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

One of my most complemented perfumes. Fluffy and cozy. Sideris smells like a pink and fluffy cloud - powdery-sweet. It's a heavy dose of liquid floral honey (I don't know about varieties, my favorite is chestnut honey, and it smells, well, not at all like that), some melted candle wax and lots and lots of powdered roses with a pinch of saffron and labdanum (no benzoin or other resins were detected on me). By the way, the smell of the rose that is listed in the pyramid, Rose Ayrshire Splendens, is supposed to resemble the smell of myrrh. There is something about it.

To quote Elf: I'm in love I'm in love and I don't CARE who knows it! Wow, was not expecting to love this perfume so much! It is truly beautiful and I'm not getting to the other scents in my order because of YOU Sideris! I've sprayed it on my couch, blanket, pillow and of course me, me, me. I can see a full bottle of this in my very near future. Such a beautifully arranged perfume! I wore this out on errands for the first time today, and for the first time in well over a year, I got a compliment on my perfume. Edit: I bought the full bottle!

An all-too fleeting incense-and-woodsy fragrance, summoning the fantasy of an Edwardian summer in an English country house. Having returned from church (incense wafting around the polished wooden pews), we had a lovely walk through the sun-dappled woods and now we are enjoying tea and honey cake in the rose garden. Sideris achieves a beautiful and delicate balance between wintery incense and summery rose: the first fragrance I have confidently identified as an all-year-round winner.

Another very soft, sweet and extremely pleasant incense. Difficult to discern individual notes over the incense, but I would say there is frankincense with sweeter resins, a faint rose and gentle spice touches, which I guess are down to the pepper and the saffron on looking at the notes. This may be the friendlier and most approachable incense perfume I have ever smelt. I like frankincense but it quickly overwhelms me in some compositions.

Wonderful parfum,soft,hot and dusty. Here incense is not the usual sweet incense, there is something magical about this perfume that makes it unique! extraordinary harmony and mysticism that is breathed, immediately puts a smile ...is docile,almost innocent and delicate, I had never heard so perfume.. the drydown is woody and aromatic. Scent of another world. VERY BEAUTIFUL!✧♥ Sillage: 7./10 Longevity: 8./10 Scent: 10./10 Overall: 10./10

Got a surprise sample of this one in a package of decants, and I must say it was perhaps the best of the whole bunch! To me it is a sheer and airy combination of beeswax and incense on a warm base, not cloying at all. Addicting stuff to someone like me who enjoys their orientals and ambers, will be looking into getting a FB. Interestingly enough reminds me of summer! So good, such a pleasant surprise!

I'm not getting anything done today because I am too captured by what I tried on. Really, it's like the day after that fabulous date, the one where you know in a flash that your life is going to be permanently altered. Wow. If I hadn't fallen so completely into this rabbit hole, I would be forsaking all others just for this This is incense, yes, but it's a soft. warm hug of the most comforting kind.

This fantastic, all natural perfume does not contain any sideritis or mountain tea whatsoever. In fact the heart note clearly consists of roses. So, Sideris blends saffron, labdanum, rose and benzoin. All this adds up to a warm and balmy melange indeed. A very beautiful scent!

Beautiful! A truly comforting soothing fragrance. It really does smell like incense and vanilla just as other reviewers have noted, but its the benzoin for sure! The composition is sweet, powdery and resinous, very easy to wear, a gentle wispy incense perfume.

I’d love to smell this one but I can’t find a decant of it anywhere. If anyone is willing to sell me a decant or swap with me. I own over 100 Niche and designer perfumes. I’m sure there is something I have that you’ll love. Please message me.

A beautiful and complex fragrance! Something about the interaction of the saffron, roses, and waxy woods invokes a castelvetrano olive that lurks like a soft meaty battery at the edge of my nose... addictive and elusive.

I got a decant of Sideris on a whim because of the fascinating pyramid of notes, more out of curiosity than anything else: I couldn't imagine what this combination would smell like, especially the mysterious mountain tea note, and I just had to find out. And I'm very glad I did - this scent is pretty far from my usual thing, and indeed unique and hard to describe, but I do like it very much. That's to say: I like it very much after it's had some time. The opening and early heart do very little for me: you can smell it's a unique and high quality perfume from the start, but the balsamic notes dominate this part in a cold, raw, green way - interesting and well done, but too austere or even bleak for my own taste. I'm sure those who enjoy this genre will be over the moon with this one, but I can't help it, I just need some spark of brightness or sweetness or warmth to really enjoy a scent, and there's none of that in Sideris, at least not at first. But once it's had some time to warm up on the skin, it's a different story entirely: the beeswax note becomes more and more prominent, and it's gorgeous, warm and just sweet enough, pretty near intoxicating. And the best part is it just keeps getting better and better for hours - Sideris lasts all day, and in the end the sweetness has conquered the balsamic aspect so much that it becomes a bit reminiscent of vanilla as it's finally fading away. Very nice! Perfect for spring and especially early fall, I think, and totally unisex. I don't think I'll ever need a full bottle of this one - it just isn't entirely my genre, and I tend not to get very much wear out of scents where I enjoy the drydown more than the opening anyway, because I'm an impatient type I guess. But I'm very glad I have my decant, and I'm sure I'll keep it in my collection for years to come.

