Fortuna Felix

[suki]

The Joys of Good Fortune

A hymn to laughter, joy, and merriment: blood orange and champaca bubbling with blonde tobacco, osmanthus, sweet clove, and vanilla.

In The Bottle: So, this is my second Fortuna review and what this, so far, has in common with Balnearis, is that, like the original Antique Lace and a few precious others, upon first sniff, I am instantly transported into a realm of exquisite ache for a time long gone. Call it nostalgia or reverie, but it's palpable, visceral and I want to hold onto it for as long as possible.

 

This scent, in the bottle, is difficult to pinpoint, in terms of individual notes. Generally I can at least pick out one or two from a chorus. Instead, I am flooded with memory, of being a teenager in my boyfriend's bedroom, his parents blissfully unaware that we did not, in fact, sleep in separate rooms as we'd promised to. It's my Skin Musk and sweet, barely audible traces of his Polo cologne, and the flower corsage he gave to me at his school dance the night before, and traces of my rich Nature's Gate conditioner left in my hair and none of those things. It's heady and hopeful and slightly angsty.

Wet On Skin: Now that it's had a chance to warm on my skin, the initial squeeze of my heart has relaxed and I can discern some actual notes!
The rich tartness of the blood orange is there, less "orange-y" than its Mandarin or Sweet Orange counterparts, Blood Orange reads more adult. Definitely not sugary. The champaca is here, but thankfully not in the heavy-handed way champa notes tend to amp on my skin, making me smell like Super Hit incense (love that incense. don't want to smell like it all the time.) The clove and vanilla definitely bring this scent into a balance, so that it's rich, again, without being heavy. Imagine decadent floor-length velvet curtains in a drawing room- that have just been opened to allow bright sunlight to flood in. That's the balance here, between heavy and light. And there *is* a "bubbly" aspect as described in the original description (one of those "How does Beth DO that?!?" moment for sure) that helps to buoy the heavier notes of the scent.

Dry Down: This is indeed an appropriate homage to joy and merriment, but an adult rendering for sure. More Bacchus, not, say the Easter Bunny. It's rich and it's a little sweet and it's joyous, like a dessert port. I'm going to Morocco next month and I suspect this will be a bottle to pack in my suitcase for the duration

[djnevermore]

Blessed orange beauty, with a whiff (but not "whoa; headshop!") of champaca. Vanilla and tobacco at the back take some edge off, smooth it down to a sexy, juicy incense blend. It reminds me of a lighter Lush Karma.

[zankoku_zen]

Orange over champaca, with tinges of both vanilla and tobacco. I'm actually amping up the champaca quite a bit. To me, this sort of reminds me to Pallas Athene. PA is richer on me because of the amber though. Medium throw and wear length.

[Pyewacket]

In the bottle: very orange-bright tingly smelling, reminds me of my bottle of Nanny Gardner's Holiday Globules.

 

On me: the blood orange settles and blends immediately. It's still there but it's tempered by the other notes. I get champaca but the vanilla and clove are not very noticeable, nothing stands out too much, it all blends beautifully and becomes quite subtle. I get the feeling of old and new together, like an aged garden courtyard in Rome filled with living orange trees and flowers. It's very wearable so I'll be able to use it a lot, especially in hot weather.

[Soupy Twist]

In the bottle: blood orange with oh no, incense! Goes on as baby aspirin which briefly morphs into something pungent — osmanthus, maybe? The baby aspirin returns, with a powdery overlay, and this sort of matures and sours into orange candy powder, like a Sour Straw. This isn't too bad, but then the tobacco comes in. It's not tobacco in the pipe, which I love, but already smoked tobacco, full of ash and smoke. Then the incense stick returns and I'm done. No bubbles, no clove, no vanilla.

dammit, I had high hopes for this.

[dementia_divine]

In the decant: The blood orange, champaca, and tobacco notes stand out to me the most, with just a hint of clove.

 

Wet: The blood orange and champaca notes are currently the main players, with the tobacco lingering behind the champaca note. I'm getting a lot more clove on my skin than I did in the imp, but it isn't strong by any means, and then the vanilla note emerges, adding some creaminess to the orange note. I am not good at picking out osmanthus, so I can't really comment on that note.

 

Dry: The blood orange note is still present, but it is fainter than before. The champaca and tobacco are the stars of the show now, and I think I am smelling the fruity-floral osmanthus now, but I am not positive. The sweet clove, while noticeable, is really just a hint, and the vanilla note continues to add a creamy sweetness to the scent.

 

After a while, the scent becomes really faint and stays close to the skin with a really soft champaca note backed by vanilla.

 

Verdict: I like this, but I don't think I like it enough to get a bottle. I already have Eastern Comma, which has orange and tobacco, and I don't reach enough for that one, although I do think the champaca in this is lovely. I think the clove and vanilla would need to be stronger in order for me to enjoy this more.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Orange, and some pale tobacco. I like that combo sometimes, but here the champaca is making it a bi headshoppy, and it`s also trying to veer into orange cleaner territory.

 

 

Dry: It gets better as it dries, the orange gets brighter and less powdery, but this is still not a scent that`s `me`.

[SophieCedar]

What djnevermore said.

 

Its lush karma without the overpowering green patchouli note...thank gods cuz karma's excessive oomph gets on my nerves after a few hours...hahaha! Drydown boils down to orange-tinged champaca and vanilla with grounding warm clove. Happy, cozy, fuzzy.

[Juliamon]

In the imp: Whoa, nostalgia! I can't pinpoint any notes other than the tobacco, and only then because I just tested another tobacco blend. Mostly this is just a scent I recognize.

 

Wet: Ah, now I'm getting the champaca and orange. Definitely shares strong similarities with Lush's Karma, particularly the Karma Kreme lotion that reminds me so strongly of summer camp (orange juice, bug spray, candy cigarettes, dirt, damp clothes) that I can't wear it in the winter. The tobacco makes a great replacement for Karma's patchouli. It's a little headshoppy, but it doesn't scream it on me.

 

Dry: The clove and vanilla start to peek out and the tobacco backs off. It smells less like Karma now: better, more balanced, more nuanced. The clove isn't going crazy on me like it often does and the vanilla is lending the most gentle sweetness. It smells like a heavy scent but feels so much lighter.

 

Decent throw and wear length. Really happy with this one, I can see myself using it a lot this summer.

[LiberAmoris]

Fortuna Felix is my favorite of the Fortunas. Probably because I adore the champaca note, which is nicely featured here. The blood orange is juicy and bright, and the champaca and osmanthus make for an incensey white-yellow floral that strikes me as very summery. The tobacco, clove, and vanilla help anchor everything and round it out. I can absolutely see the similarities to Lush's Karma...I love Karma, and this is like a more complex and beautiful version of that scent on me. Definitely makes me feel happy, just as described.