Bulgari Omnia Paraiba (2015 [US] -2016 [EU]) ≈ Polishing this Gemstone of Perfumery, your Skin {Perfume Review & Musings}
Perfume Review of Omnia Paraiba by Bulgari
The latest addition to the Omnia range pays homage to a rare blue-green tourmaline stone originally discovered in the state of Paraiba in Brazil in 1987. Noted for its blue and green hues due to the presence of copper, its sheen is characterized as being «electric » and « neon-like » such is the vividness of its visual impact. The scent comes after a series of jewelry-themed Omnias which have perpetuated the personality of Omnia Crystalline (2005), more than that of Omnia (2003)...
The fact that the « flanker » was better appreciated than the original is a testament to the popularity of lighter compositions buoyed by white musks over more oriental, spicier textures. Paraiba however remembers something of Omnia in its powdery cacao note and milky texture.
As soon as you bring the bottle to your nose, and even without pressing down on the nuzzle, white, powdery musks waft escape from the infinity double-ringed flacon. Even if you did not know that Omnia was originally created by perfumer Alberto Morillas, you would recognize his olfactory signature: a trail of Morillas musks akin to the white stones of Tom Thumb. They are in Flower by Kenzo ; they are even in Thierry Mugler cologne ; it is a nomad base belonging not to a house - although Morillas now has his own perfume brand, Mizensir, which started as a scented candle company and now offers eaux de parfum.
Scented Facts
The opening of Omnia Paraiba is absolutely delicious - and even irresistible. It smells of a tropical paradise on earth - probably some areas of Brazil which are unspeakably beautiful and lush. In particular, you will encounter one of the best, nay, perhaps the best passion-fruit impression of the original Maracudja as found in nature, showcased to enhance an elegant and sophisticated perfume. Add a drizzle of caramel to that oh-so-fresh juicy riot of passion-fruit pulp and you're in for a treat for the senses.
The note of passion-fruit in particular has been selected by the nose to reflect the light of the Paraiba stone : it works like a neon effect for the perfume. The passion fruit accord runs throughout the course of the fragrance. It is very lasting.
The perfumer has contrasted a milky, gourmand facet with a pleasantly acidic and fruity one while a suave sensation is born in the middle, bridging the two, a priori more extreme contrasted facets. The Passiflora in the heart of the composition is like a more nuanced, floral version of the passion-fruit, both deepening the nuance and making it more delicate. The gardenia from Brazil is elegant, tropical and slightly carnal - it also allows to cut through the caramel accord preventing it from being obvious and cloying, while doubling the dose of cream at the same time.
If you care to remember the Escada summery outputs, you will have to conclude that Omnia Paraiba is a more grown-up, subtler version of that sort of intensely sweet and sometimes, heavy, archetypal Piña-Colada-cocktail accord. It is also trend-wise, exploring the unmistakably popular taste for gourmands and for caramel in fragrances more particularly, while pulling it more in the direction of white milk and cream, than burnt sugar.
That « middle sensation » or « bridging sensation » you experience, and which is oh-so-soft is like the sound of the Brazilian Portuguese language, but also the smell of sun-warmed skin kissed by restrained sticky-sweet notes. Powdered cacao beans add an underscore of spice to the white musks. Vetiver makes your skin smell like it has rolled in sunny hay before it lets out its smoky character in the long-distance drydown.
Omnia Paraiba is a very escapist composition ending on a more familiar and classical note of rose and vanilla for your skin. If the perfume started out by making you think of the art of the perfumer as one which, like that of the jeweler, knows how to enhance the natural beauty of ingredients making them shimmer like precious stones with light and life, you end up thinking and remembering that the art of the perfumer is also to know, perhaps even more essentially, how to enhance that smooth-surfaced crown jewel belonging to a woman, her skin.
