Reviews of Aria di Capri (2003)
by Carthusia

Bay leaf and tarragon added to powdery, soapy parsnips with a sweet citrus edge? Run away! Run away! None of the notes themselves are offensive, but it's an olfactory orgy of what doesn't belong together.

To give them their due for originality, I have never smelled anything else like this, and thankfully so. It's a true scrubber.

Vibert's review is spot-on, there is not much I can add. I love Aria di Carthusia and wear it in early spring when I long for summer and warm weather. The opening is wonderful, I get a lot of licorice and less aldehydes than other reviewers. The only negative aspect is the poor lasting power.

Citric florals and aldehydes... it feels perfumey to me and is quite feminine. There's a slight abrasiveness to it that I find unpleasant.

Aria di Capri has an arresting opening of lemon, licorice, and flowers. Its progress is consistent without being precisely linear, which is to say that the sparkling opening trifecta remains, but the balance between its components shifts. This motion is cyclical, so that one moment the citrus seems to dominate, while minutes later it is the anisic or floral notes that take precedence. Of the three it is the anise that bows out first, leaving a sweet/tart fruity floral accord to carry Aria di Capri forward.

In time the scent’s floral heart tips decisively toward indolic orange blossom, and Aria di Capri begins to sound a soft animal purr. Woody and mossy notes are revealed as the flowers fade, and eventually these come to dominate the soft, bright, and even tender, drydown. Aria di Capri lasts very nicely for a citrusy fragrance, and it offers solid projection and moderate sillage without overwhelming passersby. For me Aria di Capri does an outstanding job of evoking a bright Mediterranean summer, and I find it hard not to smile when I’m wearing it.

Ah, aldehydes, the gremlins of many a poor sniffer's nasal cavities. What is that I sense--citrus and fennel? No. Laundry on the line? Smoke? No, and no. A spice market? Well, according to Carthusia, I'm supposed to be recognizing mimosa, iris, jasmine, peach and bay leaf. I'll go back to my Carthusia Io Capri. I understand it, it understands me. Aria? I will say it's completely original (and a little odd on me).

I just wore this one today, testing it out, and it struck me as something along the lines of Neroli Sauvage, only more "natural" smelling, like a cross between N.S. and MPG's Jeune Homme. On paper, it smelled very citrusy, clean, crisp, and refreshing, but on my skin turned bitter and sour, actually making it much more "masculine" smelling than it had been on the test strip, but at that point, not exactly good. I will say all the Carthusias smelled natural and of high quality. Unfortunately, they all reacted oddly with my skin. Worth a shot, but didn't work for me.

This shouldn't be marketed as uni-sex because it's 100% feminine. No guy could get away with this, unless you are wearing D&G's Sicily on a daily basis that is. It is very lovely though, peaches and lillies in a powdery, soft and sweet blend. Best longevity among the Carthusias.