Fortuna Populi Romani

[Dark Alice]

The Fortunes of the People

A hymn to the fortunes of your community, the blessings of civic duty, and the strength of many voices becoming one.

Smoked vanilla sandalwood and leather, golden oudh, ambrette seed, caramelized patchouli, a single thread of saffron, and a sprig of crushed juniper.

Proceeds from the sale of each bottle of Fortuna Ropuli Romani benefit the ACLU, who helps to ensure that the voice of the people is uncensored, unsilenced, and heard.

There is no Juniper in this..thank the Lord. It's all smoky vanilla and oudh with patchouli and ambrette seed. I don't smell any saffron either. It's a great public speaking scent. I will be wearing this in court as it gives me a such a sense of confidence.

[melodynamite]

Fortuna Populi Romani is appropriately populist in that anyone could wear it without raising eyebrows (although honestly, some people's eyebrows could use around the clock raising as a public service of sorts).

 

This is a sleekly urbane golden sandalwood scent. There is a frisson of juniper in the beginning, and a haze of saffron throughout. The patchouli is the hair combed back, top button buttoned kind. The other notes melt together seamlessly into a subtly sweet, mellow whole.

 

Overall, it is the scent of a hot, literate, person with impeccable manners and grooming, and perhaps a penchant for obscure handicrafts involving pieces of wood and plant matter. A haute lumbersexual vibe. My resident gentleman fell in love with this hard and claimed it as his own, but I am going to steal a nip from his bottle from time to time.

Edited January 18, 2018 by melodynamite

[VioletChaos]

In The Bottle: VERY woody-sandalwood, the carved and dry variety. Plus a bit of that saffron and the oudh to help ground it.

 

Wet On Skin: The sandalwood is warming up brilliantly, and I'm definitely relieved, because in the bottle it was almost reading as cedar, which is generally a pencil-shaving death note on me. But this is the warm, sultry sandalwood I know and adore. Mixed in with that is the slightest touch of the saffron and the vanilla, though both are definitely in supporting roles. Thankfully, I get no juniper, which becomes floor cleaner on my skin.

 

Dry Down: The smokey vanilla becomes a little more dominant, which is a nice addition to the warm sweetness of the sandalwood. The scent has a low to low-medium throw, which feels appropriately non-assuming, for taking up the mantle of being a Voice for the People.

In All: Of the four Fortuna scents I've tried, this is definitely the most straight forward. Which is not to say it isn't good- on the contrary, I can see getting a LOT of wear out of this in the remaining winter months, as it's daintily a warm and inviting gender-fluid scent. But whereas the others pulled me into nostalgic depths I wasn't anticipating, this, for me, is more just a solid choice for daytime scent wearing or perhaps for a light date involving a trip to a museum and some flirty looks over coffee afterward.

[zankoku_zen]

Woody sandalwood, smoky vanilla, and touches of patchouli and leather. This one is a crowd pleaser! Sadly, it has low throw on me or else I would be much more into it.

[torikitty]

Initially, it comes off smelling like incense, the things you associate with a headshop. As it dries, it gets sweeter, with the vanilla and leather coming out to play with the patchouli and sandalwood more. I don't know that I'd say it's something that everyone can wear. I can see some of the gourmand fans getting tired from the sandalwood or patchouli quickly. I guess it depends on what your skin does with these notes. The leather is more of a worn, brown leather, so everything has this smoky, dusty sweetness. I like it, I can see this being amazing on the right person.

[LizziesLuck]

Someone compared this to Monsterbait: Underpants, so of course I had to try it. I can't see how it's possible, but here goes nothing.

 

 

Wet: OMGEEEE. It's not like Underpants - it's like Love's Philosophy (vanilla and saffron) with wood mixed in! OMG it's so good. It's so complex and rich and gorgeous. I totally forgive it for not smelling like Underpants.

 

 

Dry: This dries down to an amazing sandalwood and leather scent. Hints of vanilla sweetness. Sadly, the saffron that made this so special to me is gone. It no longer reminds me of Love's Philosophy with wood. It's sure no Underpants either, but it is a great scent in its own right. I am going to let it age for a month and try it again to see if I need a bottle. I think I might though.

[lookingglass]

This scent is golden, light, and lovely sweet sandalwood with a bit of depth. I think anyone of any age could easily wear this and it would be perfect for layering. I wish my skin didn't eat it right up! It reminds me a bit of Scholar's Tower, which I also have to slather to fully enjoy.

