Vanessa of Bonkers about Perfume has been extremely generous with me and one of the many, many samples and decants she shared with me, was Farmacia SS Annunziata Fiore di Riso, a perfume she very much likes herself.
Notes include tangerine, bergamot, rose, jasmine, ginger, vanilla, tonka bean, benzoin, sandalwood and oakmoss. It comes in perfume strength, though only in 100ml size.
Fiore di Riso is a soft gourmand, tender, sweet and comforting. A short citrus burst immediately ushers in a floral duet of rose and jasmine spiced by ginger. That spicy heart is a lot more subtle than it might sound, everything about Fiore di Riso is delicate and softly understated. As it develops, the sweet base of vanilla, tonka and sandalwood gets more and more prominent taking over the florals eventually. Something green (oakmoss) keeps Fiore di Riso from being all out gourmand and make this fragrance cozy and delicious without being edible in the least. On some days I get all sweet warmth, on others there is a bit of a soapy facet.
Fiore di Riso is very lovely, and easy to like. It does not make it hard to love it, it is highly wearable and stays close, but is not so inconspicuous that you won’t notice it yourself.
What Fiore di Riso is not, is spectacular, memorable or making a statement. It is quiet and pretty. What sounds like damning it with faint praise, is actually the contrary. In a normal life of people like us, who probably have more days where we need a quiet, but beautiful companion for a day at work, rather than a hauntingly beautiful but distracting or challenging statement perfume, Fiore di Riso will be highly appreciated.
It is most certainly the name that starts the fantasy, but the scent lends itself to accompany me on an inner journey to the terraced rice paddies of Thailand or China. I love the look of them, this landscape seems so peaceful and somber. A little peace and quiet during hectic days, a quick escape, instant travel right there on my wrists, often is all I need, and that is a good thing, because it is all I get too.
It is not a must-have-now for me, but would certainly be a will-wear-often, if I had a bottle.
What are your preferred soft and understated fragrances, the ones that never fail you?
Olfactoria's Travels 
Sounds delicious and a bit of me, so many perfumes to try, so little time, if only I could get paid to smell perfumes. 🙂
Ha, if that were possible we’d be rich! 😉
When I visited Bali I really fell in love with the look of those rice terraces too.
This perfume sounds very much in Vanessa’s style of understated elegance. Interesting that it is perfume strength but still subtle. I like the sound of the oakmoss keeping the gourmand aspect in check.
For soft and understated perfumes in my collection I’d pick Kyoto, Trefle Pur and Bois d’Argent.
Your soft perfume options are gorgeous, Tara!
Parfum Sacre never fails me, I find it beautifully soft, but the incense makes it also a supportive scent.
For a soft understated office scent I often find myself wearing Bulgari pour Femme. Having said all that I have been testing the Parfums d’Empire sample set and I think Equistrius (which I tried for the first time last night) might have to insert itself into this category, so beautiful.
Oh, Equistrius – great, great, great! 🙂
Lovely review of this delicate scent – I wanted you to try it as I know you have a bit of a thing for rice scents. Do you know KAMA from this line, because if not I could fit you up with some of that!
And you may have put your finger on why I am drawn to so many understated, calming fragrances, namely that they are soothing on hectic and stressful days, of which the past year has had its fair share on various fronts. Case in point – yesterday I went to Germany and back in a day, which damn near killed me, and chose as my Scent of The *Very Long* Day Cartier L’Heure Promise (a recent acquisition from the very kind Suz K.). It was so quiet in fact that at times I couldn’t hear it for the ambient airport noise, but very soft and pretty too! : – )
This was the first perfume in the line I have ever tried, so no Kama either…
No wonder you crave soft and calming scents, your travel schedule must be exhausting!!!
It makes me appreciate you checking in here regularly all the more! 🙂
PS As for my other soft and understated fragrances, too many to mention really, but Lostmarc’h L’Eau de L’Hermine and Lann-Ael would be two, then Prada L’Eau Ambree is also a staple (I should get a bottle really), then there’s Acqua di Biella Kid Mohair, SSS Opal, Dorsay L’Intrigante c/o your good self, PG Bois Naufrage (big time!), JM Vanille & Anise, Lacoste pour Femme, DIptyque Eau Duelle, Maison Kurkdjian APOM pour Femme and AG Vanille Exquise. And that is just off the top of my head… : – )
PPS I also have you to thank for the Lann-Ael tip off/decant!
You are very welcome! 🙂
Soft and understated is one of my favorite categories too, and I’ve had my eye on Fiore di Riso for quite awhile. It’s lovely, but for some reason, I’ve hesitated about buying a full bottle. I’ve had a large sample of PG Bois Naufrage for weeks, but I just dug it out the other day to give it a sniff. I love it!
I get more and more weary of getting a 100ml bottle of
anything, so I won’t be buying Fiore di Riso either.
Wow, great list! Thaks for sharing *starts taking notes*
Lann-Ael is just what I was thinking as well – partly because I am wearing it right now! This morning I needed a something comforting and soft and it is perfect for that. If only the bready note at the beginning weren’t so fleeting and the apple weren’t quite so sweet, I would have a bottle!
Hello, this is my first time commenting here – I found your blog relatively recently and I’ve been catching up reading through the archives. I appreciate your posts so much, you have such a personal, friendly and intelligent style of writing! I don’t know if I have a favorite in this category but I’m curious to read all the suggestions. And now off to find my sample of Equistrius!
Welcome, Helle! I’m glad you found my blog and even more glad
you like what you found! Thank you for commenting! 🙂
Equistrius is such a nice iris, I wonder why it doesn’t get more attention in Perfumeland…
Prada L’eau Ambree & Barbara Bui are the two fragrances I can always count on to be understated, but “there” enough to keep me company at work
Those are lovely choices, Julie. I wish Barbara Bui was not discontinued…
Have you got some BB still? I have a spare decant if not.
Nope. No BB for B. 😉 If you can spare a drop, that’ll be great!
This is in my LuckyScent wish list! As in, buy a full bottle un-sniffed list! Though, it will probably be a while before I get to it.
You describe it to be just what I had hoped for: I must get a sample soon 😉
I love such a list. “Buy full bottle unsniffed” is the best category of all, the dare-devil category, the win the lottery category, I have one too! 😀
“the dare-devil” category is just right! Mine too is awaiting that lottery win 😉
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