La Perla Classic
Eau de Toilette, La Perla (2013)

This is really great! And a cheapy too. It is an old-school rose chypre with tons of patchouli and oakmoss, and it smells wonderful. There is a ton of patchouli up front, so if you are sensitive to this note, stay well away, but I happen to love a bit of old dirty patch roughing up the florals in a scent. The moss and patchouli opening softens into a heart of powdery orris and rose, but the base remains this tough, slightly masculine accord built on cardamon, vetiver, sandalwood, and patchouli. The base actually feels like one of those old school 70s Italian or French aftershaves that don't cost too much money at the drugstore and feel a bit grungy/barbershoppy, like a cologne that has been lightly sweated through under the (open) shirt of a hairy Italian male. I like that, me.

This lasts forever too, and is quite potent, so I would imagine that the walk-through method advised for Aromatics Elixir would work best here too. Now that we're on the subject, this shares quite a few notes with Aromatics Elixir and has a similar feel - that grungy patch-y old school herbal chypre feel. The powederyness (present in both) provides a nice contrast to the darker mossy elements and keeps everything from diving off a cliff into swamp territory. There is a honey element in La Perla also, and can be detected mostly as part of the musky drydown. I like this an awful lot and will be buying a bottle to wear in autumn once the weather turns cool. It is at once comforting, solid, mysterious, and old school femme, but also striking and special.