Illusione for Him
Bottega Veneta (2019)

Nice enough. Illusione, to me, smells like a mix of familiar perfume tropes. It has very classic British-style cologne topnotes - minty lemon with herbs underneath. The star of the show seems to be a traditional sawdusty sandalwood with sweet maple syrup immortelle and a touch of honeyed hawthorn adding depth. There's also a chemical element, some sort of woody sheen that adds a modern brightness to what would otherwise feel like a blend of rather traditional cologne and chypre elements.

The end result is quite nice. This feels like something I'd expect from a British niche brand like Penhaligon's more than a luxury designer like Bottega Venetta, but that's a good thing. My only issue is that the bright woody sheen seems to swallow everything else, given time, and at that point, everything feels masked, like whatever big molecules are causing that shine are blocking my smell detectors and keeping me from perceiving everything else correctly. Given that, I'm voting neutral instead of thumbs-up, but this is still a quality scent.

A bright hesperidic opening: A somewhat restrained lemon, a bitter orange that is not very bitter on me - fresh and summery.

The dry down introduces a bit of fir balsam, which comes across as a more generally coniferous balsam with not a very clear fir on me. A cedar impression is following suit, which is quite weak though.

The base is dominated by a vetiver impression, which retains the initial bright character of this olfactory mixture, and is only minimally earthy of me. Finally a tonka note stakes its claim in their performance; the latter is quite restrained and not used as the dominating and overpowering glue that holds the base notes together, as is sometimes done in other fragrances.

I get moderate sillage, food projection, and four hours of longevity on my skin.

A pleasantly fresh summery scent with a good starts, but the second stage can be a bit generic and uneventful. Not a great performer. 2.75/5

This is without doubt the classiest, most natural and well balanced citrus fragrance I've come across. It's fresh but warm and rounded. No harsh icy metallic synthetic vibes. It smells of lemons still on the tree baking in the Italian sun...

...but the performance is dire. It doesn't have or need huge silage, but the longevity is really poor and it's so disappointing and frustrating for a scent this good. You can bathe in it in the morning and it's gone by lunchtime. Allure Homme Edition Blanche Parfum happily lasts all day long.

I'd say illusione manages to smells even better than AHEB (slightly less sweet, less vanilla and more natural) but the performance leaves it a runner up. The woods are more subtle and more of a rounded supporting role, compared to the brighter more prominent pencil shavings woods of Cedrat Boise. But again, the performance really lets illusione down again.

Bottega Veneta Illusione for him is a well blended neo-classic woodsy combination of hesperides, cardamom, cedarwood and vetiver. This creation is classy and harmonious with a plain "italian sartorial well-tailored" twist. The composition (once the top notes get fading their initial impact) is subtle and modern (unveiling a sort of apparent tea-like vibe mostly provided by cardamom) despite the main accord tends to retrace classic routes and balances. I see points of sharing with Cartier Declaration which smells spicier and less strong on bitter orange and cedarwood under my fallible nose. Along the way (mostly in the middle stage of developement) the combination of rootiness, hesperides, woodsy elements, "dampness from the forest", piquant spices and cedarwood conjures me significantly the rootier, woodier, wildier and stouter (less tamed by balsams) Terre d'Hermes as well. Opening is a spicy blast of bitter hesperides, green elements and piquant spices. I detect by soon a measured aromatic vibe based on woodsy coniferous elements and a notable presence of rooty vetiver. Along dry down cedarwood (enhancing gradually its strenght) smells dominant (lording) on vetiver and tends to wave around gradually soothed by balsams and tonka. Overall the final effect is satisfactory due its sheer dose of elegance, measure and urban minimalism. Very elegant bottle. A solid italian composition.

At first spray Illusione for Him is very promising. It is a delicious splash of citruses and cedar. Unfortunately, one hour later it's gone. I can't smell a thing. The same thing as with other Bottega Veneta fragrances. They don't last at all.

Being that I enjoy modern-masculine scents that are usually mass-appealing and versatile, I really like Illusione for Him. I find it to have a really good blend of modern citrus and woods that seems perfectly suited to many daytime situations, including work. I also think this leans towards modern tastes but because of the citrus and vetiver, can still be pulled off at any age.

The opening is a well-blended dry citrus that comes off clean and refreshing. Sweet woody notes come in next and really move this into the crowd-pleaser territory. Almost shower-gel like into the deep drydown.

Performance is pretty good on my skin and clothes, projecting a good distance for 4-5 hours and the full longevity lasting all workday.