Incensi Lorenzo Villoresi for women and men

very balsamic, very vintage and medicinal, yet i cant stop smelling it. it brought back memories so i will def save my sample religiously.

Incensi opens with an earthy, herbaceous galbanum that dominates that first few hours. It's a dry, stone cold resinous incense fragrance, despite the obvious presence of myrrh and other ambery notes underneath the fresher (citric, herbal) top notes. Particularly in the opening, there is fresh cool feeling to Incensi that could easily pass as the smell of the masonry of a mediaeval Church. There is also a sweet fruity (apple) note that smells almost out of place, as this note/accord will be familiar to anyone who wore a masculine designer fragrance in the 2000s. Fortunately it doesn't last too long, nor dominate the blend. As it develops, the bitter earthy galbanum subsides (but never disappears) leaving the resinous notes to come to the fore. It's here that Incensi takes on its second stage: that of a much clearer, purer, and to my nose by far the most realistic olibanum or frankincense perfume that is available to buy. This doesn't smell like liturgical smoke, there's no ash or burning smell to it, nor is it the creamy/thick/sweet olibanum oil that makes up the bulk of the infamous realistic church incense fragrances: Avignon, Cardinal, and Full Incense. This smells like frankincense tears in a way that makes the aforementioned three fragrances seem slightly cartoonish. Once Incensi dries down (2-3 hours), it simply smells like the bitter pine-lemon of frankincense, particularly when burned on its own e.g. without the addition of myrrh or any other resin (a crucial point: it smells like the smoke you get when olibanum is first lit, fresh and aromatic rather than 'smoky').

Villoresi has produced some magic with this fragrance, although it is definitely one for the purists (of both incense and perfumes in general). Performance is decent, approx 6-8 hours with mild projection. The cold stone effect in the opening has similarities to Tauer's Incense Extreme (I suggest Villoresi uses some orris/iris in the heart, although not to the same extent as Andy Tauer) and the resinous heart/base of Incensi can be found in the overall more feminine fragrance Ambra, also by Villoresi. Incensi feels safely unisex although comes with the caveat that one must love incense to enjoy this. The use of ancient perfume ingredients (galbanum, perhaps orris, certainly all of the resins, especially olibanum) is testament to Villoresi's dedication and seriousness to the ancient craft of perfumery.

Balsamic, very slightly smokey. Definitely vintage smelling. Not sure if I'm the only one getting Carnations, which I don't like very much.
A pass.
Don't blind buy it unless you enjoy vintage perfumes; this isn't CdG's Incense Series, nor Encens Suave, nor Bois d'Encens; it's very different.
Projection is good
Longevity in very good

Opens spicy and medicinal, and I can see why fruits are indicated in the opening. I smell pepper, bay, citrus, and I can agree with hints of apple. Elemi and opoponax claim the heart with their peppery resinuous qualities. A touch of sour sweetness balances the composition. Upon checking the note breakdown, I suppose it could be mimosa. There is a trail of cumin or caraway, but not quite the BO smell that is widely feared.

The dry down is a soft, intimate and transparent incense. Very personal, smooth and expertly crafted.

I would categorize this perfume as a spicy amber (opening)/amber incense (drydown). Expect no smoke, like Interlude. Expect no sweeping majesty like Jubilation.

If I could compare it to another scent, I would find it to be a toned down version of Amouage Overture. This is not a bad thing, as Overture does tend to scream in my face a little too strongly with the spices and leather.

Opens with a complex fresh green bitter note (probably galbanum and citruses).
Shortly after, it morphs into an overpowering foody/dusty cinnamon with a touch of orange. And cinnamon. And cinnamon. And cinnamon. The juniper is also noticeable in the background, and a hint of myrrh will also appear, but only during the late drydown. No church incense here.
I cannot spot any similarities with Tauer Incense Extreme. Nor with Villoresi Ambra (aside of the glabanum opening, maybe?), nor Piguet Casbah (not sure what is similar, since angelica, used in Casbah, is not remotely similar to galbanum, used here), that I own and love (I m wearing these on the other arm, to make a side-by-side comparison). That said, it shares noticeable vibes with Etro Messe de Minuit.

A crushing overload of cinnamon is the main player here, and unbalances the juices. This one should have been named "Cannella" imo. Definitely an oriental spicy fragrance, not a resinous/incense one. Will revisit this one in a few days, but for now, it's pretty much a disappointment. And the poor performance doesn't help either.
For fans of this theme, I would strongly recommend Sorcinelli Io Non Ho Mani, which has similar notes but fully masters the use of cinnamon, and delivers a vastly more accomplished result.

Fall days, feminine leaning.

