Trussardi (1982)
by Trussardi

Thanks, again, Basenotes. On the recommendation of many in one of the forums, I purchased this on Ebay at a remarkable price (5.99). This is a true leather chypre that I can live with. It has attitude, but unlike Bandit, it is not rude. I think that the lovely florals tone down the leather so that I can wear it, not simply appreciate it. It's not often that I'm into leather, but when I am, this one does the trick!

After reading wonderful reviews I gave it a try. I found it to be very loud and very soapy...
I'm getting an explosion of patchouli, another bomb of sandalwood, an explosion of orange in a big cloud of smoke.
Soapy dry down.

I'm about to give a woman's review of Trussardi: I cannot speak highly enough of this fragrance. Never having seen it in a department store, I first came across it when a dynamic young woman whom I met in Miami introduced it to me as her favourite fragrance. I subsequently found a bottle to purchase for myself in an off-beat perfume store on South Beach. This was some time ago, and I have been a devoted fan of the fragrance ever since. It is both unique and exclusive in that it is sold in very few places. On me, the fragrance is faintly sweet and powdery, but with a marked patchouli / sandalwood / cedar influence. The fragrance has remarkable sillage and staying power. It always draws compliments, especially from men. I'm surprised that it isn't more widely demanded and available. You need to try this fragrance to believe how good it is.

Fragrance notes: orange blossom, rose, sandalwood, patchouli.
This is classified as a woman's scent, but in my ignorance I purchased a bottle at a discount store. The very cool white flask evoked a Jay Gatsby vibe. And in the end, I don't regret the purchase. After all, the two reviews so far are from a male perspective. This is an interesting scent. It only has a few elements in common with Trussardi Uomo and in my opinion is only somewhat like it. Trussardi White (as I call it) has a sharp, tangy, antiseptic-medicinal note that appeals to me once in a while. A peppery spice, a rubbery tang, a perky-edgy note... whatever it is, it is oddly compelling. The mood is somewhat like Arlington, another perky-aromatic scent. The rose and neroli soften it a bit but not too much. Probably here we see the distinctive rendition of cedarwood and patchouli. It has good longevity. Smokey, a bit sweet (but not excessive), at times creamy and subtle and at other times sharp. Perhaps it is an acquired taste, but I appreciate it more with each wearing.

The opening of Trussardi has responded two different ways on my skin: Several times I smelled some powerful indole notes from the jasmine, and at other times I got a green / aromatic / slightly floral accord with reduced indole notes in the opening. Regardless, the opening reminds me a bit of the opening of Bandit, that is, Bandit without the leather overload. Trussardi has a beautifully balanced, abundant green / floral opening; green to the core; classic to the core. The heart notes make up a floral bouquet – floral in texture more than in sillage, and the florals are shadowed by a delicate, clean smoky ambiance, adding a further sophistication to the green and indole notes that have reached into the floral heart. It is classically excellent, and a bit reminiscent of Trussardi Uomo except it is very much more refined and more lacking of in-your-faceness.

The rich base brings in the strong cedar / sandalwood – continuing the smoke motif almost to the point of resembling incense. The base is further smoothed and refined by a musk, leather, and amber, with amber adding about the only touch of sweetness to the accord. Green shadowed by florals … smoky … ethereal … long lasting and compelling. The inestimable Nead_Nitram is correct about its androgyny: Trussardi is feminine only in comparison to its super masculine alter ego, Trussardi Uomo. I believe that today, Trussardi could easily be marketed as unisex. It’s a great one, and I wonder why it isn’t better known.

Bearing an indubitable affinity to the smoky, tea-tinged mysteries of its counterpart, Trussardi Uomo, I am not at all sure that the female version of Trussardi is not the finer and more ubiquitous scent.
The smoky, serious, rather masculine opening is somewhat belied by the rumour of sweet spices that murmur beneath its smoke. Yet that sweetness is never allowed to dominate proceedings, so that the overall impression is of a milder, toned down Trussardi Uomo - smoky and abstract, gunpowder and milk, restrained spice and sophistication, profound and immaculate.
I find it a thoroughly androgynous scent, wearable by gentlefolk of either gender. (de Charlus).