Stercus

Stercus is a fragrance that took me completely off guard—and in all the right ways. This is the first Orto Parisi scent I’ve had the pleasure of experiencing, and it has certainly left me hooked. The premise intrigued me from the start, marketed around faeces, and honestly, I expected something much more straightforward and musky—perhaps in a bad way. But what I encountered was an unexpected complexity, a fragrance that’s compelling, layered, and surprisingly pleasant to wear. It turned out to be a true crowd-pleaser. Upon first spray, I was hit with an immediate wave of bold, smoky oud. Dark, mysterious, and intense, it wasn’t the kind of BBQ smokey-ness—more of a raw, woody depth. As an oud lover, this immediately captured my attention, and I was in love. The musky, animalic qualities of the fragrance were unmistakable, adding an edge that my daily oud doesn’t possess. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this fragrance didn’t smell faecal—though I do feel it tells the story of the bodily process it’s based on. The sharp, pungent onset—this hit of musk and smoke—felt akin to the raw experience of excreting, confronting the very essence of something primal. As the fragrance began to dry down, sweet floral notes started to emerge, particularly around an hour in. Close to my wrist, I picked up on dark, fruity florals and a rose that almost had a soapy quality to it. But the oud was still the dominant player, strong and present. The smoky, animalic facets didn’t fade but instead were softened by a creamy vanilla undertone that brought a layer of richness and complexity. At this stage, the scent took on a very specific imagery for me: someone wearing a strong oud to a zoo—where the wild, animalic scents of the enclosures mingle with the depth of oud. Waste, hide, and animal musk combined with the rich, resinous oud to create something intoxicating. The sillage at this point was potent, each movement sending a fresh waft toward my nose. It was captivating. Around two hours in, the fragrance evolved once again, adding yet another layer. The leathery notes became more prominent—though it wasn’t the leather of a well-polished jacket. It had the rugged, oily scent of living animal hide. A chemical note emerged, almost like varnish or something synthetic, blending with the smoky oud and the underlying sweetness. The woodiness of cedar grew stronger, a burnt woodiness, alongside a slight sweaty undertone. This felt like the middle of the fragrance’s lifecycle, perhaps evoking the process of faeces being broken down, sanitized, and cleansed. The interplay of the chemical note, the animalic hide, and the burning wood gave the impression of transformation, of something once raw being tamed into something new. From there, the fragrance settled into a quieter phase. The smoky oud began to retreat, and the sweet, fruity florals took centre stage. Dark plum notes emerged, mingling with a powdery, almost almond-like sweetness—reminding me of baby powder, though much subtler. The animalic edge gradually faded, replaced by a soft, clean sweetness. It felt like the final stage of the cycle: the soil enriched, fertilized by the process, now ripe with rich fruits ready to be consumed, ready to start the cycle again. By 12 hours in, the scent had mostly faded from my skin. The longevity is great, but I have other ouds that last a bit longer. Still, the evolution of Stercus over the course of the day was remarkable—rich, intense, and deeply captivating. Overall, I’m completely enamored with this fragrance. The complexity is what really got me—it’s not a challenging scent to wear at all, despite its bold premise. I received multiple compliments throughout the day. Of course, I understand that this scent isn’t for everyone, as it’s a strong, rich, barnyard-animalic oud with a feral, almost masculine allure. This is a fragrance for the winter months, for the evening, for when you want to make an impression. It’s undeniably sexy, with a wild edge that softens into something intimate, sweet, and fruity. I already know I’ll be seeking out a full bottle of this.

Gualtieri is a genius. I’ve managed to test a few of his works already so I know what I’m talking about. It’s the first ever rose I’d be able to wear. It’s the first ever cinnamon I’d be able to wear. It’s COLD. And about nighttimes. And I dunno... but sounds so... young?? Seductive in some way?? Drawing, dangerous, calling. Like something about those creatures who can draw you with them into forests and caves. Creatures with sharp teeth. But they’re beautiful. And this perfume is dangerously beautiful. Oh, that creepy scene from the Chronicles of Narnia when the faun kidnapped that girl to sell her to the wolves. Such vibes. Or on the other hand - it reminds me of an old book I adored. “Ronja the robber’s daughter”. The whole book gave me the same vibe like this frag does now. As I know - Gualtieri never shares the notes of his creations. But here I can definitely smell some roses (close to those in Rammstein Rosenrot Intense but younger and more... magically alive), some animal musks (it seems that “horse stable” stuff people usually smell lol) tho they’re more synthetic here, some molecules resembling bogs (I’m not sure which ones exactly - the frag is too complex), a bit of davana or nagarmotha. And I smell cinnamon in the opening. It layers - almost dances - with the rose so well that I don’t hate this both notes here! And usually avoid roses and cinnamon in general. And with all of those notes... it’s cold. It’s cruel and lonely. It’s just a trap in a dark damp forest full of caves where stones are covered in moss. Where you can be attracted by the flowers that don’t exist in the human world. It’s about those dangerous cracks in the giant fallen trees and in the mountains’ sides you’d like to explore. It’s about old tales and legends with cruel but beautiful creatures. And it smells of some cold eternal loneliness of those. Beautiful. I want a full bottle of this xD It’s a pity it’s very intimate on me - holds very close to skin. I’d like to wear it in the crowd to make people avoid me, for sure. Maybe humans just read it as a liminal and a dangerous thing and their brain tells them it’s shit so they won’t get very curious and won’t be caught in that trap. UPD: wearing it on myself all evening I’ve noticed that it really plays. Like will-o’-the-wisps do. That rose note disappears to show the cracked dry dead wood or the coals at the entrance of the rock pit. Magical drawing flowers fade to show you the real face of the trap you’re going into. But only for a moment - to return that seductive scent back to its place to attract you. Perfection.