I agree with a reviewer who said that all the perfumes in this line have a similar base. It's in-distinctively woody-powdery, but it also doesn't smell like Iso-E-Super (even if it is--who knows?). So if you find that base agreeable, like I do, you can't go wrong with this house. I love Sideris as an alternative to Burlesque, which is more floral and my favorite in the line. Sideris smells like beeswax and myrrh with a hint of tea. The perfume doesn't play out on my skin the way the pyramid suggests. I get something like a black tea with lemon and honey at first, and as it dries I get more myrrh and woods. I never really sense any saffron, but that's ok, I still love the perfume on the whole. The scent sits surprisingly softly on the skin. I was expecting more sillage and a more robust scent in general, but I'd say it's more soft, cozy, and intimate. Actually the beeswaxy scent smells a bit like sweetened wheat flakes cereal (like Wheaties). So while there is indeed plenty of church incense, I can't lump this into the category of Cardinal, Avignon, Full Incense, Resin Sacra, Incense Extreme, etc., and to me that's a good thing, as there are quite enough of those.

Sideris finds me in an incredulous stupor of disturbing beauty. Opening with aromatic, peppery bitter notes, I immediately recognize this as a healing tonic. The bitterness eventually makes way to an herbal infusion that is enlivened with a floral nuance. Then transforms into a stillness that I can only describe as cool, luminous, celestial goddess-like breath. What I smell is very much like the roses presented in L'Or de Torrente--newly bloomed pink roses, delicate lychee, herbal angelica and gentle vapor of cedar. However in Sideris, this divine aroma is achieved with Turkish rose (noted on other sites), saffron, labdanum, fruit-nuanced bees wax, myrtle, airy herbal tea and laudanum, and is by far more transcendental. Not listed above, but noted on Maria Candida Gentile's website, myrtle and laudanum create a wild rose accord. However I'm a little confused as other websites list labdanum (which I do detect). I haven't experienced laudanum but research reveals that it is a tincture of opium and used as a narcotic. No wonder I am awestruck by the rapturous power of Sideris.

Waxy, sweet, balsamic scent that reminds me of drinking slightly sweetened tea in the middle of a holy ritual. Myrrh is one of my favorite notes and it especially shines together with the (frank?)incense that is in here, giving it a very warm and calming feel. It reminds me of Exultat from MCG, because they both have the sweet vanilla-like incense, but this one is even smoother and more well-blended in my opinion. Gorgeous for fall and winter.

Notes of soft orange envelops you with a loving hug of inscence. Sideris is calming and pleasant to wear for oneself while going for a stroll or reading a book while siping tea. My only gripe with this fragrance is that it is linear and does not develop or transform. Sideris is a solid choice for when you want something soothing to help you unwind from the days grind.

This is a cup of hot mountain tea with a lot of thick and delicious honey in it. It's pleasant and very easy to wear. I'd say it leans more feminine. Ideal for winter sunny days, when you want to wear a cozy and luxurious scent.

I have given this fragrance numerous tries now (via a 15ml bottle: although it is pleasant, I cannot imagine wanting to smell of it and can’t see myself ever wearing it in public. It opens with a refreshing spicy, peppery incense blast that is very welcoming. It then soon takes on a sweetness that I find too much and doesn’t really go anywhere from there. It is not a gourmand fragrance exactly but smells to me of Turkish delight or maybe sweetened tea. Definitely seems more traditionally feminine in its profile than unisex.

Part smoky, balsamic and spicy like sprinkling myrrh, frankincense and BENZOIN in a beehive. On the skin I get like a honey liqueur. A sweet and salty almost gourmant that becomes more woody, with a powdery touch of labdanum and the note of green, wild, spicy sideritis, like culinary. The trail I get is chypre and retro but again with a citrus undertone of cake cream. Quite comforting, warm, soft and dusty like a cushion on a last century Ottoman bench polished with beeswax. Sweet and astringent. Not one of my favorite notes so for me it's like being on the run from the queen bee.

Those familiar with the burning of Frankincense resin will recognise it immediately in the opening of this fragrance. It's a distinctive and dominating note. The Frankincense seems to me to be supported by freshly chopped Rosemary herb, Lavender essential oil and Sandalwood. Later on a soft vanilla appears in the background, along with a little smokiness. Sideris is a potent and high quality formulation, but strongly herbaceous. It's not something I would choose to perfume myself with.

