Italica (2021) Xerjoff for women and men

I don’t know particularly how to explain this fragrance outside of the fact that the heavy almond note makes it smell like sweet paper. Don’t ask me why I get paper from that, it just reminds me of it.

i love almond biscuits, crossaints etc. im so sad that all i can smell is corriander ;-;

Whenever I wear this someone asks ‘Who’s got cookies?’. It literally smells of a bakery biscotti. You MUST LOVE gourmand scents to enjoy this. The projection is 6ft min with one spray. I absolutely can not wait to wear it again in the fall and winter. One of my faves.

i hate this it smells like a bowl of coriander with some milk in it…spoilt milk

This sounds crazy, but this is easily the worst fragrance I have ever smelled. Almost forced me to physically throw up. 0/10.

yea this aint it

I think this is one of those smells That you either really dig or you really don’t. It’s very unique it’s got that going for it, But there’s this funky medicinal thing going on in the background that Just hangs around and I can’t. Kind of smells sterile? It smells like I’m sitting in an operating room eating an almond biscuit.

this is very faminin!!

For the past week I've enjoyed sampling Italica by Xerjoff. Something about Italica is reminiscent of a piping hot Chai Latte. That first sniff is like taking a sip of tea that hasn't had the chance to cool. A spicy base of saffron and sandalwood burn your tongue. But foamed milk and the almond biscuits served on the side will soothe that initial heat. Such a treat to the senses. Italica is a warm, sultry, powerhouse of a fragrance. Though the opening might be too overpowering for some people's tastes. I find the blend of sweet, milky, and spicy to be very natural, and perfectly balanced. While the price point is very high, the artistry of Italica is something truly unique and luxurious.

yeesh as a gourmand lover i had high expectations from the listed notes but this is really not my style (thankfully it came in a set of tiny samples). The initial scent has an almost medicine/cough syrup like nauseating quality but mellows down to a slightly calmer (but still kind of overwhelming) milky kind of stale smelling vanilla bourbon. Its like eating a white rabbit candy in a room full of wooden antiques

Love it! So beautiful! Gives me also cherry vibe somehow. The quality is just so good, that it doesnt get too sweet or cloying , even though it is a sweet fragrance. The longevity is a beast mode on my skin. I think its not a blind buy, though i purchased it blindly :)

Only tried it once and will have to try again because I wanted to like it but I didn’t. 🫢 The saffron makes it very hard to place and puzzles me. I will try it again in winter around Christmas since it has all the notes that match! For spring it’s just not right.

Milky. Nutty. Interesting. It gives out marzipan. Like that bright yellow Merci chocolate block. On my skin, it gives a lactonic burst with a toffee twist. I must say, it was interesting to test, but definitely not worth the hype it got. I can see why gourmands love it, but I can't wrap my head around the saffron note? Like... is it because the milky and nutty notes mixed with saffron give out the marzipan feel, hiding the saffron so well? Not sure.

This is like Christmas in a bottle. Italica smells like marzipan confectionery with added almond essence. It’s sweet, strong and lasts all day. Perfect for Christmas parties, too sweet for daytime and summer.

In Denmark there’s a traditional Christmas dessert called Rice a la Almond which is made of rice pudding, whipped cream, vanilla and peeled almonds. It’s served cold and topped with hot cherry sauce. Even though cherry isn’t listed in the notes, the overall sweetness makes me think of this dessert. I want to try layering with a cherry scent, I’ll update once I find one that I like.

Layering this with Lait de Vanille by Chabaud adds powder, and the vanilla emphasize the toffee notes in Italica.

Entry number 5 in my Xerjoff discovery; Italica. I saw this one mentioned a few times in forums as being unique with its milk note. "..Milk note? How they hell can they make something smell like milk?" I thought. After some short contemplation, I decided it was best for me to find out for myself. Let's get into it;

Scent:
Opening is sweet, milky, and nutty. The primary notes I get are milk, almond, toffee, and bourbon vanilla. The strongest of the notes are the milk and bourbon vanilla. The milk note in this fragrance is surprisingly photo-realistic. It somehow reminds me of freshly poured milk; how they accomplished that I'm not entirely sure. The bourbon vanilla note is a natural, vanilla bean-esque type of vanilla, not the typical synthetic designer type. The milk and vanilla notes combine extraordinarily well and give the illusion of a vanilla milkshake. This is followed by the almond and toffee notes. The almond is nutty and bitter, like freshly cracked almonds. Again, not the typical type of almond accord you'll find in designer fragrances; much more natural. Hanging out in the background is the toffee, providing a sticky sweet backdrop for the rest of the notes to work from. All put together the opening is extremely gourmand. Dry down is sweet, milky, and woody. The primary notes I get are bourbon vanilla, milk, toffee, and sandalwood. The strongest of the notes are still the milk and vanilla giving off that same vanilla milkshake vibe from the opening. This is followed by the toffee and sandalwood. The toffee still carries the same sticky sweetness from the opening, but feels like it's gotten a little bit darker. Laying a strong, masculine foundation is the sandalwood. Woodier than I'm used to with most sandalwood notes, but still lending that signature creaminess that works very well with the accompanying vanilla and milk notes.

Performance:
Initial projection is nuclear and fills the room when I walk in. Sillage matches that intensity with an unmistakeable scent trail. After a few hours the projection was still outside of arms length and the scent trail was easily noticeable. Even 8 hours later the projection and sillage were still unchanged. The scent lasted just shy of 12 hours before it became a skin scent.

When to wear:
I would consider this a fall/winter fragrance that is suitable for daytime or evening wear. Though much too sweet for the office or formal occasions, this could work very well as a deliciously gourmand date night scent.

Blind buy:
I wouldn't necessarily call this a safe blind buy since the milk note is rather unusual and exotic. I would recommend getting your nose on it first, especially at the Xerjoff price point. However if you are familiar with milk notes and love that scent profile, this would be an easy blind buy for you.

Final verdict:
This was a peculiar experience for me. I did enjoy wearing the fragrance. It smelled nice from opening to dry down and kept the same general vibe; no extreme deviations in the scent profile. The performance was also impressive. I would agree that this is a unisex scent, although it does lean a little feminine for me. I don't really have any negative things to say about the fragrance. However, I don't know if I would enjoy wearing it again anytime soon. It's so sweet that I wouldn't be able to wear it comfortably with any sort of regularity. For that reason, I can't justify spending that much money on something i'll rarely wear. That being said, if you like sweet vanilla scents it's definitely worth a sampling. Maybe you'll fall in love with it more than I did.

Scent: 7/10
Longevity: 9/10
Sillage: 9/10

Oh my god! It's the ultimate gourmand's dream! Love it!
Smells like almond panettone and marzipan. Projects like crazy and stays a lot on skin.

a gourmand par exellence which is suprisingly wearable and not suffocating, probably because it doesn't have any sweet florals that would make it cloying and over-the-top
the notes are EXACTLY what you get - sweet-lactonic, with almonds, vanilla and toffee
for those who would like to smell tasty-edible but not in a vulgar way
lovelier than I expected, and also more mature than I expected, would not call it girly despite the gourmand profile

All i smell is licorice licorice and licorice, mixed with almond.
I had high expectation for a $250 niche. Since i had to buy it at specialize store that don't have samples for this line.
Believe me this one makes you smell like you bathe in licorice body wash

Update
After multiple trial, i can detect the gourmand dry down. I still LOATHE the opening

Very nice fragrance Im in love❤️

Perfection in a bottle !! Absolutely stunninnnngggggg gourmand.

on paper i think the perfume is really interesting, so i bought a sample. As someone who's enjoy gourmand perfume i was looking forward for the toffee note and the mix of lactonic scents. when receiving the tester i soon figured out how overpowering the lactonic notes in this perfume is. The lactonic notes mixed with the sticky sweetness in the toffee is in many ways nauseating for my nose and some of my friends. All tho a great quality perfume that last a long time and doesn't smell synthetic (compared to other lactonic perfumes i have smelled) i think the notes mixed together is to overpowering and nauseating.

If you love Sticky sweet vanilla perfumes with strong lactonic note you will love this.

An absolute no for me. I’m someone who enjoys gourmand touches or leaning fragrances but this is something else.

I don’t perceive it as sweet but as stomach churning. The toffee/caramel aspects smelt burnt and sickening. The almond notes were nice and a fluffy vanilla aspect was great. But the toffee aspect smelt not only burnt but like a mix of overheated plastic, old raincoat and like you’ve drunk out of a reusable plastic cup and all you can taste is that.

Disappointing and unexpected. I don’t have a great run with this house - particularly the Casamoratti line - but I keep trying and am open to exploring. I do adore Accento Overdose, Shunkoin & Pikovaya Dama…with Dama Bianca (another no for me!), Ivory Route and Golden Dallah lined up to be sampled next.

