Testa Maura: A Re-Launch!

Thanks for sharing.

Carticasi sounds nice. And if is used in reserve then Mia Murza may be very nice too.

Thanks for the heads up, looks interesting!

Mmm, chestnut!

Nice! I'm feeling a pull toward Aleria, but Mia Murza sounds nice, too.

I will look for these in NYC for sure.

The notes of Aleria, Loriani and Aqua di Casta look appealing.

Thanks for the heads-up, alfarom.

Loriani sounds rather wonderful.

Thanks for sharing.

Well Ajaccio and Paris = France. Now the question is "Do they come in 100ml bottles?"

interesting ... thanks for the heads up ...

Oh....Well I will still respond to threads to say how wonderful they are - regardless if I have actually smelled them or not. But I will pass on purchasing them.

Ajaccio = Corsica.

Call any Corsican French, and you'd probably be shot !!

I know where it is - and have been there. But it is still part of France.

You better hope they don't know where you are though......

I can hear those guns being loaded......

I met Xavier Torre while I attended Esxence last year in Milan. He is a very charming guy and likes to talk about his perfumes. He is very proud of them. I got to try the entire line. A couple of them were favorites at the time, but I cannot now remember which ones. They were all very natural smelling, and I think they might have been all natural in composition. It's hard for me to remember. Esxence is a big exhibition with many brands represented and it's difficult for me to keep everything straight after visiting so many booths, especially after nearly a year. I do definitely remember liking Xavier and his fragrances. At the time I believe that the fragrances had extremely limited availability. I'm happy to hear that they are becoming more widely available.

Here's a photo of him I took last year.

I just ordered samples of the line from LS, as they had a great July Sampler Pack of all the TM scents that included 4 new Micallef scent samples thrown in at no additional cost that I wanted to try anyway.

Very nice! Aqua di Casta seems to be calling my name.....

( 50 mL format notwithstanding.... )

Will have Luckyscent send samples of these with my next order.

Just got my samples last night and while it is way too early to write any kind of meaningful thoughts, it was pretty clear that Acqua di Casta with its great ginger opening was going to be the most appealing of the lot to my personal taste. I liked what I smelled with all of them save one that I was having a hard time smelling anything at all (probably sensory overload by the time I got to it). Probably my second favorite early-on was indeed the citrus one that had a somewhat weird but still appealing lemon and concrete-like concoction to open that got better and better as the lemon developed. A very promising line from my brief experience with it so far.

Ã* l'iniziu c'era a voce...

They are from Corsica. The name of their band, A Filetta, comes from "Un ti scurda di a filetta!" which means "Don't forget the fern!"

I am wearing the eau de cologne Capo di Feno right now and really like it. I am getting a grassy green vibe from it, combining with subtle citrus and mild herbal accents including maybe a bit of lemongrass. It smells great on the whole and while dissimilar in its actual smell, I kind of get an Eau d'Orange Verte vibe from the scent with its citrus and herbal-green combo. My main gripe with it is its longevity is extremely fleeting with almost no projection (think skin scent). The bottle is reasonably priced but it has to be, as I suspect frequent liberal re-application will be necessary with this one. My guess is this will be an eventual purchase for me. Good stuff.

Edit: My more complete thoughts follow:

Capo di Feno by Testa Maura

Capo di Feno (an eau de cologne) opens with an invigorating blast of grassy green herbs and citrus including a touch of what appears to be lemongrass. The opening notes quickly tone down to what amounts to a skin scent with subtle remnants of the lemongrass laced greens and herbs remaining into the heart of the scent. If there are any base notes here I could not detect any, as the scent is so fleeting it is gone for all intents and purposes within minutes of application. As alluded to previously, projection is minimal and so is longevity.

