Mariella Burani

I absolutely positively love this fragrance and haven't encountered anything like it (and that includes Chanel No. 5). I never get bored of Mariella Burani, it is my go-to. It was my first perfume and is still one I like to wear. It is not an everyday scent, and if I wear it on casual days I feel almost overdressed. But it can definitely be someone's signature. I hold this fragrance quite dear to my heart, even if it isn't my daily driver. I feel like I need to have it available in my collection at all times. It is truly special! I think it's a traditional oriental with some unique elements. Definitely complex. Warm. Carefree but grounded. Sophisticated but not in a trendy way. Heady, but not heavy. I think a trained nose would be able to tell this came out of the 90s. It is one of those fragrances that smells expensive and would not out of place at a high-end department store. Some people may say it smells "old lady", but that usually is a catch-all phrase for anything rose scented or with a powdery note. The rose and iris are present but not overwhelming. They don't take it to an overly flowery place. It has some sweet elements, like the vanilla and tonka, but they don't make it sugary. The woods add warmth without heavy resin or sap. Every note has a part to play and they each add something special, without domineering the whole thing. For me, this is one of those perfumes that defies explanation. I simply struggle to put it into words. A lot of fragrances can be replicated or approximated, but I have yet to find something similar to Mariella Burani. This perfume is actually hard to find within the past few years. And expensive when you do. So I wonder what I will do when I can no longer find this stellar scent!

A rose by any other name might be a rose, but my nose says it's an iris ;) I don't smell rose at all, not a single petal. As I love rose, that potentially could have been a bad thing. Not so with Mariella Burani. The composition isn't marred by the missing Queen of Flowers. Iris slid right onto the olfactory thrown in this creation. She gently, yet absolutely, rules this fragrance. I don't always appreciate how iris is presented in perfumery, but here it's lovely. It's sophisticated, which is usually the case, but it's a quiet sophistication. It's also feminine, which I don't find the case often enough. Iris is also responsible for the unrelenting and welcomed powder puff it exudes. Now, don't get the impression iris is alone, far from it. You will be able to pick out amber, benzoin and various persistent wood notes from top to bottom. There also might be a couple of un-credited aldehydes tiptoeing around. Mariella Burani isn't playful to me. She's a bit out of step with current counter offerings. Early 90s sounds just right. While light in comparison to some, especially those released with similar dates, she's in no way lighthearted. I didn't find sweetness, cream or fruit. She's a little more on the serious side....pensive, private, softly purposeful. There's something undefined here, subtle and modest. It's there, behind the glasses when you look. Mariella Burani projects the need to ask permission before you lean in, but she's thinking about it :)

Mariella Burani is one very special fragrance. So complex with interesting elements, and with a fragile balance that must have taken much time to perfect. A soft, smiling opening which is bright with a little green earthy bite, letting you know that she is classically feminine but walks to her own beat. The floral heart is full of just that--HEART. It's full, feminine, gentle, endearing, yet enduring and firm. There's also a velvety powder touch that makes this feel ever so tender. The benzoin, vetiver and tonka create a deep, gently sweet harmony with the more familiar base elements. Mariella Burani truly differentiates herself from the rest without having to shout about it. This is one of those fragrances that you'd rather keep a secret because it's easily adoptable as a signature being unique, yet versatile. It's also hard to find. It's fragrances like this that bring out the tender-hearted woman in you when you wear them.

For some reason this rose topped bottle has been tugging on my subconcious over the last 6 months. I'd never smelled it before but somehow I just knew it was "the one". And I'm not disappointed. The lemon worried me a lttle, some other frags use waaay too much but thankfully it's not blaring here. I pick up the taragon, slightly green but subtle. The iris comes on quickly, soft and dreamy. There is a slight soapiness but it isn't distracting and doesn't take away from the lovely floral center. Amber and vanilla standout in the drydown for me, sweetly lingering. A little patchouli gives it just the right earthbound touch. It appears the notes are almost identical to No. 5, so that would explain the comparison. Personally, I prefer this succo. Warm, feminine and easier to wear. Very classy and a definate classic. I want to wear it for many years to come, so please BUY IT UP LADIES, so not discontinued!

Thanks to my adored trusted perfumer, a great expert and researcher of vintage perfumes, I managed to obtain a (wonderful) 100 ml bottle that I treat as a precious and very rare simulacrum. My reminiscences about this fragrance date back to the 90s to a small collector's bottle. Today I don't find it any different to my nose: a solemn sensational floral riot of rare beauty, Ylang Ylang prevailing in agreement with citrus and woody notes of great charm. Olfactory evolution straddles the multiple floral nuances until reaching the dry down with an enveloping and very sensual amber, sweet and musky scent which translates into a reassuring clean and clear powdery finish. Vaguely reminiscent of Lorenzo Villoresi's Teint De Neige. Extraordinary fragrance that I wish you to test.

