Volo AZ 686
by Profumum

An horrifying, hair raising mix of gardenia and coconut laying on a vanilla base. Cloying, overwhelming and firmly unpleasant. Excessively sweet plastic flowers with candied coconut.

"Volo AZ 686" in italian means "Alitalia Flight 686" and the name is supposed to recall, stating to the Profvmvm website, a flight to a tropical island ("images that blend with the scent from coconut palms and flowers of thousand colors, the swing of a hammock and a cocktail in my hand...the loudspeaker is calling the Volo Az 6862) but to me it's more evoking of Alitalia in 2007 when the airline company was just about to go bankrupt...a total disaster.

7th July, 2011. (Last Edited: 5th August, 2011.)

The sleeper of the Profumum line - one which I heard is weird. To be truthful, it's a lot less weird than Kai or Monyette. It's gardenia ,vanilla and coconut. The main difference between this and the Kai and Monyette scents is THIS does not smell of plastic flowers.

Opens up gassy gardenia and rounded by vanilla and touch of coconut which is not very evident. It's just a melding of all three notes. Smells like quality . The name is appropriate and made me smile because it's named after a flight from Rome to Caracas. If you sniff up close intently, you get aircraft engine oil gas but from further away, the gardenia and vanilla is more evident. A great and unusual tropical scent. Unisex . Perhaps a tropical Caron En Avion !

Thanks to a great basenoter family member for this opportunity to try it out ! :)

25th July, 2010.

It's true. This smells like the high pitch screech of an industrial cleaner used to clean the bathrooms of a high school gym locker. Pee-U. Someone else likened it to a urinal cake. mmm unsettling, linear and then powdery urinal cake. I waited around for this initial unpleasantness to fade, but it didn't. So instead of what some magical unicorn and tropics kind experience - coconut, vanilla, and gardenia - I get pee pee cake.

2nd May, 2010.

This, so far, has first prize on my list of utterly awful, gagworthy perfumes. It smells like industrial toilet cleaners. Or, just toilets. Pit toilets. Airplane toilets. Rest stop toilets. Elementary school toilets. Not human waste, but whatever they clean these public bathrooms with. Something sickly sweet, synthetic-rotten, chemical and nauseating. Honestly, I have no idea how anyone could want to smell like this, but it's obvious from the review below, and from another perfumista who I know didn't mind this at all, that my take on it isn't the final word. Maybe it's my skin chemistry? So try it for yourself, but don't say you weren't warned! F.O.U.L.

1st April, 2009.

A weirdly wonderful fragrance. Not for me, but its got charm to spare. The notes are coconut, vanilla and gardenia but the opening suggests camphor and aromatic rings! It's a very loud opening salvo, almost too loud, but just wait a little while and a beautiful, warm, slightly woody and dry gardenia emerges. I've never smelled anything like it--a must try for anyone who loves them some niche!

24th January, 2009.