A game of two unequal halves: a rather bitter-green-galbanum open which doesn't play well for me, followed by a rich, warming, long-lasting session by an open wood fire, which I enjoy a whole lot. There's nothing wrong with the idea of a green-tinged incense - Piguet Casbah does it with angelica, Tom Ford Vert d'Encens inflects it with pine and fir, and I love both of those ... so I'm not against the idea per se. But Incensi's take on it has a particular accord which, to me, is more redolent of very slightly sweaty feet than of holy calm, and is a little bit of a turn-off. Maybe it's the galbanum, or the sour apple, or the styrax or mimosa, but there's something almost cut-grass-vegetal and earthy-bitter about it to me, which somehow makes for an uneasy mix. Yet, Incensi is also beautifully, fiercely, long-slow-burningly glowing with heat right at its heart, a really impressive effect of smouldering coals, almost as lovely as Rouge Bunny Rouge's heartstoppingly gorgeous Embers (one of my all time favourites.) This sweeter, throbbing-orange-red aura does give it a really huggable winter feel.

So this is a distinctive thing with a character of its own; its projection is discreet but longevity solid; it's reasonably priced, if not a bargain. Incense is a crowded field, though, and this one doesn't quite set itself apart firmly enough on any measure to be truly distinguished. If you love warm resins and find this at a reasonable price, dive straight in; if you're specifically looking for an unusually galbanum-heavy incense mix, well here it is. But for my money it adds up to nothing more intense than a strong like.

6/10

Hmm, I thought on first try this might be FB-worthy but the drydown is far too sweet. The dry/bitter notes so many reviewers complain about is more to my liking but that part of the journey is fleeting and eventually there is a sort of soapy sweetness I just don't care for.

Urghh - a true 'Jekyll and Hyde niche suitor'.

It's that unfriendly bitter-green monster out to destroy all that's safe but not sorry once again.

Yes, unfortunately as is often the case in this sector, you get to meet 'Hyde' first - and here he's extremely grumpy!

It's that strong, herby green cloud from Creed's Royal oud, only without the ethereal 'weight' of something richer and then all of a sudden - the unbearable screechiness drops after 30 minutes and mellows out into something like a softened wispy haze of richness and sweetness.

Intimate vanillic richness and something very resinic candied - it's suddenly turned Gold after beating you in the face with it's initial rusty self.

Eh?

I understood immediately: another potential brilliant scent made with fine, cosy ingredients - blighted by the incessant now, truly viral craze that is 'bitter pungent green' in the Niche industry.

Royal oud among hundreds of maybe lesser well-known others, now this.

It's either that, or the 'oranges, celery and rhubarb parrty'.

Why? Just, why? Do Niche designers really think every single one of their customers will happily rate scents after 'The 1st hour of torture?'

Why, just why.

My rating: 4/10.
Scent quality: 10/10.

Balsamic king.

Like a shimmering song, it transports you ton an enchanting place were peace and beauty surrounds you. Stays close to the skin, almost confidential, comforting, enchanting.

Good job, well done. Classic and timeless, close to aromatherapy in its own way.

A absolutely must for those who like balsamic fragrances.

This brings tears to my eyes its so good. You know the feeling when you walk in a cemetery and there is this peaceful, overwhelming feeling of eternal life, truth, genuity and peace touching your soul deep down....? To me its like that. Its not a perfume with notes to me, its the breath of eternal life...there is a very old ruin of a catholic church in Tourmakeady County Mayo, Ireland. I was there once, its a ruin with a graveyard attached but its not sad, or dark nor has it any negative vibe about it. Its just there, for so many centuries, peaceful, eternal and heavenly. Just like this fragrance.

This one is very green, if I had to name it, I'd choose the "Green Incense" instead of Incensi. The opening is very bitter and sour, you can tell it's from Villoresi, because the perfume smells very natural, like it's made from fresh squeezed juices. This lasts about 4-5 hours on my skin. And then... I realised why its name is incensi. The incense smoke comes in. And actually covers absolutely everything. It gets a little bit sweet at the end, but just a bit. The general longevity is about 9 hours on me.

If you'd like to try the "green-incense" fragrance, go ahead and go for Incensi. It's worth its money.

Sunlight falling through the stained glass of church windows, in the distance the soft sound of Pachelbel's Canon, the rustle of a cool breeze - that's the images and sounds that wearing Incensi by Lorenzo Villoresi conjure up for me. This is not a strutting Comme des Garcons incense (mind you, I love those as well!), but a distant, less intrusive and much lighter smell, softened by the warmth of cinnamon . There's nothing gothic about it - just a certain gravity as befits a "churchy" smell. Lovely, delicious, unlike any other incense perfume I've ever smelled. Gotta get it!

