Description
Gold and platinum: Day and night. Male ego, feminine essence. The obvious and the secret. Brilliant gold of noble purity. Archaic platinum, mysterious alchemy. Precious metals to describe the fragrances of Versilia and the never – ending magic of a multifaceted place. Treasures that become fragrances, intangible scents to decline new virtues of an extraordinary land, to add new details to the emotions of a holiday, to give colour and shape to memories of sea, pinewoods, summer. Aurum and Platinum are olfactory joys, brilliant perfumes, fragrant bullions of the elegance of Versilia, in a limited edition.
AURUM – Floral, Chipré, Vanilla, Oriental
The first impression is that of a colorful basket of fruit: a joyful spray of orange, strawberry, plum. But the heart is an infusion of flowers, with the warm notes of heliotrope, the sweetness of jasmine and the emotions of rose that lead to a light vanilla base, touched by the balsamic reflex of tolù balsam and the precious sensuality of grey amber. From the diary of Maitre Parfumeur “ I practiced for a long time: I explored, smelt, created and discarded dozens of blends in my quest for a perfume that could evoke the spirit of that most noble of metals, gold. A fragrance that is necessarily rich and precious, but not insolent or over the top , not just for the lucky ones. In the end, I believe I found the true path with this mix of sweet and warm, a delicate balance of fruits and flowers, woods, resins, marine breezes and aphrodisiac memories. My Aurum is a jewel for the olfact, to be worn with style on summer’s sweetest evenings.”
Head Notes: Orange, Strawberry, Plum.
Heart Notes: Rose, Jasmine, Tuberose, Lilly of the valley, Ylang, Iris, Heliotrope, Orchid.
Base notes: Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Perù Balsam, Tolù Balsam, Sandalwood, White Musk, Grey Amber.
“I practiced for a long time: I explored, smelt, created and discarded dozens of blends in my quest for a perfume that could evoke the spirit of that most noble of metals, gold. A fragrance that is necessarily rich and precious, but not insolent or over the top , not just for the lucky ones. In the end, I believe I found the true path with this mix of sweet and warm, a delicate balance of fruits and flowers, woods, resins, marine breezes and aphrodisiac memories. My Aurum is a jewel for the olfact, to be worn with style on summer’s sweetest evenings” — press release of the brand.
Versilia Aurum was launched in 2011. The nose behind this fragrance is Arturetto Landi.
xrumeraz – :
This was a fun one for me to sample, I was going into this totally blind with no idea what kind of scent this would be.
First impression was holy bleepin’ ylang ylang! I wondered if this was going to be one of those ylang ylang/white floral/coconut scents. But I held on for 5 minutes before sniffing again. Next impression was a slightly sour, yellow & white floral bouquet, dusted in powdered sugar. Well more like drenched in powdered sugar, and I admit I am liking it at this point. Dry down I am getting a nice base which I interpret as almost almondy, with the sweetness/powdery-ness of the vanilla. I do get some deeper woodsy bits to the dry down, but the scent remains light hearted and youthful. I think the strawberry is what is “sour” for me. Shockingly, I’m not a big strawberry scent girl but occasionally it works for me w/ a lot of sweetness which this has!
This smells like a rich girl with feminine wiles who knows exactly what she is doing. It’s 79 degrees in my apartment and I am quite warm after showering. I put a few drops on a tissue and the scent remained more floral and pretty sour. Unfortunately, in the winter I don’t heat up much as I am a very cool to the touch person. Chances are I wouldn’t like this much on me if it wasn’t summer.
I do really like the scent, and would consider buying it for summer or spray it only where I get the very warmest during non-summer times.
Sannia74 – :
This one reminds me ALLOT of “Mon Precieux Nectar” by Guerlain with that almonds vanilla notes that accompanies tonka beans, heliotrope, & balsamic factor. I can’t detect the strawberries in here at all! maybe the plums a bit but no strawberries.
I see this as a gourmand, quite impressive.
Edit (10th Jan 2018) Now i can detect the strawberries, and it’s not presented as candy cane rather than a vanilla, tonka, and heliotrope, I still can detect the balsam, orchid, and tuberose. I see this as another veriation of “Vittoria Apuana”. Quite interesting
romaboxers – :
I found this to be quite synthetic and surprisingly dry. It was very strong and irritated my eyes which isn’t something I’ve experienced before. It wasn’t what I expected not being sweet at all but more plastic. I found it kind of interesting and unique. The dryness kept strengthening. I would describe it as freeze dried plastic strawberry nougat. I generally don’t do well with Duchafour’s more obviously synthetic compositions like this one but when I look past my body’s reaction to the chemicals I have to admit it’s a likable fragrance, just not for me.
Naruto120 – :
This has such a complex note pyramid for such a simple, innocent scent. The notes I get from this are fairly linear, and are as follows: vanilla, tonka, strawberry, heliotrope, plum & maybe a hint of amber somewhere along the line.
I file Versilia Aurum under the umbrella of insta-nostalgia perfumes. Such silky, plastic-powder-puff vanilla & strawberry milkshakes. There is a thick candylike sweetness here, like sugary strawberry nougat or taffy, alongside a very powdery, albeit lip-balm-esque vanilla.
I would say this errs on the feminine side – very flirtatious, girly & inviting, but as I said earlier: innocent. Disney-fairy-princess innocence.
Sillage is friendly, you won’t knock anybody out with this – and the longevity is a decent few hours, maybe around 4-6.
My personal opinion is that I don’t think this is worth the 200-some-odd dollars it costs – it eventually falls very flat and sweet, and I think you could probably pick up something from Sephora or the Bath & Body works around Christmas time that gives you a similar impression, but lasts much longer.