Classic oriental-floral I was lucky to find along with some other vintage treasures from the 90's. Mariella Burani is so gorgeous it's hard to believe it's flown under my perfumista radar 'til now. This is an elegant, assured perfume for confident people; exquisitely powdery with an ambery-woody foundation, nuanced florals and a soft orange blossom-tarragon note on opening. The aura it's creating around me is making my heart sing! Inhaling this is the olfactory embodiment of that perfect, luminous day where everything flows, everything is easy, everyone is full of wit and humour and life is a comfortable, pleasurable frolic with friends. Distillation: collector's treasure opulent vintage perfume making my heart sing

This fragrance reminds me a bit of Teint de Neige but it is more vanillic and much woodier. The rosewood and the vanilla tonka bean combo really stick out for me. The florals are pressed and faded florals kept in a rosewood box sprinkled w/ feminine dusting powder. It has shades of Amouge Dia Woman as well, must be the tarragon. I really agree w/ the reviews below. I can't add to those. It is sumptuous, mellow, very nostalgic. Something from the past but I find it very wearable. I get compliments all the time on perfumes like this or should I say the same family as this one. People are drawn to them and thus they will be drawn to you. Womanly, comforting, safely sensual.

This was the scent I first fell in love with at age 14. I owned a miniature which I treasured for a few years, and by the time I could afford my own bottle, it was already unavailable. Luckily, I found Chanel No.5 EDP, which has a dry down extremely similar to this scent (creamy, buttery floral). MB MB is like No.5 minus the strong aldehyde opening in the latter, it's also sweeter, warmer, more casual and lemony in comparison to No.5...No.5 is more refined and sophisticated for sure...but yes, it's definitely similar enough for me to purchase the widely available No.5 (in edp formulation, not edt) instead.

Mariella Burani is gorgeous. Gorgeous! I would describe it as A Better Chanel No 5. Loads of aldehydes at the start. Big classy warm abstract floral. Dries down a bit ambery, powdery, creamy and demure. This one lives life with charming effortless exuberance. Beautiful, fun bottle. Really sad it’s discontinued. I have 1/2 bottle left and feeling scared to wear it, lest it be gone. For those lamenting it’s demise, maybe try Teo Cabanel Alahine, Guerlain Samsara, and Chanel No 5.

This was literally the first perfume I bought and I went through several bottles since. I still have it and don't want to use it because it can't be found for quite some time. It's a rich powdery scent that is perfect for me in the wintertime, it was my signature fragrance for years. Recently I went for a dupe hunt and was surprised how much Kenzo Amour resemble it, at least on my skin. On a first sniff I was just repeating "this is it"!

wow; unique and different from every other vanillic balsamic powdery floral; totally powdery heaven but with citrus in the top and woods and florals; very complex; I would say bergamot and lemon in the top with the iris and rosewood then rose and ylang with sandalwood, lots of musk, tonka and benzoin; heaven but you have to love POWDER. I mean this is pure iris powdery heaven.

This is Chanel No.5 without aldehydes, and made creamier. Very sensuous, feminine and warm, a buttery floral. My mom owned this in the late 90s and she decanted a small bottle for me. I loved it and it sparked my love for perfumes. Now I own No.5 EdP, and yes, after the aldehydes fade, they smell quite similar. I personally prefer MB, but well, No.5 is beautiful too.

Whoa!! What happened? I bought a 3.4oz bottle of this about a year and a half ago for $30...now Ebay sellers want $150?? I guess there's always gonna be someone looking to take advantage of us poor perfuministas... Update: The definition of an oriental perfume is amber, not spices. Therefore, this one is classified correctly.

I am wearing this today. I wanted something warm, but fresh, clean, but a floral background. My bottles are over twenty years old and believe it or not, they still smell perfect. The company that made this perfume really paid attention to quality. It lasts all day and just gets better with age. Please bring this back.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but this is an absolutely stunning perfume. I blind bought this. It was on sale and I love vintage perfumes and I can’t tell you how powdery and delicious this fragrance is if you’re a vintage lover, it’s a must purchase.

Just purchased a vintage splash bottle. It has a very weak smell, I think it is counterfeit. I purchased it on ebay from a Spanish site. What a pity! I cannot send back and have a refund because the product has been opened. I am very upset! Please be aware!

I tried again and this time it goes very well, the perfume is original! It conquered me very soon; something of Chanel n.5 but more happy and fun! A masterpiece and a pleasure to wear.

