02/09/2014
Apicius
222 Reviews
Apicius
Valeria or Valerius?
Was it a wise decision to give this fragrance the name of a woman? What I smell here is the domain of gents' colognes at least since 1995 – albeit the masculinity of its most important representative is occasionally put into question.
Valeria comes with the basic accord of Gaultier's Le Mâle rsp. the many oriental gents' fragrances that follow that path. Very little Valeria goes astray from that: after all, there are a few herbaceous and fresh accents in the top notes which let the fragrance scurry a little into the direction of Dior's Fahrenheit. Unfortunately, these notes soon get caught by the broad sweetness. That's a pity actually, some more of that and it would have been an interesting unique fragrance of its own.
Valeria is even more focussed on that basic accord than the well-known role model. Orange blossom is less prominent here - anyway, Valeria seems less complex. The interesting possibility to alienate the well-known and to highlight a new aspect was just adumbrated, and presumably, more was not intended. Personally, I would be pleased if the perfumer and owner of Harry Lehmann would again put a jerk in it and accentuate the well-known basic accord somewhat more courageous towards that mossy-herbal direction.
However, this Valerius is also recommendable as it is. Price-conscious friends of that style will hardly find an equally well-made perfume for their money. And so, I'd like to point out again that decants starting at 10 ml are available from Harry Lehmann for smallest money.
Valeria comes with the basic accord of Gaultier's Le Mâle rsp. the many oriental gents' fragrances that follow that path. Very little Valeria goes astray from that: after all, there are a few herbaceous and fresh accents in the top notes which let the fragrance scurry a little into the direction of Dior's Fahrenheit. Unfortunately, these notes soon get caught by the broad sweetness. That's a pity actually, some more of that and it would have been an interesting unique fragrance of its own.
Valeria is even more focussed on that basic accord than the well-known role model. Orange blossom is less prominent here - anyway, Valeria seems less complex. The interesting possibility to alienate the well-known and to highlight a new aspect was just adumbrated, and presumably, more was not intended. Personally, I would be pleased if the perfumer and owner of Harry Lehmann would again put a jerk in it and accentuate the well-known basic accord somewhat more courageous towards that mossy-herbal direction.
However, this Valerius is also recommendable as it is. Price-conscious friends of that style will hardly find an equally well-made perfume for their money. And so, I'd like to point out again that decants starting at 10 ml are available from Harry Lehmann for smallest money.
