Chimaera

Chimaera is Mr. Terenzi's magnum opus. Although Laudano Nero initially drew my attention to this house, this fragrance compelled me to seek out any of the offerings from Tiziana Terenzi (and Paolo Terenzi's other work for V Canto) that I could get my nose. Its THAT good. The blend on this rivals any of Roja Dove's, Francis Kurkdjian's, or the Guerlain family's best creations. The ingredients used in this masterpiece absolutely scream quality and refinement and it's presentation (complete with it's own lighting system) is among the best I have ever seen. Chimaera is without a doubt in my top 5 fragrances of all time. Depending on what distance you smell this from, different notes jump out at you. Depending on how deeply you breathe in when smelling this, different notes jump out at you. With every wearing of this perfume, different notes jump out at you. This progresses and changes dramatically throughout its drydown. It jumps off the skin for the better part of 8 hours and lasts for much longer than that, leaving a beautiful, thick scent trail behind it's wearer like a cape in the wind. Chimaera encompasses everything I love in perfumery, and the moment I discovered it my standards for what makes a fragrance "great" were raised immediately. It is smokey, sweet, deep, balsamic, slightly animalic, and slightly citric. The main notes that others have noticed and I can consistently pick out from it are tobacco, caramel, oud, leather, honey, pepper, and lemon. However, one note that is dominant which others have not pointed out is iris. Those familiar with the waxy, lipstick-like iris used in popular fragrances such as Dior Homme Intense/Parfum and Valentino Uomo Intense will certainly notice a similar, albeit much higher quality iris note which blends with the tobacco, caramel, oud, and leather to give this perfume it's complex base. I believe this fragrance clearly leans masculine but can be worn by a confident and strong willed woman. It is best for fall, winter, and spring but can also be worn (sprayed modestly) on cool summer nights. I believe this is blind buy safe to anyone that views niche perfumery as an art. However, this perfume has also received praise (read: compliments >.<) from both males and females in the mid 20s age group. A must have, and I do not offer that praise lightly. Opening 10/10 Drydown 10/10 Longevity 10/10 Projection 10/10 Versatility 9/10 Overall 10/10 HIGHLY recommended

Just received a 2020 bottle... let’s start simple: presentation is absolutely grand! Feels very luxurious.... Ok.... Love at first spray.... Truly complex, but so beautifully blended. The opening with Tolu Balsam and Saffron is sweet with the brightness of Lemon. The spice begins with an earthy vibe and the Black Pepper. In the middle I get a slight floral freshness- but only slightly. The Honey makes the sweetness a bit richer at this point, and the Carnation and Red Pepper add more spice to the overall body. Then the base notes open and WOW! This is where it’s at! The Tobacco is so perfectly balanced with the Caramel, then punctuated by the Agarwood, and Benzoin. The Cashmere and Labdanum give a powdered softness, that is then anchored by a woodiness and Leather. Overall, this is a beautiful beast. Walking down the hall, my husband asked, “What’s that?” He said it was spicier than I wear, but he loves it. She is complex and changing from start, middle, to finish. She is elegant, but is a beast that will take on a monster. She is sexy, but not to be trifled with....She is bright and sweet, dark and rich, spicy and consuming. Just as you dip into the depths of rich spice you are lifted with a sweetness form the honey and caramel, and are taken though the with the swirling aroma of the tobacco (I get bits of thyme and sage eminating through). Savacsaian said: The notes won't stop bubbling to the surface and bursting into the air. I stand by what I said: Chimaera boils in a cauldron..... I couldn’t agree more. Stunning fragrance. I’m in love.

I just received the Chimaera today with 2019 batch on it, great opening and mid, just one spray on my wrist and I picked up random notes morphing in and out. This is a delicate, exotic, sophisticated, warm, and very sexy scent. The dry down reminiscent of Dior Homme Parfum due to the powdery iris, wood, and leather where they both have in common. On my skin, I get about 2 hours of projection and sillage, then died down to a nice and soft skin scent. Overall performance does not seem to be as nuclear as the DHP but it is a good trade off for such a complex scent. I think this is a very robust and versatile fragrance, it's unisex, and sure to please just about anyone at any age. I would wear the Chimaera in Spring, Summer Night, and Fall. May have to go heavier on the trigger with a few extra sprays in Winter. Update on 5/19/20: This is one of the best if not THE best masterpiece release from this house, I'm already thinking about picking up a backup copy of this gem.

An incredibly dense and multilayered Oriental inspired by the perfumers travels to regions in Turkey said to be the lair of this mythical beast, this ‘beast mode’ fragrance is a spicy gourmand that evokes elements of earth, fire, seas, air and mountains. The perfume opens in a smoky cloud of black pepper, lemon, saffron, leather, tolu balsam, thyme, bay leaf and soil tincture. There is a dense floral gourmand middle consisting of iris, red pepper, carnation, peony, honey, magnolia and sage. Finally it settles into a masculine powdery smoky base of patchouli, cashmere, labdanum, benzoin, caramel, oud, tobacco (dominant), leather and pine. An incredible shape shifter on my skin evolving in one dense layer after another, skillfully blended, masculine leaning, with tremendous sillage and projection. This one is high quality luxury perfumery. Shares many resemblances to the newer HDP offering Outrecuidant. Warm, growling and enveloping. Enjoy!

Not sure which batch my decant is from so seeing as this fragrance varies from batch to batch this is what I get. Right of the bat the similarity to M7 (vintage) is very apparent. Very similar for the first bit but then off of my skin the pine notes jump. This actually makes this fragrance fresh in a sense and lightens the mood. This is sweet like m7 but different. It's apparent that it's the caramel giving the sweetness because it's somewhat lactonic in nature. This to me is m7 with a twist, not a clone but could be a flanker. Longevity is superb. Still on my skin after showering and when I put my nose to wear I sprayed it after showering I can detect the pepper still and that soil smell, it's nice. If you love m7 you'll love this.(If you're batch is like mine I guess) A really good fragrance