Pvikysika – :
There are scents that have a couple of notes and yet smell like they hold secrets of a cavern. Then there are some perfumes that have a whole chorus of notes and yet only a few are resounding. Versilia Aurum falls into the latter group. It’s caramel upon caramel, with a hint of fruit and flowers at most. It smells delicious, exactly like good old caramel sauce. However if you looked at the notes and expected something exciting, it is not. Hands down the best caramel scent I’ve come across yet, realistic and no artificial or synthetic vibes coming across. Sillage and longevity are very very good. However, I’m not too sure I would fork over the required amount to wear caramel.
PELIKAN – :
Upon initial spray I get immediately the Tonka and Amber notes and what i would describe as sweet medicinal cherry. It reminds me of childhood, combination of dolls-heads & cherry chap-sticks, amazing. Once its warmed up to skin it changes, strawberry and vanilla appear, all together it creates quite a balsamic composition, very warming, very suited to the cooler weather, its seems like its smoky incense in there but very quietly gentle. Once it settles IMHO it smells like Prada Candy with a dash of cherry-strawberry liquor, i do not get any, not one floral note. I would not repurchase, but it would appeal to gourmand lovers.
roman666 – :
If there is any fruit in this perfume, it is subtle and fleeting. I get no strawberry on my skin. In any case it is very gourmand and smells like caramel with candied almonds and just a little powdered sugar. Sometimes I catch a floral scent, just enough to make the perfume interesting and play against all the sweetness. Once it dries down it becomes a tasty vanilla caramel. Reminds me of Omnia Madeira. I am let down by the simplicity of the drydown of this perfume, yet I own Madeira and would prefer to own this because it is more complex than Madeira yet still has the creamy vanilla caramel drydown.
dettentee – :
Absolutely agree with the previous reviewer it’s not a unisex fragrance. Just would like to add that it’s dry down is identical to Dulcis in Fundo by Profumum Roma. Very creamy soft vanilla.. Amazing -simply amazing!
ajwrik – :
Heavenly strawberry nougat.
sergsexy – :
I ordered a sample of this and then went and purchased the big bottle — which was delivered today. I can’t believe anyone would think this is a unisex fragrance. This is so warm and feminine. I can’t stop smelling my wrist, this fragrance is amazing.
At first you get a nose full of strawberry, as that drifts away a multitude of other fruits emerge but to my nose…. No one single note stands out more than the other. There is a very heavenly vanilla that gives this scent an elegant “thickness” without that cloying sweetness that you can get from many vanilla fragrances. It’s like cake batter rather than the icing. After 30 minutes I can pick up the rose and honestly I don’t get the lily of the valley from this though they say it’s in there. I love this scent, it is warm, lush, feminine and so perfect for the weather we are about to get into.
izbrusa-i-brevna – :
It is simple perfect 🙂 I felt at the first sniff that this scent is mine.
And we meet again and it is a great love now 🙂
Well, about the perfume: this is a fantastic, sweet scent, not a sugary way but with lot of fruits and flowers. And it is a bit oriental too on my skin. The drydown is a bit similar to the JHG’s Oil Fiction, but it is much more elegant. This perfume is sexy, addictive, elegant and calming at the same time. (But i cant imagine a man wearing this.) If this scent would be a woman, probably Sophia Loren 🙂 Not a young one, but a perfect woman any time and situation.
ilnar-safin91 – :
I received a sample of this the other day. I finally got around to trying it. Let me first say that from reading the notes, I thought I would love this. Guess what I do. Sweet and floral at the same time. Not a fragrance to draw men in, but a comfort fragrance more for me than others. I only tried it with a few dabs on wrist, so not sure how how it would last into the day. I do smell the strawberry and there is a hint of floral in there also. It’s very complex but not mind stirring and confusing. It works so well on my skin. This is FB worthy. I will be adding this one to my arsenal. I don’t see a man wearing this at all. Well, not the kind of man I would want 🙂
FriendCameron – :
I like following my instincts, and my instincts a while ago told me to sample Versilia Aurum whatever the cost. I think it was the world’s way of saying that a sweet, strawberry based fragrance could be successful if blended with the right, quality ingredients.
The more times I wear Versilia Aurum, the more enchanted with it I become. It smells like strawberries, but instead of being candied or synthetically sharp, it is presented as a delicious bowl of strawberries and cream flavoured icecream. Creamy, smooth, sugary and enticing.
With that being said, Versilia Aurum does tend to have a gourmand feel throughout, however it’s more complex than just strawberry icecream. The heart is a beautiful, feminine blend of powdery florals. When the powder blends with the sugary fruits, the result is quite dusty, soft and pleasing. I can detect a certain accord that resembles the scent of vintage cosmetics, like the scent of face powder and lipsticks. There’s a quaintness to it that I really like.
It was at this point that I stopped and realised that Versilia Aurum was designed with a specific point in mind, that it was to resemble or pay homage to a precious metal; gold. Rose gold perhaps, but not gold itself. I find gold much bolder and spicier than this. This fragrance makes me think of all things pink. I’m surprised to see this listed as unisex to be honest. However I understand that I could be biased as this fragrance does settle on my skin in a very feminine and pretty way.
Unfortunately the longevity is not fabulous. I spritzed it on around midday, and found it to have disappeared by late afternoon. The sillage is also surprisingly intimate and soft. I like it this way, however I didn’t expect it to be so wispy.
This fragrance has proven to me that sugary strawberry scents, when composed well, can be absolutely delicious on the skin. A full bottle may cost a small fortune, but for those that love strawberries and want a step up from those nauseatingly candied scents, Versilia Aurum is the way to go.