Sumptuous, fine and mellow. Just got this today and I believe it’s my happiest blind buy — thanks to all of you and your excellent reviews.

I wore this in the late 90's and early 2000's. I have discovered that Narciso Rodriguez Rouge EDP smells 90% Mariella Burani.

If anyone know of a perfume that is VERY SIMILAR except Ombre Rose, please post it.

This had been my signature for quite sometime, until I finished my last bottle and had a hard time finding it again! It's sensual, soft, dreamy & creamy... if you love soft amber, vanilla w/ subtle spices and a touch of citrus in your fragrances than this is perfect! It's so grown up, sophisticated and classy. Never tries too hard either! If you're a Tonka Bean & Amber lover, then this is also for you. The tonka bean is what you get the most of at the very end of its dry down. However, this perfume has so many wonderful stages throughout its life on your skin that are enjoyable. A real treat! Update: Just found myself a bottle of this long lost beauty! We are finally reunited once more. So for all of you looking...don't give up.

First of all, the bottle is absolutely gorgeous. It was made to be placed upon vanities. This is powdery done right and in the most 90's way possible. It's woody and not overly sweet. Perfect for when you step out of the shower and want to smell sensual. I pretty much smell all of the notes listed on the profile here, except for maybe the tonka bean. I think that the most prominent are the jasmine, other floral notes (probably the rose next), sandalwood, and musk. All were blended to perfection.

i am happy to write the first review about this lovely fragrance.I really loved it from the first sniff,it is very feminnine,sensual ,sweet,but not in a girlishly way .Very warm and creamy smell with a little hint of citrus.If you are an Iris lover ,well this perfume is for you.There is a lot of it!!!I smell violets too.Suitable for cold weather and any occasions

This is a warm, elegant fragrance with some vintage textures. I can't really make out any florals but I'm ok with that. This is suitable for day or evening! She's a pleasure to have in my collection.

A wonderful, heady, rich, fragrant rose perfume in a beautiful bottle.

To me this one is not a Oriental scent at all. A lot of Amber and Rose with lots of powdery base. Very nice and longlasting. A soft but at the same time intensive scent, not what I thought it to be with all those notes. I don't like this much powdery scents but this one is nice, really. För mig är detta ingen Oriental alls. Massor av Amber och Ros med en rejäl dos pudrighet i basen. Väldigt trevlig och en doft som håller länge på huden. Mjuk men ändå intensiv på samma gång. Med dessa doftnoter i pyramiden så trodde jag denna skulle dofta helt annorlunda. Den är mycket pudrig i basnoten faktiskt. Jag gillar inte pudriga dofter men denna är riktigt trevlig faktiskt.

Amber and Vanilla are the dominering notes from this perfume and a very faint of scent of lemon i can't make out the rest. it's to creamy Buttery for me i'm not a fan of creams and amber scents it's not Pungent and to me it like Wax to me maybe it's from the amber i don't really much care for this perfume.

It is a nice smell to my nose. Sweet and dark, but I am still not sure about it. I ordered a vintage bottle. Can the perfume get spoild by the time (edt)?

I actually bought this unsniffed, prompted by a review comparing it favorably to Chanel No. 5 on the blog "I Smell Therefore I Am," and a friend's recommendation. I'm pleased - it's really lovely, and inexpensive. Elhe has it right - it is very much a light-hearted scent. I find it difficult to classify properly because it develops rather radically through its stages. It does start out with some aldehydes, although not at the near-overdose level of No.5, and a very bright, cheerful citrus which smells like orange to me. It then morphs into a straightforward floral, in which the classical quartet of rose-jasmine-iris-ylang take the stage. At this point, three hours in, it seems to disappear on my skin. It's only a few hours afterward when I begin to notice the most deliciously creamy-powdery scent wafting up from my arms. It seems almost like a vintage perfume in this stage, very layered and complex. It is rich but not sweet; dry but not dusty; tangy but not mossy. All the notes in the base seem to balance each other out, so that the scent is not obviously classifiable. If you have struggled with liking No. 5, finding it too cold and powdery, it might be worth your while to pick up a bottle of Mariella Burani, since it is so inexpensive. My friend calls it a sunny Italian version of No. 5 (which she doesn't like), and I see the resemblance, particularly during the heart. It is a very friendly and feminine perfume, and I'll be wearing it frequently, although I won't forsake that gorgeous vintage No. 5.

