I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the Earth,
He kept his heart in his hands,
And ate it.
I said, "is it good, friend?"
He replied: "it is bitter-bitter,";
"But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And why is my heart. "
In the desert by Stephen Crane
This was one of my favorite poems as a teenager, which probably tells you more than you'd care to know the teenage me (with apologies once again to my parents for all the tiresomeness). Andy Tauer wears Orange Star brought back memories of this impetuous of the poem.
Had the luck to win the Orange Star from a tie on the excellent blog http://persolaise.blogspot.com Persolaise run in conjunction with the UK wholesaler Tauer, perfume and www.scent-and-sensibility.co.uksensitivity.
On my skin, Orange Star is so green, which is almost bitter, but I like it. Green has a note intensively and salty drydown on my skin, and I can't think of how it does notes listed; sulla mia pelle it almost smells like a hint of vetiver/Orris and reminds me of similar rope in Maison Martin Margiela Untitled or Ormonde Jayne Orris Noir. I suppose it could be from Lemongrass mixing with some of the other notes are listed, but it is quite curious. This is not an aspect of fragrance that I read in other reviews of Orange star, so I would be interested to know if anyone else has experienced.
I get the Mandarin and Clementine citrus struck in the opening, followed by a soapiness (presumably from aldehyde formula) which softens in the floral heart. The base of the fragrance is hot and spicy with Ambergris, vanilla and tonka, but still has bitter green note that enough I can't put my finger on.
On my skin this is not a clear and sparkling citrus, nor is the orange that could evoke Icicle is a combination of Orange/vanilla. There is a citrus fruit, but it's complex and interesting, and I love it so much more because it is a bit dark and the evolution of it on my skin is unexpected. Longevity is also extremely good and I highly recommend you test to see if you like this before you spray liberally; one or two squirts give me a full twelve or more hours of fragrance. After a whole day of bitter note is substantially faded, but the warm amber resin base remains, even with a whiff of Clementina.
Orange Star, also recently won the FIFI UK fragrance for the best niche of 2010.
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