ALTAIA — and a Giveaway

Anita and I are co-reviewing the ALTAIA line today (stands for A Long Time Ago In Argentina).  The samples came from Paula at Beautyhabit (full disclosure); a quick perusal of their literature indicates that they’re the folks behind Eau d’Italie. There’s also some charming backstory about how the current perfumers (husband and wife) met and married, and then found out their families had been connected several generations before.

By Any Other Name – bergamot, litchi, rose, peony, osmanthus, cedarwood, musk.

March says: speaking of charming. It’s a zesty, slightly fruity rose that reminds me a bit of Ines de La Fressange (the original). It feels very diffuse and young to me, so I feel a bit silly wearing it. I’m also not the queen o’ roses as you know, and/but this is very pretty. It makes me think of pale pink silk.

Anita says: the drydown on this is adorable – and I mean that in the absolutely nicest way. March hit the nail right on the head with the reference to pale pink silk. This is a garden party in a formal rose garden – and two young people have just met …and are thinking about falling in love.

Don’t Cry for Me – jasmine tea, freesia, cherry flower, heliotrope, vegetal amber, cashmere wood, ambrette seeds.

Anita says: of the three, this is my heartsong. It’s a cozy-ish scent, with a bit of a zing – the heliotrope is crisp enough to keep you intrigued while the cashmere woods and ambrette seeds wrap you in a cozy nest.

March says: a powdery vegetal musk kinda along the lines of Kiehl’s Musk EDT, and I think I’d like this a lot better if it weren’t 85 degrees right now.

Yu Son – mandarine, green tea, orange blossom absolute, iris, vegetal amber, gaiac wood.

March says: unsurprisingly, this is the winner for me. I love the tea-and-citrus top notes, which you’d think is going to turn into a cologne but is instead followed by a smooth, slightly bready essence of iris and amber. It’s the quietest whisper of a woody drydown but there’s something complex and complete about it, even at that stage, that I love. I would wear this happily during the summer months.

Anita says: I love the crispness of the citrus and tea top notes and would happily keep it there because I haz a Lazy Nose – but the iris and amber force me to grow the hell up and allow it to develop into a more complex and interesting scent – and, Lazy Nose aside, I am glad of it. The top notes don’t entirely fade away, with the tea providing a lovely, cool platform for that iris.

The ALTAIA line is available from Beautyhabit ($210 for 100 ml) or the Eau d’Italie website itself for 175 euros.

Today – a giveaway! We have two sample sets; please put your name in comments and say you’d like to be in the draw, and Anita will pick two winners.