Antico Caruso (for women and men)

veuve

Got to test this one today, and went in with high hopes: sandalwood and almond are two of my absolute favourite notes. But the almond in this fragrance is initially VERY different from the usual treatment almond gets in fragrance: gourmand, fluffy, paired with vanilla and cream. *This* almond is dry, rough, edgy, and the creamy properties of almond and sandalwood only come out somewhat after maybe 30 minutes, when it sweetens and gets less sharp.

The opening is quite masculine in a way I do not enjoy on myself or on others: it has that "old-fashioned shaving cream" vibe going on. It definitely made my nose wrinkle for the first 30 minutes or so.
Heart notes radically differ from the sharp shaving cream top notes: creamy, dusty sandalwood, with vanilla in the background. This part of the progression smells unisex, and while still soapy, not unpleasantly so.

This being a Profumum, it smells high class and is obviously well-constructed. Modest sillage but huge longevity. It's simply not to my taste.