Ars Amatoria: Casanova

A rakish blend of leather, anise, lavender, bergamot and amber with tonka, lemon peel and lusty patchouli.

In imp: masculine! This is a wholly masculine scent to my nose, reminds me of my father, quite frankly. It’s sharp, almost piercing, green and very clean, the citrusy notes on top for me.

Wet on skin: this stays true to the imp scent to me, but the citrusy notes become even more prominent—I’m not sure which is which. Underneath everything there’s a sort of musty smell, not leather, and my untrained nose can’t pick it out or accurately describe it. It’s not a dirty smell, but it smells the opposite of the cleanness that is topmost here with me—it’s an interesting, intriguing contrast.

Dry: generally the same as the imp and wet smell, this is pretty faithful, although after a while I’m starting to get a faint metallic smell from it. I’m not sure what it is, it just strikes me as being slightly metallic. It comes and goes though, and to me it gets better the longer it is on my skin.

Verdict: it’s definitely not something I would wear; but it’s an interesting, nice scent for men and I wouldn’t mind smelling this on a guy.