cocoa but for the most part, it turned a bit too masculine for me, presumably the iris was the culprit, although normally I like it a lot. All in all, I’m glad I was able to obtain a sample and not take the blind-buy plunge.