Exultat

Wonderfully complex and artful fragrance. Bitter and spicy opening in a lovely way - quite peppery although not listed in the notes. The bitter pepperiness lasts throughout as this develops into a rich, dry woody fragrance with vintage violet vibes. Every time I go for a sniff I pick up something different, alternating between smooth woodiness and bitter spiciness and slightly powdery violets. This is perfectly unisex but I envision it as more of a gentlemanly fragrance or on a chic woman approaching middle age and exuding Parisian elegance while wearing high fashion. Both of which are a far cry from little old me but I enjoyed wearing in nonetheless. Not a powerful projector which matches its elegant air. Sillage is on the closer side of moderate, but surprisingly has fantastic longevity - I’m at 7 hours and counting, and the fragrance has not lost its high quality integrity. If you’re into super dry and violet laced woods, the dry down will not disappoint.

MCG should get more love. This is an outstanding and complex scent. Maybe too complex for some but for me it's so deep,sultry and luxurious. Olibanum is such a love/hate note for most to begin with but then mixing it with citrus/earthy/powdery notes is something that I don't recall sniffing. It's blended so thoughtfully and has several phases. The brash smoky opening shortly calms itself into a powdery element and even earthy with the tiniest bit of vetiver unfolding into the mix. The woods diversify it and the dry down reminds you of a light slightly boozy slightly gourmand scent but no one scent comes to mind. This is a masterpiece in my book hands down! Performance is excellent as well as it lasts easily over 8 hours with above average sillage. Maybe the thing that's holding Maria back is the ugly bottles? If you can look beyond that then give this and Sideris which is probably her most well known scent a try.

Writing about one's favorite perfumes is the hardest but I'll try. It's so well-blended that I struggle to pick out any exact notes except olibanum, orange and incense, some cedar in the drydown perhaps. Powdery violet too. Oops, I actually managed to pick out some notes, okay. It's incredibly comforting in fall and winter, wearing this frag feels like wrapping yourself in a blanket. No idea why but it smells really festive to me, even though I usually perceive incense as a somewhat pessimistic smell, haha. Exultat feels deep and full of joy, really. It feels like entering a church in winter while eating an orange. Sillage is moderate while longevity is great. If you don't overspray, it's quite a crowd-pleaser, I got a lot of compliments on it from people who don't even use fragrance. Dolce Vita fans love this too.

My first MCG. Does it ever happen that you fall so completely for a fragrance that you not only have to have a bottle, right now, but you need to try the rest of the line immediately? There's something about the balance of this scent, the warmth and the quiet joy of it that's like meeting a kindred spirit. I've just met this MCG but I want to know her. I dislike Avignon quite intensely and the crazy thing is this reminds me strongly of that scent but somehow without the cold, clinical and chemical character of Avignon. It's churchy incense but with love. Weirdly i can't identify any note difference with Avignon but instead a complete personality change. I'm wearing it in 108 heat. It's lasted most of the day as a skin scent and I had a lovely cloud for the first four hours.

Exultat is a solemn, sumptuous, and unusual perfume. It doesn’t remind me of church but rather of childhood. I resonate with the comment below, where someone said it reminds them of their grandparents. That’s how my grandmother’s wooden wardrobe or coffer used to smell—as if someone had forgotten some whole, crushed oranges inside, alongside violet flowers. The orange juice trickles down the shelves of the old wood and onto the flowers, releasing this introverted, cool, and calm aroma.

prime meravigliose note di incenso, quello vero, quello da chiesa. immediatamente dopo spunta un sentore di violetta candita, che rende l'accordo polveroso e meno austero del previsto. l'assestamento è delizioso: persistente, legnoso, aromatico. finalmente ho trovato l'incenso ideale

Church-like incense, bitter citrus, powdery and woody notes, and a slight mustiness define Exultat. Its sillage is intimate, and projection is minimal, making it meditative and introspective.

MCG has succeeded in the apparently impossible task to make frankincense (in its best quality, by the way) smell sexy. An astonishing and wonderful miracle.

I love all her perfumes... Waiting for the new collection :-)

Over 2 years since I first reviewed and I have 180ed. Not only did I like it I went ahead and bought it! This is a WONDERFUL violet-woody scent, WONDERFUL. I could smell like this ALL day, every day (I would get tired of it, though!), it's just AMAZING. It occupies the same kind of territory as Orris Forest (Maher) and whilst they don't smell the same AT ALL, they both transform the soft, dainty, crepe-paperesque nature of violet and turn it into something much MUCH more beefy and chunky. It damn near comes out gourmand, it does. It feels like some kind of weird and unique macaron flavour, or like something you'd find in a French patisserie in rural Japan run by a pastry chef who did a four-year apprenticeship in Paris in the early 1980s and has an entire prefecture of people travelling a few hours each way once or twice a month to buy AMAZING macarons. There is a dusty element in this, and it actually works to boost the whole scent profile -- I really do like this! If I was forced to rate this, it would be around 8.75 ~ 9.0 / 10 -- it just needs that base heft, even just a SMIDGE -- the frankincense IS indeed there, and you can sense it, but it doesn't alter the scent anywhere near what the votes suggest, at least to my nose. In any case, this is a DAMN good scent, and one that I am MORE than happy to have in my collection...

