Etro

This is a warm, spicy fragrance that is marvelous in its restraint. When you think of a spicy oriental perfume, typically wildly exuberant scents come to mind. Certainly when you look at Rajasthan's bottle, you expect a certain vividness. The bold paisley print calls out for a vivacious fragrance, but it is a mismatch. That aside, I really like Rajasthan. It opens with almond and rose edged with a hint of pink pepper. It is initially a bit powdery but that dampens with wear. The drydown comes out very slowly and in tiny stages. Each stage reveals a little bit more amber, a little more musk. Ultimately, you wind up with a smooth, mildly spiced amber and musk concoction that is both alluring and soothing. Really, my only complaints revolve around the packaging. The Etro bottles only come in 100 ml sizes, which is just kind of ridiculous when you have a lot of perfume. I prefer to buy 50 ml or less. Second, as lovely as the bottle looks, it's not very well made. I've had it for about 6 months and the front label has developed dark patches, presumably from the adhesive. That's a touch disappointing, but not enough to dampen my enjoyment of the perfume itself, which is excellent.

Why do they say on their site that the perfumes are made of natural ingredients when there's Lilial in the composition (butylphenyl methylpropional)?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilial
Also, is there any violet extract in the compound? If not, the ionone in the ingredients is synthetic.
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ionone
They do say their products are made from "natural" ingredients, but as long as they don't clearly state that ingredients as the two mentioned above are "a natural component of the essential oils" they used to make this perfume, I don't buy it.

Years ago, I went through a phase of loving heliotrope, almond. Wore this daily for a year. Then one day decided it was head ache inducingly sweet, one dimensional, powdery and had become somewhat plastic. Maybe that is the play dough note that some reviewers smell. Perhaps if I had exhibited more moderation, it would still be in my collection. Now, when I want to revisit this type of scent, (the closest I have currently) I reach for LHB or eau d'hiver. I also prefer Caron Farnesiana.

This is a lovely unisex scent. Notes include bergamot, cardamom, blackcurrant leaf, ylang ylang, sambac jasmine, pink pepper, vanilla, patchouli and ambergris. I smell mainly vanilla and bergamot. It is almost a tea scent, and I am very fond of tea fragrances. It's light -- not as light as a Hermes JC Ellena scent or an Atelier Cologne scent, but it will never offend. I guess I would coin a category and call it a light Oriental. I haven't seen osmanthus listed for a note, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's also included.

on first sniff, this smells a little dated to me. As it settles onto the skin, it warms and sweetens up. The closest comparison scent I can think of is L de Lolita, but it is not as harsh (peppery maybe?). I have a dabber sample, and my skin seems to be slightly allergic to it, so those with sensitive skin might want to steer clear.