Sideris focuses on green, balsamic, and warm incense, reminiscent of incense plant leaves. Nuances of amber and wood bring warmth. Overall, it remains quite soft.

Balsamic, Incense and little else. Not too high sillage and moderate longevity. For hard hippies.

As a female this perfume left me feeling like a lumberjack and that’s not okay.

With Sideris, I am reminded of my attic as a child where I had a playroom, all the walls were knotty pine and they gave off a scent much like what I experience here: wistfully dusty, resinous, with the subtlest shades of sweet and sharp. I remember examining the wood and imagining each knot was some far away galaxy or a mysterious vortex. Up there was also a cedar hope chest, and yes, I am reminded of that as well. I loved the color of eastern red cedar, somewhere between a tawny and rosy, and speaking of rosy, a gossamer, treble rose haunts Sideris through its dry down, as if the roses are at the precipice of wilting and are due to be pressed into an old photo album or book, peppered both literally with the spice and figuratively with memory. If pewter had a small, it would be in Sideris as well. I then realize I am experiencing the lithe blooms of an incense, late afternoon, rising, the astringent wafts of myrtle leaves, and an overall contemplative comportment. A sheer, poignant beauty that makes me eager for autumn, but wears wonderfully on a summer day like today.

According to the official website for this fragrance, some of listed notes on this page are wrong. There is no Beeswax, Myrrh, or "Mountain Tea". Instead there is Myrtle, Turkish Rose and something called Rambling Rose (Rose Ayrshire Splendens). I guess the Beeswax comes from the fact that the wood note is listed as "waxed woods" among the official base notes. To be fair, if you read the official website in English it does indeed say "Corsican Myrrh", BUT if you read it in the original Italian it actually says "Mortella di Corsica" which means Corsican Myrtle, not Myrrh! Myrrh in Italian is "mirra", "mortella" means myrtle. So even the official site got it wrong in their translation! I guess Italians aren't known to be great at English. :P Myrrh and myrtle have nothing to do with each other. Kind of funny though that people still talk in their reviews about how they enjoy the myrrh note, even though there isn't any myrrh in this fragrance...

At first spray I'm blown away by the incense in this one...smells like a church (just like Elixir by Penhaligon's). I don't happen to like that very much. After a few minutes it settles down. I can smell the beeswax and surprisingly lemon, even though it's not listed. Myrrh and benzene also quite prominent. I do not smell any rose here? Longevity seems to be just OK, and projection is probably no more than arm's length (upon the first spray). It does become kind of linear in the dry down. I was expecting to really love this one and the reviews were so promising, but unfortunately, I'm not in love. I expected it to be a little more "sweet incense" but I think this fragrance is very masculine. I'll have to offer it t a friend or possibly swap if someone is interested.

Imagine sitting at a comfortable, well-worn table reading and rereading a letter at twilight. The windows of your solitary stone cottage are open, admitting the fragrance of wild roses on the cooling salt air. Soon you shake yourself out of your reverie to light a beeswax candle and put water on to boil for tea. The tea is faintly sweet and floral. You hold your open hand as close as you can to the candle, turning it this way and that, listening to the very faint shushing of the flame. Your hand is warm, dangerously hot even, so close to the flame but your body is chilled. Soon you will light a fire to warm your cold stone walls. Not yet, though. For now you are content to dream of the letter's sender and decide if your cottage will remain solitary.

Yippie ! The first incense scent that really gives me the feeling it belongs to me ! Etro ́s "Messe de Minuit" was my first try with incense. Well, the lemon and the floor wax note did not help to keep my affection. It smelled peculiar on me. "Full incense" by Montale was too cold for me. Cold stones, cold walls, cold mood. Not my cup of tea. Now I found this wonderful brand and fell head over heels for "Sideris". In the beginning rather herbal and woody but then quickly changing into a lovely, slightly vanilla-incense. Rather feminine, soft and cuddly but the atmospheric mood is not spoiled by its cuddliness. You feel comforted, loved and welcome. It is not a bomb fragrance, medium sillage, stays pretty close to the skin.

Riotous, juicy violets--quite dapper, actually--and Maria Candida Gentile's signature watermelon-candy/Sangria rose accord, with a pure shot of clean frankincense on a comfortable-furniture woodsy base. Sideris is the most easygoing incense fragrance I've ever found; it doesn't have the mannered stiffness of churchy fragrances like Messe de Minuit, the serious mein of desert incense perfumes like Sahara Noir, the ultra-refinement of Cardinal, or the grand Orientalist aspirations these perfumes' ambered cousins like Jubilation. It's hard to find a truly unique incense perfume, but Maria Candida Gentile has created a sweet-tempered, singular perfume here. Addictive!

