Citta di Kyoto

what a beauty, she took my breath away. elegant and graceful, but not precious or coy. cool but not frigid. quiet but not lacking confidence. the incense note smells of my beloved japanese hinoki (cypress) incense rather than a resin, and leaves a similar smoky plume (but nothing like a bonfire as the smoky description may suggest). the plum-peach-cinnamon accord with the various woods, to my nose, reminds me of serge lutens/shiseido femininite du bois, which is also where i think the sweetness comes from. the iris, which is not a particularly spiky iris, woven in with the incense smoke is what separates citta di kyoto from that other classic, though, and she stands assuredly on her own. i'm in love.

Mmmm, I like this one. It's powdery, woody and ever so slightly smoky. It reminds me of a Zoologist fragrance that I tested some time ago - I can't remember precisely, but I think it was Nightingale, or maybe Dragonfly; it's got the same overall vibe, with the smell that evokes baby wipes, or lipstick/powder. Must be due to strong iris and hyacinth. For some reason Citta di Kyoto is placed in the Floral Woody Musk category, however musk is barely detectable here. I've nicknamed this type of fragrance 'the geisha scent' - I imagine that this is what a geisha would smell like; in that sense, the perfumer has successfully evoked the Japanese/Far Eastern theme. Projection is moderate.

I won't review this the way i usually review fragrance as i experienced this in a very unique way, a series of memories. 1st memory, The opening: shining a sleek mahogany cabinet with a luxurious bergamot wax, the bitter smell of the wood and citrus wafts up past the lilac silk robe you just pulled from the dryer. 2nd memory, The heart: meditating in a plum orchard wearing a white blouse, a bee flys past your face from its comfy seat on a lotus flower in the pond nearby. 3rd memory, The dry-down: A vanilla ice-cream cone thrown by a random child just misses you and smashes into an oak tree. My only wish i that this projected more, it only lasts about 5hrs.

So interesting! Despite the many notes, this feels very understated. A lot of iris, cedar, and incense. Powdery but not in a way that feels too mature. Evokes images of an ancient Japanese temple, empty and echo-y, dimly lit with a few rays of sun illuminating the large brass bowl full of burning incense sticks. The temple is surrounded by a dense cedar forest with crocuses pushing up through the forest floor. Everything is still except for the plumes of smoke rising from the incense and twirling about in the air before disappearing. Citta di Kyoto is quiet confidence in a bottle.

I imagine this would be the smell of a garden-facing room in a daimyo's residence back in the day, sometime in the spring. Of the shouji, the tatami, the wooden frames and incense burning, probably there's an ikebana in the middle of the room. Also, of the blooms and greens and pond and wooden bridge and a fruit tree in the garden. The incense is clean but definitely smokey. It's powdery and aromatic at the same time. There's some green notes, along with thick woody. It smells cool, yet warm at the same time. Very elegant, it is airy and fleeting but leaves a firm presence.