Ichnusa

I love photorealistic scents so this was huge yes for me. It opens up green and sharp, like fig leaves and myrtle shredded in a lawnmower with grass. It's intensely green, like in your face wow green. During the opening is when I can smell each note most clearly. The fig leaf, stems, and branches; myrtle; and grass all collide in a vibrant cacophony. Fresh and intense in the most natural way possible. After about 30 minutes to an hour the dry down kicks in and the myrtle / grass elements back off to amplify the fig. Here is where I smell warm hay and a slight milky greenness of unripe figs. The fig scent of Ichnusa is not sweet or fruity at all, more like the dusty (slightly starchy?) green smell of an actual fig leaf set on a backdrop of a beautiful green menagerie. Extremely photorealistic. It does lean a bit masculine, and a bit male fougere from the 90s, but it's so masterfully blended that I don't even care. Only downside for me is a short period of time (2-3ish hours in?) where it starts turning a tad bit soapy on my skin. I hate soapy fragrances (ironically one of the only few things that can make a perfume a scrubber for me) and I still love this perfume. The soapiness is slight, only only lasts a short period of time, and I absolutely love everything that comes before and after. On my skin this stuff lasts a really long time for such a fresh, green fragrance. From beginning to end Ichnusa lasts a good 6 hours before becoming a skin scent, and I even find the skin scent pleasant. I think layashokravi was spot on in their comparison between Ichnusa, Philosykos, and Jo Malone Green Wheat and Meadowsweet, but Ichnusa is definitely greener than the other two, plus a bit of spicy woodiness. (Philosykos leans slightly sweeter and more lactoninc while still capturing some of the photorealistic green fig leaf elements that really shine in Ichnusa; and Jo Malone leans harder into the photorealistic hay / sweet grass elements while eschewing the fig altogether.) To be clear, each of the three are really different from each other, but I find the way the shared notes are executed-- the photorealistic quality of them, specifically-- really unique. If you find Philosykos too sweet/milky or subtle, and like green fragrances, then I'd definitely give this one a try.

Essence of deep, dark green: an oasis of natural shade to cool off in during the hottest, driest, baking-est days of the year. If you seek a gentle, milky fig then THINK AGAIN: I came to this looking to replace my fast-expiring L'Artisan Caligna, but this is definitely not tailored for that - it's something very different, and arguably better. This is all about trees and leaves, no fruitiness, and it's bracingly astringent at first, when the myrtle kicks in with a sharp slap of almost-bitterness, - almost pine essence - nearly verging on notes of wormwood or hemlock. But soooooo refreshing and botanical and natural it can almost make you hallucinate the dark-green foliage of a grove shimmering in the midday heat. Magically strong and true to life. Gentles up a little later, with hay and figleaf notes swelling to make the overall effect a bit milder. Unisex, though tending more masc than I thought it would be - though gender is irrelevant here, as it's about wanting to hug trees rather than other humans. It's a private idyll. It doesn't last forever - the forest spell is largely dispelled by 3-4h, though it lingers much longer on skin as a tang on the breeze, still giving occasional wafts of sap, resin and leafiness as late as 6-7h onward. So purely green that it's really made for summer and spring; might seem a little too austere for colder weather. But undoubtedly, its stellar reputation is earned: for everything there is a season, and for summer this is sheer seasonal perfection.

When it’s been unrelentingly hot and dry, as it has been on the east coast of the US this summer, finding a perfume I can wear out in the heat becomes more challenging. The last thing I want is to smell of goopy cloying sweet or sweet and fruity. So this perfume was perfect when I had to be outside at a winery on a 96 degree day for hours. It is bitter, it is green and it is so invigorating. It’s a dry bracing green not a juicy green, and I detect something slightly marine under that as well. The marine quality is similar to that of Acqua di Sale just much less pronounced. During the dry down that marine effect softens a woody base and there remains the green notes, but again they’re softer. The overall effect of Ichnusa is energetic and natural. If you’re a person that likes bitters in other contexts during hot weather, for instance bitter cocktails, this could be for you. And although it is bitter for quite awhile I would still call it perfectly unisex. It’s lovely. I have Debaser and one advantage I find to this over that for public use is this is much less apparent and abrasive in its first few hours on the skin. For a bitter green fragrance ichnusa is kind of a people pleaser.

Ichnusa is my first to try from Profumum Roma, and what a good place to start. It is a photorealistic fig scent, radiant and green, resembling the whole tree. Fig is one of my favourite notes, evoking summer memories for me. Here it is green and leafy, pulpy and juicy, and fresh and herbal in equal measure, anchored by a grassy, woody base. It is less sweet and lactonic than Philosykos or Debaser, instead with slightly sharp, herbal green notes. Ichnusa opens with dewy, sap-like green notes alongside juicy fig, making for a radiantly fresh and realistic fig opening. It becomes richer as it progresses - slightly jammy like the whole fruit, but without losing its greenness. Some dry woodiness creeps in, which, alongside grassy, herbal green notes, makes for a fig leaf effect. It becomes softly woody as it fades, with green fig remaining until final fade. Sillage and longevity are moderate. The figgiest figgy fig tree scent, Ichnusa is a beauty that must be smelled by all fig lovers. It is unisex, and is made to be worn in spring/summer. This could give my beloved Philosykos a run for its money. A fig tree, bottled. 5/5.

I love fig scents, and probably own too many, but decided I had to buy this one as soon as I'd sampled it. Why? Because on my skin, it is an exploration of a completely different aspect of fig. My other fig fragrances are milky, coconutty, fruity, jammy, boozy, or slightly green, and I love them all for these different facets. I love Ichnusa precisely because it is not these things. To me, Ichnusa is deeply green, woody, dry, slightly bitter, and unsweetened. It is not a gentle, romantic fig. This is a young, unripened fig, along with its broad leaves, thick stems, and woody branches. It softens over time, but never loses its verdant aspect. To me, this is an utterly unisex fragrance. I have yet to find another fragrance from this line that I like (and to be honest, some I find just awful), but Profumum did a masterful job with Ichnusa. If you like fig scents, you owe it to yourself to try a completely different side of this note. If you are a fan of green scents, you will likely love the interplay of fig leaf, grasses, and sharp green myrtle.