My favourite gourmand ! Love it so much! Beast mode vanilla toffee fragrance

I'm a gourmand lover. I haven't yet faced a perfume which I found too sweet for me. I love vanilla. I love gourmand notes such as toffee and caramel. I love some lactonic fragrances. I love nutty notes like almond. and I love Xerjoff. I have Lira, Gran ballo, Bouquet Ideale and Dama Bianca from this brand and they're all either love or strong likes for me. according to these explanations Italica sounds like a match made in heaven for me. right? wrong. I hate this fragrance so passionately that I chose a hate bottom for it which I rarely use for a perfume because usually even in perfumes that I dislike, I can see some positive aspects.
I was almost blindbuying this but I found a chance to try it. I sprayed it onback of my hand, also on my husband's hand because he's also a Xerjoff fan and into sweet fragrances. I can usually pickup different perfume notes in fragrances with no trouble. I only find analyzing different notes hard when I love a perfume so much that I prefer to see it as a whole and not focus on it's subparts, also when I despise a perfume so much that I don't even want to smell it briefly. Italica falls into the latter group so I'm going to explain it as a whole rather than breaking it down to it's notes.
It does smell sweet and foody like a dessert but an extremely sweet and creamy dessert that has a bit of a fruit inside it that doesn't belong to that type of dessert and has milk as one of it's components but the milk they used to make the dessert has gone bad months ago and the cook tried to cover the out of place fruit and sour,expired milk by adding extra buttery,creamy sweetener.to make things a lot worse there's also a strong herbaceous bitterness cutting through the sweetness and I hate herbal notes. it can't be saffron because as a middle eastern we use saffron in a lot of desserts and foods and neither in raw nor in extract form it doesn't smell anything like this.even if I was ok with the desserty part of the scent,the bitter herbal note kills it's gourmand undertone and removes it from feminine category. everything stays the same for a long time except that as time passes I can also feel something soapy in it too which is never welcomed in a gourmand.
If it wasn't for the strong herbaceous accord and soapy undertone, I would have given it more chances because I know that gourmands with a dominant milk note can grow on someone after a while and might smell better in a different temperature but I know the herbaceous bitterness will kill this fragrance for me in any circumstance.
I kept sniffing it every ten minutes to see if it evolves so something better but nope and each time I sniffed it I had to struggle with nausea. I thought this must be a skin chemistry issue, thid can't actually be like this but it smelled the exact same on my husband too. I asked for his opinion and he answered with a shy smile: I'm praying in silence you don't fall in love with this. it's turning my stomach.
I don't like to write hatsh reviews but I had to be honest because there must be a gourmand lover out there like me that's considering this as a safe blindbuy. I had to share my harsh, honest review to warn: it's not a safe blindbuy. even if you're a gourmand lover who loves all of it's notes.
من عاشق عطرهای گورمند و شیرینم. عاشق وانیلم. عاشق نتهایی مثل تافی و کاراملم. عاشق بادومم. یسری از عطرهای لاکتونیک رو هم دوس دارم. ضمنا برند زرجوف رو هم دوس دارم. از این برند لیرا، گرن بالو، دامابیانکا و بوکی ایده آل رو دارم که همشون یا واسم لاون یا لایک شدید. درنتیجه فک میکردم قراره عاشق ایتالیکا شم و حتی نزدیک بود بلایندبای کنمش. شانس آوردم فرصت کردم تستش کنم
این عطر واقعا شیرینه و واقعا رایحه دسرطور داره منتها دسری که تو ترکیباتش از میوه ای استفاده شده که اصلا مناسب اون دسر نیست. ضمنا از شیری درست شده که ماههاست فاسد شده. بعد آشپز واسه اینکه طعم اون میوه نابجا و شیرفاسد رو بپوشونه ورداشته کلی شیرین کننده خامه ای بهش اضافه کرده. بدتر اینکه یه نت تلخ گیاهی-ادویه ای-هربال هم بصورت غالب حس میکنم که کار رو خرابتر کرده(بشخصه از روایح هربال و گیاهی متنفرم). اصلا شباهتی به زعفران نداره درنتیجه نمیدونم چیه. رایحه عطر تا مدتها همینجوری بی تغییر میمونه فقط با گذشت زمان یکم صابونی میشه که حضور یه رایحه صابونی تو یه عطر گورمند همیشه خبر بدیه. اگه بخاطر اون نت تلخ و گیاهی و درای داون صابونیش نبود فرصتهای بیشتری بهش میدادم چون میدونم عطرهای با نتهای لاکتونیک میتونن تو یه دمای گرمتر یا سردتر متفاوت ظاهر شن. ممکن بود تو یه آب و هوای دیگه، قسمت دسرطورش بنظرم خوشمزه و بدون مشکل بیاد اما میدونم که تحت هر شرایطی اون رایحه تلخ گیاهی، حس و حال گورمند عطر رو واسم قراره خراب کنه ضمن اینکه فمنین بودنش رو هم از بین میبره
خلاصه که با اینکه خیلی ازش بدم اومده بود هر ده دقیقه یبار چک کردمش تا ببینم بهتر میشه یا نه اما نه. هربار هم با عمیق بو کردنش نزدیک بود بالا بیارم. فک میکردم این عطر با شیمی پوست من مشکل داره اما رو پوست همسرمم دقیقا همینه. وقتی هم نظرشو پرسیدم گفت امیدوار بودم عاشق این عطر نشی و نخوای بخریش چون از وقتی زدیش رو دستم حالت تهوع گرفتم.
من کم پیش میاد ریویوهای انقد منفی و تند بنویسم اما باید نظر صادقانمو میگفتم تا اگه مثل من عاشق عطرهای گورمند و شیرین هستید و با همه نتهای ایتالیکا اوکیید فک نکنید بلایندبای کردنش فکر خوبیه. حتما قبلش تستش کنید

I absolutely LOVE Dama Bianca and Lira, however Italica is just not for me.

My partner picked the almond smell on me right away but this is just so strong I feel like I am suffocating from one spray, and I love a beast mode scent, but this is just a little too strong for me.
I’m so sad as I love almond scents but it’s on steroids!
Patiently waiting for it to dry down more so I can experience the full potential, but it’s a bit difficult.

Glad I only have a small sample!

I’ll stick to dama bianca and lira 💖

This is too food like, too much food scent and not enough perfumery. I am really hoping as this gets aerated that the edges of this scent soften. If others have seen a mellowing of the scent as it ages, post 12 months, please add your experience of how the scent has changed. I am at the 6 months mark, and this is as strong as ever. Big almond fan, but this smells like something I would eat. Not quite something I want to smell like, and I am a hardcore gourmand fan.

For me, this smells too herbaceous. Like a very sweet, herby concoction. I don't get the milky note unfortunately.

It’s a lovely scent! Sweet, but not cloying or nauseating. Reminds me of Sweet Almond & Macaron candle by Jo Malone.

I wouldn't say I don't like almond but after smelling this I don't ever want to smell it again. This smells like the strongest almond smell ever. Just too much and too strong of a almond note. Now if thats something you like which, clearly people do, I don't think you'll beat this. It's a Xerjoff so it's clearly well made. If you're iffy about almond you've been warned lol

Pure almond. I can see this as both Amaretto (Italian almond liqueur) or the Amaretti biscuits.

It definitely has the biscuit gourmand smell, while at the same time the pureness of the almond smells like liqueur.

Absolutely stunning, I can see why this is one of the top gourmands. Do go light on the sprays though, or at least don't spray right on the front of your neck.

Ok.... almond ginger snap cookie. All you need is a glass of milk. Yummmmm

Initially I smelled juicy ripe mango but ...... I 'll get back to you.

Wow, it smells like cilantro to me, which I hate.

this may be the weirdest review. to my nose and on my skin chemistry, this smells exactly like sweet/ripe alatiris (or aratilis in other places), a tiny cherry-like fruit that can be found in the philippines. according to my research, alatiris is also known as kerson fruit or jamaican cherry. does anyone else smell the same thing or am i the only one? 😅

It’s annoying pistachio ice-cream to my nose.

I live in Florida and blind bout this perfume because it's so raved, but unfortunately the level of sweetness in this perfume is out of this world, cannot imagine using this here, I have sweet perfumes (Hibiscus Mahajad), and I like them, but this one is sweet like I have never seen before. I got a cherry note in this perfume, but was expecting almond, and I am not fond of cherry notes, so will return it.

Someone mentioned a licorice scent. I do not get that at all. To me, it is an almond, fruity, amaretto cookie with plenty of vanilla. It's a little feminine for me to wear, but I do wish I could eat it.

So delicious! One of my fav scents from Xerjoff! Especially good layered with What About Pop from THOO but still yummy on its own!

Gourmand done to perfection. I love layering it with this is her by Zadig.
Smells like cherisoa 62/bum bum cream, but on steroids!!!

Maraschino cherry, almond paste, vanilla, pastry. Not a bakery scent but it’s in the background enough for me to find it more like cake than cherry soda.
I love it but it’s huge, it is not safe for work. This fragrance will definitely divide opinions given it cannot be escaped!
I will wear it to very specific outdoor parties, meet ups. It’s amazing as a true edible scent but I’m divided as to whether I want this as a perfume as much as I would love it as a body cream.

This is all almond and toffee to me. Probably the best almond fragrance that exist. You ever wanna eat a scent? For me it is italica. I really can’t get enough of italica. Silage is satisfactory and longevity is so long.

The BEST Gourmand to have EVER been made !!!! So well balanced and it's masterfully blended, Perfection.
Lasting power & sillage are 10/10, no faults!

I'm the dessert, Im the SNACKKK!! sheeeshhhh

Fruit punch KOOLAID!! Mouthwatering sugar drink smell.

Smells like wax

This is so good it should be illegal! My new favorite signature. But how does this beauty even exist? I smell like a cherry almond ginger snap cookie dipped in toffee & milk. So sweet and so spicy with just the right creaminess. Why did I ever try this fragrance?! This is like my favorite gourmand as of the moment besides Melodie de Orientica. Why did I ever try you Xerjoff? Now I want to get Lira! Eventually I'm going to get Lira but then I'm going to have to take a break from fragrances because I gotta get these expensive fragrances from discounters..LOL. I know I'm late to the party but I should of gotten her a long time ago. Wow. I thought she would be similar to my other favorite almond cookie scent Ellie Saab Girl of Now, but this is next level. This is so extremely pretty and just plain edible. My husband wanted to just keep on hugging me because of these ginger spices and the toffee milk. Worth every penny. Perhaps I'll just go with the smaller bottles next time but I always wanted the original 100ml packaging and bottle of Italica & Lira. I wonder if Lira is better than this? This is yummy gorgeous.

This is the most almond perfume I’ve smelt. It is sugared almonds with toffee in the background.
If you are looking for *the* almond perfume, then this is it.

I came to see if there were any comparisons to guidance by Amouage.. yikes… I thought I’d like this but this is a true gourmand that reminds me of guidance, a lot. It’s like you layered guidance with something else. I don’t like guidance so.. I didn’t like this. It’s way better than guidance tho.. and the dry down I do like. After like 5 hours.

My Fable:
The journey begins at the cusp of spring, where trees are celebrating the season's arrival with a resplendent bloom.
As you traverse the verdant landscape, you carry an air of newfound warmth, confidence radiating from you like the first rays of spring sunshine.
The world around you seems reborn, every leaf, every blossom exuding an aura of vitality and youth. The world seems fresh - maybe too fresh.


