Carthusia’s Mediterraneo fragrance — a bright and sunny mix of lemon, verbena and green tea — has long been a summer staple of mine. So far, nothing else in the line had really captured my affections, although I’ve been meaning to revisit the florals since I haven’t smelled most of them in quite some time (if you have a favorite, or if you’ve had the chance to try any of the solid perfumes, do tell). Their new 1681, though, was a pleasant surprise.
1681 is named for the year the Carthusian monks of the Certosa di San Giacomo on the island of Capri reportedly began crafting fragrances using local materials.1 It opens with a spicy, somewhat sharp blend of citrus, herbs and lavender, and dries down to a creamy and smooth cedar pencil + light incense (mandarin, bergamot, coriander, red thyme, rosemary, iris, neroli, lavender, petitgrain, black pepper, sandalwood, cedar, incense, amber, vanilla and musk). It’s more dry than not (the vanilla is just a dab) and I don’t know who it is being marketed to, but most people would probably find it more masculine than feminine.
If it sounds at all heavy, rest assured that once it calms, it’s soft and sheer enough to work perfectly in the worst humidity — it might be a summer version of something like Frapin Caravelle Epicée. The lasting power could be a little better, but it’s reasonable enough. I wouldn’t mind owning a bottle but I’m not quite head over heels in love: it’s been added to the “maybe, at the right price” section of my “buy” list. It’s certainly worth a try for anyone looking for a spicy woods for summer.
Carthusia 1681 is available in 100 ml Eau de Parfum ($120); for buying information see the listing for Carthusia under Perfume Houses.
1. Or returned to crafting fragrances after the Certosa was reconstructed? Or some such. The press materials are not entirely clear.
p.s. If anyone knows if Mediterraneo has been reformulated in the past few years, do comment!
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Uh oh, this sounds right up my alley. My money-torn-between-hobbies alley.
Certainly on my to try list now. Thanks for the review Robin!
Oh, it’s so hard to apportion the $ around, isn’t it?
I love Aria Di Capri. The rest of Cathusia pretty much leaves me entirely cold, but both Mediterraneo and Aria are lovely, I have decants and they have been on my “to buy” FB list for a while (and are likely to remain so, with my current buying freeze)…
I will try Aria again. Such a great name, isn’t it — Aria di Capri?
you know, I’ve come to appreciate your “pencil” descriptions. It’s helpful to me because I know I won’t like it! =)
LOL…always good to know what you *don’t* like!
Sounds very nice, thanks for the review! For me, “pencil” in the description means I will probably like it.
I always like a good pencil
This one is really pretty soft, and the iris isn’t heavy but it does smooth over the cedar a bit.
I would definitely like to try this, but the cedar note scares me a little – I haven’t had a good experience with that note yet. Lavender is not the problem for me it once was – and everything else there sounds tempting. “Spicy woods for summer” sounds delightful.
Lavender used to be a bigger problem for me too…still don’t like most lavender soliflores.
Hi Robin. I think cedary-pencil isn’t going to make this work well for me if I sample either, but who knows. It sounds quite herbaceous.
I still haven’t tried Mediterraneo and would like to, but I did get some split decants from when Bigelow was practically giving away old Carthusia stock:
- Io, because honestly I was intrigued by the idea of smelling like George Clooney. To me it’s almost a ringer for AA Mentafollia.
- Aria di Capri seemed similar to SMN Melograno somehow, which I like but don’t need a dup of.
- via Cammerelle, which didn’t sount promising on paper but has ended up being terrific, especially while travelling and in northeastern humidity. Citrusy-herbal and not long lived, but I enjoy it a lot and would gladly wear it if the proverbial bottle “fell from the sky” (or was available again close to those crazy Bigelow closeout prices!).
I like those bottles and old-fashioned labels too.
I adore the label on Mediterraneo! Don’t think I ever tried Camerelle at all, and want to try the Gelsomini too. Did not know GC wore the Io, that’s funny.
Tried them all last week on a lazy afternoon in 100 + heat.
Liked Via Camerelle most, EdT + parfum. Thought perfume would be better for staying power. It was not so. So, back to EdT and since it’s not that expensive over her, I can splash away happily.
Thanks!
I had no idea GC wore Io! lol And I also aspire to live in a villa on Lake Como. Io is the one I have and I love it during the summer. It is very minty but it’s lily of the valley works well on me as well as it doesn’t smell like Blue Grass (a “grandma” perfume for me) kind of lotv. It comes off very herbal-cologne on me. I could see it smelling quite nice on a gent.
That was a horrendously worded paragraph. I worked outside all day today. I think I have sunstroke.
Are you now revealing that GC ( that’s what I call him) and I are scent twins?
