Li Altarelli (200)
by Stéphanie de Saint-Aignan

I dislike the opening, smells a bit like fenugreek coming through, giving a woody and airy quality to the accord. But that same woodiness also makes the fragrance smell a little stale. The occasional faint whiff of a very natural and soft lemon comes through. The Lemon seems to be there throughout, though it is quite weak and very much in the background.

Li Altarelli has some of the feeling and comparable sillage to both Creed's Erolfa and Himalaya. Having the airiness and saltiness of Erolfa and some of the dry, woodiness of Himalaya. In the end I was quite surprised by Li Altarelli, I believed that it was so weak early on that it could only have a short life. Instead 6 hours after application has outlasted both the Creed's I mentioned (and tested alongside). I can't wholeheartedly give this a 'Thumbs Up' as I really disliked the staleness of the first hour, but a 'Neutral' seems unfair as it really becomes excellent (and to my mind better than Erolfa) afterwards. For now I'll settle on a 'Thumbs Up'.

27th September, 2009.

Lemon, galbanum, lavender, floral violet, marine notes, immortelle.
This has a beautiful citrus-green opening. The lemon notes are remarkable for their purity and strength. This is really attractive. There is a bit of lavender. Violet leaves, and also the immortelle flower, give a wonderful earthy note which at times is exactly like rich, dark soil! The marine note is quite enjoyable. It is not ozonic. It has a salty tangy quality. With the lemon, herbs and earth notes at play, this scent is definitely a marvellous garrigue-style experience. I like it a lot.

3rd December, 2008.