Rating:
Unfortunately, Italica did not captivate me. The scent comes off as exceedingly sweet and has a VERY strong, soapy aroma, reminiscent of a child's shampoo. This soapiness, which almost stings the nose, seems out of place and does not resonate with my fragrance preferences.

The top notes offer an interesting blend, but the middle notes of toffee and vanilla further amplify the sweetness. The base notes of sandalwood and white musk, though enchanting on their own, fail to salvage the overall scent experience.

• Scent: 3/10
• Longevity: 6/10
• Sillage: 7/10
• Season: Spring - Winter
• Gender: Unisex
• Price-Value: Overpriced
(This fragrance does not offer an experience that justifies its price tag.)

If you are a 30 yo women and up
If you wear only neutral colour palette
If you are classy and chic, mature and you have enough self confidence, pls pls stay awayyyyyy from ITALICA, it is not necessary bad fregrance but to me it’s a candle scent reminding me of a lot a lot of candles are using at my house especially my bathroom, so I don’t want to smell like my bathroom for sure, toooo heavy almondy gives me a bad headache and made me nauseous, sadly it’s too strong and project very well but this is not for me, I sold it right away

If Red Dye 40 and a carnival had a baby, it would smell like this. The sweetest scent ever x10. The creator of this smelled pure sugar and thought, "Mhmm that's it, but add high fructose corn syrup to it." Cavities form after smelling this. The sheer obnoxiousness made me giggle. It's a fun scent to smell in a niche fragrance store, but it's definitely not a safe blind buy.

Holy mother of God this is good
Sweet lactonic and spicy. An almond cookie dipped in warm cinnamon milk. An arm and a leg, but so worth it if these are your favourite notes.

I really wanted to love it but it just smelled like wax or a candle

This is by far the sweetest and the most edible fragrance I've ever tried. It smells like the very sweet almond vanilla cream, literally, as if I rubbed my skin with it :) I cannot think yet about the best occasion here, but definitely during the cold time of the year. It lasts super long (I sprayed it at 7 am, it's 5 pm now and I feel it quite strongly), and it's very strong and very intruding. It might be too heavy for some people.
What I realized is that at the end of the day, I wanna smell like a woman, and not like a tart ;)

Lactonic perfumes seem to gather very inconsistent reactions. I don't know if it's the result of body chemistry or olfactory differences, but it looks like everybody has a different experience. Italica makes no exception.

On me, this perfume smells like babies, young mothers, fertility.
It starts off supersweet, like grenadine lemonade, but when it dries down the red fruit notes change to milk, or mooie accurate... breast milk. It's a soft pink cloud, fluffy and warm, a coccoon. The fragrance doesn't smell artificial, but rather animalic in the most feminine way I can imagine. But where other super feminine fragrances are often very cloying or nauseatingly sweet, this fragrance is very well balanced and unique.

If you are looking for a premium quality AG Cloud style fragrance: look no further. It is a beautiful composition, and would probably work very well for a date. Use sparingly! (one spritz is enough)

Licorice confetti.

Tested on paper:
I've seen this compared to almond nougat with toffee, caramel and what not.
But no, this smells very close to an helvetia cake, a speciality from Mantua made of layers of bitter almond paste with alternate filling of butter cream and zabaglione (an egg yolk + booz cream).
In a later phase it turns dryer and that's where I smell the bitterness of the almond coming through.
I'm impressed and I'll certainly give it a full wearing on skin.

Anyone has this fragrance and would like to trade/swap?

I've had this for a year and I've finally figured out what it smells like, Saffron Milk Cake. The milk in this isn't warm or hot, but cold like milk cake. It also smells like the milk after you have poured cereal into it three times and eaten it.

This smells like King Tut's birthday party. It opens up with an overly sweet, balsamic scent with a hint of basil. It reminds me of the saying: "So sweet it might as well be rotten." I imagine an embalmed mummy eating rotten cake in their chamber.

Nice. It's medicinal almondy milky. Not sure about buying full bottle though. Xerjoff quality all over. Not banal in any way.

It is so smooth, almondy and cozy! I adore it. Don't find it overly sweet at all, I don't appreciate fragrances which are too sweet.

I was looking forward to trying this one because I love almond as a note, and Xerjoff makes some pretty realistic smelling gourmand fragrances. But Italica smells like an overpowering pumpkin spice room candle to me and makes me feel a little sick. Wish I could smell the magic other people describe, but I don't get it

It's not your everyday, regular scent. In my opinion, it's more suitable for occasional wear – too frequent use might be overwhelming, almost like a risk of 'olfactory diabetes'. It's a must for marzipan lovers, reminiscent of my favorite Austrian candy, Mozart, but in a bottle. I absolutely adore it and find it most suitable for the cold season, when its warmth and richness truly shine.

Almond toffee cookie - crisp sugar shell with a melt-in-your-mouth buttery center. Slightly gritty texture? Like crumbs, or like a real praline.

I made the mistake of wearing this in summer and got very turned off to it but I’m busting it out for a Christmas party. This is the perfect occasion for it. It’s spicy, sweet, warm, not subtle in the slightest.

Heads up: I have a dabber sample and my skin gets slightly red wherever I apply this. If you have very sensitive skin this might be one to patch test.

Saccharine sweet opening with a dominant almond/marzipan note. Some people mention synthetic cherries and I could see that as well, though it is not as present as the marzipan-like note to me. This all is drenched in a semi-lactic mixture of a light biscuit note and some more heavy sweetness. Ethylmaltol perhaps? After about 30 minutes, it started to smell like some kind of shea butter infused coconut sun lotion. Not too pleasant. It's quite strong in the beginning as well, but Lira is miles ahead in terms of overall wearability. The lactic accord will subside and you will be left with a piercingly sweet and musky scent. More feminine than masculine in my opinion.

1.5/5

This is a BEAST mode fragrance; if you hate marzipan, synthetic cherries or food-like fragrances. Run. Don't look back!

However, if you do, then this is probably your taste. I will enjoy my sample, but I won't purchase a full bottle. PS: If you layer it with Coffee & Whiskey B&BW Lotion, you will literally smell edible ;)

I don't think I can properly test this scent. That's how repulsive I find it. To my nose, it's cherries on steroids. Or when Nespresso had a limited edition amaretto-flavored pod that I could barely choke down. Italica will probably haunt me in my dreams.

This fragrance is sooo sweet. As many reviewers mentioned, it is a gourmand that smells edible. I really get the marzipan/sweet almond cookies. Nice but not a love. I will finish my sample in the coldest days this winter so that the sweet smell won't be too much.

when i first sprayed this i was with my mom and we both immediately got a headache. it lasted a long time on my skin and i couldn’t stand it. i had high hopes for it since i loooove marzipan and this was marketed as a sweet, marzipan-like fragrance. that was 3 months ago. yesterday, i decided to spray it again to see if the scent had developed at all and let me tell you it smells beautiful. i was surprised that i didn’t get a headache even though the scent is pretty much the same. i think it has kind of toned down on that sugar note or maybe it’s because the weather is colder now, but either way i can now enjoy it. it smells very edible and to be honest it’s quite addictive. i couldn’t stop sniffing my wrist after i sprayed it on me. it’s a heavy almond gourmand so don’t expect this to be airy and fluffy. it’s almost kind of biscuit-y. like almond cookies. it’s also lactonic as advertised but not in a creamy way. it’s heavy as i said and it’s really sweet so i can see why some people maybe wouldn’t be able to enjoy this at all. it’s definitely not a safe blind buy but if you like almond then definitely sample this.

This perfume was an absolute NO to me.i can’t get how people find this sweet! To my nose this is completely bitter almond and sandal wood. Im disappointed ,although lira from this line is my favorite. Italica Not a type of gourmand that I like.so spicy,please don’t buy it blindly.

First it is really sweet and I would like it but then I unfortunately get the cilantro note one my skin as well and it is quite prominent.

Selling my new, sprayed 1x, 3.4oz bottle (no box but tassel still in plastic wrap) for $160 shipped anywhere in the US. PM me :)

Got a tester of this & wow! I see a lot of reviewers state more feminine but I'd wear this but this is definitely beast mode! 6 hours later & this dry down is pretty potent. Smoky first hit that drys down into a caramel vanilla. Not one for the summer months IMO & I wouldn't do more than a couple of sprays.My Oh says that she would happily wear it as well, so will see how it appears on her skin.

Beautiful, compliment getting fragrance. Delicious. Reminded me of being at my Nonna's house as a child, and having amaretti cookies and a hot cup of milk. I totally got the cherry kool-ade blast in the opening - not unpleasant, but surprising, and DENSE! Once that settled, it became very milky, and then mellowed into the aforementioned amaretti cookie scent. Wore my decant to the office and was complimented twice! I didn't feel that projection was huge, but it has lasted about 10 hours on me, and it's still clinging to my clothes.

Sadly, not full bottle worthy - I like gourmands, but this is just a bit too foodie leaning for me, and I wavered through the day - sometimes intoxicated by the beauty, and other times nauseated by its overly sweet, overly lactonic notes. Couldn't imagine wearing this in hot, or even warm weather at all. I may pick up a small decant to sniff sparingly for nostalgia's sake, but otherwise, it's a hard pass for me.

If you like true gourmands, this is about as gourmand as it gets. Worth a sniff, but would not recommend a blind buy. I won't be reaching for this again any time soon, except maybe for a trip down memory lane. I think I would love to smell this on somebody else.

EDIT: ok, so now im getting my ready for bed and I still smell Italica on my skin. Barely. The remaining dry-down is heartbreakingly beautiful. Just a whiff of that incredible almond cookie, but now sitting so close to my skin, I can't stop sniffing my wrist. That scent memory/nostalgia vibe is powerful! Ugh...may need a 30 ml. Still not sure how much I will reach for this, but this stage is just sooooo good. Going to try it again tomorrow with a lighter hand overall. I think I need this!

When trying this blind I thought it was just a slightly more appealing version of Black Phantom (which I hate). I dislike almond notes pretty consistently but it’s not horrible when it’s this sweet.
If you want to smell like marzipan, definitely give this a try.

