Teinte de Neige (2000)
by Lorenzo Villoresi

The only one from this house that I actually do like. However, I'm still undecided as to whether or not I can actually wear it – as much as I love vanilla, the baby powder accord may be too much for me to pull off. There's also a noticeable chemical note in the composition that I find unsettling.

Extremely potent stuff, though.

[Original submission date: 10 April 2008]

Teint de Neige is not very difficult to describe: As most say, it’s powder. It’s a beautiful, refined, exquisitely complex powder scent. There are many different floral and bass notes listed, but what I get most is almond with a touch of jasmine combined with a sweet, sweet vanilla and a touch of amber. In addition there’s a bit of something sharp in there that conflicts with the sweet and adds just the right touch of tension to keep the fragrance from being a cliché. Trouble is, I can’t identify what that conflicting element is. Teint de Neige has a strong sillage and very good longevity. In all, it’s a wonderful fragrance… an exemplar of the classic powdery genre.

This perfume is the one that gets the most "feedback"...many people, both genders have commented about it .Most frequent description is "clean".....I love it. It makes me feel confident and calm. Its a vivid fragrance with longevity. Not for those who find vanilla too insistent!

This is the 7th of Villoresi's 16 scents that I have tried and reviewed on Basenotes and it is the first clear disappointment. That nasty chemical note the other reviewers talk about smacks you in the nose immediately and I can only think of one source - mothballs.

None of the 6 named ingredients on the Villoresi site account for this: Jasmin, Rose, Ylang Ylang, Tonka Bean, Musk, Heliotrope. It's just nasty and acrid.

After about two hours it settles down to an almond scent (Tonka?) and after four hours it settles down to a vanilla scent, which is the Heliotrope.

So if you can stand it for four hours, you are home free with a lovely Heliotrope that is long lasting. But it's a long wait.

The end result is lovely but because it is seriously flawed in its initial notes and development, I have to give it a negative review.

I really want to love this fragrance but it infuriates me that my skin chemistry causes Teint De Neige to alternate between the most beautifully scented clouds of almond/vanilla powder and a strange medicinal 'ointment' smell which is pungent and repugnant to my nose. This
medicinal aroma is a real gremlin, weaving in and out of Teint De Neige and rendering it unwearable for me. This perfume must be amazing on those lucky people who can wear it well but I have to rate it neutral, although you never know, maybe my skin will let me wear this sometime in the future.

My absolute favourite! I have an addiction to perfumes, and I love to change as many as possible, but this is the perfume I always come back to.
Teint de Neige reminds of childhood, according to most of those who tried it... may I disagree and say that I feel like a mistress in a brothel back in the 1920s whenever I wear it? ;) It does smell like powder, but certainly not the baby kind! :D Thank God, I cannot smell too heavy a flowery note in this perfume, being a fervent flower-hater myself, so I would recommend it to those who refuse to smell like a bouquet. ;)
A tip for those who can lay their hands on the italian brand "L'erbolario": Teint de Neige smells like "Iris" by such brand, which is good if you need a good surrogate for this Villoresi at a low price. :)