Omnia Crystalline by Bulgari {Perfume Review & Musings}

Omnia Crystalline was introduced in 2005, two years after Omnia. The perfume was created by Alberto Morillas the nose behind many a great perfumes including Flower Le Parfum by Kenzo, Panthère by Cartier, M7 by YSL, and Bulgari Omnia, amongst others.

According to WWD, "It started with a notion of transparency and luminosity," Paolo Alberti, vice president of the perfume and licenses division for Bulgari, said of the scent. "We wanted to make a jewel-like object that had maximum purity and light. Our heritage in jewelry made the pureness of crystals and the name Crystalline come to mind immediately."....

Originally I expected Omnia Crystalline to be somewhat of a non-descript clean scent. It is actually and happily much more than that. For once I find the advertisement to adequately describe the scent "It will thrill spontaneous, determined women who enhance their beauty with a discreet touch of sensuality". It is, as I see it too, a perfume for the woman on the go who is active and confronted with practical situations while not wanting to relinquish a discreet yet self-confident expression of femininity.

The perfume possesses a definite presence while managing at the same time to be airy and understated. It is very pretty without being devoid of personality and offers a delightful combination of light aquatic notes intertwined with deeper woody ones.

Omnia Crystalline brings in this aquatic reference in relation to Asian pear and lotus. The scent evolves from delicately aquatic and discreetly fruity to woody and very slightly powdery, with the aquatic accord persisting throughout. There are some tea-like tonalities to it too. The scent reminds me of AV by Adrienne Vittadini while feeling crisper and more modern.

The perfume plays with an Asian theme and features notes of bamboo, Nashi or Asian Pear (Pyrus pyrifolia), lotus flower, and balsa wood...

And by the way, if you have not yet tasted an Asian pear, you are cruelly missing out. Do yourself a favor and go to Chinatown at the next opportunity to bite into one. They are pears that look like very big yellow apples or small balls covered with a somewhat transluscent skin. The flesh is crisp and it is very, very juicy in the best of cases. These thirst-quenchers make you feel almost like you are drinking from a refreshing glass of water.

The flacon is shaped like a jewel, a reminder of the Bulgari jewelry brand. If the design in and of itself is handsome and decorative, I find that there are problems at the technical level. The spray reacts too easily to pressure and one ends up spraying oneself in unwanted places. Moreover, the spray does not really diffuse but rather drips.

Omnia Crystalline is a lovely and delicate scent. On a practical level it is a great choice to wear in situations that require social restraint. Be it for wearing at work, studying at the library, being around kids on a playdate, or sitting unobtrusively in the dark at the movietheater, you can spray it on and then blissfully forget about it, resting assured all the while that you will smell great but without excess.

Photo is from Sephora.