Capo di Feno is a frustrating scent. On the one hand, it smells absolutely incredible and is one hundred percent natural. On the other its performance is abysmal. As a completely natural ingredient based eau de cologne, you have to assume relatively low longevity as “par for the course,” but Capo di Feno brings new levels of brevity to edc longevity assumptions. Still, I keep coming back to the captivating open of the scent that really peps you up and just is so well done, despite its minimalist nature. In the end I think the pros (the scent itself) definitely outweigh the cons (performance) and a buy is recommended at its relatively low price of $95 for a 100ml splash bottle, especially if you enjoy scents like Eau d'Orange Verte by Hermes and can live with the performance shortfalls. Capo di Feno is a strong eau de cologne release from Testa Maura and earns a “very good” rating of 3.5 stars out of 5.

You know it is funny you mentioned that, as I can't stand immortelle due to that very reason and did not recognize it because I did not smell that aspect in the scent at all (IMO this is a very *good* thing).

+1 on hedonist, thanks alfa.

Hi guys. It's me (again)!

I have two hefty samples up for grabs. Loriani (The Lavender), and Carticasi (The unusual green). Both very herbal, both nice, particularly the Carticasi. It's quite unusual.

Loriani - Opens with a really lovely Lavender, then joined with a very true thyme. Alfarom comments on the orange blossom, but on me undoubtedly the herbs dominate and then unfortunately it falls away. You may find it different. We seem to be finding this with the naturals, aren't we?

Carticasi - In my view the opening makes me think about a modern take on an old fashined astringent masculine, but then it becomes more aromatic (not sweet) in the middle, and this is clearly the contribution of the rose. I love when rose is used in that way, to aromaticise. It's not floral as such. Carticasi retains a herbal quality throughout, even as it softens and develops on the skin. Unisex but would be really lovely on a man I think. Distinctive. Very good.

If you would like them post here then we know that they are taken.

foustie, can i ask for the carticasi? don't care for loriani, me and lavender don't really go along. let me know, thanks

Of course Danny, you are most welcome.

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Actually we have decided to send them on to Dan as a pair. He'll come back to us once he has tried them.

Next up in my sample pack from Lucky Scent is Carticasi, which I really am enjoying as my SotD. Quite the green resinous scent, but the rose used in support actually is what holds the composition together, IMO. My mini-review follows below...

Carticasi

Carticasi goes on with a very strong grassy-green note, strongly resembling the smell of freshly cut green grass. Underneath the mastic open is a very subtle rose undertone that really takes a bit of the bite out of the now slightly bitter green accord, as galbanum also joins the mastic in the scent's heart. The base has woody undertones, but the resinous biter-green remains through the dry-down, now in a more supporting role to the woody accord taking the fore. Projection is average to below average, with surprisingly above average longevity (especially for an all-natural).

Carticasi is a very nice release from Testa Maura indeed. It starts off a bit on the strong side with its cut green grass-like mastic note, but the rose and galbanum really compliment the mastic extremely well, giving the perfect juxtaposition of bracingly bitter (from the galbanum) and smooth and soft (from the rose). The woody notes in the base only enhance the overall experience and meld perfectly with the remaining bitter greens from the heart. While I can certainly see some being a bit put off by the open (which I personally enjoyed), it is only the prelude to the amazing heart and dry-down to come of this minimalist all natural gem. Carticasi earns a "very good" to "excellent" 3.5 to 4 stars out of 5.

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Up today is a great immortelle scent for folks like me who usually dislike it as a featured ingredient... My mini-review of Mia Murza follows:

Mia Murza

Mia Murza opens with a combination of bergamot and immortelle that pretty much remains throughout the scents limited development. The combination is reminiscent of an almost slightly sparkling ginger and olive oil concoction, for lack of a better descriptor. I must say that the immortelle really has almost no resemblance to the stereotypical presentation of the note in most scents containing it. The only other primary identifiable note is a very prominent patchouli base note that also bleeds into the heart of the scent as well, remaining through the relatively brief dry-down. Projection is below average and longevity is poor.