Honestly, before looking at the notes, i thought it was a powdery iris fragrance. I was quite surprised to see there is no iris/orris in it. Maybe the mix of ingredients made it smell like iris. It's still slightly powdery to me. It has a bit of texture to it, like inhaling chalk. Not in a bad, coughing, or unpleasant way mind you. Only similar in how it feels in the air. Later towards the drydown i can easily detect the orange, along with violet leaf, and sandalwood. Personal score: 8.5/10. I'm a big Maria Candida Gentile fan. But, I got an official sample of most of Maria Candida Gentile's fragrances, which all come in a 1.8ml terrible dab bottle. I get the idea of saving cost. But it cheapens the first impression, it makes getting a good wear hard, and i payed the same for the sample as i do for a similar 2ml sample with a sprayer. However, Maria Candida Gentile fragrances are available in 15ml bottles for 50% more per ml, as well as the 100ml bottles. And that makes them Very easy to actually try. There are several from Maria Candida Gentile i will get in a 15ml. I'll wear them for a while, and get the full 100ml of all the once i really enjoy. More brands should do this. It sells more bottles, and it gives the brand a consumer friendly entry way.

I've really REALLY agonised over this one all weekend, and I've decided to NOT go for it. At $150, and at 100 mls, it will REALLY need to be a love. Not a like, not a 'pleasant', not anything less than a love. It occupies the same terrain as Ultraviolet Woman, a sweet, tasty edible violet, one that doesn't have all that much of a quaint, dainty floral aspect, and kinda presents a little like an ambient smell, like what a waiting room in a spa would smell like, or the packaging on a designer garment. I really like smelling this, but, it's not an out and out love. It's a 7.5 ~ 8 out of 10, possibly higher on certain days, but, you know, I have about 200+ 8/10s, and about 20 of them a violet-centric. Seriously, in another world, at another time, I'd shell out the $150, and even in this hypothetical setting, I would use it once or twice a year and I'd die with the bottle being like 95% full. When you collect hard, and you're 10 years into collecting, every single purchase needs to be a careful, considered move. I'm not sure it's the frank, or the woodiness, but there is something that 'mutes' the violets, and I can't put my finger on it...

Questo profumo mi ha sempre fatto sognare,mi porta indietro negli anni, fino a quando ero bambino che andavo con mia nonna in collina,tra l'erba,in mezzo alle violette,in un periodo in cui aria, cielo e terra erano pure e semplici,selvagge e prive di cemento e telecamere e antenne. Il cielo grigio,il fumo dei caminetti, Exultat ha un'atmosfera bucolica, campagna, case di pietra, senso di calma e di serenità. Ha note amare,lievemente frizzanti e pepate,poi setose,i vapori di incenso e le viole portano la mente a raserenarsi,contemplare, non mi viene in mente nessuna chiesa,ma un paesaggio antico. La base è piu polverosa e dolce di benzoino,ma resta asciutto e setoso,come un baule pieno di lenzuola di lino trovato in soffitta. E' ridicolo e riduttivo definire un profumo "un incenso".

"Exultat" opens rich with loads of powdery violet on a hard, tiny bit cloying cedar base (I've noticed that most perfumes with dominant cedar note appear a bit too powdery/woody for my taste, so it's a question of preferences). The opening is not the most interesting part, though it's somewhat pleasant. The heart is when the magic starts to happen, this has to be one of the most easy to wear frankincense scents - it has the church vibe yet it's so subtle and elegant that one could wear it without problems (because let's be honest - incense and frankincense is not the most crowd pleasing notes). The almost candy violet plays her part perfectly here. The drydown is a beautiful woody and sweet violet. "Exultat" stays close to skin and has a very decent longevity of 10 hours.

Forgive me if this is not done correctly, this is my very first review. I bought this on the hunt for a fragrance bought in 1977. It was one of my first perfumes, it was unusual and has haunted me ever since. But allas, I now know, it had either frankincense or myrrh notes in it, because this Exultat has that in common. Exultat definitely a great scent for a Goth or anyone who wants to convey a spooky flair. IT'S PERFECT FOR HALLOWEEN. I prefer to layer it with Zoology's BEE. It sweetens it up for the most amazing smokey sweet smell. It's the closest I have come to burning Autumn leaves, in a bottle. And I say that with reverence. By itself I rate it a 7/10.

