Go buy some Mariella Burani. Right now.

A little online search made me realize very few perfumistas are talking about Mariella Burani perfume. I'm aghast! (Ok, a little drama there but I am surprised). I wore Mariella Burani here and there in the mid-late 90's. I'm pretty sure I had the EDP and now can only find EDT but upon buying the EDT last week I've deemed them either similar or exactly the same. Being a lover of the Cabotine bottle I find myself rather giddy with the gorgeous bottle that houses Mariella Burani (henceforth MB). The hefty masculine square bottle topped with a gaudy orange bouquet cap is tres chic indeed. This bottle is display worthy for me, not clumped in a group but alone. I recall loving MB when I wore it a decade ago but after smelling trillions of perfumes since then I've come to the conclusion that MB is an absolute gem. Once you've "smelled them all" and then go back to something you wore ages ago and realize it's the cats meow, well, it's a neat thing.

Now getting to the juice. MB which reminds me of Chanel No. 5 but better (I've never been fond of No. 5, it smells like weak dishwater to me; soapy detergent-y blandness - too vague, too blah, will never understand why it's the biggest deal of all time and yes, I've tried it in all concentrations!). MB is similar to No. 5 in that it's a highly aldehydic floral with a clean, polished vibe, yet it's volume is turned up a few notches - there's much more va-va-vavoom in MB. If No. 5 is Nicole Kidman then Mariella Burani is Sophia Loren. So maybe I'm thinking Italian because Mariella Burani is Italian, whatever, MB is sensual where No. 5 is fastidious.MB is a gorgeous aldehydic floral that starts fresh and citrusy and dries down to a creamy oriental dream. There are not that many fragrances I would call creamy - Fracas is one - MB is creamy. It's classified as an oriental but there is a chypre vibe happening here - if No. 5 is a chypre then MB is very much in the same vein. There is an underlying fresh, herbal quality to MB which keeps the sweetness in check at all times. While it's undeniably sweet and feminine it definitely remains fresh and not too over the top - a lovely balance. Honestly I can't believe I haven't written about MB before and that there isn't any chatter amongst perfumistas and on the other blogs and fora - this is truly amazing stuff. Some days I get so bored and tired with the usual fanfare about Serge Lutens, Guerlain and Chanel. I swear Serge could defecate into a bucket, Sheldrake could liquify it and put it into a bottle and there would be legions interpreting and swooning over his latest artistic masterpiece. MB smells amazingly good and it also has nice sillage (potent) and excellent longevity. It's also a bonus that it's available from many online discount sites for a song.

Notes are listed as -
Top: tarragon, bergamot, brazilian rosewood and lemon;
middle: iris, jasmine, ylang-ylang, lily-of-the-valley and rose;
base: amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, patchouli, musk, benzoin, vanilla and vetiver.