LORENZO VILLORESI
Iperborea

2010

PERFUMER
Lorenzo Villoresi

CITRUS NOTES
MANDARIN
ORANGE
PEACH
GREEN NOTES
BLOSSOMS
CYCLAMEN
lily-of-the-valley

MAGNOLIA
MIMOSA
SPRING FLOWERS

WHITE BLOSSOMS
AROMATIC WOODY NOTES
JASMINE
ORANGE BLOSSOM
MUSK

Villoresi is one of the more underrated brands in the perfume community (I myself should’ve reviewed more of them by now). Iperborea isn’t among my favorites of his works, but still very pleasant.

I tried this without prior knowledge and the two things that it instantly took me to were mimosa and a lily-of-the-valley/muguet. So that’s how it registered for me and it stayed that way for most of the wear.

You get a hint of fruitiness and quite a lot of acidity. This is not as ‘flat’ as many lily-of-the-valley scents, but also not as sweet or quirky as most mimosa fragrances. It’s a rather formal, traditional bouquet of flowers that wears dated (but beautiful for what it is).

The most eccentric tinge I can find in Iperborea is an almost vinegar-like acidity, which fades away a little, but not completely after the opening. Leaving a somewhat nondescript and very subtle fruity tinge to the flowers. While the most beautiful aspect is definitely the smooth, kind of creamy texture and muskiness underneath, that grows as it dries down.

My favorite Villoresi is the Musk EDT, where you have even more of that musk in combination with sandalwood, but you can see some of that DNA and quality run through his collection. It feels elevated to many of the screechy or generic musky bases we get in most modern perfumery.