NEW NOTES
FELINA
2025
coconut
milk
vanilla
cinnamon
coffee
caramel
chocolate
juniper
frankincense
tonka bean
tobacco
powdery notes
woody notes
sandalwood
vanilla bean
vanilla powder
amber
musk
‘Felina captures the essence of the wild and untamed spirit that seamlessly transitions from the vibrancy of daytime pursuits to the allure of noctorunal escapades.’ – New Notes
Felina was released alongside Erotika Maximale & Mangomina D. I gave all 3 a quick sniff at De Parfumeur, who gifted me a bottle of Felina per their Amsterdam store-opening goodie bag. On first impression, Erotika Maximale definitely seems to be my favorite (I smelled a lot of carrot/iris on paper, which I love), whereas Mangomina D, with its candied fruitiness didn’t appeal to me at first glance. Felina fell in between and after testing it properly, it stays in that middleground territory for me.
As so often has been the case with New Notes, they manage to strike a balance that I think works really well for the average customer. After the event I was discussing this with my brother (@dbxofrag) on the drive home; that from all the brands we smelled that day, New Notes seems to be a no-brainer to want to have in your store. Not because they are my favorites per se, but because they are easy to like, mass appealing, without smelling too basic or clone-like. And that rings true once again for Felina.
This is a very sweet fragrance. Sweet, warm spices, woody, but with a brighter touch initially. I think it veers into generic territory in the sense that, people who are into sweet designers and contemporary gourmands will enjoy this. While not smelling necesarily similar, it gives me a similar positioning as an Electimuss Spice D’Arno or a Pernoire Otimo.
From start to finish, changes are subtle. I think the opening has more of the brightness. When I first smelled Felina from a tester over a year prior to the launch, I dubbed it as a cola-like scent, but the final product now seems a lot more edible gourmand-leaning. I get burnt caramel, some lactonic tinges in the first 1-2 hours, overall pleasant, but a bit ‘in-your-face’ and modern ‘performance-driven’ smelling for my taste. I like it better than a lot of the roasted, popcorn aesthetic woody-gourmands of the 2020’s, but it suits me less than other styles.
As it moves into the drydown there seem to be the typical screechy amber woody notes here to prolongue its lifespan at the sacrifice of comfort. That screechiness does subside in the late drydown again and it does last a long long time. The final hours remind me of a sugary faux-sandalwood, sweet and woody with brown sugar accents a la a Kilian Old Fashioned or Angels’ Share Paradis late drydown (albeit less smooth in the New Notes).
There are definitely New Notes that I like better, like Latte Di Cherry, Akigala Mandarino and I’d like to try Erotika Maximale on skin, because that one seems to be a real winner for me. Felina, as I mentioned in the intro, is middle of the pack for me.
