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kifar07 – :
Classic,chic and romantic… a chypre scent of great impact, shy and sophisticated. There is a delicacy behind hidden behind this fragrance,a feeling of elegance and luxury. Sarah always surprises me, this is a very nice parfume…!
Sillage: 7./10
Longevity: 7.5/10
Scent: 8.5/10
Overall: 8.5/10
kolyma69 – :
Now this one, thankfully, I meshed with instantaneously. That isn’t to say the other one’s aren’t fun to get to know, but sometimes it’s good to come to a party and quickly make a friend, avoiding all the small talk.
I think, in this fragrance’s case, that the year in the title is just as, if not more, important than the city itself. Having never been to Rome, I have no idea of what it smells like – much less, what it smelt like in the 60s. However, I do know about Italian bergamot and I do know what scents of the 1960s smell like and honey, this is a modern vintage.
As I first tried this, I was unravelling my initial thoughts to a friend. I couldn’t quite get bergamot which is weird, but once he mentioned sicilian bergamot it all clicked. The bergamot perists all the way throughout, mixing perfectly with the fresh tobacco leaves giving it a real classical feeling. That’s where the magic begins … right from the start. It’s a blast of tobacco, chocolate and bergamot.
The one thing that perplexes me is… the tuberose. I’ve never smelt a tuberose scent like this in my life. When Sarah mentioned this to me when I said I love tuberose scents, I pounced without an ounce of hesitation. I’m glad I didn’t because it’s beautiful, but this isn’t what I expected. It seems I really need to try more tuberose scents because the closest tuberose aroma I’ve smelt even close to this was in Carnal Flower and that’s bizarre because the two aren’t in any way comparable.
When I wear this, I remember a movie I watched during my free time in high school. It was called ‘Le Orme’, or Footsteps on the Moon. The film was a bizarre thriller about a woman who has sleeping problems and constant dreams about a film she saw when she was a child. As she wakes up after what she believes is a four day nap, she discovers she went to an island city. Based in Italy, the architecture was something to behold. Filmed in 1972-1973, this scent sort of reminds me of it. Buying expensive clothing from a super exclusive Italian boutique, wandering around strange city streets and eventually into the woods to investigate a burnt down hut. The outfits, the buildings, the ever so Italian city structure… Rome, 1963.
All in all, this is a truly magnificent scent that I’ll definitely be buying a 100mL bottle of – probably my favourite of the Vintage Cities collection, except perhaps Dark Heart or New York… truly marvelous.
crazynarik – :
On my first test, I caught lovely jasmine and then the real smell of tobacco leaves. As this developed, and it is the best tobacco in fragrance I have found – more realistic of real tobacco leaves than Lutens or Ford – I found it too masculine and dismissed it, not even trying it on my skin.
I have since tried it on my skin a couple of times and I still get the lovely white floral opening (much more strongly jasmine than tuberose for me) and that semi-sweet, semi-dry tobacco leaf, but then I get a softer and sweeter, honeyed drydown – I sense the ylang at play here – and it feels entirely whole and complete.
I really like this – it is not easy to find a white floral fragrance that does something other than just shout white florals at you. This one turns and changes twice and each stage is interesting and lovely. It feels totally suitable for all seasons, day and night.
My husband gave the most enthusiastic response to a perfume I have had in a very long time – he said it was very nice and really interesting. My son said he liked it too, and thought I smelled like a volcano (not sure what he’s picking up in the note pyramid and also not sure why that gets such a definite thumbs up)!
No doubt I’ll be draining my sample soon. I have a couple from this house on my want list now and this is a very strong contender for a full bottle purchase. It just knocked off Bottega Veneta, that’s for sure. They do not smell the same but this combines lush white flowers with something a little cool, dark and interesting in a similar way. The difference is that Rome 1963 has a third tune in its sweet drydown (and it skips the nail polish opening of BV).
3021966 – :
A really nice old style chypre, sans moss. Reminds me so much of the Holy Cross Hall where we were subjected to the “tender” ministrations of the beautiful but somewhat terrifying Irish Dancing teacher. That hall, with it’s polished parquet, always seemed to smell of cigars and guinness, flowers and whatever the Priest drew in the wake of his swishing cassock and everyone sang “Danny Boy” as they slid from laughing drunk to mauldlin drunk. It was a Roman Catholic hall, so there’s your connection. Oh, and we always scrumped apples from the Priest’s garden in autumn, and his dog could run bloody fast as well.
megorochkin – :
Incense (not in notes but that’s the impression) and old church interiors;)
Lovely, fairly low key; woody. I was worried about chocolate but it’s not very noticeable.
Glomellibly – :
It’s interesting that the previous reviewers smelled old hymn books. I can completely related to that. Rome 1963 smells old. Not like old perfume, but old like antiquity. It smells like slightly dusty books, which cling to a faint trace of tobacco. Of carved wooden shelves which have been carefully polished for hundreds of years. When I closed my eyes, at first sniff, I could be curled on an armchair inside an library at Cambridge or Oxford. Or one of the many beautiful church libraries around the world, tying in with previous comments. I also noticed, during the dry down, a slight touch of vanilla and anise. Not in the notes but they added beautifully to the overall feel. If curling up with a book is your idea of bliss, you’ll love this.
ANTSLON – :
I get old hymn books to but only after a couple of hours or so. Im usually wary of that very potent note tuberose but there’s nothing to fear here. Yes there is an initial bergamot and tuberose hit but this quickly settles down. I can easily imagine wearing this on a summers evening to a barbie perhaps. The chocolate, patch, ylang ylang and tobacco combine beautifully to create a rich, stimulating, not heavy or cloying perhaps unique “woody” fragrance. Its quite lovely. Moderate sillage and good longevity. Definitely a winner!
Diolleysoks – :
Whoa! School, assembly, those old hymn books with the green plasticky cover that you could peel off the hard cardboard outer. This is what Rome 1963 smells like to me, those hymn books. I am getting a vintage paper and woody scent. It is marvellous! Not like any other perfume I own or have smelled. I am beginning to think that I am drawn to woody and very vintage smells now. It is also a churchy smell, hard to explain. Must be the wood. Thanks Sarah! So many of your fumes remind me of my childhood. : )