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.

Beautiful, deep and comforting fragrance. Very complex, loads of iris and leans to the sweet and woody notes. I was about to purchase some on the SMN website and it appears to be off the list. Only the candle available. I had a feeling some of the older scents were going to be eliminated because they have so many new ones coming out. Fieno is now out of stock online too. No idea if the Florence store has any as I am in UK. If someone else could confirm discontinuation too, please say. I will contact SMN in the mean time.

Well, I really do not pick up anything smoky at all, unlike reviewers below! Hitting initially with bergamot, cypress, citrus and lavender freshness, within 10 minutes this became a sweeter, spicier ylang-iris. Because I'm not an Iris lover, I prefer the oriental plum and wood complexity of this Iris, over others that go either powdery and dry, rooty, or both. The plummy peach notes provide a nice sweetness without hurting one's teeth. I am an incense lover, and aside from sniffing wood and a tad of "oud" here, I don't get anything at all like smoke or resins. Having said all that, the longevity and silage are both nil. I'd have to use too much of it to get my full bang, and its dry down becomes a bit diffuse and generic to justify a FB. Overall, pleasant on both men and women, office friendly and inoffensive, sheer with some complexity. It could be worn on a spring day and coffee dates!

This is what I call a quality perfume... it is indeed very peculiar but I am not sure if this is what the city of Kyoto would smell like. This perfume is very sophisitcated: it starts with a tender blast of flowers and a touch of fruits - I can detect peach & plum however there is no citrus note, a least to my nose. The heart is obviously iris based, that give powderiness & sophistication. The most intriguing thing is that is develops with a dominant peppery note - other reviewers have defined it incense but to me it's more like pepper, an amber & woody base.... that lingers then for hours in the drydown, with a lot of woody notes. It is a dry perfume, but very very classy, elegant and understated. Certainly feminine, but in the most refined & unscreamed way. Very modest sillage, basically a skin scent, and an average longevity.

Used for the first time today. At first it was almost unbearable, but a kind of "delicious unbearable", like standing on the top of a hill in a winter morning. The wind is beating you, your skin is getting raw, but you don't want to go down, because the air is so fresh and clean. That's it. It smells very green and clean. I suppose it is the hawthorn here. Five minutes later the iris appears, and it gets an earthy, sombre tone. in half an hour some sweet flower chime in and from there it gets more subdued and woody. A great composition, very unusual. My best blind buy lately - but after all, all Santa Maria Novella perfumes are distinctive for me.

Just a question. For those who are familiar with this and Shiseido Zen, are they similar? I've been looking for a sub for the Zen original formula (ca. 1960-1970s) with that elusive "fuzzy" note. Thanks if you can help! Update: just blind bought and it's not like Zen. It is woody, smoky, subtly sweet.

Thats a very light airy scent, harmoniously blended. Not sure if it really evoke the air of the kyoto city though. Very short-lived on my skinthough but you cant expect muchfrom an eau de cologne. Pricy for weak performance

Light, introvert, ethereal and meditative incense, a tiny bit of smoky plum and wood, but not sweet. Dry. The feathers of a silent personal dream, for yourself only.

Beautiful and magical like Florence and like Kyoto. Like fig candles on me though. I am dreaming of using it as a room scent.

Wow, its so smoky! Really exotic.

It's nice... It doesn't set off the dopamine rush in my brain but I think it's pleasant 6/10 Very soft delicate powdery florals up front with a very slight cypress/wood note beneath. After a while the peach and plums starts to come through and almost give it a clean skin right out the shower vibe. It sits suuuuper close to the skin but is cozy clean and feminine. Every now and then I'll catch wifs of the incense which I really love (I wish I could detect it consistently). It gives the scent an calm earth mama glow. It's a little too powdery for me and I wish it projected a lot more but it's a very nice scent. I certainly don't hate it

Light musky/fruity florals (mostly iris and hyacinth), with a subtle support of woods and incense. I can tell that the quality of ingredients is high, but I also have to confirm what other reviewers have noticed before me: it's an EdC, and performs as such. Interesting, but overpriced given what it delivers. Spring days, unisex leaning feminine.

woody and a bit medicinal...not unpleasant, but unfortunately it smells like supreme pizza to me — herbal smelling peppers and smoky italian sausage. T_T

A sweet, light flora fragrance with an interesting surgery coffee top note.

Città di Kyoto by Santa Maria Novella is a fragrance that feels like pure indecisiveness. It blends fruity, heavy, incense, gourmand, warm, and powdery elements without any clear cohesion. While it has an expensive aroma, the composition comes across as uninspired.

Definitivamente, um aroma sublime e diminuto em sua totalidade, porque consigo fazer algumas comparações/associações em sua evolução, quer dizer uma, mas consigo. A farmácia italiana que o faz, Officina Profumo – Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, é absoluta em suas criações por conseguir apresentar como resultados de suas criações fragrâncias totalmente exclusivas e nobres, sim exatamente, são fragrâncias elevadas, ilustres, reais em seus mais altos estilos magnos. Talvez a experiência da Casa em elaborar fragrâncias por quase 500 anos seja um fator acurado para o sucesso do que produz, fazendo-a manter o valor dos seus produtos comercializados agregados sem receio de não vende-los. Então, Citta di Kyoto tem uma abertura super áspera, vem com força e sufoca se aplicar em grande quantidade, associei essa violência a Lavanda submersa em suco de Laranja aquecido e talos de Jacinto frescos, algo sublime e penetrante nas narinas; sua abertura não demora, rápido ela dá espaço ao coração, mas se com a potência que se alarga perdurasse um pouco mais, isso aqui seria um desastre engarrafado. Seu coração é Vida para os que amam Guerlain, pois nele têm aspectos e vestígios notórios de borracha rica, são Íris fundidas com Lótus selvagem, têm também algumas notas verdes enviadas em Pêssegos secos, o resultado é maquiagem corpulenta da esposa do patriarca Noé em noite de gala com clima ameno; o legal de tudo isso é que não há doçura nessa mistura. Por fim, sua base já se assemelha a pó de arroz com Canela envolvente e quente, as mesmas que percebo no Organza Indecence, só que no Citta di Kyoto o espetáculo é maior, considerando a Canela defumada por Incenso divino numa capela de Cedro com uma plantação de Lírios serenados num vale bem próximo dali; há uma madeira com pedações de raízes de Patchouli que no fundo tornam a fragrância séria e mais exclusiva do que já está. Ao aplica-la e vivencia-la, Memórias de uma Gueixa me veio à imaginação, não há como não lembrar, cenário, trajes, maquiagens, clima etc. é um perfume difícil de agradar sim, porém quem busca por exclusividade é um prato cheio; é um perfume muito viril, mas não deixa de ser compartilhável. Sua fixação perdura em torno a 8hs com uma silagem em 4hs! Dedico esta resenha a minha Amiga Gatoburi!