Sideris

You can call Maria Candida Gentile ́s fragrances anything but run-of-the-mill or bland. In each of her perfumes I ́ve sampled so far, I detect a vast amount of originality, expertise and passion for perfumery. Her creations are far from straightforward or instantly lovable. On the contrary, it takes some time for their wearer to get under their skin and appreciate them. This was certainly my case. I ́ll never forget my first encounter with a Maria Candida Gentile perfume, “Barry Lyndon”. At first, I just did not get it at all. Fortunately, instead of deterring me, that experience stiffened my resolve. I kept testing it and now “Barry Lyndon” is one of my favourite perfumes from Ms Gentile ́s line. “Sideris”, inspired partly by Cesare Pavese ́s (unrequited) love poem, is another fragrance from Maria Candida Gentile. Unlike “Barry Lyndon”, I found “Sideris” a little less challenging. It was the flawless blending of all its notes that struck me right away. None of them is allowed to “shout”, yet there are quite a lot of them that are perceptible even to an untrained nose like mine. “Sideris” opens with a pleasant combination of saffron and myrrh, which is soon joined by incense. However, don ́t expect any pungent, churchy incense. What we are given instead is a soft, incense-y background. In the heart, I pick up a delicate rose note, once again playing a supporting role rather than being the star. The whole fragrance rests on a pleasant benzoin and vanilla base which provides it with a hint of sweetness. Somewhere along the way, the Greek mountain tea sideritis is supposed to feature in the perfume, but since I ́ve no idea what it smells like, I can ́t confirm nor refute its presence. All in all, Maria Candida Gentile ́s “Sideris” is an extremely well-balanced and beautifully composed fragrance. It ́s a perfect olfactory interpretation of Pavese ́s poignant poem and so much more. Whenever I smell it, it reminds me of an embrace. A warm, reassuring embrace from a close friend whose mere presence makes my heart jump for joy.

The first moment is incense made out of living plant material -- something... vegetal? herbal? difficult to describe, but full-bodied in a way that straight olibanum, e.g., can never be. I'm attributing this to the mysterious sideritis, as it seems green. Moments later the beeswax melts in, a fast but graduated shift that just feels right. Incense, candles, of course. Now it's getting sweeter, and the vegetal body steps into the background. Through it all I feel a floral quality. At first it seems distinctly white floral. Later liqueur-ish facets, matched with a light powder, reveal themselves. Maybe even a hint of a plum. Perhaps this combination accounts for the perception of rose. Has the smoke turned to powder? Of course these are related sensations, small particles in the airways. Not completely. I enjoy the confusion. I imagine saffron also contributes to this accord, with its scent of course but also its association to another great particulate: pollen. Then I smell honey. I love honey, but it sticks out here in a way that nothing else has stuck out so far. Now the liquored flower is back, perhaps a scented alcohol providing fuel for a very slow and steady burn. It's neither hot nor cold. And then, gradually, it solidifies. The wax has cooled. The incense is now a resin once again. Amber emerges, grounding, nostalgic, and sweet. As the scent becomes faint, the solid slowly erodes, as if you ground up these materials and scattered the dust all about.

Honestly, Sideris is an outstanding incense fragrance. And totally not what I expected. Sideris is actually really a special and specific scent. It manages to somehow realisticly capture the smell of an old stone house in the mountains in Portugal or Italy or Greece, with shiny wooden floors, ancient ornate cupboards and vitrines in dark polished wood, the most pleasant dusty musty amber, and the smell of rooms where incense used to be burnt for many years. Inside the space this fragrance conjurs, there are bundles of Mountain tea, Sideritis, hanged to dry, from old wooden beams. On the tables there are pink rose petals drying, going from fresh to stale, a sweet and honeyed scent. It all dries down a bit sweet, but that's just to keep this from being an austere cathedral incense scent and to keep it within this old mountain home charm. Sideris is easy to wear, comforting, and gorgeous, actually. It's not going to be mass appealing, if so there would be more talk about it, but if you love churchy incenses, give this one a try, it gives you something different but still atmospheric in a similar manner.

I am soO surprised that vanilla is not listed in the notes Alright. I love this perfume. I have no idea what Sideritis/ mountain tea is but this smells like nothing else and i love it. did i already say that Incense, beeswax, saffron; are you kidding me! I sprayed some on my coat like a month ago and i can still smell it Its just so pretty. I definitely smell vanilla which is not normally my favorite scent in perfumes but this is like a 'can do no wrong' smell to me no matter what and the vanilla smell just supports the scents gentle wooded warmth Mmm soothing sitting in the lodge sipping tea looking over the snowy capped mountains

Sideris definitely is beeswax, it's the note that hits you most in summer - I'd normally wear this in cooler weather, but since I love it so much, I treated myself today. Honey, beeswax, incense, myrrh, herbal tea, labdanum, yep, all there, one of my most unusual and most loved niche scents. I get stopped to ask what IS that scent, and while beeswax is not a usual component of popular scents, it works, works, works in this. Hard to get hold of, and in my top 10 (out of 300) because it's completely unique and hits that dopamine YES I have in my brain. Sideris, is the reason I love niche scent :) x