Anice (2004)
by Etro

Together with Etra and some others, one of the Etro i appreciate less. As other reviewers underlined it is almost anise and nothing else, a sort of finally dry and straightforward anise-licorice-herbs accord with just a touch of musk.  Another dominant anise fragrance is for instance l'Eau de Badian by L'Occitane which anyway surrounds the anise with some evident other decently dosed  elements as grapefruit, blackcurrant, tea and moss. Anice Etro starts with a raucous, alcoholic (i see the association with Sambuca) and harsh blast of angelica, aromatic herbs, citrus and anise than evolves towards a sort of "solinote" dry smell a bit too cold, boozy and impersonal to be evalued as a fragrance. The smell is slightly windy (i mean airy and cold as well as some balsamic herbs or cumin are in the blend), exudes the metallic and (as others underlined) almost salty smell of licorice, may be owns some floral notes (rose?) in the blend together with cedarwood (rosewood?). Not for me although managed in its object.

21st December, 2011.

Anice by Etro - one is greeted with a delectable explosion of anise, truly reminiscent of Sambuca with its inviting semi-sweetness ... this stirring immersion is slowly diluted with citrus, and further, in its heart, with a lovely floral, thereby softening it more ... this wonderful melange becomes more creamy and further diluted in its intoxicating base, with the additon of hints of flavorful vanilla and amber, made even more pleasant by the flickering of musk therein .... it's a skin scent for the most part, and regrettably, the longevity is not that good ... it is a light, pleasing scent while it lasts ...

9th November, 2011.

All I get from this composition is ANISE, ANISE and even more ANISE. A tremendously realistic interpretation of the ANISE. It inevitabily reminds me of an italian liqueur called Sambuca that is sweet, sticky and unmistakeably made from ANISE. The drydonw has some ANISE but it gets a little better with a shy dose of musk and vanilla, yet everything is still overwhelmed by the main ingredient: ANISE. Did I use the word ANISE too much? That's exaclty what this perfume does on the olfactory aspect.

7th April, 2011.

Pretty much what it says on the bottle. The opening is anise and salty black licorice, which cycle slowly toward a more herbaceous, bittersweet, yet still recognizably anisic accord in the heart. From there it’s pretty linear and uncomplicated, if not terribly potent or long-lasting.

I’m not entirely sure what to make of this stuff. I think it does a better job than either Caron’s Eau de Réglisse or Hermès’s Brin de Réglisse, but I don’t find it all that wearable. In the end, it’s not merely a gourmand – it’s a food flavor. More of a curiosity than a perfume, if you ask me.

14th December, 2009.

I feel compelled to write a review for this one after having read the existing reviews. IMO even the positive ones do it wrong. Yes, it is called "Aniseed". Yes. the first seconds of application are consumed by an ouzo blast. But from then on it is a whole different story. The salty sweetness of liquorice comes in only to pave the road for a delicate green an floral accord which anchors to the skin with a hint of white musk. By the end of the journey all that is left to remind the aniseed is a cool salty feel that complements the florals making them less feminine and more etherial. Ultimately this is an excellent cool summer skin scent without any ozonic hint which is good and rare.

15th July, 2009.

A clever scent that manages to carry you on a relatively straight line across a range of anise scents. So you get a bit longevity of the anise theme through a clever use of ingredients. The opening is, unsurprisingly, reminiscent of ouzo or sambuca (what do you expect when anise smells are being carried by a lot of alcohol?).

The problem is that it's not clear who would want to smell like this.

Unlike the Yohji Yamomoto smell where licorice is used to bring together other scents, this is just licorice.

7th July, 2009.