Mia Murza is a scent I expected to really hate as I can't stand immortelle as a general rule, and its usually exhibited caramelized, almost syrupy presentation like in Eau Noir by Dior is near intolerable... That said, I love Mia Murza because the immortelle is presented in a completely atypical manner, lacking all the characteristics of the flower that I disdain so much. If I did not know it was the primary note, I would swear it wasn't present based on my prior experiences. I actually think the atypical immortelle and patchouli combination works rather well here and I thoroughly enjoyed the overall accord, regardless of whatever is behind it. My real gripe with the scent, reducing the chance of purchase is its relatively short-lived longevity of 2 hours (with the average for me being 8-10 hours). For $140 for a 50ml edp I expect much better than that, all natural ingredients or no. Still, performance and price aside I do love the smell and certainly recommend the excellent 4 star out of 5 Mia Murza as an immortelle scent for folks like me who usually dislike immortelle.

@ drseid - your impressions are, indeed, informative, and very much appreciated.

Less than 100th of yours, but one tries. Many thanks. :-)

*sigh*. Loving your reviews of this great line drseid. We seem to agree about the wonderful use of rose in Carticasi.

Up today is Aqua di Casta. I wish I knew what chestnut water smelled like, but if this is it I guess I must love the stuff... My mini-review follows:

Aqua di Casta

Aqua di Casta opens with a sharp ginger note that is slightly bitter with even an almost salty quality, with a cedar wood undertone that grows over the scent's progression. The ginger and cedar hang around well into the heart, combining with just the faintest supporting rose and an almost effervescent vetiver rising from the base, giving the scent even more zip. In the dry-down the vetiver and cedar remain, now joined by very dry sandalwood as the backbone. Projection is above average and longevity is average.

I am sold on both this scent and Testa Maura in general. Aqua di Casta is supposed to be a scent revolving around chestnut water, but I confess I have no idea what that smells like. What I *do* know is Aqua di Casta smells incredible and is an excellent representation of a dry cedar wood and sparkly vetiver scent with a very different relatively stark take on sandalwood to boot. I guess that is what continues to impress me with the house in general... Testa Maura approaches their entire line with providing unique takes on ingredients that I thought I knew well through sampling many other scents that present them the same way as all the others. Here, it is the sandalwood that is the standout, in others the immortelle. Aqua di Casta is another relatively minimalist composition that is far from inexpensive at $140 for a 50ml edp bottle, but I definitely recommend trying it out as it may change your perception of what to expect from prominent sandalwood compositions. Aqua di Casta earns an excellent 4 stars out of 5.

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Finally today the last of my samples, Aleria, got a couple full wearings. I like this one, but it did not rise to the high standard set by the rest of the line, IMO. My mini-review follows:

Aleria

Aleria opens with a very nice natural grassy lemon which soon morphs into a bergamot orange accord. The lemon quickly fades but the orange remains into the heart notes, melding with an herbal floral myrtle note with just a hint of cedar wood from the base. During the dry-down the orange finally recedes allowing the cedar to dominate, with just a faint hint of a beeswax accord joining it to smooth out and anchor its woody nature. Projection is poor and so is longevity.

Aleria is a very nice pleasant smelling scent, but I confess it does not impress as much as the other scents in the Testa Maura line. Its almost lemongrass-like opening is really amazing, and the herbal citrus at its heart is quite enjoyable as well; but there is nothing really innovative here unlike the rest of the line. Something else missing with Aleria is performance. It is a skin scent with only about an hour's longevity on skin. So while I enjoyed my sample, due to its relatively poor performance, lack of innovation and high price at $140 for 50ml Aleria earns a "good" rating of 3 stars out of 5, but is a tough sell as a purchase proposition.

As for my overall impressions of this line after now sampling all the available scents... Count me as definitely impressed on the whole. I think the one I may actually purchase is their Eau de Cologne offering Capo di Feno as it offers the best value of the lot, but Aqua di Casta was probably my favorite of the samples if price were not a factor.