Another blind purchase. I felt comfortable buying it without trying it first since it is described as a chypre musk floral. In theory, Goldea The Roman Night looked like a good idea.
I mean, the notes where screaming my name. The top notes are bergamot, black pepper and mulberry, so I kept imagining a spicy opening with an underlining sweetness. For middle notes, we have black peony, night-blooming jasmine, rose and tuberose, and that bouquet was, in my mind, balanced by the woody, deep base notes: patchouli, black musk, vetiver, moss.
Well, once I actually tried it, I was a bit disappointed to find out this really wasn’t that unique. It felt like a common scent, something you could easily dupe. This smells like nice potpourri. It’s not unpleasant, but it’s a scent you would experience on a fancy home decor store. I think the main culprits of that are the rose and the patchouli – those two ingredients are very noticeable in this perfume, and they are very common in a lot of generic fragrances and home scents.
There is more to it than just rose and patchouli, though. Right from the get go you can detect a strong, deep sweet note, like Amarena cherry or warm wine – that’s the mulberry. The sweetness fades a bit as time goes on, but the warmth remains, anchored by the base notes. Don’t let that fool you, though: this is undeniably a floral fragrance, and the floral notes are front and centre throughout the whole time you wear it.
Speaking of wear time, that was another disappointment. Sillage is moderate, but longevity is terrible – it’s actually so bad I went to look for reviews to check if other people have had the same issue or if it was a “me” problem, but unfortunately it’s a common occurrence. After two hours, on me, it’s mostly gone. I can sense a tiny hint of the moss after 4 hours passed, but it’s basically evaporated. Maybe it’s my skin, maybe it’s my batch, either way, it’s a shame.
Other than that, I think this is a scent that will probably not bother you, possibly please you, and most certainly not make you stand out.
