Perfume Review: Mona di Orio Oiro
 Oiro is the newest addition to Mona di Orio’s collection of fragrances. Inspired by gold (Oiro is Portuguese for “gold”), it has notes of green mandarin, sweet pea, spices, jasmine, olibanum, heliotrope, vetiver, ylang-ylang, immortelle, cedar, musk and amber. The gold of Oiro is not that of flames in a fireplace, of heavily ornamented brocade fabric or of antique jewels. It is not the opulent, nocturnal gold of lavish gatherings and passionate encounters. This is the gold of the sun, of citrus fruits bright like yellow and orange gems among the green leaves, of languid days of summer spent basking in the dazzling light.Oiro starts with an accord that blends jasmine, unripe citrus fruits and spices (pimento and clove, perhaps) and by mixing them achieves the striking effect of indolic spiciness that I adored in another di Orio creation, Nuit Noire. Citrus notes are quite strong in the second half of the first stage of the scent’s development; they have a feel of exotic candies that combine sweet fruits with red hot piquancy of chili. The spicy citruses subside and the jasmine note becomes illuminated in all its vivid glory.  The jasmine here does not smell indolic to the point of being fecal, but a hint of floral dirtiness is there, and I love it. I also love the way the spicy/dry leitmotif runs through the composition, adding a green and subtly incensey quality to the blend and balancing the headiness of jasmine and ylang ylang. The drydown does not lose the brightness of the floral notes, even the citruses are still there, subtly in the background. It does, however, have a certain earthy undertone and a very appealing musk note that in a way echoes the indolic characteristic of the flowers.Oiro is scheduled to launch in 2007. I hope it is released sometime in January-February, which are the darkest months for my sun-loving soul. This scent, in which everything is illuminated, would be a fantastic reminder of summer in the midst of depressing winter chill. The images are from monadiorio.com. |
posted by Marina |
12:03 AM
21 Comments:
Hmm, as you might know from my rantings on the topic :), Mona di Orio fragrances are not among my favourites (I find them heavyhanded and unfinished), but this review makes Oiro sound great. I am looking forward to trying it!
Vika
Vika,
I know! And also you liked the most the one I liked the least :-) Nuit Noire is my favorite from the line and Oiro is up there with it now. In a way it reminded me of it, but while NN was heavy-sih and nocturnal, this one is all brightness.
You make this sound so intriguing, C! The only MdO I've tried is NN, which I absolutely loathed - however, occasionally I go back to it and there's something that does interest me... I'm wondering whether I should sample the Lux and Carnation, which might be less ...dense...is the word I think I'd use?
*Want*. Am going to go turn the calendar over to Jan. and just skip December (which I'd like to do anyway) in hopes of hurrying up the release of this scent. I'm normally a bit wary of citrus, but your description is even making me crave those notes in this scent. Sigh. Am going to have to put on some of my beloved Nuit Noire (indolic heaven) today to help me face the wait.
Hmmmm. . . This does sound good, although I wonder if the citrus will be too much for me. I am more-or-less with V. on MonadiO: I didn't end up loving them, and Carnation was my favorite. I did try NN again because I know you love it, but it's just not great on me. But this sounds definitely worth a try.
PS--although PG's crazy credit card company took my transaction, they still haven't completed it (I have no idea why); it's still "pending" on my card. I can't reorder until it disappears.:) Maybe someone is trying to stop me from spending too much money.
Nina,
I know what you mean when you say, dense. I thought Carnation was quite dense too. But you might have a better chance with Oiro and Lux.
L,
If I had to decsribe all 4 scent with one word, I'd say they were striking. This is what I like in Oiro too, that spicy something makes everything infinitely more interesting than it would have been without it.
J,
I thought of you when I was trying Oiro, and I guessed you might have trouble with citrus, which on me was quite prominent. It was very interesting citrus though, very spicy and sweet at the same time.
I often have transactions pending in my account. Sometimes for up to 4 days. Sometimes the stores don't complete them and the transcations are credited back to my accounn automatically and then the store would go back and finally take the money. And despite all that orders arrive anyway. *rolls eyes*
I'm looking forward to trying this one. I think NN was my favorite, but somehow I wasn't sufficiently moved even to buy decants of them. It's nice to go back and revisit, though.
March,
If you liked NN, you will like this one too, maybe even more.
Sounds very appealing, although I didn't really love any of the first 3. Will try to keep an open mind :-)
Patty,
I like to waft too. But I want to have some oomph too. This one has it :-)
R,
I think if there is one MdiO scent that you might like, it is Oiro. Maybe. I am not sure, but I have a feeling you might.
Ha, I have escaped another lemming! It sounds like the citrus would be too much for me. I am yet to be intrigued enough to try any of MdO's fragrances. More money for others, I say!:) Off topic, what is your favorite creamy straight sandalwood, M? I'm on the search for one. Tam Dao kind of fits, but the sillage and longevity does not seem to be great. 10 Corso Como has too much other stuff to muddy the water. LV Sandalo is too dry. Any others you would recommend?
M,
Ha, you have not! Have you tried Carnation? Well, you've got to. It is powdery in the best traditions of retro-makeup-inspired scents.
Straight creamy sandalwood...can't think of any apart from Tam Dao. I like my sandalwood to haver "something else" there, otherwise I get bored quickly. I adore sandalwood in Egoiste and Bois des Iles, but it's anythign but straghtforward. Sorry I couldn't be more help.
I do love Bois des Iles, so I must try Egoiste again soon. I don't remember loving it when my husband tried it. You are right though, they are far from straight sandalwood.
As for Carnation...*cries*. I will pretend I did not read this until my nobuy ends. >:[
I am crying with you, M. I am on a no buy too. *wails*
i will like to try it.
But somehow the name "Gold" turns me off.
Colombina, i have a question for you?
I found an old shop that has a vintage perfume i like.
i do not know the year it is from , i guess 1940's, or 1930 or 1920.
Do you think is still the same as when it was produced?
The owner said it was not opened.
But i am not so sure.
It is not a big deal, but i hate to buy it an be disappointed.
what would you do.
It is $80.00 .
What do you think?
Anna,
I always think of buying vintage perfumes as of like playing a lottery of sprts:-) You might get lucky and find an old, old perfume in pristine condition. Or you might discover, despite the fact that it is seald/unopened, because it wasn't stored properly, it has gone off...Good luck, whatever you decide to do!
Thank you
You are a sweetheart.
I' am going to buy it.
Keeping fingers crossed for you.
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