Cara
Farmacia SS. Annunziata (2011)

Perfect comfort scent and one of the few gourmands I own and never get tired of. It’s unisex and can be described as soft, smooth, lightly spicy/lightly sweet, and calming. Cara will leave an edible trail of warm powdery vanilla and almond

Cozy, gourmand-ish amber that is mid-range, mid-pitched and very well-blended. Notes of almond, tonka, vanilla, benzoin and a hint of caramel, with a restrained, abstract sweetness, solid persistence, airy sillage but not overbearing. One could wear this for days in a row and not get bored. Stylistically it reminds of Tonka Imperiale and Spiritueuse Double Vanille (while it's closer in scent profile to the former), but less dense and heavy than either of those, but still adequately robust. A bit classical in tastes.

3.5/5

Wonderful high quality eliotropic semi gourmand opening with hints of lush bergamot and following encompassed by almondy/vanillic patterns, delicate floral notes (iris, rose, ylang-ylang??) faint aromatic greens, musk, talcum and starring amber. Probably hints of petitgrain are included in the luxurious recipe. Cara appears by soon such a Christmas type of mélange, in the middle between Etro Heliotrope, Phul-Nana Grossmith, several La Maison de la Vanille's concoctions and E.Coudray Amber et Vanille but there is something more, a sort of minimally earthy/retro twist conjuring me several secret Guerlain Heritage's nuances, I mean an hesperidic patchouli-amber accord with some Guerlinade type of "sugary" dust. Yes, I detect something organic and ostensibly salty such like the aroma of clean skin under sun but frankly I suppose the high quality amber aroused this sort of ostensible undertone. Delicious, balanced, never (too much) sugary and absolutely romantic.

Beautiful opening of dense and natural vanilla, really simple and genuine, with a light and lively floral heart (which globally gets this close to galaxolide, but still more vibrant and cute, less sweet and above all, less synthetic). Bright green feel, which then becomes more crunchy and pungent before gently fading away. Even a slight medicinal/alcoholic feel. Soft and mellow, and again really delicate, basenotes comprising white musks and amber. Then, a really nice salty (not iodine) note emerges, and the scent slowly turns into some more natural version of Odeur 53: a delicate and really pleasant smell of "clean skin", with kind of a beach vibe – again, not in the "iodine" meaning, more the smell your skin gets while you're under the sun, that salty but "scented" feel (as you've probably put on some tanning cream hours before). Really light, simple and dry. Must say I am usually not a fan of this type of scents, but this is really nice and well made, it is really minimal, pale, graceful and delicate, with an unpredictable evolution and an overall good quality of both materials and composition, as far as I can smell. Also, projection and sillage are more solid than you may think – it's delicate, but it's there and you feel it. Pretty and refined!

7,5/10

I have to admit~I have an almond fetish. W/out a doubt it's one of my favorite notes. Cara is on my short list in this catagory.

It's literally taken me years to realize her unique quirky beauty. First off~a sample doesn't do her justice and that's what I've been dabbling w/for all of those referred to years. A dab here, a dab there, I liked it but I also liked many others and she just didn't stand out. Enter the decant. Turns out she needs to be sprayed~who knew? You'll definately want to be careful w/how much you do spray however.

She starts out w/an almost painful almond bite. She smells a bit like it feels when you have an itch and scratch it to the point of bleeding. It feels so good and yet it still hurts a little bit. That's how the initial burst of Cara feels to my nose. Part of the reason for this is the interplay between the almond and the amber. They come out in tandem like a jagged point.

It doesn't take long for Cara to soften out all of her soft sugary edges though and become a beautiful cloud of almond meringue. She feels very light and full of fluffy sweetened air. Irresistably delicious and she crosses from season to season like a champ. She's the perfect frothy treat for a summer night or the promise of a cuddle by the campfire.

THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL FRAGRANCE. APPLY, LIBERALLY AND DON'T FEAR, AND IT WILL COME BACK TO PLEASE YOU ALL THROUGH THE DAY. THIS IS A GREAT ONE!