It opens with blast of vanilla, cinnamon, cacao and some woodsy notes. Interesting as opening.

Drydown: vanilla, cinnamon and spice, as in 100 percent Christmas candle scent. Utter disappointment as drydown.

My husband thinks it smells exactly like risengrød, the Danish rice pudding made with milk, butter and cinnamon. (I disagree)

This perfume genuinely smells like a cake with a drizzle of lemon syrup as a candle. Like literally a cake scented candle. It’s definitely not my kind of scent but I could see some liking it. At first spray, this is very much the scent you get hit with.

At about 20ish minutes after the first spray, the scent becomes very heavy on the saffron and woody scents. An incensey, cinnamon/nutmeg spicy scent is also prevalent here. The toffee scent does come through but it’s very artificial.

This was a nice perfume to try out but I would never reach for it in my collection and won’t be buying a full butler. Sample will go to a friend.

I'm surprised at how many enjoy this. I couldn't believe this is thee Italica. This to me is so laconic it makes my stomach turn. I'm not a fan because it smells just like a biscotti and I hate biscotti. So glad I didn't blind buy it. If you're looking for a fantastic gourmand from Xerjoff, get Dolce Amalfi 😍

I’m so disappointed in this one, especially as it’s raved about. Sure, it’s sweet, but something in this smells of spoiled milk and rotting leaves. I can’t stand it, I’d go as far as to say I find this absolutely revolting. A shame as it’s clearly lovely to many.

I went to the shop to test Lira, and on the staff's recommendation, I tried this as well.
I can't believe how many changes this sent went through on my skin, not to mention how different it smelled on my skin compared with how it smelled on the test card. On the test card, it was giving a lot of Cherry Kool-Aid (in a good way), which I'm sure was the almond. When I mentioned the cherry Kool-Aid vibe, the shop staff looked dubious, but that's how almond smells to me a lot.
On my skin, this scent was so unbelievably complex. It still had that cherry-ish opener, but a little more subtle. It took a long time for the scent to settle into the middle notes, and even longer into the base notes. I think the middle notes lasted the longest. I'm really surprised I liked this as much as I did, because normally I run from musk. But I have to say, I loved Italica from start to finish; whereas although I was absolutely in love with Lira at first, I was nauseated by it by the end of the day. Nothing against Lira, I can see why so many people love it; but it is just a little bit too much sweet for me in one day, which is a sentence I don't think I've ever said before.

I didn't blind buy this, but as soon as I took it home I realized I really hated it. It's so sickly sweet and I'm a gourmand lover I LOVE sweet. This is FLORAL AND SWEET it doesn't work for me. I have a 30 ml bottle SOMEBODY please take it.

I have never smelled anything like this parfume. This is my favorite scent it is so perfect. It is sweet, but also unique. It smells like a really high quality almond cookie. This fragrance has many sides. As the time goes by the fragrance shows its many different sides. I am in love with this perfume I dont think I will ever smell a better parfume.

Intriguing on paper, cold vanilla candle wax on the skin. Meh

I've owned/tried nearly 20+ Xerjoff. (Actually I sold many of them.)
I LOVE Xerjoff and this one is the ONLY ONE that I HATE.
This is so disgusting and disturbing. Makes me feel sick and headache.
The bitter almond is so loud and synthetic. It's a cheap/plasticky nougat.
I don't wanna smell like this. BIG NO.
Please try before you buy, don't blind buy..please.

A Little Opinion from a gourmand lover.

Unapologetic, decedent, boozy/lactonic almond biscotti. I absolutely love it, it’s a fluffy slice of gourmand heaven. Cold/moderate weather wear, seems too cloying for the heat. Solid longevity and sillage, only a few sprays are needed.
Casamorati has been the line for me, the gourmands are outstanding and creative.

Italica won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s not trying to be!

I have a difficult relationship with Xerjoff. Something in thier DNA just doesn't jive with my nose or perception of the fragrances they create. On me, this smells like sweet baby spit up. Curdled milk and those vanilla/almond teething cookies. It smells fabulous and I mean FABULOUS from the bottle, but 5 minutes after I spray it on myself - spit up. I only bought the 30 ml size, so no biggie and honestly I love sniffing the bottle anyway. You might want to test first.

It's nice - but it should be a store/ hotel scent.
I don't want to smell like this.

I was so excited to test this out, by the look of the notes I should have loved it but I really hate it. To me, it smells like play dough and medicine. I get bitter almond (not sweet like I thought) which I think is what makes this smell so dislikable. I really recommend trying this as it is in no way blind buy safe, even for gourmand lovers like myself

IKEA scented candle section, plus a strong wax smell. I always run away from there. As a perfume, it's worthless.

Linear bittersweet marzipan from opening to drydown with a hint of spice and toffee. Doesn’t smell like your typical gourmand, it is deep, almost boozy and smells nicely blended. Very potent in first hour on the verge of headache. It gets boring very quickly as it doesn’t change and radiates from skin like crazy. Longevity 8/10, projection 6/10 (projects only into your own face, no more than arm lenght). Nice perfume for sipping cup of coffee snuggled in your blanket while it’s snowing outside. Cold weather friendly. It is a like, not a love from me.

It was on sale. And everyone was talking about it. And I love Xerjoff and their gourmandes. So I blind bought it, and I have to agree with a lot of people in the comments. This is an incredibly thick and syrypy gourmand. It is so cloyingly sweet that I almost got phantom pains in my teeth. And as many other said - I strongly pick up that unlisted cherry note too. It’s almond forward for sure, and that milk note makes it very dense in a way. I believe if they added a fruity fresh note to Italica such as bergamot or lemon it would balance that thick sweetness out.

Spray carefully because this is beast mode in both longevity, projection and sillage. I sprayed twice and it was potent for good ten hours. Overall not a bad scent, just waaay too sweet. Add some citrus here Xerjoff and i’m here for it!

Smells synthetic and "electric/static"? Did not get a gourmand vibe from this. First minutes smelt like sour socks, and then it was just a nauseating synthetic cherry/berry scent.

It smells like milk and cookies with some almonds. It is definitely unisex, and its my favourite gourmand by far.

For those who want to smell delicious, that's a great proposition. This smells like a milky almond liqueur and totally unisex. This is best worn in cooler than Summer days, probably always below 20 Cº and it is quite a casual outfit fragrance, not your gym scent tho. My complain may have to do with it's price, it's well done and only those who fall in love with it will wish to buy that at retail value.

Scent: 8/10
Sillage: 9/10
Longevity: 8+ hours

I never got to try the original because I could never find it, and hearing some people being less than impressed with this formula, I never bothered to seek out a sample. I was out and about shopping when I came across a bottle and decided to give it a go. I detect some spices that are not in the notes listed which surprised me. But below those spices lay the wonderful vanilla and something that smells like pie crust. I also get the milk note which is cool.

I can count the amount of gourmand scents I like on one hand, I don't really wear them - too sweet. But I don't find this as sweet or as heavy as I'd imagined. But make no mistake, this stuff is very long lasting with a continuous scent wake from my skin for hours and hours. Excellent performance and smells like great quality.

I think if you like things along the lines of Givenchy Pi, you'll like this one. I have a vintage bottle of Pi which I love, and this honestly smells better, is better quality, and much much stronger. Not exactly the same as Pi, but same vibe. It does lean slightly feminine, but it's still an extremely well made and potent perfume.

Scent 8.5/10
Performance 8.5/10

So comforting and mouthwatering! Extremely rich, syrupy sweet almond cake scent.

Disappointing. I don't get much of a lactonic scent at all. It reminds me so much of Kilian's Angels' Share, and that's not a good thing to me. They both make my stomach turn. Cinnamon rum drink. It's a cheap Christmas candle.

Italica, the perfume
The myth
The legend....
😆 There's so much hype for this one. It's the br540 of gourmands

Some disclosure, I have what I refer to as "masculine" skin. Meaning my skin tends to SUBDUE feminine, sweeter notes (vanilla, tropical fruits, etc.) And AMPLIFY masculine notes ( vetiver, lavender, licorice, woods 🫠)

I blind bought this last year because I'm a gourmand lover and I wanted to see what all the hype was about.

I was so shocked by the smell, nothing like what everyone had said. Where is the fresh bakery, creamy Almond croissant, biscotti, caramel and milk? Noooo where to be found.

To me it smelled like cherry liquor, saffron, a faint green apple, and white Musk...
I forced myself to like it because I spent so much money, but I was disappointed to say the least. It was really difficult to get through the first quarter of the bottle.

Now, after letting it sit for a year almost, I quite like it. I still don't get warmed baked goods, but I do get more toffee, and the milk too. Now it smells more like cherry liquor with toffee and saffron milk. I'm sure after more time it'll smell sweeter and delectable, but rn I quite quite like it, and I always get compliments.

I don't find it to be overly heavy, sickly sweet, cloying, or anything, but again, with the type of skin I have, nothing is ever too sweet on me.

I would say if your a gourmand lover, it's worth it to get the 30ml. It's a well done fragrance and a great addition to your collection. I'm pretty sure I will repurchase once my bottles run out.

The notes of this perfume sounded like my dream perfume! Unfortunately, not so much. I get this overwhelming thickness; it reminds me of a candle, though others have mentioned play-doh; and this truly sickly sweet almond that really feels invasive. It’s incredibly off-putting and syrupy-suffocating. I’m going to give my sample some time to sit until winter and try it again then, but unfortunately, this is currently one of my most disliked fragrances ever.

Tonight was the vibe for this one… the first time since I’ve had it in my collection I’ve actually worn it for longer than a few hours (due to the fact, when I first got this, it wasn’t what I wanted it to be)
So about a year on I finally stop being stubborn and gave this a good spray
Okay, so I won’t be repeating on what it smells like as I’m sure that many of you already know, and if you don’t, you can just look at the comments down below, I’m just going to explain the scenery and vibe to this
fragrance.Think log fire on the burn, think sweet, goods being baked in the in the kitchen, think cozying up with your partner on the sofa with a blanket ,absolute chill and goofy vibes with a Chai Latte
To me, this fragrance, thrives on nights like this
This fragrance is one that carries those vague, soft, sweet memories that you look back on and smile

I unfortunately don't like this anymore :(
I purchased Italica in a 30ml immediately after smelling it for the first time because I loved it so much. This was my intro to an almond note, and my first niche perfume a few months ago.
However, now that I have it I don’t reach for it because it’s a very heavy gourmand. VERY deep and rich toffee that gets sickening. It's so intense it really isn't wearable whatsoever, pretty sad I spent money on this. Asthma attack and headache-inducing if you get those.
I now realize after having smelled so many more almond fragrances that the almond is what I was into. I should have worn it a few times before actually buying a bottle. Rookie mistake.

