L'Arte di Gucci (1991)
by Gucci

This is a quality fragrance, but I should warn that the civet in this latches onto my skin chemistry and shouts from the hill-tops, combining with the rose to form a jammy yet fecal note that makes it unwearable on my skin. It's fine on paper though, so sample this one for yourself before hunting down a bottle of this discontinued fragrance.

I find this a fairly linear rose chypre strong on the animalic elements, a civet-hued moss forming a backdrop to a rose that's somewhere between jammy and transparent, but not particularly natural. Sillage is good and longevity is Herculean.

If you're looking for a modern replacement, Serge Lutens' Rose de Nuit is related but darker and more complex, using a leathery castoreum instead of civet. Estee Lauder's Knowing is a much more readily available designer, also in a similar floral-chypre vein.

L'Arte di Gucci is a twist on the late 80's & early 90's power chypres (think Ungaro Diva, Palmoma Picasso, Niki de Saint Phalle) but L'Arte has all the emphasis on the rose. a dark heady rose with that woody punch. that punchy aldehyde burst warms up the rose, which is sweetened (only slightly, this is not a sweet scent!) with what seems like a touch of honey. the woody base starts to glow- there is a whisper of musk that peeks out too. then a sneaky green note that is hidden (vetiver i think) teases. a very close to the skin oakmoss sexy base keeps you sniffing your wrist, wondering where this scent will turn next. a beautifully complex scent that changes & warms from spritz to drydown. adding: i do NOT get even a hint o Ce Soir Ou Jamais- which i find sour and flat. and, agreed, the bottle is totally bizarre, but the gorgeous scent makes me forgive that. this is a sadly discontinued scent, but available online at surprisiningly reasonable cost. i was lucky enough to also find the shower/bath gel, which is also sublime.

I used this when I was in graduate school. Can't remember the exact scent anymore as that was more than 10 years ago but I do remember the reactions I got from it. A married religious minister classmate even grabbed my wrist and ran the tip of his nose from my wrist through the whole length of my forearm. Very good scent but turns good men bad!

A rich red rose, a lil sweet & spicy but not that heavy vanilla sweet, not powdery, almost like Ce Soir Ou Jamais in the redness & clearness, but more womanly from touch of tuberose (not my fave note but works great here) & spice, dark wood base but rose doesn't disappear. LOVE IT! ok for day if applied lightly, o/w definite evening scent. I think I even like it better than Or Et Noir.

A dark, seductive rose (I get mostly rose from all the floral notes) with an undertone of leather/chypre/animal. Reminds me of my favourite rose Black Aoud.