I miss this one so much! Wearing it always made me imagine opening an antique rosewood box and discovering forgotten love letters. It was a dry and complex floral layered with exquisite woods. After all these years, I still remember its notes of rosewood, cedar, iris, rose, and violet. It also had trace amounts of a creamy vanilla and tonka bean that smelled a bit like the paper in old books. The use of vetiver further enhanced its dry and dusty character. If "Mariella Burani" were a piece of music it would be Chopin's Waltz No. 7 in C sharp minor. It had a very gentle and deeply romantic sillage that made for a great signature scent. I am grateful to have enjoyed it for many years before it was discontinued. If you know, you know!

I bought the EDT on a lark and at first I wished I hadn't. I prefer my scents shouty, like Opium, Euphoria, Obsession etc. Having said that I thought that maybe it would be something that would be good for layering a perfume that I think may be missing something. Enter Tabu. I find the 2 together to be one complete scent. The serious sillage of Tabu with the lightheartedness and intimacy of Mariella. At first I thought it had gone all wrong but as we speak I'm enjoying the dry down very much. The combo is greater than the some of its parts, I can hardly wait to try it with Opium.

The little bottle I have doesn't have a label but it does have the name Mariella Burani on the front. The top has only two roses though, and I'm not certain this is the perfume listed. The pictures aren't clear enough, but in everything except the stopper this is the perfume I have. Spicy and slightly sweet, it's a fine perfume. It doesn't have much sillage and lasting power could be better. I don't get much in the way of floral notes or citrus. It's not an unusual scent, there are many that are similar. Mariella Burani is very nice for anyone who likes sweet spices.

Lord & Taylor carried this perfume back in 1993 when it was first launched. I think I first smelled it in a magazine around that same time...when I was 13. I bought my first bottle when I was 14. I have been wearing it ever since. I have some other perfumes, of course, but this has been my standard 4-6 days/week scent for almost 20 years. Can you believe that? It's a little hard to find these days. I dont think Neimans carries it anymore. I am currently searching for a new perfume for my wedding...time to move on, at least for a week or so. :)

If you're searching for this, as I am.... beware. I have already been delivered one counterfeit bottle, which I paid over $120 for. Thank goodness I bought in a manner that I was able to get refunded. So sad this one is gone. This is the only perfume I have ever completely fallen in love with, and designated my signature. Before Mariella Burani, I would have several hanging around that I used depending on occasion or mood. Mariella Burani seemed to go every where, suit every mood, and ALWAYS garnered compliments. Good-bye, my perfume-love. =(

This is...different.I received a generous decant from pitbull_friend a while ago and fell in love. Finally I got the artemisia note that is not jammed between other components, but sings almost solo in the beginning! MB is very, very powdery - lot`s of rose, ylang-ylang and orris root. At some point I could swear there is coconut in it, but there isn`t - I guess that`s ylang being assertive. A casual yet original scent with a seriousness of Golden Age classic perfumes.Gorgeous dry down, and an unbelievable staying power.

Relaxed elegance is a good term for this perfume and I would say also feminine and easy. I own a small bottle many years ago I liked it quite enough, but didn't love. There was just a pungent frizzy note that left me doubtful, maybe geranium? The rest of composition is very floral, not too sweet, with a woodier base typical of older perfumes. Longlasting, not too expensive, it was a good deal to buy. It annoyed me after a while so I never bothered to buy a new bottle.

Powdery florals and bright citrus over a base that is detectable note by note as those listed here: amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, patchouli, musk, benzoin, vanilla and vetiver. More powder than I like ( I normally abhor powder notes) but it's a creamy face-makeup powder and not a talc style powder. Still, complex and feminine for those who like powdery florals with oriental bases.

I cannot find Mariella Burani for under $200. I was told they do not make it anymore. Perfume stores have suggested Channel 5 and something from YSL, but they do not smell anything like it. Does anybody have a suggestion. I have been wearing this perfume for 20 years and I have been trying to find something else. I am almost done with my last bottle- I need help!!

Very sweet perfume,but a bit too powdery for me. Bought it in the xmas sales at a major London Westend store as a box set, so wasnt really sure what I was getting. Very different and more suitable for evening than day wear. Nice bottle!

I have worn this fragrance for 20 plus years. I have not found anything similar. Above several mention Kenzo Amour and L’Artisan as potentials to try. Which exact frangrances by Kenzo and L’Artisan are recommended? Thank you so much.

Hello, many of you asking if there are any perfumes that smell like this one. Some people say that amour nocturne by L'artisan perfumer smells very similar.

I wish this was not discontinued. I used to have it and enjoyed it very much. If anyone has a bottle for swap, I would love to take it off your hands.

This seems interesting,really want to try it.Very good notes listed here,and what a lovely bottle!How is lasting power?

First bottle I bought was clearanced and JCP for $5 a bottle and only purchased one.

It's exactly like Ombre Rose l'original on my skin.

Nice but IMO not worth the money.