Note Pyramid
Donna
Bought as a way in rather than as a bottle, Gisada Donna Eau de Toilette Discovery Set puts the scent in small format so you can live with it before committing.
What is in it is sweet at first and dark later. Cotton candy opens it, spun sugar with that warm, slightly synthetic edge, held in check by iris and violet, both of which are powdery and cool and pull the sweetness towards cosmetics rather than confectionery. The heart brings patchouli for earth, jasmine for a full white floral warmth and benzoin for a resinous, balsamic sweetness that carries the two halves together.
Then it turns. Coffee appears in the base, roasted and genuinely bitter, and it changes the character of everything above it. Sandalwood gives a creamy wood to sit on, tuberose keeps a flower in play to the last, and musk rounds it into the skin. Ten materials, and the pleasure of it is the argument between the sugar and the roast.
A small format is a sensible way to meet a scent like this, because the opening and the dry down are so different that one shop counter spray tells you very little. It travels well, fits a handbag and a weekend away, and works as a present for someone whose taste you are not certain of. Eau de toilette strength keeps it comfortable in daily wear. Small bottles also suit a scent with this much happening in it, because you can wear it for a fortnight and decide properly rather than committing on the strength of one wrist test. If it turns out not to be for you, very little has gone to waste.
Andreas Wilhelm is the perfumer. The house is Gisada, founded at Zurich in 2013 and Swiss throughout, with a range now distributed in a large number of markets abroad.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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