On my skin, this is divine.
Fortunately, my skin doesn't project bright stuff very well (if you understand what I want to say), so Italica isn't cloyingly sweet on me. For the first 30mins it is a bit strong and dramatic, but then it becomes this warm cloud of something grown up sweet. Like glazed marzipan, but in a lactonic way. It is long lasting, but stays close to skin. Thank god, otherwise it would probably be too much.
I have just purchased it and usually it takes me time to get this friendly with a new fragrance, but this one is magnificent! And I already got compliments on it (only by the people who got really close to me).
But remember: one spray is more than enough!

I’m getting soapy coriander on my skin. 😔

This smells like something bad happened.

Stopped by Saks today and there it was. Now I’ve been eyeing the notes in this for a while so I had to get a tester strip. Opening was literally like sweetened condensed milk and almonds that dried into a sweet toffee vanilla. As a man I would wear this and also can see my woman wearing it. I could see this being strong on opening but in the dry down it really tones down. Tomorrow I’ll get a sample to see how it wears and perfect timing because it’s going to be a nice fall weekend. At $160 on discounters I could easily see myself pulling the trigger if it’s a go.

Beautiful gourmand fragrance that changes as it dries down, if u love gourmands then this is a MUST buy and a safe blind buy imho. I just wanted to say this perfume is NOTHING at all like baccarat rouge 540 edp or extrait as one of the comments stated. I own bottles of all 3 and can unequivocally tell u that BR540 has absolutely no similarity to Italica. NONE WHAT SO EVER!. Ppl who claim they are in any way similar have no sense of smell and should seriously go get checked by a Dr. Sheesh. Both are very nice and unique fragrances but nothing alike .

Although i'm not a huge fan of very gourmand or sweet perfumes, I LOVE almond-scented products. I discovered this brand as well as this perfume in a luxurious perfume shop in Florence, and I decided to get my first gourmand perfume. It is intense and rich, even too much for some. I try to wear this on colder days, because this is too intense for summer wear. It doesn't last super long and lose a lot of sillage after an hour. For the price, I don't think it's worth it. This is not a fruity perfume, these notes are supposed to STAY on the skin. Imo, you could find a way cheaper perfume with similar notes that last twice as long. So..... good smelling but not worth your money<3

This scent is super nice and I love it but it is sooo hard to wear. I dont understand why and cant even explain...

This is almost TOO decadent. Like... if you want to literally just be the fancy almond cake dessert that a private chef made for a billionaire in the Hamptons, then this is for you. And there's no cinnamon note in this, but I swear I smell it. Maybe it's the saffron lending that spice. It's very very rich and the longevity and sillage is crazy, so go light on the sprays unless you want a headache.

This is lovely, but it's a little too almondy for me which can sometimes come off very sickly and cloying to my nose. Still a beautiful perfume, though.

7.5/10

To me this has the similar theme as baccarat rouge. Notice I said, theme, not the actual scent. They are quite different as baccarat rouge is more ambery and this is more sweet and vanilla, but because they both have intense almonds and saffron, the similarities are there. The perfume is very intense, very sweet, the toffee and vanilla combined with almonds create a marzipan like intense sugary feel. The saffron is in the background to further support it and add some spicy and leathery-like dusty touches. This perfume is gorgeous, unique, definitely feels like a perfume with a theme from 2010's (when the intense gourmands became dominating), and is very attractive. I purchased a bottle after trying a sample, and I couldn't resist. I loved it too much!

Xerjoff Italica is baked butter cookies with almond chips.

This was HEAVY on the almond. It smells EXACTLY like Britannia's Good Day Almond Cookies. I actually hoped it leaned more towards milk, toffee, and vanilla, but sadly, no. Almond is the main character in this one. Personally, I didn't like that very much but I wouldn't say it's bad because I know there are so many people out there who would LOVE this scent.

I'm more of a caramel vanilla ice cream person and this is more for the people who would love to smell like almond butter cookies.

To me this smells exactly like I remember the Vidal Sassoon hair products of the 1980’s smelling! While I think this is super delicious and yummy, I don’t find it to be a complete gourmand, mostly because I also think that this smells clean (again most likely because I associate it with shampoo and conditioner from my childhood!) This is just sooo good, the hype is 100% real! I will always want this in my life :) ❤️ already bought a back up!

One of my Top 10 for life 💕

This smells exactly like chocolate covered marzipan. I'm a big gourmand lover but it's way too sweet and cloying in my opinion. I sprayed it on my sweater and had to take it off after 20 minutes because it's that strong. I can imagine if someone walks by you and smells this they'll like it and will probably compliment you but as someone who wears it I really can't handle this scent.

I love this scent it smells, like a delicious bakery left the door open, caramel , it can be a bit cloying, at times but overall I think it's great.

My. My. My. I love this stuff. It's addictive and worth every cent and then some. The notes are all true-candy almond saffron on a white musk sandalwood base. Very feminine and it has excellent staying power. Leaves angelic little clouds of Heavenly fluff everywhere I go.I would say it's a mature grown up vanilla that smiles. Not a serious scent but one that can be taken seriously...because it's just that good.

I am with other reviewers here. I am a gourmand lover, but I need...balance. This is absolutely crossing the line for me into cloying nausea. I get a heavy hit of almond at the front (I like that), but as it dries down I get a LOT of biscuit (literally can smell the crusty, biscuit vibe) and a vanilla that is artificially too-sweet. Have you ever ate a REALLY rich, e.g., chocolate fudge cake with chocolate fudge frosting and it's all too rich to the point your head kind of feels funny (almost like motion sickness) and you get this weird, tingling sensation in your mouth and teeth? Like it's just TOO much sweet and your body is revolting against the sins you've committed against it. Not saying this has any chocolatey-ness to it (it doesn't), but there is just NOTHING to balance these sweet notes on my skin and I get that same nauseating sweetness as if I have just binged an entire can of Duncan Himes Cream Cheese Frosting by the spoonful (tried a few time as a kid - 0/10 can not recommend). Those frosting binges ended up in sick nights spent by the toilet and, I think, after an entire day of wear this would, too. This is a VERY heavy handed gourmand. Something I'd probably greatly appreciate on a person wafting by me, but that would make me sick after smelling it all day on myself. A friend of mine owns a cupcake shop in the Carolinas and she can't even eat cupcakes anymore. I think this would probably make me unable to eat almond biscotti ever again, just like my friend and her cupcakes. I think I've found the gourmand that has went too far for me. I will give it another shot, maybe, when I am in a better mood? At the moment, it's like a 3/10...not a total hate, but I mostly detest it.

Almond biscotti 😋

All I get is chlorine! So glad I did not blind-buy the full size

Very sweet laconic almond toffee cake. I really like it, but it layers really well with Double Attack by Mind Games. I could see myself buying a bottle, but not sure yet if I'd wear it on its own.

NAUSEATING !

The densest, richest powerhouse of a milky almond anything I have ever smelled in my life. Garners non-stop compliments but you really have to commit to smelling this for an extended period of time before you put it on and you need to already know that you like it. You will not smell anything but mildly sweet milk and almonds for days.

as soon as i tried this, just one spray and im like DAMN!!! so strong, so gourmand, just what i love, but when it dries down.... there's something there i quite dont like, i think its the saffron idk.
so glad i didnt blind buy this.

Italica (launched 2021) from Xerjoff's Casamorati line is a delicate toffee gourmand with a hint of saffron flower and creamy sandalwood that mingle smoothly with sweet almond milk. The house states there is cedarwood, a wood note I dislike, but I don't detect it at all. This warm and comforting eau de parfum dries down to a gentle, clean white musk. I love this fragrance but not enough to purchase a 100ml bottle at $250 or more.✿

Scent family: Amber Vanilla
Longevity on me: moderate to long-lasting

I love almond fragrances.
And I love sweet gourmands.
I love lactonic fragrances.
I love biscuit-doughy gourmands too.
And I also love all of the notes in this fragrance...

...but there is something about this fragrance that bothers me and is cloying 😩 As much as I want to love it - I love 95% of it, but that other 5% is turning me off. And for this price I want to love 100% to get the full bottle.

I had since discovered Zara Majestic Green and it is 90-95% dupe for Italica. I did side by side comparison and yes!! Except Zara MG doesn't have that annoying thing that Italica does. I know they are not the same quality. There are some really lovely nuances that i smell in Italica that I am not quite getting in MG. Nontheless I am obsessed with Majestic Green 😍 and not with Italica.

But my love for MG and wanting to find niche almond / nutty / pastry fragrances has brought me back to wanting to try Italica again. So I am going to buy a 1 FL OZ bottle and give this a real shot. Wish me luck y'all 😌

Oh and BTW - The DUA dupe for Italica "Italiano" is straight up 🗑 GARBAGE. It smells nothing like Italica or Majestic Green for that matter. It mostly smells like sickly sweet caramel with that strange thick oily DUA note 🤢 that is in some of their fragrances. IYKYK...
Not all DUAs have that note in them though! Some are phenomenal. But some are 🗑.

Smells exactly like the very first launch of Dior Addict. i loved it and this will replace it. :)

I remember hating this sample when I first tried as all I got was cherry chapstick bomb and scrubbed it off. In recent search for good almond frags, Italica came up so I retried it. Yep, still that sickly cherry bomb.

Smells like a toffee bar dipped in milk or something, maybe a heath? I don't know but this is delicious!

To my nose this is repulsive. I didn’t get the saffron which I can usually distinguish. The milk note overpowers both the saffron & the almond. I didn’t wait for the dry down but the opening smells like that sweet leftover warm milk after eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes. I won’t say that I hate it, because we all interpret fragrances differently but to each their own.

