Caligna

Recently bought a spray sample of this and it is simply stunning. Uplifting and beautiful. Perfectly unisex. Fresh and herbal without a hint of anything sharp or harsh to irritate my nose. (The majority of fresh/herbal/cologne type scents are hard for me to tolerate. For example, someone mentioned Vetiver Fatale in comparison to this, and while I basically like that fragrance, it is harsh to me.) I'm mostly a vanilla/iris/tonka/amber lover, but I also like fig. The opening says "mint" to me but that's probably because I'm not familiar with clary sage. The conifer component is there but in a soft, subtle way. Sillage and longevity are both pretty weak, but I'm ok with that. It can be had for a very good price per ml, and I like the subtlety. Don't need it to shout. Tried this after being absolutely wowed by Dzing!, and this is, while very different, just as pleasing. I'd be curious to hear if anyone has experience with the new bottle style versus the old--whether the scent seems to have been changed. Both are readily available at the moment. A couple of other reviewers said it better than I can... LANIER: "Caligna to my nose is light and soft on my skin and the notes blended into a pure tingling effervescent pop of spring. Lovely and bright, luminous in fact, Caligna is really the perfect uni-sex perfume for springtime or even in the cold months to recall the joys of May in bloom in the south of France." empathyboy: "Caligna is a quiet masterpiece. This perfume could almost belong to the Jardin series by Hermes, particularly Jardin Monsieur Li. It is soft, light, minimalistic, exquisitely executed and utterly beautiful." apentias: "...it is a masterful, acrobatic balance between opposites. It's both fresh and warm, uber chic and sexy, both smooth and piquant. How can something so discreet be so powerful? This juice elates and grounds you at the same time. "

Clary sage is one of my favourite pure essential oils. I love to place a few drops on my pillow to invoke lucid dreams. The clary sage in Caligna is most definitely natural and of the highest quality. I love this scent so very much. As a perfume it is extremely light, and like others have mentioned, it sits very close to the skin. That is how I like my scents. Whomever is lucky enough to greet you with a warm embrace could be in for a beautiful journey. They will be instantly transported to somewhere, elsewhere. A place that is comfortingly familiar like a long forgotten memory; a dream within a dream. Never before have I found clary sage so well presented or complimented (by the inspired addition of the jasmine marmalade accord). Caligna is a quiet masterpiece. This perfume could almost belong to the Jardin series by Hermes, particularly Jardin Monsieur Li. It is soft, light, minimalistic, exquisitely executed and utterly beautiful. I would say that although unisex, this leans slightly towards the feminine side but that does not concern me personally. Edit: I have already grown so fond of this that I've bought a back-up bottle. I know once Spring is here again that Caligna will be my favourite fragrance to wear when the sun is peeping through the branches of trees that are clothed with new life. One of my very favourite L'Artisan's. Edit 2: oops. Two back up bottles now. I've gotten in a habit of substituting putting real clary sage oil on my pillow with spraying Caligna on my pillow instead. Sweet dreams are made of this.

This is hands-down the best blind buy I've ever made, I only regret not ordering another bottle for backup. WOW. This is a rare concoction IMHO, a gem. Not only because it's beautifully formulated (I get clary sage and jasmine marmalade, absolutely, but also hints of tea, white pepper and bergamot?), but mainly because it is a masterful, acrobatic balance between opposites. It's both fresh and warm, uber chic and sexy, both smooth and piquant. How can something so discreet be so powerful? This juice elates and grounds you at the same time. It evokes the French campagne perfectly but is also skin-like. This is not Philosykos for me (as other reviewers mention), another old favourite of mine. I understand how comparisons would arise but this is an entirely different beast altogether. It is a lot richer and deeper but equally fresh, another contradiction. Very satisfying longevity and sillage. How to describe it in one word without overselling it? Masterpiece. Sorry, can't help myself. EDIT: I know this is borderline sacrilege, but (when no one's looking) I spray this on top of MFK's Baccarat Rouge 540. They are meant for each other, I swear. They play off each other's notes and solidify into a multi-layered accord that lasts and lasts and lasts. Heaven.

I've seen Caligna described as a fig scent for people who don't particularly like fig scents, and I can see why, although as a bonafide fig lover, I adore it too. Personally, I'd bathe in fig scents if I could - I love everything from the sharp green scent of the leaves and branches of the tree, over the earthy fruitiness of the real fruits, to heavily sweet interpretations of fig nectar. But I can understand how any of those can easily seem "too much" for those less in love with this note, and Caligna does seem like a great option for them. It's definitely still a fig scent - really, the fig is as juicy, sweet and delicious as any I've smelled. But it's quite subtle: there's no sharpness here at all, and no heaviness: the fig is balanced wonderfully by the softer, herbal sweetness of sage and pine. Very natural, and so uplifting! A clear summer scent, but just as lovely now, in the darkest days of winter - reminds me that there's better days ahead.

Mint, Peach Tea dreams on a warm summer day, in the woods. This to me is the most beautiful of fragrances. It's everything I want Keiko Mecheris' Peau de Peche to be, but just quite isn't. So, here's my little secret to making this THE hands down, most perfect fragrance that I've been searching for all my life. I won't tell anyone but you, Fragranticans, and only because I know I can trust you and that you'll appreciate it and not tell a soul...one spritz Caligna, two spritz Philosophies Fresh Cream. Minty, woody, sugared peachy goodness, AND you smell real real expensive and mysterious yet totally transparent and mesmerizing...and all that good stuff you expect from your perfume. Hey it ain't cheap to smell like a goddess, but at least you can buy ethereal beauty in a couple bottles of juice and become the girl (or guy) of your own dreams.