Vivara (1965) Emilio Pucci for women

This review is for Signor Vivara, which is not listed in the database. This is somewhere between Gomma and The Knize Ten. It's not as strong, at least at first, as TKT, but it's more "masculine" than Gomma. As with Gomma especially, the drydown is linear, with leather, spice, an animalic quality, etc., but it's fairly soft. TKT is a bit harsher and with better note separation, so it depends upon what you want. Signor Vivara may be the best of the three in terms of being interesting and wearable (since TKT can come across as too strong or "powdery" for many people these days), and it certainly smells natural and rich. Note that the base is not a chypre, there is no fougere quality, and it's not spicy or sweet enough to be considered an oriental, IMO. There may be a little patchouli or wood, but I can't detect either clearly. This is a leather fragrance for leather fans!

The following review is for the original men's version, which is called Signor Vivara (1970):

The leather isn't quite as strong initially as it is in The Knize Ten, though it's certainly strong. It's also got a strong spice note (seems to be mostly cinnamon), and it's a little sweet. It also has that same full, rich, and powdery quality. Though it seems to have some oakmoss, I think it's got more of a sandalwood than oakmoss accompaniment to the leather (than K10). And while it seems to have patchouli, it doesn't go into that heavy patchouli/wood/amber cream accord that I find so revolting for some reason. Unlike K10, I don't detect castoreum here, nor any other clear animalic note. Longevity is at least good and projection/"sillage" is solid but not overpowering. If you find The Knize Ten to be unbalanced, this would be one to try, though it seems to be very rare. I should do a side-by-side comparison with Gomma by Etro, but you get the idea: this one is in that leather fragrance territory. Also, it's quite natural smelling and nicely balanced.

My go-to signature fragrance. I was first introduced to it as a member of one of those "fragrance of the month" clubs back in the early 70s. I just love how the scent develops on me. It starts green and fresh, then opens up and becomes very warm and sweet without being overly cloying or "too much." I've always gotten compliments when I wear it. I have a bottle of parfum given to me by an old boyfriend. The bottle is over 20 years old and will probably still be mostly full when I am no longer around. I use it very sparingly because I find it does have good staying power/sillage and is overpowering if you drown yourself in it.

I bought a sample of this because I"m currently going through an 'I love Fidji' phase and thought, "What's another 60's green chypre?"

But as soon as I put this on, and this has happened four times now, I start singing to myself: "YES! We have no bananas, we have no bananas today."

Yeah OK, there is no banana note listed, but I feel like there should be. You know how these taste after they've sat on the shelf for a while and turned brown - kind of 'starchy' like, not tart and ripe? Vivara is a 'starchy' chypre.

I can't recommend this, actually. Not only is it heavy, fussy and harsh on the nose it has none of the sparkle that I would expect. Not even a hint of peach or carnation.

Bleh...