First time I’ve smelt this (january 2024) in Selfridges, London on a paper strip and i really liked it. My Orto Parisi journey has started in february when i bought Bergamask. As a second bottle i blind bought Seminalis, which i imideatelly regretted and returned because I just couldn’t stand it on my skin. So this is officially my second full bottle from this house. I’ve been wearing this fragrance for the last 5 days, trying to figure out what it reminds me. At first I was sceptical because some people have been writing reviews about the poo/skanky smell on their skin etc.. But after the first few hours on my skin, i was nicely surprised that it doesn’t smell like poop at all. In the opening I mostly get sweet vanilla, oud, a little bit of leather and that animalic funk in the back that reminds me compost (but it gets really mild after few minutes). While on drydown, on my skin this gives a similar smoky almond+vanilla+leather vibe as F**king Fabulous by Tom Ford, but in a much more niche way because of oud, powdery rose and a very mild animalic accord. This is not a beast mode powerhouse fragrance. Yes, it’s very long lasting.. Yes, at the beginning the projection is strong (not enormous), but after few hours it settles and I’m catching pleasant whiffs even after 10-12+ hours. 2 of my colleagues said that they can smell the scent trail everytime i pass even after 10 hours, while doing 3 sprays on my neck in the morning. I’m glad it’s blended this way because of my office job. It also stays on clothes for very very long. I’m also glad that people can smell you even after longer period of time, but it’s not annoying for them. Great job Alessandro. 👍 Even if it’s dark and pretty heavy, it’s also sweet, powdery and perfectly wearable, but I wouldn’t recommend it to the hot temperatures. Definitely sample first because this might not be for everyone.

LOVE! This perfume is different and weird but awesome. The dry down is very si ilar to black afgano by nasomatto. It is dark, sweet, balsámic, warm and a bit smoky and animalic. I supose that stercus includes also oud, incense andba mix of different resins. The opening however is very different. The first minutes of stercus are very dirty, with a background which remember a lot to the manure smell, but without being disgusting at ant time, It is only a subtle vibe, as It happens for example un dhanal oud ruwah by rasasi. But after that It becomes esplendorous! The performance is simply great. The whole day with you. I am working at the moment un a perfume shop. I put on my wristles stercus at 7 am before leaving home, just a drop on each. At 10am i sprayed LOVE by kilian un my job and around 13pm forbbiden ganes by kilian. Even after having sprayed this two also great perfumes i could still smell stercus on my hands (the kilian ones were sprayed on my neck, arms and shirt, but not on the wristles over the orto parisi one). And now, at home being 18;30pm i can only smell a bit the kilian ones but o can feel still strong stercus around me. I camt imaginé how could It be if i was sprayed It generously (but i only had a 0?5ml free sample without sprayer). Yo sum Up this is a wonderful unisex perfume but different yo the trendy Inés so It is necessary try It before buying. This is a LOVE or haté... Scent: 8.5 Longevity: 9 Sillage: 8 Quality/price: 6 Versatility: 6 Originality: 9 Global: 9

there's about three things going on in this perfume. 1) the unavoidable comparisons to black afgano. this, unfortunately, cannot be avoided and isn't necessarily a bad thing. it can mean that it's stuck in its older brother's shadow a bit, but if you look past that, it is quite an awesome scent. it's dark, it's smokey, it's funky-woody (if that's even a thing) and it's got the whole BA DNA there. if you like that, good, if you don't, it'll probably be an issue. 2) there's a second accord (aside from the BA one), and i've smelt it in a few others. i think in the versace oud perfume (or another mainstream oud offering), it's the accord struck between oud, leather and a sweet spice. it reminds me of the incense 'nag champa' in that it is a smooth, dark and smokey scent with a low-end bassey vibe to it. it works well with the black afgano vibe and leads to a subsequent third accord, if you will. 3) the lack of the weed, green high-end cannabis note (which is present in the original black afgano) makes this scent -- and the others which smell like ba in this line -- inherently different from BA. a lot of the time, i found myself sniffing my wrist and thinking "too much like ba", but the truth of the matter is that with ba that weed note either dominates or lingers annoying around for the duration. orto parisi scents thankfully don't have it. this one is worth a long, considered try. without any comparisons to anything...