Cimabue (Italian Journey no. 8) DSH Perfumes for women and men

Opens with a beautiful, fresh, dark orange cream, which quickly heats up with soft but rich spices.

I detect jasmine, saffron and rose in the heart, and when it's cool, I get a lot of carnation and spicy clove too. When it's warm, the sweet flowers seem to create a stronger fusion and really envelop and soften the earthy spices.

The base notes are luscious and develop into a warm, ambrosial powdered honey, freckled evenly with interest throughout.

This is a deliciously appropriate fragrant tribute to the pioneering Byzantine artist, Cimabue--multi-dimensional and emotive, and playing up the drama found in nature.

This is a warm, sweet, spicy, honey-like scent that is comfortable to wear. At first the cinnamon is the dominant spice, accompanied by a lovely citrus combo, but the cardamom and nutmeg quickly join in. Whatever flowers are in there are perfectly blended so that they’re a vague impression, not a clear picture. The combination of spices, honey and vanilla makes this a warm, almost gourmand scent. Wearing Cimabue makes me feel like a bee that’s been gorging herself on honey out for a flight over a field of flowers on a warm, sunny day. The scent lasts a reasonable amount of time, especially for a natural perfume.

Ah...Cimabue...how to describe you, you spicy little minx?

I'm reminded a little of Gingembre, in that both are all about the spice notes, but while Gingembre is a Diva -"just call me Ginger, baby!" - Cimabue is more like the classic barbershop quartet ... a harmony of different spice notes all singing in unison, and perfectly on key.

Cimabue was supposedly developed as a result of someone asking DSH to make a scent that smelled like L'Artisan's Safran Troublant. To my amateur nose, it is nothing like it. The saffron is not dominant, and it is deeper, darker and definitely more complex.

I like it immensely, especially when it is cold outside and I feel the need to have a "warm" scent on my skin.