Reviews of Mediterraneo (2003)
by Carthusia

Gorgeous, fresh summer scent! I'm generally not a fan of citrus, as I tend to read "Pledge" more often the not (Eau d'Hadrien smells like tasty Pledge to me), but Carthusia Mediterraneo is great. It's a perfectly cut slice of biting, zesty lemon squeezed into a fizzing cold glass of mineral water on a hot day. Delicious. This is a scent to wear drinking rosé by any body of water, preferably at noon.

a sicilian citrus grove in a bottle. very fresh, and a bit sweet. great summer fragrance

So much citrus it smells medicinal. It's just like the Dr. Vranjes line of fragrances; specifically Orion. Very potent and screams PERFUME!

I am a huge citrus perfume fan but even I don't get the hype on Carthusia's Mediterraneo. It starts off smelling like Lemon Pledge. After 10 minutes or so, the sweetish chemical top notes disappear and one is left with a tolerable citrus floral scent without much sillage. Lastly, given the mediocrity of this particular scent, the high price is rather annoying.

For my money, I'd take ANY of the following over Carthusia's Mediterraneo any day: Annick Goutal's "Eau d'Hadrien", Bulgari's "Extreme", Frederic Malle's "Bigarade Concentree" or Chanel's "Eau de Cologne". These are all top-notch, interesting and well-crafted citrus perfumes.

(EDP) - Starts off with a wonderful, juicy lemon that makes me think of the "orange and lemon slices" candies from the supermarket. At times, however, it veers very close to Sunlight dish detergent. Once the lemon is gone, it leaves behind an uninteresting green substructure.

Mediterraneo is the perfect answer when one is looking for a citrus that isn't light blue or i love i love cheap and chic. its a crisp fresh. every time i wear it, i can close my eyes and see the ocean from the stop of mt. solerno in anacapri or the lemons out side of pompeii. they say scents can trigger memories, this one certainly does

Carthusia’s Mediterraneo has indeed a bright, pure citrus opening with a lot of delicate green taking part. Within a matter of minutes, though, it smells like iced tea—a definite, rather strongly sugared tea accord completed by a wedge of bruised lemon. A few more minutes and even the lemon wedge is gone. The citrus note should have stayed around much longer: It was very refreshing in such away that iced tea is not. I’m afraid it gets very ordinary with the tea—and this is only ten minutes from application. I think Bvlgari Au Thé Vert is a better, longer lasting tea fragrance at a far more reasonable price. Carthusia should have gotten that wonderful opening citrus to last longer than three minutes and made the heart notes more interesting.

A giant glass of acid-reduced lemon juice into which one leaf of mint and one leaf of green tea have been dropped along with a dollop of honey. Can't imagine any circumstances under which I'd want to smell this, not even as a room freshener.

Simple and direct citrus scent. While it would be inoffensive in almost any situation, and an obvious choice for the hotter months, there was nothing interesting enough to compel a purchase for me. Like all the Carthusias I tested, it does smell like a high quality, very "natural" fragrance.

I used to love Mediterraneo, and it was indeed perfect for hot summer days. The lemon leaf scent was crisp, refreshing and clear. It also never "turned" when worn on really sweltering days.

My husband adored it on me as much as I loved wearing it. But the scent was revamped a few years ago to now include green tea, and I feel that this muddies the lemon scent. I sorely miss the original.

Mediterraneo opens up with a superb lemon zest, the best there is alongside the original Boucheron according to my personal preference. It smells natural, fresh and is good reminder why citrus is so widely used in perfumery. It then dries down to a quite simple green tea base, delicate and dry. This is not a complex fragrance, but a very nice one in all of it's simplicity. Perfect for hot summer days.