Aria
Antica Farmacista

Whoa! Lilacs! It sure smells like lilacs even though lilacs aren't listed in the pyramid. It's been a couple dozen years since I spent spring in a temperate climate, but there's little chance of my mistaking the smell of lilac. The opening comes across as quite flowery to me – flowery with citrus, and not very complex. The opening doesn't last very long and there doesn't seem to be much that is coming around to replace it. I have a difficult time identifying the middle accord – it seems more texture than notes – sort of neutral and a bit synthetic. It could very well be the marine note, the algae, and the white musk, but I have a difficult time deconstructing it, especially since the scent is gone in a flash. I often love “texture” in a fragrance but primarily when it acts as a counterpoint to something really interesting. There is nothing majorly interesting here, and Aria Le Parfum has no staying power on my skin, but maybe that's for the best: The notes and accords just do not capture my interest, and between its ennui and the ephemera, I think it's a thumb's down.