Pal Zileri Sartoriale (2005)
by Pal Zileri

This olfactory complement to Pal Zileri's new "Sartoriale" luxury line of menswear disappeared rather quickly from the shelves, probably failing due to the weakness of the brand name in the fragrance world coupled with the scent's lack of originality. It tries to evoke sartoriality by combining soft florals typical of classic gentleman's fragrances (violet, muguet, rose) with a nice but rather stereotypical base of soft incensy woods built from popular molecules such as cashmeran and iso-e-super. The result is low key and really does go very well with an understated cashmere suit or blazer. I actually consider its lightness an advantage, as an amped up base would probably turn shrill and cheap at this budget (the producer Mavive, best known perhaps for owning the Pino Silvestre brand, does not work in high end territory). I picked this up at a UK discounter for mere 10 quid and soley in the context of some research on sartorial fragrances, but it's a nice wear on occasion and delivers with more taste what a lot of pseudo-niche lines charge an insane price for.

5th October, 2011.

Gucci Rush For Men, Act II. A fellow basenoter kindly informed me about Sartoriale and he was right: it is my kind of fragrance and very reminiscent of Rush. A nice combo of soft woods and softer floral. The list of notes is surprisingly complex:

Top: green apple, grapefruit
Mid: amber, sandalwood, musk, vetiver, oakmoss
Bottom: Bulgarian rose, lily-of-the-valley, violet leaf

My nose must be a little wacky, because I smell almost none of that shopping list! Sartoriale is a very nice, distinguished fragrance and I'll give it a thumbs up, but as pointed out by the esteemed SirSlarty, longevity is off the scale. The LOW end of the scale, that is. Also, this one stays very close to the skin and if you're a one-or-two spray person, you'll barely get a whiff.

14th February, 2011.

defintelly a superb scent...incredible simillar to gucci rush for men, but with a looooot of better longevity!!! i have it and i love it!!!there is nothing else to say to this fantastic scent!!!

27th January, 2010.

I am immediately reminded of two Gucci fragrances: pour Homme and Envy for Men. Very soft, woody drydown with touches of soft spices. Top note of bergamot is very nice and makes for a wonderful opening. Incensey a little bit which attributes to the woodiness. I really like it however I feel that there's a severe longevity problem but that doesn't hinder me into saying it has a lovely smell.

7th May, 2009.

Gucci Pour Homme's well dressed cousin.

Very dry scent, with a very rich patchouli base with a hint of something boozy -- bourbon? Not too mossy, though, as so many patchouli scents can be. I also detect quite a bit of sandalwood here -- lovely stuff, possibly Mysore. Very, very nice.

The drydown is very crisp -- vetiver? Dunno -- can't say. Actually dries down far softer than Gucci PH.

Gonna have to get another bottle of this stuff!

7th October, 2006.