Being an avid mountain tea drinker, I didn't think this smells much like mountain tea at first. But I was wrong. On my trip to Greece, while on a hike, I came across the Sideris (mountain tea) plant. When I crushed a leaf in my hands, it occurred to me that it smelled EXACTLY like this perfume! With the honey-sweet, warm and cosy notes and all. I couldn't stop smelling it. I'm so glad MCG captured the essence of the plant in such a photorealistic way and I can now carry this memory with me even on dull winter days. Do look out for the wild Sideris plant on your travels around the Mediterranean if you like this perfume.

Sideris is well done by an expert perfumer. There are many lovely notes and it has good longevity and medium sillage. It would be a perfect incense scent for me if the perfumer had gone a bit lighter on the labdanum and myrrh and the ISO-E-Super which I always smell very strongly in just about every perfume, as super spicy and rather bitter. I will say that Ms. Gentile has done the best job with myrrh and labdanum of any perfumer I know, but while I appreciate the skill of the perfumer, this fragrance is simply not for me. I do love others in the the Maria Candida Gentile line, however, so do try all of them.

Sideris is beautiful. I have grown up drinking lots and lots of Mediterranean mountain tea. In fact back in Greece when we say tea, we mostly mean mountain tea (we refer to the other tea as 'black tea'). Sideris does not bring to mind mountain tea exactly, but it gives me all the warm, soothing sensation as if I really had a cup of the steaming hot beverage. It is serene, herbal, some incense may be there too. A very special creation. I have found that it smells glorious if sprayed on freshly washed hair instead of on the skin; this way it wafts around you all day creating an aura of equilibrium and calmness

From Maria Candida Gentile web site, "The central note of Sideris is the Cysts Laudanum, a very Mediterranean essence. Together with the Myrtle they are very similar to the wild roses. The prestigious woods enhance the aromatic herbs in the formula, and the Benzoin creates a very rich base note." "Olfactive pyramid Top notes Incense, Cistus, Corsican Myrrh, White Pepper, Saffron Heart notes Turkish Rose, Rose Ayrshire Splendens Base notes Sandalwood, Benzoin, Waxed Woods Family Amber, Flower, Wood" NO trace of Sideritis, mountain tea at all but ROSES.

A light blend of spices! Benzoin, balsamic note, myrrh, incense, honey, & black pepper. It begun quite good with that incense balsamic honey, then turned balsamic fir with myrrh, thrn settles on black pepper & benzoin with allot of labdanum, saffron, and sandalwood. I detect red roses as well in a powdery state. Mmm, i could say it's ok, but nothing that would strike up! mostly everything in the same doses, and that's really doesn't make a blend balanced! meh! Maybe i need to give it more time!

68th It smells very close to Exultat, but starts sweeter overall, which stays longer at first. However, there is a metallic-mashed grasses/ hay-like note (maybe the herbal tea?), that I do not care for at the opening to mid-it just smells weird. I like Exultat better as it becomes a slightly sweet European church incense once it settles. I would say that when both settle they smell 95% alike...once that weird herbal tea? note goes away...7/10

It's just like a pharmacist went to the church and tried to prepare some herbal medicaments, (elixirs?) in the smokes of the churchy incense. Maybe later I will write more about it. The opening is breathtaking and it makes me down on my knees - I NEVER smelled anything like this (as I am the incense lover). If you want an aromatic incense in a completely new and original version - it's for you.

If I had to describe this fragrance with one word, I'd say - hippy. This is super raw, Earthy, green, herbal, incense mix. Super natural labdanum and myrhh make it mystical, honey & saffron - gentle and sweet, some spicy notes - a bit dirty. Sideris is certainly an artistic creation, I really appreciate it, but it will take a certain person to pull it off.

It's a balmy, powdery slightly sweet,mild sophisticated fragrance for delicate women. There is noticeable antique book aroma to this scent that takes you back in time. I'd imagine Marie Antoinette's boudoir smelling like this. Luscious and lovely!!!

To me, this is a nice fragrance, similar to Paestum Rose. These are the notes listed on AZLD: Top Note: Frankincense, Labdanum (Rockrose), Myrrh, White Pepper, Saffron Heart Note: Turkish Rose, Rose Base Note: Sandalwood, Benzoin, Woods

This one is surely for rose lovers. The sweet velvet rose is sleeping on the pillow made of incense and soft spices. Very comforting scent.

Smells like Lebanese mastic rice pudding.. Its nice smell for pudding but not good for a perfume

One of my new favorites. Unique; outdoorsy. Not your typical floral. Reminds me of India.

This smells awfully tasty for something composed almost entirely of inedible notes.

This is amazing. Truly, truly unique and beautiful.