Al Contrario

Tiziana Terenzi Al Contrario opens with a moderate projection of delicious and tasty accords. The cacao which as a chocolate-like hint is very noticeable, it blends with the sweetness of the vanilla and tonka bean creating a gourmand fragrance evocative of a dense and hot sweet cocoa cup. The malt adds some depth but it isn’t prominent, similarly, the orchid creates a soft aromatic floral touch. As the fragrance commences to dry down, the soft, creamy, woody sandalwood joins the blend, the sugar cane enhances and makes the fragrance feel sweet and delectable, the hazelnut adds a soft nutty accord. The benzoin supports the vanilla. The fragrance is relatively linear, some of the initial sharpness subdues under the softness of the sandalwood, but for the most part, the initial tones continue into the dry-down. Once Tiziana Terenzi Al Contrario has reached its full dry-down, it can be summarized as a moderate projection, sweet gourmand, cacao, vanilla, and tonka bean fragrance with sandalwood and very soft floral accords. The fragrance feels aromatic, comforting, creamy, delicious, gourmand, chocolate-like, inviting, mature, nicely-blended, rich, sticky, sugary, syrupy, warm, and very pleasant. BATCH REVIEWED: 2020 WOW RATING: 9/10. Tiziana Terenzi Al Contrario is a delicious fragrance. DISLIKE RATING: 1/10. The notes are well blended, inoffensive. Some could find it overly sweet. UNIQUENESS: 7/10. The market has many gourmand fragrances although this is a good one. MASS APPEAL: 9/10. Most people will find this fragrance very appealing. PROJECTION: 4/10. Moderate, about 4 feet around the wearer. SILLAGE: 5/10. Moderate, about 5 feet behind the wearer. APPLICATION: 3 atomizations will suffice. LONGEVITY: 4/10. About 4 hours. SEASONS: Winter, fall, colder nights, or climate-controlled environments. OCCASIONS: Outdoor gatherings, casual, holidays, romantic, dating. VERSATILITY: 5/10. Not the most versatile fragrance because of its gourmand nature. GENDER: Unisex, the noted found in this fragrance are neutral. AGES: Any. RECOMMENDATION: Tiziana Terenzi Al Contrario can be found discounted for $100, but just for 1.7oz which creates an unattractive cost/value. There are better options. Not recommended. BLIND-BUY: No, sample it first. SIMILAR: This is a list of some gourmand fragrances. Dua Fragrances Beauteous Delight is the clone of Feve Deliciouse, very similar but with stronger citrus notes and great longevity; Kilian Paris Black Phantom is a gourmand boozy fragrance, excellent quality, and longevity; Paco Rabanne Black XS is a gourmand fragrance that features praline and it feels chocolaty; Tom Ford Noir De Noir is more floral and more chocolaty, Tom Ford Noir Extreme EDP is a sweet, dessert-like, floral fragrance but slightly tilted to the feminine side; Feve Deliciouse is a fantastic gourmand fragrance featuring cacao, milk, and other notes; Thierry Mugler - A*Men Angel Men Pure Tonka is another great gourmand fragrance featuring coffee, cacao, and other delectable notes. SUMMARY: A moderate projection, sweet gourmand, cacao, vanilla, and tonka bean fragrance with sandalwood and very soft floral accords. The fragrance feels aromatic, comforting, creamy, delicious, gourmand, chocolate-like, inviting, mature, nicely-blended, rich, sticky, sugary, syrupy, warm, and very pleasant.

Fragrance -Al Contrario Tiziana Terenzi Bottle from - 2017 Al Contrario reminds me of a good night hugs and kisses. This is a story about a nutty,delicious,sweet,chocolaty,cozy and a bit romantic vanilla with an astonishing touch of benzoin and orchid and with the tender trace of woodiness.I think it's a unisex smell.Al Contrario is another nice relese from Paolo Terenzi. Longevity - 8/10(8+ hours) Silage/Projection - 7,5/10(moderate projection and silage for the first 1-2 hours,than sits closer to skin for the duration of the scent's evolution) Weather -best in autumn,winter and early spring Age - 26+ Compliments(low-medium-high) - medium Scent - 8,5/10 Main notes according to me - hazelnut,cacao,vanilla,tonka,orchid,sandalwood. The drydown is sweet,woody,nutty and warm and I get some -vanilla,hazelnut,woodiness and benzoin. Emotions - good night hugs and kisses,delicious,cozy, romantic,sexy. Occasion -perfect for romantic evening,dates and night out. Try before you buy.If you like a gourmand fragrances,could be a nice signature scent.

