Romeo Gigli by Romeo Gigli, 1991

A masterpiece of originality and romanticism just conceived for nostalgic and decadent souls, this very complex and sophisticated fragrance conjures up left over things by now opaque in the memory as heavenly afternoons of the youth spent in the gardens of some nobiliar italian house, running long the tracks of green labyrinths followed back by children like you at time. I figure young ladies in white laced dressed and midafternoon's snacks consumed in suits under the shade of the oaks. This fragrance conjures at me images of rooms by high ceilings equiped and adorned by tapestries, heralds, trompe d'oeils and valuable crockery, rooms whereof the air was enveloped by the aroma of sweets and cakes. Today those glorious buildings, once crowded and industrious, are in loneliness spoiling and while lurking outside the courts you can observe just an old moody guardian no willing to talk. The juice itself starts with an aromatic-balsamic very complex blast of bergamot, lavender, orange, verbena and conifers and slides down, passing through floral-deeply spicied middle notes, in to a puzzling tobacco, patchouli, sandalwood prominent ambery oriental base featured by a solitary and tasty civet note. The lavender is tenacious and detectable throughout. Romeo Gigli Uomo possesses a very remarcable longevity. It is a very original, romantic and a bit baroque fragrance for solitary souls of the farms, a dreamy scent that manages you to plunge sometimes in a delicate world made by disappeared things.

Romeo Gigli Uomo opens with a blast of nose tingling aldehydes and lime-like herbal tarragon with hints of bitter orange and plum. As the scent enters the heart phase, the composition becomes very complex, making identification of individual notes difficult. The tarragon remains in a more subtle state joined by slightly earthy patchouli and a handful of very light aromatic herbs, spices and florals. During the late dry-down the composition remains highly complex but relatively dry amber and soft woody notes are detectable in the mix, joining ever so slightly animalic civet from the base, and the remnants of the patchouli as the earlier starring tarragon completely disappears off radar. Projection is very good to excellent and longevity is very good at 11-12 hours on skin. Describing Romeo Gigli Uomo is quite tough. The aldehydes and lime-like tarragon were extremely easy to identify early as was the gorgeous underlying plum note initially detected, but apart from those the rest of the notes are difficult to pick out. I almost get a kind of slightly floral and herbal ginger beer soda-like vibe with the overall heart accord, but that does not come close to doing the fragrance proper justice as the accord is quite unique (in a very good way)... I am having a devil of a time describing *what* I am smelling, but I have no reservations in saying whatever it is, it is quite pleasant and very much up my alley. I will also respectfully disagree with other reviews that call this an overly sweet scent, as that description does not jive with my experience on skin. Aromatic absolutely, but not really sweet to my nose. The bottom line is the regrettably discontinued Romeo Gigli Uomo is a fabulous quality scent that is one of the most innovative and pleasant smelling I have sniffed to date, earning an "excellent" rating of 4 stars out of 5. Aftermarket bottles are getting scarce, but a few can still be found at relatively affordable prices if you look hard enough. My advice to demanding collectors seeking something that smells great and truly unique is to hunt one of them down before prices rise further.

A beautifully smooth and elegant fragrance from its beginning it speaks of sophisticated Mediterranean culture and passion. It opens with a citrus blast which very quickly morphs to a complex citrus / herbal / aldehydic / wood accord: As complex as the opening accord is, it is so smoothly balanced with rosewood, verbena, and citrus notes the whole augmented by a judicious use of aldehydes. Its balanced, bitter-sweet, rich, a bit retro, and fulfilling. This opening has excellent lasting ability and its difficult for me to identify the movement to the floral / spicy middle, where I get a floral, masculine geranium and the cool spices of clove or allspice (I cant really tell the difference between the two spices). The floral / spicy mid notes slowly transition into an ambery / woody / mossy base where, every once in a while an excellent civet note shows up with an elementally sensual addition to the accord. The base accord is only a bit retro but much less retro than many of the fragrances for Romeo Giglis per Uomos 1991 era. This is a sensual, classically constructed Oriental with dynamic Mediterranean accords, somewhat strong sillage (easily controlled through thoughtful application), and good longevity Traditional elegant, and sensual masculinity at its best. (Edit of 12 March 2006 review.)