Domenico Caraceni 1913

Domenico Caraceni 1913 is one of those perfumes that appears to have a relatively subdued, yet almost cult-like following, yet receives very little review time. I'd been toying with the idea of purchasing a sample for some time, as the reviews, such as they are, were generally very positive and I liked the notes. This is an eau de toilette and the notes include petitgrain, styrax, geranium bourbon, neroli, rose, tobacco, cypress and frankincense. I don't know about you, but these notes are compelling, to say the least, at least for me. One thing that had stalled me for a while was some feedback that suggested 1913 bore a resemblance to No 88, by Czech & Speake, a geranium (and rose) dominated perfume that I don't really like. Luckily I needn't have feared, as 1913, certainly to my nose, doesn't bear any resemblance to No 88 at all. My initial testing of 1913 has left me feeling a little confused. The opening and heart are great - essentially a mild incense-and-rose combination, suffused with a bit of geranium and fir-like cypress, enough to add a bit of a twist to a well-known route. Where I feel a little let down is that after about a couple of hours the fragrance goes flat on me and fades away quickly. At one point I was really enjoying the incense and rose, very elegant and understated in this case, and then the next it was as if the ingredients had leaped off into a void and I was left with an indistinct, murky base on my skin. I don't detect tobacco at all. I haven't written off 1913 entirely - there is enough in the first half of the development to leave me wanting more and I suspect this is a perfume that needs to be sprayed rather than dabbed. Unfortunately I only have a vial, so perhaps I need to be more liberal with my application next time. Even so, this doesn't strike me as a fragrance that shouts. It is very sophisticated and understated. I wouldn't say it is a testosterone-touting terror at all, yet at the same time is definitely more masculine than feminine. I do think that a woman who likes her roses slightly darker (but I'm not talking roses such as Voleur de Roses, Un Rose, Rose Poivre, Rose 31, etc here, so don't get your hopes up too much) might like to try 1913. 

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