Reminds me of Montale Chocolate Greedy and Comptoir Sud Pacifique Amour de Cacao. It has a similiar vibe like these two but with a different character than them. It is not as strong as Chocolate Greedy but also not as weak as Amour de Cacao. It's definitely gourmand but sliiiightly less gourmandy than the other 2 (which are indistinguishable from real food btw) thanks to the orchid and maybe ebony wood and sandalwood. It's also got less cacao and additionally more of a sugarcube smell. If you're a gourmand lover and loved the other 2 I've mentioned but never had the courage to make all the rooms you've visited smell like chocolate cake then this might be the perfect thing for you. This is definitely more wearable because 1. it's not as strong as Chocolate Greedy and 2. it's got very few non-gourmandy elements and that makes you smell less like you've just baked a cake. It's slightly more wearable but it might still be too much of a gourmand to wear for many people.

First spray : A big wave of Vanilla and sweet Arabic spices It smells like an Arabic sweet/treat. Then it turns to a smokey Cacao-cream with Malt topping served in a plate of Sandalwood, and less sweet. I think it's a very feminine scent. I also like to layer it with Oud Cashmere Mood then it will turn to a whole new 1001nights scent. Projection is good,If someone's standing beside you he'll notice it. With all these sweetness bombs in the composition,It's still airy and fluffy ,not jammy and sticky,Which I really like about this Perfume. It lasts usually 4 hours on my skin . and perhaps a day or 2 on my clothes . This is by far the sweetest perfume I own,and I use it in cold days when I am wearing leather outfits. And this the perfume that I can actually smell it on myself and enjoy it even after few hours. It gets alot of compliments which surprises me,I thought not so many people would like it but it seems that they do. both Ladies and Gents.

Oh my God No. Just no. Thank God I sampled this first. This was almost a full bottle blind buy. This smells like a muddled mix of dust and cardboard. I had a visceral reaction to this one, similar the reactions I had to TF Black Orchid EDP and ELDO Secretions Magnifique. I own and adore Christian Siriano Intimate Silhouette which is up there in the "Reminds Me Of" section. This smells nothing like that. Also, not even a hint of the AMAZING Dior Addict here. That's insulting to Addict Lol. I rarely use the "hate" option on Fragrantica but this is a hate. Don't blind buy this expecting a cocoa leaning fragrance. Thank God it's very light and doesn't have any performance. This one should come with a warning. YMMV of course, fragrance is all subjective to our individual tastes.

I was anosmic to this for the first year and thought "well that's a lame blind buy.." but I could never part with it. I forgot this was hiding in the back collecting dust for maybe 5 years, and now I'm absolutely obsessed! My skin seems to pull that ebony note then having a faint sweet, nutty nuance. The dark wood is my favourite part of this fragrance but it dissipates to a woody-sweetness that doesn't smell like vanilla but just raw sugar. I would spray this all day, everyday on myself but the most disappointing part is this is possibly one of my most short lived fragrance! For the price point I can't justify repurchasing but I'll have to search for an alternative, that deep ebony and nutty sweet combo has my heart!!

Love at first sniff and a blind buy. This absolutely met all my expectations based on the majority of the reviews here. Wow factor: 10 out of 10.Yummy, deep, sweet (thick vanilla-like sweet, not sugary toothache sweet). Lots of cocoa, but not Nutella, more like high quality Belgium cocoa rich chocolate. Superb wood base- it literally reminds me a cup of hot rum, or an oak barrel of aged malt whiskey, something boozy about it, but so yummy. More on the feminine side overall but I guess the right man can pull it off too! So good. If you like gourmand and boozy/woody fragrances, do check it out! Will update about sillage and longevity later on!

