Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Trussardi Inside Woman : Perfume Review

Trussardi Inside is the second recent fragrance release by the Italian luxury goods brand Trussardi that focuses on making the scent of the wearer’s own skin flourish. The other one is of course Skin, a scent which ended up reminding me too much of Burberry Classic so I never paid it that much attention. I did not think I would be interested enough in Inside to actually end up reviewing it, but I must admit, I am pleasantly surprised by this one. The opening is strange – slightly unorthodox in fact: There is a very strong scent of woods and the overall impression is that of woody caramel. It is sweet, yes, as you might imagine caramel would be, but not tooth-achingly so. It is a medium, light sweetness that satiates a taste for it rather than cloys. Additionally, even though there is no hint of leather in the scent, Inside’s opening somehow manages to evoke the feel and texture of suede – soft, supple and dense all at once. Soon the intensity simmers down: the woods fade into the background and the caramel becomes thinner. For a while we get to enjoy the bittersweet, strange, honeyed character of oleander, the beautiful yet highly toxic shrub found in great abundance all over the Mediterranean. As the scent of oleander recedes, the woody accord returns to fore, this time gently embraced by mild coffee. Every so often, a sweet, powdery scent rises from the skin, acting almost as a guard that keeps the fullness of the fragrance in check. In a way, it gives the otherwise sweet-ish fragrance a drier feel, like a dusting of talcum powder. This talcumed aroma gets more and more prevalent as time goes by and in the end, that’s what the drydown is all about: Powdery musks with a hint of wood. With powder playing the starring role, might I add.

The presentation certainly makes an impact: a heavy, hefty, art deco inspired bottle whose metal back features a croc-print design inside, visible from the open front. It will certainly sit nicely on a dresser. Whether the jus makes an impact – well that’s a whole different story. I find myself strangely attracted to Inside even though I tried to dismiss it when it first came out. Too, I certainly expect it to be selling rather nicely. It is a kind of non-perfume, a skin scent that will appeal to the woman who favors clean cuts, well tailored suits and a restricted palette of colors in her wardrobe: cream, grey, black and white. It will also appeal to those who manage to look gorgeous in jeans, boots and large knitted pullovers, carrying the look with a cozy elegance the rest of us can only envy from afar. It is indeed, as Trussardi probably intended, a simple, sophisticated skin scent that smells delicious to the ones that are allowed to come close enough to the neck to kiss it. If you like to smell your perfume while going about your day, this is going to disappoint you – sillage is minimal. As for me... I won’t be buying it. I love skin scents, but this one misses the mark somewhere. I would possibly have loved it were the coffee and musk amped a good bit and the caramel toned down just a tad. If I’m honest, I guess I’ll have to say that what it misses is sexiness, as far as I am concerned.

Images: commons.wikimedia.org and www.trussardi.com


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

HMMMM, from your description I would think this scent would be very sexy. But, I need sillage!!
I had Trussardi back in the late 80's and Trussard Skin a few years ago and I adore both of them.. They are really sophisticated and smoky, sexy scents to me..I see a little similarity between Skin and Burberry classic.. but, Skin has something I cannot describe that Burberry just misses.. Maybe it is the Italian component...

Thanks for looking at this... I have got to find it and test it out..

Best,

Unknown said...

Sometimes the "oomph" is the make or break factor for a scent. I'm lucky that I have skin that can amplfy certain scents that others consider too low on the sillage (Egyptian Musk in general and the original Omnia), sadly I will probably never smell this one because Trussardi just isn't popular in the US enough to scents to be retailed well.

chayaruchama said...

I'll have to sample this baby, I think...
What a lovely review, D.
Smooch !

Divina said...

Hello hello Italian Girl! Believe it or not, I thought about you when I was testing this fragrance.. I thought that this would be something you would prbably enjoy but that you would be disappointed because it would disappear too quickly, plus the lack of sillage would be off-putting. Still, do give it a try! Perhaps you will find it sexier than I did! We all have different associations after all and its all in they eye (or nose) of the beholder!

Muah!

Divina said...

Hey Jen! Does that mean that Trussardi scents cannot be found at all in the US? Or just that they are harder to come by? I'd be glad to sent you a sample of this if you like? Mail me if you are interested :)

Divina said...

Thank you dearest Chaya :) I wonder if you will like it? Mmm somehow I think that you go more for the darker, richer, or sexier scents, but maybe I am totally wrong?

Anonymous said...

I had to tell you that even though the original Trussardi Woman I had was from Italy someone brought that back from a trip for me in 1989, I scored the Trussardi Skin at one of my favorite discount stores.. TJ Maxx for about 19.99USD(a real steal) .so you CAN find Trussardi here or one can just order off of a Perfume internet site.. scentedmonkey.com, etc...
Why is it that noone is as obsessed with perfume around here. My friends think I am crazy, my husband shakes his head at me and laughs....