Cristina

[Coldfire]

Chestnut trees, juniper berries, violet leaf, labdanum, dazzling, moonlit white musk, and night-blooming summer flowers.

Decant: Chestnut and Juniper
Wet on Me: more Chestnut less juniper
Drying Down: more nut. not getting anything but the nut.
Dry: Can't get the nut off of me. It overpowered everything. To re-home

[Violaine]

I'm truly surprised that Cristina doesn't get more love! I was riding the line between wary and intrigued after reading the reviews, but something in the back of my head kept saying "It will work on you, it will be love!" And indeed it is.

 

I'm not even sure what I smell in the bottle, but there's definitely chestnut. On the skin while it's wet, it's GORGEOUS - chestnut and some spicy floral or maybe even resin in the background. While it dries things go a little iffy on me, but once it's had a chance to sink into my skin it's just glorious. There's the chestnut at the forefront still, but the musk shows up and softens everything into this warm, smoky, almost silk-like scent.

 

Cristina isn't foody on me. At least, not to my nose. My husband did say that it smelled like nuts at some point, but he also likes it quite a lot. I'm terribly glad I bought a bottle unsniffed, and now I'm going to have to track down another one!

[Argentwolf]

I pretty much just get roasted chestnuts off of this. It's a rich, almost buttery sort of smell -- it's like going over to someone's house after they've been baking all day...all the smells of the various breads, cookies and such mingle together, into one warm, delicious celebration of carbohydrates. It's a very, very intriguing scent, though in my case I'm pretty sure I don't need a bottle of it. If I do ever swap my imp of this, it will be with a bittersweet and reluctant feeling.

[Wwindy]

When first applied, this comes up mostly as nuts with traces of warm, deep wood -- but after a few minutes of wear, my skin seems to amp something that smells like bad cheese! I've tried twice and can't keep this on more than about 15 minutes before I have to go scrub up; whatever that bad note is, it's *bad* on me. I get no musk, no florals, no nothing... just nuts and a faint rancid whiff.

 

(For reference: The Hesperides did something vaguely similar with my chemistry.)

[donnatron]

Imp: I wonder if there is sarsparilla in one of the accords used in here. I get a very strong sarsparilla with a little touch of violet and juniper.

 

Wet: Oh... there's the chestnuts. The very strong, chestnutty chestnuts.

 

Dry: There is a hint of sharp tree bark to this clashing with a strong floral note and the chestnut note. A bit sickly sweet but there is also something sour in here. This is really not jibing with my chemistry or tastes. Borderline foody but like roasting chestnuts and drinking gin. Very weird. The chestnuts lend a strange milkiness to the overall blend. It's kind of fascinating but also gross. I like to smell it because it's unlike anything else I've ever smelled but that's not a good thing.

 

Throw: Moderate.

 

Overall: That was an experience. I should know by now that I just don't like nut notes. It's an interesting blend and is probably stunning on someone else's chemistry.

[pinkgyrl]

This is amazing - I bought this bottle on a whim, and I am so glad that I did.

 

I just wrote down a list of words, so that I would remember my review - and I think it works the best for this one:

 

Smoky. Sensual. Musky. Spicy. Warm. Ashy. Earthy. and Nutty. A hint of something almost bittersweet (I'm guessing either the violet or berry note) peeks out here and there. This scent is very evocative of the passage upon which it is based.

Edited May 16, 2010 by GirlinDenial

[countessmouse]

It must be the chestnut, but all I could smell in the imp and for the first two hours on my skin was buttery caramel corn. The florals are just starting to appear, but I'm not getting any of the juniper or the musk at this point. Oooh, wait, the musk just popped.

 

It's different, I'll give it that. Definitely not a favorite, though. Off to the swap pile.

[TheIceMaiden]

This is such an unusual scent, but it tells the story its based on quite well. It starts off with foresty juniper with light florals and a hint of buttery chestnut. It dries to a light musk with just a bit of floral. Its a soft, mysterious scent, and while not my favourite of the Literary Vampires, I'm glad I've tried this.

Edited June 23, 2011 by TheIceMaiden

[Vega]

Sniffed: Nutty, slightly foody.

 

On skin: The same: nutty, slightly foody. Where are the other notes?

 

Verdict: Man, what a disappointment! I was hoping to get something a bit more complex -- even a hint of juniper, musk, and/or flowers would be welcome. But Cristina is nothing but a one-note chestnut blend. Seems like other reviewers get the same. Mehhh. For swaps!

[imaginepageant]

In the Vial: YUM! Warm, roasted chestnuts, deliciously sweet and a little gingery. I think I'm getting the berries, too, and maybe a hint of a floral note, but this is 98% chestnuts. I can't believe this was a Halloweenie and not a Yule - it's such a Christmas scent!

 

Wet: Gets a little spicier and foodier, in a way that brings Gingerbread Poppet to mind. After a few minutes, the sweetness starts to fade a little, and the other notes finally start to peek out and give the blend a gorgeous woodsiness. I'm probably imagining it, but there's a hint of something boozy in here!

 

Dry: Oh, WOW. This is so good. Foody and woodsy at the same time, and so warm and comforting. The only downfall is that it's not very strong. But I'm already wondering: how am I ever going to find a bottle of this?

 

An Hour Later: Heartbreakingly, my skin chemistry, that bitch, is turning it to rancid butter. Vaguely nutty and woodsy rancid butter.

 

Overall: NOT FAIR. Gorgeous and bottle-worthy before it went bad. I will test it other places than my hand and hope to find a way to make it work.

[Amoraexcena]

Wow that's really interesting. I'm wondering if Beth's cake accord includes the same chestnut note in it, because this smells a lot like that cake batter note from Cake Smash, BJ&S, Sprinklecake.... the same butteryness. Very foodie and sweet, but this actually works better on me than most FOOD blends. The labdanum creeps into the sweetness after a bit (but the nice, tart juniper berries are only detectable in the imp) making this more wearable for me. The drydown's a little similar to Haloes, which is nice.

[Lorna Brigid]

This is a beautiful mix of buttery chestnut, white musk and peppered with soft wildflowers!

One of my best friends is named Cristina, spelled exactly the same way, and she was thrilled when I gave her a bottle of this for her birthday one year. She is also Romanian, I might add!

Beautiful scent for a beautiful person.