This juice is, in my humble nose’s opinion, decidedly decadent. I’ve had this on for about 5 hours now and every time I’m ready to concede that it doesn’t have lasting power and that it’s retreated to being a skin scent... boom there it is, wafts reaching my nose and treating me to a dark chocolate scent that to me is reminiscent of one of my favorite snacks, Lindt dark chocolate with chili pepper. There’s a mild spiciness meets smoky meets deep dark cocoa. I’m not sure this would be a crowd pleaser, but it’s wonderful to me and I’m glad I pulled the trigger on adding this to my collection.

Very smooth, warm and cozy. Ebony wood with a hint of vanilla. Tonka beans and cocoa, sugar and hazelnut. Black velvet of a scent. It is perfectly balanced, smooth. It creates an aura, not a cloud. I think it might be better on a male, but I am also happy in it. Very huggable. In character it reminds me of lighter, less intense Herod by Parfums de Marly and of less feminine Escada Collection. Also Back to Black by Kilian comes to mind - but Kilian is more complex, sweeter and more intense. In comparison to these, Al Contrario is an edible, huggable whisper. You wish the wearer closer.

Chocolate and hazelnuts. Delicious scent. If you're not into gourmands, you may not like this, and if you don't enjoy sweet scents, you might not like this either, but otherwise, what's not to like? A lot of scents have a sort of unpleasant top-spray-smell before they settle, but not this one. Right away it's yummy and then a while later you can get a bit of a floral undertone coming through, but it works well. I'd just say that to me this is a feminine scent; it didn't seem unisex at all. But I see a lot of other reviewers feel otherwise, so there's clearly room for interpretation!

This is such a delicious and addictive scent - it smells like malted milk and hazelnut paste, sweetened with raw sugar and a touch of cocoa dust. If one would combine all of these ingredients into a decadent chocolate truffle, the result would be Al Contrario. It truly is an exceptional gourmand, unique and sophisticated, the kind of scent that invites you to crave it. I have also tried Sucre D'Ebene and that one has the same addictive, sugary quality, but I prefer Al Contrario, the malt note really sets it apart from other fragrances with the same scent profile.

I agree with a previous comment: Paolo Terenzi is a genius. I have a hard time appreciating chocolate or cocoa in a perfume (I own Bvlgari Blv Notte that I never pull out, and Guerlain L'Instant EDP that I am not a fan of either). This is supposed to be agourmand, but it's so well blended, that I just love it. Slightly gourmand but fresh at the same time. I'm not sure how to describe Terenzi's perfumes... just find a Barney's store and smell them. It's worth the ride (or the journey). A gourmand perfectly unisex? Thank you Paolo!

It starts with an explosion of citrus, reminds me of some local salted lemon pickle. It was that strong. I was wondering what's going on here. Then it subdues in a few minutes & something very nice & pleasant start. Its a mix of Cacao, Hazelnut (very prominent background) tonka, vanilla , sandal, mild citrus, & creates one of the most luxurious smell I ever sniffed. Its enough sweet also, not cloying or anything. When I spent money on niche fragrances this is the outcome I expect.

Al Contrario to me smells like a finest bake shop its very nutella chocolate like very gourmand indeed the performance itself truly radiates since it is an Extrait i have nothing to complain about it. # Awesome Bottle & Packaging # Great Price Value # Great Performance # Unique Gourmand Scent my girlfriend and i share with these stuff goes well nicely unisex. 10/10

Dang, did I get a bad batch?! On my skin this is PURE dark, smoky woods. Nothing sweet, no Cacao, no vanilla, nothing nutty.. Not at all what I envisioned, but I do secretly like the smell of an expensive fire. Maybe I'll have to try it again? *update* The dry down is giving me a vague sweetness.. very low sillage.. overall disappointed I blind bought this :/

The most delicious burnt, smoky sugarcane scent with a hint of tobacco. Love! One of my all time favs! I wouldn't say it smells very chocolatey to me like most comments have stated, even though it has cacao note in it, there are fragrances that have it very prominent, this is more burnt sugary type of scent.

WOW!! Super sexy!! I die for this.Is wonderful not strong, for night or day, winter or summer.I love this.Vanilla is so good in this. Sillage very good and longevity too. Try it and you love it,

Very light skin scent from the get-go, it is so subtle and light you can literally douse yourself with a minimum of 15 sprays. Minimal projection and sillage, decent longevity.

Such a nice creamy sandalwood creation! IMO it's a lot like Loewe 001 Woman!

it smells like brownies and flowers 8/10