Italica smells like an amaretti biscuit with a side of milk. The saffron keeps it from being too cookie-like and adds a lovely lift to the opening. Like most scents featuring saffron-- there is something that keeps you coming back to it. I think this is perfectly unisex and an excellent cosy fall scent. I've been searching for a rich almond based fragrance that lasts and this one has really good longevity. Italica is a sophisticated and delicious gourmand. The milk note may be challenging for some, so do take that into account. I never recommend blind buying, but a decant of this would be worthwhile and I'm willing to wager you'll find it full bottle worthy.

Was pretty disappointed in this tbh. Extremely almond-heavy and quite cloying, sickeningly sweet to the point where I feel like I'm getting a cavity by smelling it. Not horrible, but not for me. I don't think almond-forward fragrances are my forte.

This is not cherry on steroids? Who would thought.

Extremely delicious. smells like baked goods! oh so yummy and creamy

Verry, verry beautifull! Smells like bonbon- candy, i wear this with great pleasure! Top 5 from Xerjoff! I receive a lot of compliments .....

Interior fragrance. Sexiness factor zero.

Everything has been said before. Just a couple of things I would like to add.
You have to have an open mind when approaching this fragrance. In a way it’s the most unique gourmand ever for me, still not an edible kind, like Tihota for example.
In order to be able to enjoy the opening of this fragrance, you really have to be into saffron (which gives the “plasticy smell”, that some of the reviewers complain about). If you are not, you simply have to “survive” the first 30-40 minutes. You definitely have to give time to this fragrance to “flourish” on your skin (not on test paper!). This perfume really needs time also on your drawer to mature. Like 1-2 months. After this time you will notice, that the composition becomes more harmonized, pleasant.
Also is very prominent the bitter almond note throughout the whole composition. This is not the light, cozy, fluffy gourmand (although it has a tendency of it), but a rather statement gourmand. You will be noticed when wearing this. Do not go overboard with it, 2-3 sprays maximum. On my skin the toffee note is the strongest and the longest lasting. Like those dutch wafels, which they eat with their coffee. Or the coffee houses in Naples, where the coffee notes mixes with the smell of the heavily sugary vanille baked goods and the warm, sunny weather. Simply stunning.

Oh. My. Gosh. Italica is the sweet almond perfume I never knew I needed!! Sweet milky almond vanilla goodness! I first got a sample and it sat and sat until I finally decided to try it and I immediately fell in love and got a 30ml because this juice is sweeeeet! Two sprays is plenty and will last on me all night and into the next morning if I wear it to bed. But now that I have it I have realized that I really love Italica and use it quite often so I am going to have to get a 100ml when I get low on this one (and Lira!).

I wanted to love this, I thought i’d love this, but sadly I don’t!
Based on the notes, I thought this would be right up my alley. I’m really disappointed. All I get is cherries 🍒 which is not a note I like, or at least not the dominating note! Reminds me of Tom Ford Lost Cherry & Guerlain La Petite Robe Noir, don’t get me wrong they don’t smell the same, I just mean they’re both cherry based perfumes.
The only positive thing about the scent though is that the cherry doesn’t have that weird medicinal cough syrup tang that most cherry scents do.

I've only recently been exposed to niche fragrances and so, out of curiosity, I ordered myself a sample kit from Xerjoff containing 4 samples, with Italica being one of them. I left Italica until the end, based on the notes alone I was expecting to really like it. The other 3 (Lira, Dama Bianca and La Capitale) disappointed me, they were okay but just not fully to my taste. I am quite fussy with perfumes especially if I want to buy a full bottle, as I really want my jaw to drop when smelling a new perfume. I was worried this one was going to disappoint me but oh my lord it is so delicious. It's an ultra sweet gourmand, but at the same time it is also 'perfumey' which I like. Surprisingly I pick up on the saffron a decent amount which only makes it smell more luxurious. Personally I don't get marzipan-y almonds, I smell caramelised almonds dipped in saffron and vanilla-infused milk which I prefer way more as I'm not too keen on marzipan. It's lactonic but in the most unexpected way, I've never smelled anything like this before. I can imagine it can be quite nauseating for some people because it is such a strong distinct sweet smell, but I ADORE it. Now I'm sad because I want (need) a full bottle.

Ok I’ve had some time to sit with this, so here is my opinion on Italica. Marzipan and skin musk. I agree with another reviewer saying it’s smells like sweet skin. It’s actually really wearable when you look at it like that. The milk note is only noticeable in the beginning and it fades, it’s not too milky. It’s definitely almond and toffee/vanilla heavy so if you don’t like almond in fragrances this isn’t for you. I actually don’t usually care for almond but maybe this fragrance is the exception. It’s done very nicely. I would wear this in cold weather only.

This reminds me of a sweet croissant or some kind of Italian baked good. Not cloying though - it does seem like a grown-up gourmand. However Lira WAS cloying to me and I don't know how so many people rave about that one.
But Italica is a sweetened (not too sweet though!) vanilla almond milk musk. And I'm here for it. It definitely has a lactonic quality while not getting too thick. The musk and sandalwood really offsets the sweetness well. Something in the vein of Juliette Has A Gun Vanilla Vibes, but a little sweeter. Not dupes at all, but similar vibes to me.

This smells great on a rainy day (not sure why but it really does!)... also would be good for Spring/Fall daytime and i feel like netflix & chillen on Summer nights with someone getting cuddly. It kinda comes off as a stronger sweet skin scent and I love that.

Very heavy on the synthetic almond and vanilla, that's basically all I get. I sometimes go for sweet perfumes, but this is way too much. Can't even wear it around the house, I just don't enjoy it at all. Reminds me a bit of Aveda's cherry almond line, just much sweeter.

I don't know why my dumb arse decided to buy a 30ml bottle after hating my sample last year. This time around I don't actually hate it but still its just mainly marzipan/amaretto but i actually get some toffee facets now. Still, don't know if it is wearable for me. Like another reviewer said below, just because you can doesn't mean you should. I will play around with it more, i might just keep it because i just love that red bottle!

Update: Decluttered lol. It was nauseating to me. I actually found Body Shop's Almond Milk body butter gives me a similar scent profile without being too cloying/nauseating.

so i got this wanting the strawberry nesquik smell ive seen detected (and detested) by some.....i didnt get it at all and upon first whiff was so intimidated i just set her aside for a couple weeks. smells like its going to overwhelm you! but then i got called early into work one day and in my crankiness decided it would cheer me up to wear something different, something loud, so i reached for that which i hadnt....

to my absolute surprise and delight i was not at all sickened - this is the mature gourmand i see it called. loyal to me all night at work and i ended up having a wonderful shift, so many perfumes i end up anosmic to so its an amazing surprise to still catch the smell of one 8 hours in! i will say it is heavy, one reviewer comparing it to marzipan i think is on the money. sweet cereal milk, far too heavy for that. very very rich sweetness, definitely like something boiled down, has to be the toffee. and the best surprise of all - initially i thought id likely never own it cause id feel guilty at that price, but look expressly for 30ml and you can find it for just under 100 CAD!! though that site might only ship to canada. still the others i saw were under 200 and thats quite good for a perfume in the 600 range at full size 🤯

Ridiculous levels of deliciousness! This is my absolute favourite winter evening/bedtime fragrance. The toffee, almonds and milk combine to make sweet magic, and I’m eternally grateful I found this little gem.

I got into the car wearing this and my husband was immediately like--"Oh--the smell is YOU." lol. He thought I was burning a candle in the house, and let me just say, I don't think his nose is that far off. If you want to smell like photorealistic baked goods, this is your scent. Milk, freshly baked cookies--it's there. But you know, just because you can, doesn't mean you SHOULD . . . it's just not for me. I don't really want to feel like I work in a bakery.

This smells like the milk left in the bowl after eating Fruity Pebbles or some other sweet cereal. I actually really like it and was about to order a full bottle when it hit me--this smells like milk...Milk by Commodity, which I already have. I definitely get the vanilla in Italica though, which makes me slightly prefer it over Milk

The most scrumptious gourmand fragrance ever created! Period…
A masterpiece in my opinion. Smooth, buttery, creamy, milky, fluffy, sweet concoction with a good longevity. Hats off to you, Xerjoff!

This is fresh marzipan, Mexican wedding cookies, and freshly baked shortbread cookies or tart shells made with almond flour & vanilla & almond extract. Very addictive, cozy, realistic, & decadent.

I love the idea of warm gourmands but oftentimes, I get easily annoyed by them and find them to be too cloying, but this is high quality & beautiful - there's nothing synthetic, sharp, or headache-inducing about this. From some of the reviews, I was expecting the worst - warm cereal milk, waxy fall candles, something very milk and toffee-forward, and just a heavy, dense, and grossly sweet and food-like fragrance - but this is none of those things.

This is best suited for cold weather.

Tested Italica today, this is a terrific gourmand, beautiful and mesmerizing.
Initially I was hit by a powerful blast, too powerful, definitely too much, and I was grateful I didn't have to go out and suffocate other poor souls with it. But it was also a good one, so I bravely endured it until it became a little more bearable and I started to enjoy it more and more. Now, after almost 12 hours, it's still strong and beautiful.
I won't describe the notes, others did that masterfully. This is top quality, as Xerjoff always does.

The main question is: do I want to smell it or do I want to smell like this?

Edit: Yes, I want to smell like this. Definitely.

Very almond forward powdery sweet fragrance with something strongly artificial smelling that I find very unpalatable. Almost like the scent of plasticine, instant dislike.

This is not to my taste but I don't think it's necessarily bad. For me: it's got a treacle like sweetness that is too intense, even as someone who likes sweet fragrances. It's very gourmand, and smells almost exactly like oatmeal raisin cookies. There's something that reads a bit grandmotherly to me in the mix as well.

