Atman Xaman

EDT What I get is a blast of immortelle (aka everlasting flower), supported by a hint of mandarin. The immortelle will show a its delicate sandy/sweet-but-not-sweet facet, supported by Villoresi's signature spice blend (mostly cloves, black pepper and a bit of cumin probably, but gladly no crushing cinnamon!). Then, the tobacco absolute will create a royal blend, and, coupled with a hint of amber and musk, will have the tobacco lay on an old Florentine leather couch. In the drydown, a salty vetiver surprisingly blooms out of nowhere, giving this fragrance a fresh/woody and borderline incensy facet. I'm surprised that the immortelle flower is not voted higher than that, since it is the main player here. The only downside of this EDT might be its modest performance, but it is my guess that the EDP might have corrected that (looking forward to try it). This is a more masculine take on HdP 1740, that tones down the sweetness but results in being surprisingly moe wearable than 1740. Tobacco, leather, spices, hay, vetiver with an overall liquor-ish feeling but never sweet: THIS is the tobacco fragrance I was waiting for during a whole fraghead's life, to finalize my 'holy grail triad' of tobacco fragrances, together with Eau d'Italie Bois d'Ombrie and Guerlain Vetiver. EDP (updated 5/27/22) The EDP seems a bit rounder, denser, a little less 'defined', a bit more 'damp'. But the differences are minimal, as confirmed by an email of Lorenzo Villoresi (in person) who kindly confirmed, that the only difference between the two is the amount of oil (more) and ethanol (less and more water added) - the formula of the oil mix is identical. The differences are thus just due to perception, and the variation of evaporation of the different components (the top notes, usually dryer/fresher, will be less 'projected' in the EDP which has less ethanol, thus appears as rounder). I have a slight preference for the EDT, but they are very close, and both are winners in my book. Whaaaat a journeyyyyyy..... Grazie Lorenzo, grazie di cuore! Cold seasons, 30+

I have worn this fragrance four days a week (to the office) this autumn and I think it is magnificent. I bought a full bottle of the EdP after getting the LV discovery set: I loved a number of them, but Atman Xaman seemed most perfect for the colder parts of the year. I went for the EdP as the EdT didn’t seem to last very long on my skin and I’m glad I did as the longevity is excellent. It is a complex perfume that opens with a delightful bitter-sweetness (the EdT opens a bit sweeter, which is the only major difference I have noticed), a combination of orangey fruit and mate tea. LV openings can be unreliable indicators of what is to come, with some being misleadingly harsh (Piper Nigrum, Patchouli) and others promising more than the end up delivering in the development (Dilmun, Yerbamate). Atman Xaman has a splendid development and different notes seem to be more prominent on different days: sometimes the immortelle (which can take on an animalic, almost uric note) dominates, and sometimes uncooked tobacco appears (alongside the overall tobacco theme that all the notes together evoke). Resinous, ambery, and not too sweet at all, it has what seem to be the two LV trademarks of a significant spice presence and a soapy Italian barbershop musk in the base. Though masculine in profile, a scarf that I wear now smells of the fragrance and has left a much softer, feminine impression. Though it is often described as leathery, it is a very soft interpretation of this note, with nothing industrial at all. Though the creator talks of it conjuring up impressions of mystical, exotic lands, to me this fragrance makes me think of an elegant Florentine gentleman, perhaps a dealer of antiquities and fine art. An absolutely splendid experience.

As many fragrances of Villoresi this is a no age perfume. An un-temporary scent more than a classic fragrance. Inspired by something which has always been there. In fact it is smell like something familiar without be similar to anyone, like Alamut is. Actually if Alamut is a sort of Arabian perfume more suitable for women, this could be the Arabian male tribute to this country. A country seen by a lens, an Hollywoodian lens. Rudolph Valentino. I mean an imaginary land viewed by foreigners and living only in the past, in a book, in a movie and in the fantasy. This new Villoresi is definitely a leather centered composition and in contradiction with said Xaman has something in common with Cuir by YSL in the core, in this leather side, but Atman is less linear, less fruity-flowery and more aromatic and herbaceous in someway and has many faces. A dark smoky dirty leather, sweeted by tobacco and vanille with honey results, but with a quite strong presence of immortelle, and patchouli, and mate, which provide it a woody spicy balsamic aura that make me think to a medieval castle and the image of a king warrior. Horses, fights, blades, sable, burned wood. A real good work. Noble. Not difficult to wear. Delicious. Magic.

**** EDP VERSION **** Finally got this! I would say this is a mature, boozy, animalic, oriental, tobacco fragrance. A more intense version of the EDT, but true to it. The EDT is sweeter in the dry down whereas this holds the line at the amber, never really going too far down the sweet path. The EDT version divulges more facets of the note pyramid where the EDP version is just a dense, farraginous, moist, version of the EDT. Sorry if i'm being lazy, but i do believe this has a slight note deviation from the EDT. Maybe due to having a higher concentration because, as mentioned above, it smells the same except be it more denser and richer. Sometimes when upping a concentration it will create a totally different vibe than the original, so the nose/composer has to compensate by deviating from the original note pyramid and even structure to bring it more inline with it's predecessor. I'm just speculating on that was what actually happened here. I believe, esp if you like this scent profile, the both are justified owning together. The EDT is for warmer days and daytime appropiate and the EDP is for cooler days and more evenings/going out appropiate. All and all, I'm happy to have it in my collection.

Just don't expect very strong performance, unfortunately, but it's not bad by the way. But if you manage your expectations in that regard, you will enjoy it for what it is, and you can over spray a bit more than what you normally spray using a perfume with an 8+ longevity. That's based on my personal experience on my own skin. With that being said, it's an amazing, beautiful, unique signature-esque scent, while clearly being made by high quality ingredients from none other than the Italian perfumer Lorenzo Villoresi. This is a gorgeous scent, that feels like your favorite tobacco scent* traveled back in time to sit on top of a subtle yet quality leather mat, containing old Arabian herbs and spices that are just beautifully vintage, from a sultan's palace. That's the best way I can describe the senses that this niche perfume evokes. (*) btw I don't smoke, never had a cigarette or cigar in my life... and I'm a huge advocate of non-smoking healthy environments.