Top Notes 
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Base Notes 
02/23/2015
Greysolon
74 Reviews
Greysolon
Top Review
6
I've hiked this Iso E cedar forest before...
The perfumes of Farmacia Santissima Annunziata are a mystery to me. How can the house which created a beautiful, luxurious perfume like Ambra Nera also turn out lackluster fragrances like Isos, Regina and Takis? So it's somewhat a relief to try Arabico which manages, at least, to occupy the middle ground between the extremes of the line.
Arabico can best be described as a peppery, resinous, dry cedar fragrance. It’s quite pleasant and when it comes to projection and longevity it holds its own just fine. Unfortunately, as Arabico dries down it becomes obvious Iso E Super will provide the dominant accord in its cedar base. Why do I say “unfortunately”? Because as much as I like the scent of Iso E, it lacks subtlety. Even at low levels there’s no way to really turn down the volume or alter its monolithic character. Natural essences have shades and subtlety enabling them take on the character of the overall fragrance. Iso E, on the other hand, isn’t going smell like anything but Iso E and its take charge character keeps it from truly melding with other notes. When it is used successfully, as it is in Terre d’Hermes, Iso E is juxtaposed with strong, contrasting notes. Arabico lacks that counter balance in its structure. It seems to be built with the idea of highlighting Iso E’s already dominant qualities.
And that’s the trap with Iso E.
When a fragrance like Terre d’Hermes strikes commercial gold it’s easy to attribute its success to the novel aroma chemical at its heart. It’s no wonder, because Iso E is a kind of mega-accord that can come across like a fully formed perfume. Molecule 1 anyone?. It’s an essence that needs special care so it doesn’t smell like every other perfume that contains Iso E.
Now that I’ve made Arabico out to be something of a synthetic monster, let me backtrack a bit. As I said, it’s a pleasant fragrance and not at all big or overbearing. It wears very easily. But for the full bottle price of €115/$130 I would expect something with a more developed character and composition along the lines of Terre d’Hermes or Divine’s L’Homme Infini.
Arabico can best be described as a peppery, resinous, dry cedar fragrance. It’s quite pleasant and when it comes to projection and longevity it holds its own just fine. Unfortunately, as Arabico dries down it becomes obvious Iso E Super will provide the dominant accord in its cedar base. Why do I say “unfortunately”? Because as much as I like the scent of Iso E, it lacks subtlety. Even at low levels there’s no way to really turn down the volume or alter its monolithic character. Natural essences have shades and subtlety enabling them take on the character of the overall fragrance. Iso E, on the other hand, isn’t going smell like anything but Iso E and its take charge character keeps it from truly melding with other notes. When it is used successfully, as it is in Terre d’Hermes, Iso E is juxtaposed with strong, contrasting notes. Arabico lacks that counter balance in its structure. It seems to be built with the idea of highlighting Iso E’s already dominant qualities.
And that’s the trap with Iso E.
When a fragrance like Terre d’Hermes strikes commercial gold it’s easy to attribute its success to the novel aroma chemical at its heart. It’s no wonder, because Iso E is a kind of mega-accord that can come across like a fully formed perfume. Molecule 1 anyone?. It’s an essence that needs special care so it doesn’t smell like every other perfume that contains Iso E.
Now that I’ve made Arabico out to be something of a synthetic monster, let me backtrack a bit. As I said, it’s a pleasant fragrance and not at all big or overbearing. It wears very easily. But for the full bottle price of €115/$130 I would expect something with a more developed character and composition along the lines of Terre d’Hermes or Divine’s L’Homme Infini.
