Theorema (1998)
by Fendi

Guess I'm one of the lone dissenters of Theorema. Smelled too much like pencil shavings for me - I just couldn't get past it. I wish I could get what everyone else does out of this fragrance. For a similar fragrance, I much prefer Just Me by Montana - it has all the things I like about Theorema minus the pencils!

Pow!! Candied oranges! Give it a few seconds...ahh. Warm, sweet ambery goodness to back it up. almost smells like a little raspberry dark chocolate in there, too. I wear it on cool summer nights. Not casual.

I am always a little skeptical of people who say “just smell perfume X because I say so”. This was the chief commentary on Theorema so you can imagine my mindset as I approached it. Well, I have been the one missing out all this time. Theorema is masterpiece of lush oranges with a touch of cream, amber and patchouli and has decent, but not great, sillage. Granted, Theorema does not have the zestiness of Bigarade Concentree (a fellow orange scent) but then again, it is not trying to be sporty. Rather it is trying to convey a sense of luxury, elegance and calm which it succeeds in doing. In case you are wondering how it compares to its Fendi sister, Palazzo, Theorema is much more subtle and has substantially less amber. In fact, Palazzo seems like a brash Theorema "wanna-be".

Per The Perfumed Court, here are the notes: California tangelo, sweet orange, jasmine, osmanthus, spices, cinnamon, pink pepper, cream, amber, macassar, Mysore sandalwood, gaiac wood, and musk.

The scent opens with a somewhat boozy almost masculine note that will quickly fade if you have the right skin, after a while all the notes become a bit more soapy and the true body of the scent becomes more apparent: right at this stage is where the “real” theorema begins and this is where i prefer to start with the notes: if anyone senses a bit of Shalimar in the top notes it wouldn’t be surprising because it has, like Shalimar, tons of bergamot at the top (and just a hint of oranges too) , something I really like. This is definitely a femenine scent in the EDP form, but it feels like if it were a professional woman that makes hard decisions while having a softer side to her and yet another one, a sexy one. The citrus opening tones down a bit and the surprinsingly soft vanilla appears in the mid notes –I know that it sits at the basenotes in the pyramid but to me the vanilla kicks in very early- along with the spices, the sexy but more assured part of the fragrance.The flowers come in at the mid notes as well, but these flowers are very soft and almost creamy, the jasmin is very pretty but won’t overpower the composition at all. Of the spices we find: cardamom, cinnamon,a bit of pepper and the softest, lightest cumin found in a scent, all of this makes the scent a bit more interesting than the regular floriental. Apparently it has a note of cream but thankfully this cream has no milk at all, and it won’t go sour on my skin. Very elegant and luxurious, this EDP can be used at all seasons because it’s not as concentrated as one might expect. It has a luminous quality to it too. The basenotes are a bit gourmand and the vanilla sits very soft but not very sweet and the amber and the woods are very welcomed to an almost unisex base that’s very comfortable and rich but never too opulent nor loud. The sillage is decent but the longevity has some issues. Very nice. I don’t know what is it with companies discontinuing good scents. At least bring it back in the amazing extrait form, wich I would be getting no matter the price.

Notes include tangelos, cinnamon, amber, pepper and jasmine petals.
Nicely constructed, as the notes seem to flow into one another, seamlessly melding and living well together. It's hard to classify this one as it crosses lines, but how pottlegirl defined it typifies it best for me - a light oriental fragrance, which really does feel golden. It's warm, spicy, vivacious, and slightly gourmand, but has a freshness and fruitiness that keeps it out of the kitchen and out of the bedroom. I consider it a sociable fragrance that is complex and loves to be in a crowd, but doesn't showboat, as it has too much class for that. I really like this one and got a bottle as soon as I could.

Well, I guess I'm in the vast minority here. I thought this smelled like sweet bug spray with a dab of orange blossom. Not anything I want my body to smell like on a romantic night; maybe when I'm tring to keep flies off on a night camping. I was really looking forward to sampling this because of all the great reviews- I was sad that it didn't work for me. Way too much pepper and vanilla with my chemistry. Definitely no purchase.