Prada by Prada

Perfect perfume for me. Elegant, enveloping, warm, and sweet—just right and well-made. It grounds me in reality while lifting me up, like a protective cloak. It smells like the shade of an ancient tree and a breeze in that cozy place you always dream of returning to.

There is nothing more tragic, no crueler joke, nor bitter nightmare than falling in love with a dead man. I feel his heat on my bluish veins beneath the paper-thin dermis. I feel his loving embrace, suffocatingly loving and dark. I feel the damp, fertile earth where I now luxuriate among the aromatic bones of my beloved. I can hear his voice in the air. A burnt, broken, Iberian velvet voice. A voice of blazing candles in incinerated baroque cathedrals. If you love me with such hate, why do you leave? You can’t show me paradise, take me to swim naked in fountains of drinkable honey, and then run away with those old brown leather shoes. You can’t. But you do. Because you hate me. You hate me as much as I hate your non-existence. Even dead, your hate remains by my side. If it’s not a bother, I’ll stay with it.

A subtle and elegant amber with tonka bean. Discreet, highly pleasant, and enveloping. It adds a transparent veil of naturally tempered warmth. A softly sweet warmth that never invades or saturates, a sensation similar to sipping a cappuccino in winter. Now that tonka bean perfumes are trending, this Prada classic is back with a bang, featuring a distinctly amber and medicinal-sweet presence.

I love it! It starts green, ambered, with fresh patchouli. Then what I detect most is benzoin, very pleasant and uncommon, along with non-sweet honey notes and fresh woods. The only thing that doesn’t fascinate me is that I wish it lasted longer; on me, it lasts about 4 hours. It’s a fresh oriental type, non-invasive, and although many say it’s not recommended for daily wear or the office, since it’s not sharp or beastly, you can wear it without major issues. An off-mainstream aroma.

A well-crafted and elegant oriental. It presents a powerful opening with a host of notes wandering on the skin; then they settle, leaving a very natural, aromatic, and medicinal patchouli scent, accompanied by a powerful amber heather that gives it lots of warmth. Perfect to wear in cool temperatures, both day and night, on women or men (I note it’s unisex), elegant and stylish. It clashes completely with informal or sporty styles. Its scent is natural. I perceive a certain honeyed pollen touch, but it’s very soft, giving it a sweet character as the hours pass. The perfume is well-made, natural, and has French-inspired reminiscences, which lovers of patchouli in their perfumes will adore. Test before buying. It doesn’t suit everyone; it works well on classic men and women with a certain liberal character. It’s a young and subtle oriental offering a rejuvenated amber. For patchouli lovers.

I chose this perfume because it’s the iconic franchise from Prada’s beginnings. I want to inform the forums that since I can’t post the news there, I’m sharing it here: it seems Signora Miuccia understood that less is more. The creative director announced that the contract with Puig, responsible for the formulation, ends in 2020. Prada is not renewing the license, a hard blow for the Spanish company. This is the second time this year a major house has parted ways with Puig, after replacing Valentino with L’Oréal in May. Puig loses the prestige Prada-Valentino block and is left with only Carolina Herrera, Paco Rabanne, Nina Ricci, and Jean Paul Gaultier. Sources say Coty is bidding alongside L’Oréal; the latter has the advantage because they own Miu Miu. If Prada wants to return to its perfumery roots, I’d stick with L’Oréal, which produces excellent scents like Armani and Lancôme, compared to Coty, which has Calvin Klein or Marc Jacobs.

I’ve been wearing this for many years and I still love it. It’s no surprise they gave it an award; it’s spectacular. The only downside is that many people wear it. I give it a 10.

It’s a perfume for a woman with character, capable of mastering it. It’s bold, imposing, and owns the stage. You have to know how to wear it. That’s probably what makes it so fascinating. I use it and highly recommend it.