Ufff this was definitely not love at first sniff! I tested my 5ml sample last night before bed, and instantly said “no” out loud as I cringed 😆 HOWEVER, here I am the morning after, still in bed, waking up to a delicious, soft, sweet, nostalgic scent. Immediately I look thru my box of samples trying to see which transformed so beautifully… Itálica??! What a difference a few hours made! It went from a rubbery, chemical bitter almond scent- to a soft creamy, warm, sweet, slightly musky scent. I mainly get creamy almond, toffee, vanilla and soft white musk. Reminds me a bit of Lea (Lea is more musky & less nutty) which I prefer bc Lea is more skin scent like & Italica is a bit more candle scent like- I don’t like it enough to get a FB but I will enjoy the rest of my sample. To anyone testing it- give this one some time, might just surprise you.

Longevity is okay for me. Sillage is not so great. I'm still totally addicted to this! I regret getting the 30mL bottle because I'm using it a lot more than expected. For me, it's 100mL bottle worthy.

This is so delicious that when I could only access a 30ml flacon - I bought two! There is very little here that I can add, it’s all been said, but I will reiterate those below…Italica is creamy, cozy, unctuous and an absolute must for any collection. My winter nights are wrapped in this beauty. Utter bliss.

I won’t say anything new - it’s absolutely beautiful, ultimate gourmand of all times. Marzipan, amaretto, toffee, milk - all of that blended together into a perfect, smooth final product

The blend of the notes is very smooth, smells like a gourmand almond/toffee cookie covered with some warm vanilla with some slight woodsy undertone (nothing crazy).

Yum!! I was out there smelling scrumptious (not too foody either just the right balance), deffo a winter & fall frag or you will be choked by the desert like smell.

Can't wait for my bottle to arrive :)

Thick dry almond! Smells unique. Uneatable almond on steroids treat. I love it, so happy there is 30ml bottle. Not for a blind buy, could be too cloying for some.

Smells like a caramel toffee candy bar. I love it! Lasts forEVER!

I’ve had this quite a while I sort of liked it at first, but now it just reminds me of straight up liquor. I know it hasn’t got a liquor note in this but this reminds me of tiramisu … I don’t know if that’s because the weather is changing but I’m really going off this one. I’ve been trying to find ones to pair this with also, but can’t quite find the right one. I will keep it for next winter before decluttering.

I don’t know why but this reminds me of cherry or fruit punch Kool-aid but I love it and it last a long time, can smell it when I wake up the next morning

This is love from the first sniff! I have only sample 2ml but I need bigger bottle. Its so gooood. Sweet, milky, marzipan and waffles. So good for gourmand lovers.

Too feminine, definitely not unisex. For the price it doesn't stand out enough nor it feels unique

Sickly sweet. Smells like a Werther's Original with an unpleasant lactonic note. Great if you want to smell like an old persons' pocket.

Simplistic. Milk, waffles with toffee, musk and a bit of vanilla. Am I imagining it or is it similar to Malizia Milk Shake?

Delicious! It's the first fragrance I stumble upon that I can really call 'delicious'. Not too sure if I'd choose it on most days, but for the Holiday season, it would be perfect.
Edit: As with most Xerjoff perfumes, sadly, after a while it starts smelling cheap on me.

This is out of the bakery shelf!!! It is STUNNING! I only have a sample but I Really Really need a full bottle! This is magic,just magic, smells so good on me! So glad I ordered the sample! Almonds, toffee sweets and a warm cup of milk! This is definitive one of my favourite perfumes ever! I need a bottle now!!!Bravo!

Oh my goodness. Insert tons of beastly groans here. This is eye-rollingly good. I really hoped this would be disappointing because of the price but this punched my expectations, threw them out of the window and showed them who's the boss.

WHY IS THIS SO GOOD? Addictive is not enough of a word to describe my new obsession for this. This is all sorts of drugs in a bottle. This is unhealthy for me. How can I survive on a sample? Perfume addiction is cruel.

I'm truly sorry for making this review so dramatic, but there is no single note or accord that I don't absolutely love on this pyramid and by some kind of miracle, the outcome is absolutely heavenly, pitch-perfect.

With all the reviews I heard about the weird milk notes and the overly high level of sugar, I thought this would be too cloying for me but my tolerance to sweetness might be scarily high (do I mind? Not really lol). This is not ooey-gooey sweet but still, it is a realistic gourmand almond biscuit with saffrony milk, soft caramel and vanilla. Give it to me any freaking day. Delicate yet decadent.

It's way softer than I expected but this is the most beautiful gourmand almond I've tried so far. I can't stop sniffing myself and gasping. Can I eat myself right here and now? I absolutely need a dupe oil along with the real thing as I certainly cannot afford to run out of this too quickly.

Okay, for anyone struggling with a rancid sour milk note like me, try spraying or dabbing it on VERY lightly.
The problem is that it's very strong, and I've found it performs how it's supposed to deliciously perform when I ONLY apply a very small amount, and not anywhere near the neck area. Try wrists or behind knees.
Otherwise it's unbearable and far from pleasant.
I'm pleased I've finally found a way to experience the French patisserie of my dreams.

Haven't tried it on skin yet but smelled this yesterday for the first time and all I got from it was a cup of grape Kool-aid. Not sure what is causing that scent for me because the notes would suggest something else but alas, that's how it smells to me. When I mentioned it to the owner of the boutique, he agreed with me. I took a sample to test out on skin, so maybe it'll smell differently?

very beautiful gourmand, really really nice stuff. initial opening is reminiscent of a muted chic bowl of fruit loops cereal drowned in a mix of soy and coconut milk. the saffron adds this slight floral element that sort of leaps out from the sweet creaminess, but its still quite soft. the sandalwood and musk sort of perform in the background to add depth to the scent so it's not so linear and sickly sweet. the almond of course has the cherry quality to it, but i find it to be alot more grounded in this scent. the almond is definitely more apparent towards the dry down. the toffee and vanilla really provide this light smooth sweetness to the entire scent. i find this to be almost sophisticated in the sense that while yes its pretty sweet and gourmand, it's not exactly teeny bopper. the dry down becomes a bit more mature, and it’s partially due to the almond note becoming a bit more cough syrupy and almost cinnamony, but it's still pretty subtle and airy. probably more feminine leaning, but i think this would be extremely sexy on a very hyper masculine man who is confident in himself.

Beautiful scent, but saffron is so prominent for my nose, and it doesn't allow to enjoy the fragrance to the fullest.

First blast reminded me of flavored laughing gas. Very synthetic. This has a cherry vibe a few minutes in. I’m not getting almond pastry really… more like a candy that’s flavored like it wants to be pastry.. pass.

The second you spray this on, it's heavenly. So much so that I wondered why I avoided gourmands for so long, and now I had found the best perfume I ever smelled, decadent, sweet, creamy... but then it sours. It gets quite nauseating and has a bit of spoiled milk smell, not a 3 days spoiled milk in the back of the fridge, but mre akin to having covered yourself in milk and then simply not cleaning it, that sour lactonic smell it leaves in a few hours after drying, and that by then it won't get off of you no matter how hard you scrub (and it goes both for the perfume and the soured milk). For one, the longevity and intensity are stupendous, it stays for hours and hours both on you and anything you come in contact with. Unfortunately it didn't work on my skin (and I really, really wanted it to... The smell on first spray is delightful, it really does smell of a most decadent sweet pastry and heaven knows how fond I am of that)
That said, it has a lightness that is a bit reminiscent of baccarat rouge, and that's part of why I also was not that partial to it as I was at first sniff - the "fullness" of the scent dissapears, and it become as satisfying as drinking diet coke when you're expecting mexican coke, and it becomes a bit transluscent. Not weak or light, in any way shape or form - on actuality it is rather potent - but does not quite meet my expectations, though I do see it being more of the chemestry of it not agreeing with my skin. I recommend testing it first, and I very much envy everyone that this fragrance chooses. I will keep trying with this, and if my opinion changes, I'll update this, but for now it's sadly a dislike.

Heavy licorice note to me. Kind of smells like a wooden church pew with licorice candy melted on it

Yeah def not a gourmand smell....normally I like saffron mixed in with fragrance but it's such a miss for me. I'm not sure what direction they were trying to go with this scent, but I do not think it smells attractive or very sweet. Someone mentioned it sort of resembles cherry....which if I focus, I agree....but it's not like you're going to be smelling like Tom Ford's LC or anything. I honestly can't place what this fragrance reminds me of.

I got this as a tester from Luckscent and I am so glad I didn't blind buy this. Def not my personal vibe, would suggest finding a retailer that either has a good return policy, or a place you can test before buying.

I will say, I put it on top of my hand, washed my hands a little while later and it's still sitting strong on my skin. I give them credit for potency and longevity.

This one reminds me of that blue/gold dress fiasco lol. I don’t get gourmand from this. It smells like a body care product from a spa at a 5 star hotel. I like it a lot, but I was expecting something different. I agree with @mariminney this definitely has cherry vibes to me. It’s more of a fun dip cherry though. This isn’t your typical almond (or cherry). It’s bright, and almost citrusy in a blood orange kinda way. Sweet and refreshing. This one is almost a clean scent on me. Now that I’m reading all the gourmand comments I can smell it, but that’s not where my nose goes on its own.

I’m not a gourmand wearer but I really wanted to smell it. It transported me back to my first job at a bakery. Buttery baked brown sugar tarts. So realistic!
definitely mouth watering if you have a sweet tooth but I would recommend not overspraying.

When i first smelled this in store, istg my soul left my body. It's just really delicious, could be my favorite gourmand. To me, it smells just like a waffle w caramel drizzled on top. As a person who loves almond note, sweet and lactonic perfumes i just had to buy it, i adore this scent. I have never ever added something faster to my shopping cart before.

@Le Magnifique - weird... correct me if I'm wrong but this is a place for people to leave their personal opinions/reviews lol this is a first... not sure I've seen someone offended on here by a review on something so personal to our body chemistry to the point that you needed to respond. I got it from Luckyscent, which is where Ive gotten most of my fragrances and I use an orange/cinnamon/clove spray for my cleaning if you must know and I don't smoke lol! I was just insinuating this is not a safe blind buy and it didn't sit well with me. I suppose Im glad you like it.