[Lucchesa]

In the imp, Fortuna Populi Romani reminded me strongly of Golden Priapus -- vanilla and juniper. GP is one of my favorite GC blends, so this was a good sign. But FPR is actually quite different from GP, more going on, equally lovely. There's the faint smokiness, the leather, the ambrette seed, which is fast becoming a favorite note of mine, and the patchouli. I don't actually smell any saffron, which is fine, it can be problematic on me.

 

The juniper note so prominent ITI fades on drydown, and it all combines into a woody-vanilla comfort scent, perfectly unisex, just lovely on me. My middle-aged skin makes it go away much too fast for my liking. Slather and reapply!! Repeat!! Aging may help with the staying power, too.

[cassiejaynebunk]

My second fav of the Fortunas. it smells exactly like it should. i get the smoked vanilla/sandalwood/patchouli blend, and the juniper freshens it up. i do wish that it lasted a bit longer though that may just be my skin.

[SophieCedar]

Ohhhh I can never resist a scent supporting the UCLA. Everytime..I have to blind bottle it.

 

This one is wonderful but lower throw than expected. I get more juniper at first application,than some, but then again I amp it. Pretty straight-forward and true to the description- smoky sandalwood vanilla with leather with musky golden oudh (my favorite type of oudh). Sophisticated and subtle.

[Jenjin]

I get alot of juniper up front. It's a sugared gin to me, mixed with a gorgeous vanilla sandalwood. The rich, supple leather note really comes out after dry-down, along with the chewy, golden patchouli. Smells like an upscale saddle shop to me, the kind with supple, hand stitched leather goods and handmade guayaberas. Couture cowgirl in a Ralph Lauren pantsuit, I have to big bottle this one. My favorite Fortuna!

Edited February 22, 2018 by Jenjin

[Vaporeon]

Very leathery. It smells a lot like The White Rider with a little sweetness behind it. Juniper, I miss you. come back.

[lady_pandora]

I bought this for the ACLU and didn't even expect it to work on my skin, but this is fantastic! The thought I keep coming back to is "This is what Aureus should have been." I tried Aureus a while back and my skin just sort of evolved it wrong--first I got ALL THE WOOD and then ALL THE PATCHOULI instead of the different notes hanging together harmoniously. Fortuna Populi Romani, on the other hand, all works together on me in a harmonious way.

 

I get golden wood, a quiet patchouli, and an impression of something citrusy at first, and then the citrusy note goes away and vanilla starts to come in and sweeten it up. This isn't foody at all, though; this isn't Monster Bait: Underpants on me. It's maybe a little like Palmyra, but with the balance tilted more toward the wood and less toward the leather. Mostly it's the impression of the sun on clean blonde wood. Beautiful and gender-neutral. A great scent for lazing about in the sun with a book and a coffee or beer. So glad I blind bottled this.

 

ETA: I re-listened to the Hamilton cast album the other night and I've decided this is the scent of the "My Shot" scene where they drink and solve the world's problems. I think I'll wear this when I finally see the show in a few weeks.

Edited March 31, 2018 by lady_pandora

[theseagrows]

first off i smell patchouli, saffron and juniper. after awhile on the skin i get the vanilla sandalwood. i don't smell any oudh or leather. this seems patchouli dominant on me. it's warm, resiny and golden, a pretty scent!

[Eis Hexe]

This little gem has quickly become a favorite.  A whiff of the bottle reveals juniper and spices.

on the skin I’m swamped by the smell of sandalwood and patchouli.  When this dries down I begin to notice that warm vanilla scent, which clings to me and my clothes and makes everything smell wonderful.  This is absolutely perfect for my skin’s chemistry.  Decent throw, incredible lasting power when dabbed discreetly beneath the shirt collar.

My bottle is a partial >10% purchased from a forumite, and I went through it in a matter of days.  Fortunately (no pun intended) I was able to scoop up a nearly full bottle on EBay.

Feliciter!

[forspecial_plate]

I think I smell the juniper first, kind of sparkly.  It wasn't what I expected, and for a long time I didn't think I liked this.

 

Later this smells like sweet woody incense and I finally figured out I love it.  I don't really smell leather or patchouli, but I can pick out sandalwood (maybe with vanilla, like the description says).  It's warm and a little smokey.