Idole d'Armani: A Perfume Post

A few months ago, a girlfriend of mine (who knows exactly the kinds of things I adore!) sent me a package out of the blue. Inside a pink Glossybox was a few things like some lip glosses she thought I'd like, a shade of red shimmer nail polish that she somehow had a 6th sense would look great with my skin tone... and a full bottle of Idole d'Armani. (How did you know, girl-hey!) And never mind that I've got a thing for guys who sport Armani casual wear... :p

I enjoy perfume in general, I had enjoyed Idole in stores like Nordstrom and Sephora before, but quickly moved on, without even giving this explosion of sensuality a true chance. Thank goodness my friend saved me from myself!

At first spray, I immediately recalled the aldehydes that almost sting the nose, and have a certain energy to them. There was also something that smelled very smokey, intensely warm, and inviting, like the sound of an alto singing. I also recalled smelling patchouli, though it was hard to put into words with such an intense bouquet of other fragrances around it. After consulting both Basenotes.net and EdenBotanicals.com, I found that warm alto scent I was smelling was called davana.

I'm also learning that there is a scent that particularly makes me think of fall: the scent of drying grass or hay. According to the Wikipedia page, saffron is responsible for that allusion.

I love this gold stripped box!

Something I couldn't quite put my finger on was the Loukoum. Arabic for "morsel" or "mouthful", we often call it Turkish Delight in the west. Even though I have enjoyed Loukoum Rose many times, I didn't pick it up with my nose. All I knew was that I sensed things that both caused relaxation and tension. Perhaps part of it was my familiarity with this delicious little treat. Pears are always enjoyed with freedom and comfort, too. In this case, the sweetness is almost overwhelming, but the tempered by the spicy and bitter elements.

On the other hand, clementine tends to be a tad more tart than your average citrus, so maybe remembering my mouth puckering caused the tension. There's also ginger, and patchouli! 

I will say that the tension and the ease that are juxtaposed here make me think of a woman that is both comfortable in her skin, but still has a fascinating sense of self-control... Or perhaps two friends that are comfortable together... but still have a little tension of their own. Either way, this balanced contradiction does something intriguing to the mind. And I dare say, at least on me, the tension of the fragrance wins out... but just barely. The only draw-back: the scent tends to wear down to just the delicate notes on some days, and keep the smokey notes on others, but I can never tell what it'll do from one day to the next.

What can I say except: Excellent job, Armani perfume artists, for getting into my head and painting a scent-picture. The dialogue for the commercial fairly matches the emotions evoked, I think. I hope my readers will pick up a bottle sometime, maybe even lightly spritz a wrist and see how it develops on each of you. Will tension or relaxation win out? Smokey or sweet?