Interesting and intriguing. I'm gonna need to try this one out again, methinks, mostly because there is a fair bit going on in this. It's quite a soft, dainty violet, with edible/gourmand elements behind it, but by and large, this does NOT function as a violet-floral scent. I can't put my finger on it! There's an almond-pear sweetness to this, as well as a soft resin quality, but it's like nothing I've ever experienced... I need to return to this...

Much like L’artisan Passage d’Enfer (a scent that sounds amazing to me on paper) I cannot smell much of anything in Exultat aside from a vague woody vanilla. It’s frustrating. I must lack the right receptors for these fragrances. And they both sound incredible. Edit: Okay, after really loading it on and a second try I get it. I like the woody violets drydown at the end after the sweetness subsides.

Unusual scent as a sample deserves a review. Shortest review I’ve done. Regardless of the note description for me a few minutes into the dry down this is a fairly linear damp fine saw dust with a half eaten chocolate bar placed next to it (alternatively a can of Milo powdered drink opened next to it. Soft, sublime and smooth - mostly nose to skin. Respect.

The scent opens warmly, with spicy and slightly woody notes. These initial notes gradually take a back seat, remaining subtly perceptible while gracefully giving way to violet. However, it does not become a typical floral fragrance. The combination of these notes feels unusual, slightly edgy, and it is certainly not a classic feminine scent.

Amazing violets and violet leaves rounded out by beautiful dry and sweet frankincense. Together with the lime and bitter orange it forms a very candy-like scent, a soft and deep violet candy with a quiet base of great woods. Basically, if candied violet sounds good to you then definitely try it out! 💜

My skin just loves to lean violet, so this one is mostly a sugared violet with some slight creaminess, a sort of viscosity. I wish it were more incense on me. It's not bad by any means, just disappointing for ME, in relation to my expectation and mostly because of my skin chemistry.

If you love incense as a perfume note, Exultat is definitely a must-try. Its beautiful name is well chosen, because it's really very churchy, a little too much for me personally, especially in the opening when it's the only thing I can smell. Thankfully it's not the cheap, sweetish kind of incense that's often smelled in real churches, but a more high quality, toned-down version, very cold and rather austere. As it dries down, this accord is joined by first woods and then violets which are all beautiful but just as cold and sparse as the incense - the same kind of raw, almost bleak quality that's also found in Sideris from this house. It's beautifully done, and I admire it for how original and interesting and uncompromising it is, but I don't think I'll get much wear out of it personally. From this (very niche!) "church in the woods" category of scents, I prefer Comme des Garçons' Zagorsk.

Revisit it, what an utter load of nonsense, sharp cutting synthetic violet/canned fruit squashing about, with disorientated frankincense going head to head, no order, no harmony, just a blob of smoky nonsense. No orange nor ceder, just boring violet with BBQ style frankincense hating each other. A man-made feud! Big thumb down, a boo to the house for its asking price or a big question mark to the perfumer's skills. It is forgivable in the early 2000s when niche was just fairly new and not in shape, while, now?

That rare thing: a disappointing fragrance from Maria Candida Gentile. For an incense lover like me, the olibanum at the opening is too rapidly overtaken by the violet note to make any real impact. To my nose, the violet is simply too dominant throughout, rendering the fragrance neither Woody nor Aromatic, just Female-leaning Floral.

I received a purple carded free sample of this with my purchase of Noir Tropical and of the three samples sent I’m enjoying this one the most. Musky soft violet, powdery. Staying power fleeting. Needs further testing but it’s quite nice. Edit- I think the frankincense overpowers the violet note, headache inducing. I appreciate having Fragonard Violette in my collection so much more now.

This is a most unusual scent! I was put off by the Lush shop reference in the previous review - for me Lush stores smell too strong of too much all at once. Fortunately, Exultat is nothing like that - rather than dizzying it is calming and cooling. The top notes smell like clay, a bit like draining citrus-scented water out of an earthenware cup. It is cool, refreshing and dark. I suppose it is the earthiness of the vetiver and violet leaf combined with the citrus and frankincense. Later the violet emerges and the sweet floral reminds me of sitting in a cool, shady spot of a garden - there is still the earthy scent but now coupled with florals and juicy citrus. In the drydown the violets recede again, leaving a fairly green cedar. Now, violet and incense are deal-breakers for many, so a note on both: the violets do get quite sweet and powdery at the perfume's mid point; but the incense is not really smoky at all - it is a true frankincense, but the unburnt resin. Overall, this is like a cool drink when you are thirsty. Clay, shade, violet, juice, green wood. I find this high quality, well blended and intriguing. Whether it will be a love for me will depend on whether I crave this on my skin or whether I prefer it as an olfactory experience. Watch this space...