I solidly agree with the skin chemistry importance here*
What I get:
Spicy Sharp and Fresh
Some bitterness/ not medicinal
Mimose edging on 'almost pretty'
Moments come and go where i AM reminded of mens herbal deodorant
but never got to the 'bug spray' level that herbals easily get to
Incense as the common thread that holds together the different resins and spices evoking changing temperatures like 'mood perfume'
A bit fleeting- like a ghost scent but being an incense perfume i think that adds to the character

High quality incense pefume, might be "hard" for most of the noses as this is very powerful stuff.
As the name indicates this opens with incense which of course dominates the perfume. What I enjoy in this composition is that there is a very distinct lemon at the opening which makes this a bit fresh and soapy.
Soon after the first burst resins appear (and on my skin also green notes), but this never gets dark and smoky which we usually expect from incense dominated fragrance.
As it develops it gets a lot warmer and easier to wear. It stays really close to skin and draws my attention a lot (I mean - I keep sniffing it all the time), even though this is not my cup of tea.
Def. unisex with a very sexy drydown.
Worth a try.

i love incense but this is not well blended with the other notes

Sry i hoped to love this one but unfortunately i dont like it even

:(

The best incense ever smell apart one exclusive from Amouage called Salalah.Incensi of Viloressi has an special sweet and class aroma for me.Go for it.Marc.

Very dry and medicinal incense. It started very well, like a Kyoto for grown ups, stronger, louder and more bitter. However, the dry down was too sharp for my liking. The good thing is that 4 hours later it was still very strong on me. The bad thing is that I finally had to scrub it off because I couldn't stand it anymore. More masculine than unisex IMO. Will pass.

How original, never smelt anything like this. Very orig
inal "incense" version... european one?

Definitely will buy a bottle.

8/10

A very interesting perfume! One of the driest and bitter Incense around. I really love this one as it's completely different if worn by somebody else, it totally morphes mantaining its own characteristics. It's quite hard to describe it but when I first tasted it on paper I almost got disturbed by its tremendous harshness and severity. I tried it on my skin anyway as it's not so easy, nowadays, to find something really capturing you attention (whether in a good or bad way). Everything seems to get levelled and I got sick of sport-perfumes. Incensi is another world, a very special one made of cinnamon, ginger and mimose (I totally get mimose in this one just like I get Camomille in Avignon) surroundend by an immense dose of dark incense and labdanum. Not an everyday fragrance, but absolutely great to wear once in a while. If you'll have the chance to taste Incensi, make sure to try it on your skin and don't be scared by the opening...let it works!

Rating: 7-7.5/10

Of my three Villoresi samples I saved this one for last, because my 'sniff test' (a dab on the back of the finger) told me this was the best.

If you put bergamot and galbanum in the opening i'm going to like it, and this opens with a big 'wow' for me. However...

When i put it on my decollete and took it for a hike it deteriorated, and quickly, into a hyper sweet mess. Props to imgcas for calling it as it is: it comes down to skin chemistry.

For me, the only house that can put tolu balsam and opoponax (and benzoin a to boot) in the base and still make it wearable is Guerlain. In the hands of anyone else this turns into a flat out mess on me.

How much of a mess? Succinctly: on my hike I preferred my own sweaty smell to this.

With my chemistry this would have popped had the base been kept dry and resinous. Incense should never play second fiddle to sweet myrrh and friends. It was the base that ruined it for me; the opening was wonderful.

Goes on very loud, but dries down quickly to a lovely resinous woody incense. There's no smoke or musty edge like some incense fragrances have. Just smooth, rich and darkly lovely.

Incensi starts plungent, gloomy and rather strong with an underlying green balsamic note and has an immediate effect of having an association with the Roman Catholic church.
As known frankincense has been used in religious practice for more then 3000 years. Incensi focuses onto the bitter darkness of myrrh and the sharp resinous frankincense notes which provide an earthy element to the overall smell and the fragrance grows stronger over time.
Throughout the day, occasionally I picked up a cinnamon note and I found the scent was tinged with a slightly vanillic sweetness.
Women who like a bit of femininity in their fragrance will not find it here.

This is one of those perfumes in which skin chemistry is vital.
Smelling directly from the sample vial, I get a burst of green notes which are very unpleasant to me. I don't get the citrus in the opening, only a dominant galbanum. In fact, this is the strongest galbanum I have ever smelt.

With such an opening I could have given up, but I dabbed a drop on my skin and, surprisingly, it was instant magic. It becomes a soft, sweet, lovely and very femenine incense fragance which I adored.
It is not incense in the lines of Comme des Garçons Avignon, but somehow it is relaxing and calm.
There is a soapy note which makes it even a clean scent.
If you like incense perfumes give it a try, although you might dislike the top notes.