No5 Narciso

I do not tire to mention that I really enjoy the Prada Exclusives range because of the feeling of timeless elegance of its never overcrowded scents and that soapy/powdery DNA that they convey, which often produce a gentle melancholy and a wonderful vintage vibe. The scent of narcissus is an intriguing one and until I smelled its pure extrait at the Chanel boutique at Salon de Parfums last year I had not real idea about the heady-floral and dry-woody dualities of the flower, which are well portrayed in No5 Narciso. Here, narcissus forms a mildly indolic woody-citrus/floral tandem with orange blossom whilst other notes provide adjunct meaning at the right time and thus supplement the protagonist pair beautifully. N05 Narciso starts woody-green with a slightly aromatic and fresh bitterness. Soon after, bergamot provides further vigour whilst a grassy and dry vetiver enhances spicy verdancy. Warmth is provided by beeswax absolute as a honeyed centre is juxtaposed in perfect balance with the maturity of the white florals as the composition manages to stay on the more innocent and fresher side of indole. There is the trademark Prada waxy soapiness whilst a clean musk adds sophistication and coolness along with olibanum. All in all N05 Narciso is a pretty good scent for Spring/Summer. It effortlessly offers sophisticated and easygoing sunny vibes whilst being congruent with the rest of the Prada Exclusives' philosophy. As an extrait de parfum it has sufficient staying power and easily outlasts eg the uninteresting and through reformulation neutered but nevertheless ever popular Neroli Portofino.

The main actor in Prada no. 5 is the orange blossom. I was trying to find "where is this narcissus?" but she kept me waiting erratically. I don't get high nor anything unusual... I feel normal. I was expecting to get enraptured and charmed. ... Oh, I think she is coming. ... Apparently it's not her. Ms Honey came to tell Ms Narcissus can't make it. Nevertheless, Ms Honey is presentably nice. Her sister Ms Musky is 10 ft away buying ice cream. Her hubby Mr Frank came later smoking incense. -AB-

I got a sample of this, but unfortunately it was a dauber and not spray, which tends to make a big difference in how I experience a fragrance. A spritzer usually allows me to enjoy the top notes longer. In this case, I might have enjoyed the vibrant hay-like narcissus top note longer than three minutes. Now, it just smells like Infusion d'Iris and its sad trombone orange blossom musk on me. For a bottle this expensive and difficult to get a hold of, that kills any kind of lemming I might have had for this.

More feminine than I expected. My 19 month old daughter loved it though!