Venezia (1992)
by Long Lost Perfume

Recently i've tested the toned down (in hesperides and and spices)  new, more synthetic and badly  reorchestrated  version  of this woody-oriental for long time almost  disappeared from the shelves in the parfumeries around the world. Once the rosey Venezia Laura Biagiotti (later Long Lost Perfume) was the fragrance of the  crystals' night and the musks. The new mellow and fruity gummy-gassy modern blend of plum, jasmine and vanilla  reminds me very much the new Samsara (which is anyway less fruity and more developed in spices and balsams) that is also plagued by the new disease of the modern era, i mean "the supervened new sinthetism", a plague that replaces the original  (80's) partial naturality of spices and hesperides with an artificial, caramellous and gassy fruity vanillic consistence. The old Venezia had a starting decadent blast of angular hesperides, moss and fruits that was a natural prelude to a more complex and changeful floral-spicy heart. The central part was far more spicy and sophisticated in flowers by the presence of a royal and moody duo iris-rose that was more botanic, earthy and neutral (almost laundry) while the current tasty chemical jasmine fits better with the general current onedimentional mellow synthetic fruitiness. The transition towards the base is in the current version almost  undetectable cause the absence of woods and structure and the immediate explosion of fruity vanilla that you catch since the first whiffs. In the old formula the rising of the balsams (benzoin, amber, vanilla) was gradual through an initial citrusy-fruity-green-floral stage. Now i smell a monolithic fruity vanillic smell while the original formula was more changeful, decadent, earthy-hesperidic, complex and angular in a more natural way. Thumbs down for the new version so  my positive rating is for the old, languid and romantic Venezia.

19th December, 2011. (Last Edited: 22nd December, 2011.)

I still have 1/3 of a large bottle of the original and I still love it!! Why do so many of my favorite perfumes keep being discontinued? As a matter of fact, I cannot even find one of them in this Directory!

Wow - I'm looking at the Ebay listings below this review box, and someone is selling what appears to be the large bottle of the original Biagiotti EDT (and EDT is the strength that you want - trust me) for less than $20!! But I digress . . .

I know that it isn't listed as one of the original ingredients, however I have always smelled leather in the drydown phase of this. Has anyone else also had that experience? I believe that this could very well now be classed as a 'unisex' fragrance. If you find a bottle of the original, at a reasonable price, buy it, if not for yourself, then for your best friend, male or female, who likes to wear strong, adventurous, unisex fragrances. But warn them to use it sparingly the first time.

15th September, 2011.

I have the original by Laura Biagiotti, and there is nothing else like it. This one has the rare Japanese Wong-Shi blossom, which is not a key ingredient in the Long Lost version, and that is why it will leave you wanting. Laura Biagotti got an inspiration for this perfume after her journey to Pechino. Bottle cap reminds of a Saint George’s bell tower in Venice. Warm, woody-spicy, oriental, very Italian. Top notes include succulent Italian fruit with some green accord; peach, plums and bergamot. At its heart; rose, spicy carnation, intense cinnamon and iris. Sandalwood, Tonka bean, vanilla and benzoin. It was created in 1992.

17th February, 2010.

Venezia is a pretty scent – basically floral with a significant green element and a fairly somewhat important representation of fruity notes. It’s main attraction, I think, is that it is refreshing. It opens with a citrus / fruit accord that is well-done but fairly generic… the red current is a restraining element that tempers the freshness of the citrus and the strong floral texture. In spite of the violet leaf (an annoying note to me) I appreciate the green aspects of the scent a bit more than the floral, because some of the choices of florals are synthetically disagreeable to me. The “waterlily” is an offender – I usually don't like the note wherever it was presented, and this one is about as attractive to me as the water lily notes in several other fragrances. The fruity note in the middle level is pleasant, and the sandalwood supposed to be in the base is almost non-existent. I don’t determine much of a base at all. Venzia is fresh; it has an acceptable sillage, and it is not a long lasting fragrance.

27th July, 2009.

The true incarnation of 90's sensuality and excess, romanticism and fantasy, even tough a touch of 80's ( and even male scents from this period ) powerhouse is also present. One would expect an elusive, watery scent, rising like the ghostlike city from the waters, reaching the airy zenith, right? Wrong. This csent devoures, ethralls, captvates and is also highly tought proviking.You have to either love or hate it! An Oriental who's force comes close to the one of the original female Opium, yet with an extra touch of subtlety and floral delights which is much more underdeveloped in the French classic. Without being its imitator, i would like to the describe this as its more Mediyterranen, hotblooded, but also more romantic and dreamlike counterpart. Aslo, there are some lavish woody notes in it which make me- strengely enough, associate it with some calssics of exquisite woody fragrances for men, Creed's BDP among others, altough minus the citurs notes of the latter. Another similarity with both BDP and Opium is the highly formal component- romantic or conservative wear permitted, even required, however anything casual strictly forbidden if worn with this one. The fragrance industry will remain a constant mystery to me- if so few creations of pure genius, like this one, are being put forward, why do they discontinue them so abruptly? I would have liked to have smelled and felt this one lots and lots of ladies ( provided taht they have the distinction to match Venezia's stylishness )...

20th June, 2008.

Discovered this fragrance in high school and wore it thru college. A sweet and incredibly heady fragrance I'm not sure I could still handle it in my 30s but every once in a while I swear I smell it and do a double take to see who might be wearing it!

Would love to see it come back into production and would consider owning it again.

26th November, 2007.