Venezia

I discovered this in the mid '90's at Neiman Marcus in Chicago during an annual trip my mom, my sister, and I used to take. Felicia is a legend, and not only did she always help me find the latest in Stendhal cosmetics and skin care, she knew me well enough to know what I liked. She sprayed it on a tester, and gave me a very generous sample, and I was completely hooked. I bought not just the 3.7 ounce, but the gift set with all of the goodies to layer and indulge in. I always received so many compliments when I wore it. It was my perfect Fall and Winter fragrance and my great aunts, who came here from Italy and Sicily liked it quite well, so for Christmas one year, I got them each the discovery sets. When Felicia told me they were going to discontinue the line, I bought as many bottles as I could. I still have a couple in my old milk chute where it is cool, dark, and dry. They are hermetically sealed in there so I won't ever run out. The crazy thing is, I am now 61, and my collection will now outlive me. I will, however, be able to enjoy this lovely fragrance for the rest of my life. Life is for pleasure and joy, and that is what I get when I use my treasures, be they fragrance, or cosmetics. I still have a stash of my favorites from Stendhal as well. Felicia was such a gem, and I miss her so much. My mom and sister are gone now, so I don't get to go on my annual trip to Chicago anymore, and my husband doesn't want to travel because he would have to get off the couch and put his phone down, so I bust out my treasures and enjoy my memories, and this fragrance brings me back to some of the loveliest times. If you can get the original fragrance, do it. If you like exotic fragrances, and your body chemistry blends with this, indulge yourself. It's lovely.

I was incredibly lucky to find a 5ml miniature and a 25 ml bottle of the original EDT on eBay. At first, without knowing that the original was available also in EDT strength, I thought I was buying the new reformulated EDT. Upon receiving the bottles though, there was no doubt these beauties came straight from the 90s, with their beautiful italian murano-shaped glass bottles and bell tower caps. As for the perfume... As a teenager in the 90s, I must admit Venezia wasn't one of the perfumes I owned. Nevertheless it was extremely popular back then, and I was flooded with memories from my youth upon first sniff. On my skin, Venezia EDT opens with a very spicy dried plum accord. It almost reminds me of dried plums stewed in spices-nutmeg, a bit of clove, allspice, mace- that my grandmother used to make as a dessert during Lent:) I also get a hint of an animalic, sort of 'dirty' undertone, but not unpleasant. This spicy opening lasts for a good hour on me, and after that the perfume indeed is that familiar smell from 20 years ago, with its warm ambery base wrapping me like a cozy blanket. I so love Venezia, its spicy opening isn't my favorite part in any way, but I still love it. Mostly because of everything it represents. Venezia and a couple more 90s scents (Tuscany Per Donna, Montana, Organza, Samsara) were hallmarks of an era -not very memorable or special fashion or lifestyle wize- that inherited us some gems of modern perfumery nonetheless

My all-time favourite perfume. I bought 5 ml of it in the 90s, when I was about 13. Had to choose among no less than 50 scents. My first perfume ever. Ever since I would remember of it knowing only its name, Venezia, and would try to find it, but without much result. It was not until last year when I finally discovered who produced it and bought a bottle. It's a great classic scent, men love it, women do too! Very exquisite and subtle. A real treat, a rare find. Adorable! PS Oh, and my Dad loves this one. He still does. He first gave me a compliment when I was a teen, and I still remember it to this very day. Men generally find this scent very feminine and are quite attracted by its sweetness. I think Venezia encompasses everything that men love in a woman. For days when I want to make a statement I would prefer more modern perfumes, that would smell much more bold, synthetic, bright, but this one... It's is a bottle that contains the essence of the Feminine Spirit. To me, it unveils how it is to be a Woman, or, rather, The Woman.

I finally know what all of the fuss is about! My mom's friend was giving away a bunch of her "old" perfumes to make room for her "new" babies and I managed to score 4 classics - one of them being a barely used 50ml bottle of LB Venezia. At first sniff I detected a dusty fruit, which I'm guessing is the sandalwood and plum, but that dusty quality disappeared pretty fast and the sandalwood turned creamier and smoother. What remained was a creamy fruitiness, but not the sickly-sweet type. More adult and well-rounded. If this perfume were a dessert it would be the classic Bahamian delicacy - stewed coco plums with sweet cream. I can definitely smell the honeyed prune, vanilla, benzoin and sandalwood. The flowers are virtually undetectable though. Overall a very pretty, feminine, fruity-sweet scent. I'm not in love, but definitely in strong like.

I have just received the Long Lost Perfume version of this old favorite of mine. Needless to say that I am ecstatic to have found something that resembles Venezia so closely, however, this one came across as stronger and sharper than what I remember. Maybe in my 'make up for lost time haste', I overdid it a little, so I will come back and edit once the elation of finding it calms down to allow reasonable application :) Edit: I have to say that I am a little disappointed because I thought the "original formula" remake would exactly be like Venezia. But the Long Lost version is very synthethic-like and sharp. The original Venezia developed beautifully to a warm, strong but soft heart and a divine dry down. This version somehow remains the same all the way until it fades without developing (or so it feels to me).