Ciclamino

Usually I avoid fragrances which are called “clean” and “fresh”. I ordered this one though (a blind buy) because I love cyclamens and grow them. I can testify that the perfume smells like cyclamen or at least very close. To me I also smells like melting snow and ice, very early spring in a northern country. There is no sense of something synthetic in this fragrance. It is simple but not flat or boring, it changes with a time and one spray lasts on me for about 5-6 hours. A slightly “peppery”, very subtle note appears in the middle and then gradually dissolves. It is not a true pepper but a smell characteristic of some varieties of cyclamens. It "sings" better in cool/cold weather. I cannot see ‘Cyclamino’ on the official website of ‘Monotheme’. The search gave no results. Hopefully it is not discontinued.

Ciclamino, to me, despite there being no real comparative ingredients apart from musk, reminds me a great deal of Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker - but I prefer this one, just due to there being less citrus notes in this. I'm not one to compare scents or, at least, I don't like to but the similarities are there if you put them side by side. The cyclamen in this is beyond beautiful and it just goes really well with the musk. Lasts at least 5 hours on my skin

This scent grew on me, I had to get used to the opening green apple note and the musk note. Overall, I can find nothing wrong with it. It's pleasant, green and refreshing, I'm going to wear it more in warmer weather.

Fresh, delicate and elegant. This smells like walking through an orchard in a warm breeze. I feel so clean in the scent. An absolute surprise based on the tiny price. Stays close but doesn’t immediately fade. Try it!

I was SO hoping for a Diorissimo lookalike! But, no. Nothing the sort. Not a trace of lily-of-the-valley . . . I needed almost an hour to get past the sharp fruity candy smell and then, finally, there was at last a generic soapy white flower - sweet, summery, slightly flat, slightly aquatic. Quite nice but really nothing special at all. Oh, well. Maybe it'll be nice and light when it gets hot. And I can always spray it on my handkerchiefs.

Cyclamen, lily, lily of the valley, water lily, lotus, freesia, those feminine and melancholy florals that in combination were so popular in the 90's. A wistful and dreamy soft bouquet of watery petals over a clean crisp soapy musk. The fruit is not candied or sweet by the standards of today's more modern fruity florals and gourmands marketed to the younger crowd. By comparison this one is hardly fruity at all, (perhaps just a splash of Martinelli apple juice) with the green and restrained florals mostly occupying the body and the trail of this scent, along with the clean musk. It's as though one has just taken a shower with a combination of fruity and floral shampoos and soaps from the 90's. Very clean. I have not smelled Pleasures recently enough to compare, but I was reminded of Vera Wang's original perfume and Issey Miyake style aquatic florals. I'd say this one is fresher, sweeter, and more youthful by comparison, with a similar personality to Tommy Girl (a similar 90's style application of apple and black currant vs. florals), though I don't think Ciclamino is really so similar scent-wise, and is by no means a dupe of any of those I mentioned. My husband also thought Ciclamino smelled familiar, but couldn't figure out what it reminded him of. I would say this scent does have a bitterness that may put some people off. I'm not over the moon about this aspect of it, and feel it would have done better without that little wheatgrass-like nip that some have called Windex, but thankfully Ciclamino has much more to offer than that. If you enjoy 90's florals with a kind of watery presence, and perhaps a little more warmth and sunlight that more starkly green austere renderings, this one is nicely done for the genre. Perfect spring into summer throwback scent.

The quest for affordable scents part III: you will not regret trying this if you like Diorissimo. Yes, I know Diorissimo is (supposed to be) all about lily-of, but this will give you the same cheeky springtime vibe, with none of usual Monotheme chalky drydown. I feel it was the best of the lot (and I did try the Vanilla, the Musk and the Oranges from Sicily - Herr von Sacher Masoch would be so pleased with me!).

After spraying: Cyclamen (dusty lily-of-the-valley with green apple and violet) After one hour: it is more lily-of-the-valley. Like lighter version of Diorissimo.