Lavanda Alpina
Borsari 1870

I love this take on lavender… It is not a straightforward aromatic lavender: it is soft and a tiny bit sweet and yet it holds a firm presence on the skin. This lavender is airy rather than aromatic and the whole accord remains quite subtly and delicately dry. What accomplishes this unusual lavender is that it is supported by other herbs that are a bit dryer than the lavender. The result is a very comfortable lavender that remains somewhat dry and doesn't overdo that annoying thing that lavender often does when it is left to go wild.

Understandably, Lavanda Alpina doesn't hold on as a sillage maker for very long. It has become a skin scent by its second or third hour. It is definitely unisex and it is one of the most interesting lavender scents I've come across.

Ah, they don't make stuff like this any more. This a delightful old-school fougere, in the style of Crown Fougere. It has a very concentrated, dry, herbal lavender note. This is supported with other herbal notes (thyme, basil) and plenty o' moss. The dry-down is mossy wood. The power yet refinement of this convey the quietly assertive nobility of a bygone era.