I'll skip the inspiration anecdote regarding Exultat because, being myself Italian, I find it a bit stereotyped and, therefore, uninteresting. Now, onto the fragrance... Exultat opens with bitter notes of orange and lime which pair perfectly with the massive dose of frankincese immediately detectable since the very beginning. Simply fantastic in its severity. A candied violet note, which I'm usually not a big fan of, takes over right away smoothing the general austerity and leading the composition towards more friendly territories where the incense brings to mind of clean liturgical vestments stored in antique chests of drawers. Slightly dusty, slightly powdery with a good dose of mistery. The violet-incense accord settles down and merges with a thick base of cedarwood and vetiver giving birth to an incredibly long lasting drydown which, together with the opening, is the best part of this composition. Do I like it? Not completely. I actually can't get past the candied violet driven mid-phase (in this case, this is just a matter of personal taste) but, if you're fine with the accord, Exultat represents one of the most original renditions of liturgical frankincense. Respect. Rating: 8/10

Reviewing sample from 2021. Exultat was launched in 2009. Luscious violet and chocolate woods. Subtle bitter orange to start followed by chocolate dipped sugared violets. Olibanum and aromatic woods add depth. The dry down is incense, violet and woods. Slightly sweet and gourmand. It is not as powdery as I expected. The notes below are as per their website. I have no idea what Scents of Bride's Trousseau smells like. Top: Somalian Incense, Sicilian Orange, Brazilian Bitter Orange, Brazilian Lime Heart: Violet, Violet Leaves Base: Scents of Bride’s Trousseau, Mixture of Precious Woods, Haiti Vetiver, Texas Cedarwood Quality- very good 4/5 Unisex performance- stays close but lasts 4/5 A French patisserie of a scent with candied violets dipped in cocoa enjoyed in a small cafe filled with antique wood. Unusual and intriguing. Sample first as violet is not for everyone. 7/10

66th Sweet dry frankincense incense and nearly the same as Sideris at mid-to-dry-down. It is such a gentle difference between the two; perhaps Sideris has a rose note, but it is not that perceptible. This is a touch more resiny, but overall you can flip a coin. It is interesting though that they smell almost the same when you spray and at dry-down, but the notes are so different... I feel that this one is a smoother composition between the two. I bought the small size, not because it's amazing, but unique and interesting for cooler weather, a gentle incense blend, and it doesn't smell like anything else I have. 7/10

As the initial lime, orange citrus, and powder high notes fall, cedar and frankincense wrapped in violets emerge and stay. I close my eyes and see Bedouins, or gypsies celebrating at a night festival. The frankincense is offered as an untamed spiritual experience, as opposed to structured spirituality that a church provides. The cedar is interwoven within the frankincense to give depth to the scent. The violets are the vehicle from which the incense is delivered. I absolutely love this fragrance. It lacks nothing. It is complex, without confusion. There is nothing out There like It.

This perfume seems to be extremely hit or miss for folks. Perhaps it is that nebulous 'skin chemistry' factor coming into play? At any rate, try before you buy. My experience was as follows: a breathless shop girl at a chic perfume boutique sprayed me with this fragrance, exclaiming it was the best violet she had ever experienced. I sniff my wrist, and all I smell is grape soda. I confirm with my friend. Yep, grape soda. Shop girl is perplexed. This was a 'miss' for me, but I didn't hate it. My skin does strange things to fragrance...

I love the incense note and I tried quite a few perfumes containing it, but this one is different from the rest. I do not perceive this incense as solemn, seductive or meditative. It is bright, light and airy. I might be influenced by the name of the perfume, but this scent makes me think of a country church on Sunday, bathing in sunlight and filled with flowers. Violets add a touch of sweetness and innocence.

Exultat opens with a blast of citrus fruits and a lot of sweetness; almost candy or sugar like. Then it emits it's violet and woodsy notes conducted by vetiver and something that wants to be incense. The latter is a farce imo. I'd go that far to say: This is not an incense scent. What I do admit is that it is leaning towards the feminine gender. Top-notch: Yes Incense y: No

This is a velvet glove over the base of frankinsense. Its a tough note to soften, but she does it brilliantly with candied violet. Its a beautiful idea, and unique for a perfumistas signature. If you want to step up from the en masse Guerlains, this is for you. Chic and pretty.

Opens with Frankincense, moves into violet, then the cedar appears, it's musical and beautiful....

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