Pep, Prep and My Disfunctional Nose- Cristiano Fissore Cashmere

Nothing could be better with the kind of weather that we had for the last month or so, than a fragrance named Cashmere. I couldn't wait to try it, as in my mind cashmere is my long coats, many black sweaters and luxurious scarves. My taste in clothes leans towards the dramatic, and so does my idea of what I'd like a cashmere scent to be.

But cashmere is also the pink twin-set worn by the former prom queen, and this is exactly what Cashmere for Women by Cristiano Fissore smelled like every time that I tested it on my skin (and the following day. This might be an EdT, but it's so tenacious that it took more than one shower to completely get rid of it).

On paper, the notes (bergamot, jasmine, rose, lily of the valley, amber, cedar, myrrh, vanilla, white musk) sound almost perfect. But from the moment the scent unravels and envelopes my skin, something is definitely going wrong. Bergamot is the only fruity note listed, but it isn't the culprit of the fruity, peachy accord that greeted me, squealing like a cheerleader in a pep rally. I hoped she'd go away, scared by my very un-peppy skin, but she brought her college graduate sister instead. The one in the pink twinset who just joined the Junior League. The peach became candied and sugary, and has stayed there, killing everything that stands in its way: vanilla, ceder or musk. Muffy has got a gun and she's definitely going to use it.

I can't tell if it's the lily, the jasmine or the rose, but something there has turned fruity bubblegum on my skin, with a disturbing sour note. And it would just not go away. I'm sure that there are many who would love it and can make it work. I'm just not one of them.

As is the case with many male-female fragrance duos, disliking the women's perfume often ends up with me adoring the male version (Prada is a good example). This would have been the case here if only I could smell it.

There are several woods, patchouli and vetiver. I think I can detect the patchouli and some of the woods. However, the male version relies strongly on the very kind of musk to which I have a full anosmia. Seriously, I can bathe in this scent and only get a whiff of the opening, and then: Nothing. I think it saddens me even more than my failure with the DAR version.