Dilmun
Lorenzo Villoresi (2000)

What a chameleon. It starts out a lovely citrus, harmless thing-masculine.....not unlike Acqua di Parma, and morphs, at least on me, into....well.....White Shoulders (!). Odd, but I like it.

Farm Garden (Flower Garden) by Gustav Klimt 1905

Genre: Citrus

Sampling Lorenzo Villoresi's orange blossom composition shortly after Czech & Speake's divine Neroli does poor Dilmun very little service. Like many Villoresi scents, Dilmun starts out harsh and confused, but unlike Piper Nigrum or Incensi, it never quite sorts itself out. The heart is a soapy, yet indolic orange blossom accord, but it is marred for me by a shrill, sour, chemical note that shrieks its way through the entire development. If I imagine away the dissonant element, I'm left with a pleasant, if unadventurous orange blossom floral-oriental on a sweet ambery foundation. Unfortunately, my imagination has limited stamina, and I'd just as soon save the effort by wearing something else (Serge Lutens Fleurs d'Oranger, Czech & Speake Neroli,) when I'm in the mood for orange blossom.

I very rarely use certain types of words in my reviews but when I smelled Dilmun for the first time on my skin I immediately thought: "Oh God if it sucks!

It sucks, there's nothing to do. Neroli, orange blossoms and other heavy white flowers on a messy vanilla base with green undertones on top. MEH One of the worst Villoresi I've ever experienced.

I have a deep respect for Lorenzo Villoresi and generally enjoy his fragrances- but, up to now, never enough to be drawn to buy a full bottle. In my recent craving for orange blossoms, I wanted so much to love Dilmun and hoped it would be the one I bought, giving a due homage to my fellow countryman. Unfortunately, it isn't.
It opens with a quite sharp and pungent, almost chemical note that seems, for a little while, to overcome the orange blossoms underneath. Then it emerges, wonderfully rich, round, mellow, with a gourmand quality- in many Italian cakes, orange flowers water is a distinctive ingredient. It quickly becomes musky powdery and soft, with very interesting whiffs of laurel leaves lingering upon. Then, it disappears all of a sudden, leaving nothing more than a soapy clean feel! On my skin, it lasts only for a couple of hours and reapplying would not be a fine choice, as I would be forced to smell again the harsh, nose tickling opening note...
Disappointing, even if the heart notes, for the little while they last, are pure delight to my nostrils.

Dilmun is a rich, refreshing orange blossom fragrance. It is much richer than a typical citrus style cologne. I enjoy the smell of orange blossoms very much, and Dilmun is fairly true to a fresh orange blossom. It reminds me of the type of orange blossom found in very high quality cooking/baking waters. It has a nice light, spicy dry down, that ends up somewhere in a vanilla neighborhood, but not sweet or cloying. Wearing it reminds me of being in an excellent patisserie - beautiful, fragrant, flavorful, satisfying.