WHAT I SMELL:  Cristina’s note are all there upon opening…sweet creamy vanilla, labdanum and patchouli.  The fragrance feels as if it’s a big juicy gourmand cake that’s all thick and rich.  Very quickly, an incense is added to the mix along with a resinous spice.  After the initial cake like opening, Cristina becomes hazy, smoky, spicy and somehow familiar, yet different.  As it begins to drydown, the fragrance becomes dryer and more earthy.  And after around 30 minutes a salty accord adds a rather sweaty and natural component which makes it feel more real. In the end, the fragrance becomes woody and dry, with the incense just hovering above the labdanum. The development overall is not complex, but it feels like a fragrance that has a story to tell.  The only real downside to Cristina is the longevity; after around an hour, it pretty much becomes a very light skin scent.

Cristina Notes: patchouli, labdanum, vanilla

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  Sophia Loren in 1960’s Two Woman (La Ciociara).  Her heartbreaking Academy Award winning performance about a woman and her daughter in war-torn Italy in WWII supports this earthy, worn, smoky and haunting perfume.

THREE ADJECTIVES THAT DESCRIBE CRISTINA: ominous, storied, melancholy

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT CRISTINA:  Now Smell This, Bloody Frida

BOTTOM LINE:  I was always curious about the Hilde Soliano line, especially the Gli Invisibili series depicting a female saint on a cross with an angel kneeling by her side which is bizarrely and intriguingly different from a branding standpoint.  Overall this is good, but is similar to two Maria Candida Gentile perfumes, Exultat and Sideris which I believe are executed a little better with more longevity and projection.

• Bone Rating: 3 out of possible 5 bones
• Scent: Oriental Woody
• Nose:  Hilde Soliani
• Classification: Unisex
• Expense: $160 for 100ml EdP