You’ve entered into an Italian pastry shop. The aroma of baked goods sprinkled with cinnamon and drizzled with caramel surround you. There’s also the delectable scent of vanilla & almonds wafting through the air. Italica is a gourmand lover’s dream. Projection & longevity are decent for me with an average of 5-6 hours before it tones down into a musky skin scent. I’m fortunate this works with my skin chemistry. That being said, I know not to wear it in hot, humid weather, because it’s a heavy scent. Sample this one before making the commitment on a fb. Not a safe blind buy at all!

A true gourmand. Smells just like milk, that’s really the star of the show, with saffron almonds and cinnamon (I know it is not noted). It’s not as sweet as I expected contrary to other reviews. It’s also more unisex smelling than I expected. It does get a bit nauseating and gone off milk on my skin a couple hours into the drydown though. Must be a skin chemistry thing so although I like it that sadly is not enough to keep the whole bottle I blind bought, I will be selling on.. UK based, contact me if interested to buy/swap

Hard to let it dry down. The beginning is straight cinnamon with a little bit of bathroom cleaner. One spray punches you straight in the face.
Update: few hours later and this is a SCRUBBER for me. I scrubbed a layer of skin off trying to get rid of the cinnamon/saffron stench. Super disappointed in this one.

The first few minutes of this on me were caramel goodness and maybe the most realistic gourmand I've ever smelled. It smelled actually edible. But then the dry down. Oh no no no no noo wayyy. It smelled sour, rotten, and almost vomit like. I don't know what that is but I DON'T like it. This is a definite capital N.O. from me even though the opening was absolutely delicious. *Shudders*

Creamy, luxurious, silky, smooth, decadent, rich, STRONG… this is one of the strongest perfumes I own (in terms of longevity and projection). This is like a slice of cheesecake; so rich it threatens to overwhelm (but it never quite gets there, thankfully). Definitely very milky, both a friend and my partner have said it smells “sour” but I do not detect any sourness at all. Interesting reminder of how differently we all perceive smells!

A very almond and milk forward scent, I also get a lot of the sandalwood (it always pulls strong on my skin). When I smell this on my wrist, I feel like I’m melting inside. It is absolutely a luxurious scent. It is sweet for sure, but not in an “I want to eat it” type of sweet. I find the mid & base notes in the dry-down after about an hour of wear to be much more enjoyable than the initial spray/top notes. Definitely sample this first. I have only experienced it during winter, so it will be interesting to see how it wears during the warmer months! Very expensive, that is okay with me though since 1. I love it 2. It is very strong and rich, to the point where I don’t crave wearing it every day so it will last a long time.

I purchased a small decant of this based on positive reviews here, and also the fact that I love Lira. Sadly, Italica is a hard no for me; on my skin it literally smells like a lemon cheesecake that was made with spoiled milk and rancid nuts, and has been left out in the sun for a few hours so it's gone even more off. It is an absolute scrubber for me! I have tried lots of perfumes and will always leave them on for a solid few hours minimum even if I'm not a fan at first so I can really see how they perform, however all 3 times I've tried Italica I've had to scrub it off within 10 minutes as I cannot handle how it smells on my skin. I love gourmands but I think this is the worst scent I've ever tried, I have no idea how it turns so bad on my skin!

Milk, cookies, almonds and cherry. Reminds me of marzipan
I would say not to blind buy this, either you love it or you hate it.
The longer it stays on your skin the better is gets

The dry-down is VERY good but you will have to endure straight-up amaretto on steroids for the first 15 minutes. If you are a woman you will get A LOT of compliments from men which I'm quite confused about, maybe it's the famous Casamoratti's vanilla that does it for them? I'm not sure I will be repurchasing though - I do like the compliments but the opening is a real assault on my olfactory receptors.

I just did a blind buy on this and can't stand it. I do not care for the almond note at all. If anyone wants to buy this from me, please send me a message.

Cherry isn’t listed but I swear this smells like cherry syrup and cookies. Does anyone thinks this smells like something from fall selection at bath and body works? I have a wallflower scent (pumpkin pecan waffles) that reminds me a lot of this perfume!!

I wanted to try this because I love almond and vanilla. Unfortunately, I will never be able to enjoy this because it reminds me unavoidably of a bathroom cleaner that was used in my college dorms. I do not want to smell like a bathroom. I can't really judge the perfume on its own terms because of that association. Scrub scrub.

I got this as a birthday gift from my mom (bless her heart)
It was all going so well, the notes seemed so divine, what could go wrong?!
It smells RANK. I had to shower, I couldn’t stand it I actually gagged. It smelled like burning plastic, SOMETHING plastic. And maybe a hint of something rotten. Idk. It doesn’t smell the way people hyped it to be. So she’s being sold, i don’t care how low, she’s gotta GO. And that Lira too, NO. 😩
I’m happy for those that like it, so please take it, I can’t handle it lol.

I smell like sweet almonds and biscotti—-I love it. I will be repurchasing and getting the big bottle. Pleasant and strong. Can smell through my mask.

Pleasant scent but way too sweet and feminine for me. Very much an amaretto scent. Could enjoy this scent on a woman. I get no cilantro here

Agree with @Janetseng. Cilantro. I can't get past it.

oh my god, to me it's straight up cilantro like right in the faceeeeeee paw paw, so happy I didn't blind buy this one :S how does this smell like a bakery or toffee or whatever people have been talking about??? lol I don't understand this one.

Very delicious amaretto or almond biscotti. I love the smell but not as a perfume - not really what I want to smell like. Super yummy though if you are a gourmand girl/guy and love your amaretto!

I bought this blind along with Lira (which I knew I loved after sampling). I had seen many comments claiming Italica was one of the best gourmands of all time so I had high expectations. But this one is just ok. It's quite almond in the beginning. Somehow, it smells faintly of commercial bathroom cleaner... maybe that's the saffron? It dries down 'milky' but to me it isn't authentic, gourmand milk, but more hair conditioner 'milky/creamy'. It's a pleasant scent but I don't get any toffee at all. It's slightly sweet but king of gourmands, I think not. It also doesn't project much and has ok longevity. Lira is still much, much more authentic, gourmand, interesting to me.

Everyone rave about Itálica, rave enough to make me crave for it after I experience Lira.
This is just Sweet - Milky - Vanilla scent in my humble opinion.

While Lira keep me entertain the whole time I wear, this one develops very linear.
It starts with more milk-nutty-vanilla strongly, before It fades and becomes vanilla-milky-candy.
Like, the whole experience is just about Milky and Vanilla.

If I mention about good thing, I found that this vanilla have body to it.
Like it's creamy milky vanilla, pastry cream feel or some sort of that.
But a lot of fragrance in Niche territory can do vanilla as good as this.
(Most of PDM with Vanilla, even Casamorati Bouquet Ideale or Lira)

While Lira give me photo realistic of Vanilla Sponge with Lemon Sugar Glaze.
This serves unspecific creamy sweet vanilla.

It's fairly long-lasting (I wear around 7 hrs. mark now with 5 sprays and I still catch a whip strongly) but projection is not that good.

At best - it's ok gourmand for daily wear, but list this as King of Gourmand is something I doubt highly.

Is it alluring or Sexy? only if your partner is Santa Claus. He would feel you are alluring the same way he like Cookie and Milk.
Otherwise, this could easily mislead as Baker scent cause you smell like pastry cream.

7/10

I’m 35/female. I grew up in the prime time for the huge influx of sweet cheap vanilla scents EVERYWHERE. This is extremely reminiscent of a very generic vanilla smell from my youth. I’m disappointed again looking for something special. This smells exactly like a cheap candle, with the wax note and all. Go buy a candle making kit from Hobby Lobby, and smell the fragrance that they give you in there to represent “vanilla”. This is exactly that. For the price I expected much more. immediately when I smelled it I knew I’ve smelled this before. Now that I remember what is was I cannot appreciate it any more

Why there are 2 pages for Italica? Reformulation 2021 & originally made in 2016? Anyway, I will start with first thing came in mind and when I saw it, I wasn't surprised at all: "People who like this will also like: BR 540, Angel's Share..." That "magic" saffron note that connects all these 3 "masterpieces".

It's so hard to describe it and at the same time very easy. It looks like a super complex niche perfume and it's not. It feels like it transforms with time but no. It reminds me a doughy dessert with brandy, raisins (dried grapes) and whipped cream on top, the same way Angel's Share from Killian reminds me of an oud-y cinnamon roll. If I had to choose only one, this would be Italica because you could easily use it on warmed days, even summertime.

It starts with a strange bubble-gummy vibe that scared me a bit, the one tuberose can give in perfumes, but immediately turns into a vanilla paradise. Imagine Scandal EDP by JPG, remove it's chypre character (blood orange/gardenia/patchouli) and replace honey with caramel, again not that aggressive or scandalous sillage. Imagine Viva la juicy-Gold Couture but way more foodie, La nuit tresor A la folie (discontinued) bourbon vanillic dry down that was to die for or Kenzo's Amour delicate sweetness elevating from 6 to 9. If you like any of the perfumes mentioned in this paragraph, but something is missing or you found them too much, give Italica a try!

In a few words, someone could call it a vanilla blah that doesn't deserve this price or the niche category. I would say that it's one of the best bourbon vanilla I ever experienced. Caramel toffee? Hmm can you smell it in Scandal? I can't but here I can get the idea, although synthetic. Milky? Hmm yes, kind of almond milk that is usually a bit green/bitter but becomes more lotion-y with the power of musk. I love almond in perfumes and here it's done well. Sandalwood, yes-yes-yes and it's perfectly blended with vanilla that hugs the creation. Again, if you're a gourmand lover you have to try it. I'll be honest, the price is too much for something that simple. Sometimes I feel like Tom Ford gave the right to 'niche' perfumes to be more famous or look like the most wanted ones. He sells with perfect marketing/advertising a single note that is simple but amplified. The same stands for Italica. Do you want this luxurious vanilla to fill your room, car, or radiate from your skin with the idea you will attract or seduce someone? For sure you will make him/her hungry. I will end by, Xerjoff needs more exploring and Italica won the 1st place in the category gourmand perfumes without even trying.

p.s: Layering it correctly with a perfume of the same family must be phenomenal.