Ligea "La Sirena"
by Carthusia

...not a bad smell but it is not something you would want to wear on yourself.
It is very easily to discribe: It smells EXACTLY like that stuff you put in you closet to keep the moths off them. Accordingly it reminds me of the smell that jumps at you when opening grandma's closet or the one of an old wool swater.
I definitely cannot imagine anyone would want to wear this on their skin ...but then again if you are scared of moths it might be a good investment!

10th January, 2009.

I don't think I'll ever appreciate opoponax as a note in perfumery after this.

This has a very strong note of the opoponax note. Bitingly dark and transcending (which, in non-artistic descriptions is said to be is acrid and bitter). Makes me romantically think of the phantasmal demons and dark, dank castles of yesteryear. Not something I'd like to visit very often but very interesting in its own right. It is very, very strong! I would imagine this is what the Spanish Inquisition courts would smell like. Not that I'm trying to put a political and religious sense to the scent, but it is an image I can't shed from my mind. I can see Michael Palin from the Monty Python skit show Flying Circus suddenly bursting through the door after your first spritz exclaiming, "No one suspects the Spanish Inquisition! *orchestral hit* We have two niche fragrances we use in our interrogations: Serge Lutens, Aquca bi Biella, Carthusia, NO! Three! Three niche fragrances we use in our interrogations: Serge Lutens...."

Serious review now... this is very strong. As mentioned before, there's a strong note of opoponax. I mistakenly wore this on a bright and cheery spring day; it deadened the mood. Even coffee didn't perk me up. If you like to wear fragrance that reflects your mood, this is the one you'd wear on a day were you feel moody and a touch sinister. If that is not your thing, try it.

10th June, 2008.

Carthusia’s Ligea “La Sirena” strikes me as being quite strong and linear. The first few times I tried it, I didn’t care for it, which was a bit surprising because, ordinarily opoponax is one of my favorite notes. I have now reached the point where I simply feel neutral about Ligea because, while I have come to enjoy its accord, I still see it as a simplistic, linear, nicely pleasant fragrance — nothing more. It’s an okay scent, like a good quality talcum powder. Ligea does seem old to me, but not interestingly old, just somewhat musty old. Because of the bergamot / powdery ambiance, I conceptualize it as more feminine than masculine. Then again, maybe it’s just my skin.

4th November, 2007.

I just found this uni-sexual fragrance yesterday at Nordstroms. I was not in the market to buy any more colognes, but then the Carthusia bottles were sitting on their own shelf and I had to try them.

The bottle first got me. It is square with with a family crescent on the face and an old ornate font.

Then the smell...I instantly related to it. It reminded me somehow of Guerlain. It smelled 100 years old, with a scent of fine powder. Citrus, bergamot...it is both Mediterranean and aristocratic. Not sensual, or seductive, but subtle and elegant.

It is made in Capri, and it has a very Italian reserve and cleanliness to it, like a man who is just freshly shaved an puts on a well tailored white cotton shirt with perfectly pressed linen trousers. Or a woman of a certain age who has her hair tied back in a bun, and wears the finest cashmere cardigan and drinks limoncello on the veranda of the house overlooking the water.

It is an old European creation, even if it is relatively new. It bestows a quiet refinement and intelligence on the wearer that doesn't shout but is reassuring and wonderfully familiar.

1st May, 2007.

I bought this perfume after trying it in an exclusive perfume shop.It was interesting and different and I had to have it.Alas I bought it sprayed it and wanted to puke.It was just too strong and it doesn't fade.
Sorry I have to say pass on this one...however if anyone is interested to swap please contact me;-)

25th August, 2006.

My label-reading eyes can't convince my scent-sniffing nose that this isn't a product of Guerlain. A skin scent of the same mood (but not identical to) the foundations of Terracotta Voile d'Ete or Jicky or Mitsouko (as a former reviewer so aptly pointed out). I actually prefer this to Mitsouko, which is a little too powerful for my delicate senses. As much as I admire Ligea's serenity, it lacks that one special something, that hook that would catch and hold my attention.

19th August, 2006.