When you get the villa, you can invite me for a visit
I’m sure I’ll try this eventually, although the star of the line, Mediterraneo, didn’t work for me at all. Straight Lysol (again, I tried it fairly recently for the first time, so no idea if it’s reformulated or just bad on me). IO Capri doesn’t do much for me either (it was hard to tell from the sample vial, so I went in on a split…meh). Caprissimo is really interesting, although I keep changing my mind about whether it’s interesting-good, or interesting-bad.
Oh, don’t think I ever tried Caprissimo either! Sounds interesting, at least.
Someone gifted me a few Carthusia soaps recently. The Mediterraneo is just delicious in a cool shower… Especially during 90+ degree weather.
As for 1681 it has most of my favorite notes…Any ideas for testing this in Boston? Or just I just get a sample from Aedes?
Could have sworn Barneys used to carry Carthusia so that might be worth a phone call but they don’t have it online. Aedes might be easiest.
Thanks! I’ll look there! Although I think the fragrance collection has been “edited” a bit in Boston from what I remember. Last time I was there they were missing a few Diptyque scents…
Robin, has anyone ever told you that you’re quite the enablet? Spice woods make up a big part of my scent collection and I find I’m missing them after 8 weeks of eaux. A spicy wood for summer = giant lemming!
Worth a shot, anyway!
Robin you scent sage , You seem to me so level headed and frugal when it comes to fragrance. (which I admire BTW!)
I wonder if you would share what your FB wish list is and what you intend on buying for sure- like can’t live without status.
~T
I am only frugal because my collection is already so huge, so not sure that is a sign of level-headedness! Oddly though, my “buy” list is one of the few lists I still keep handwritten in my filofax (almost everything else has been moved to Evernote) so cannot reproduce it all here, but will tell you some of the things on the list. Do note though that getting on the list does not mean something will ever be bought, in fact, some things have been on the list for years. Hard to say what I’ll buy for sure — like many people, I buy when the spirit moves me. And many of these things I already have decants (or minis) of, so not likely to buy FB until I finish those.
Vintage: Diorissimo parfum, Joy parfum, Bois des Iles parfum
CdG: Hinoki, Stephen Jones, Avignon, Kyoto
10 Corso Como
Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist, Rahat Loukoum, Tubereuse Criminelle
Hermes Voyage
Hermes Osmanthe Yunnan (to replace nearly empty bottle)
OJ Champaca (to replace empty bottle)
OJ Ta’if
DelRae Debut (to replace bottle that went off)
Antonia’s Flowers Tiempe Passate
Costume National 21
Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio
Frederic Malle Vetiver Extraordinaire
Prada L’Eau Ambree, Prada Homme
Lubin Idole
Penhaligons Elixir
L’Artisan Havana Vanille
Mugler Angel Liqueur de Parfum
Amouage Jubilation XXV
Tauer Incense Extreme or Incense Rose
Bond 9 AW Silver Factory
CB I Hate Perfume Memory of Kindness & Black March
Chanel 28 La Pausa
TDC De Bachmakov
Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Pamplemousse
Eau d’Italie Paestum Rose
Gucci Pour Homme (the first one)
MPG Bahiana
Parfums de Nicolai Vie de Chateau
Santa Maria Novella Eva
Ugh…that is all I can make myself type. Just looking at how long it is already is making me ill, LOL…but believe me, there is no way all of those bottles will end up joining my collection. At this point, there is NOTHING I can’t live without, given what I already own.
Darling Robin!
I love love love your list<3 I know exactly what you mean about the level headed aspect of it, you just get more discerning in your taste and tolerance as we smell along in Fume'Land huh?
I appreciate you letting me see what you crave and enjoy and long to own one day…Thank you!
I love alot of what you desire. And see some I need to try too.
I still do it ol' school and just write it down in the notebooks I get from Borders. HA.
I update it by crossing out stuff and using lil' stars and smiley faces for stuff I want. FBFBFB is stamped all over the place.
When I get sick of how chaotic it looks I tear out the page and start again. Aha how juvenile! But it works for me.
Yours ~ T
I kept to “old school” for a long time, but Evernote is fantastic & keep meaning to move my last few notes there (this one, plus books I want to read).
I also enjoyed seeing that list and I’m glad Tamara asked! Thanks!
That’s about 2/3 of the whole list. So is yours longer or shorter?
To be honest, I don’t have a physical (or electronic) FB list. Like mjr, I share a several of yours. To be honest, since discovering split groups, I don’t crave FBs so much (and you’ve seen how much I spend on decants). Sure, I like the look of bottles and I host splits now and then to acquire them but my attitude toward it is different now… but if money rained down I’d be your new Donatella!
I would like to own an original Amouage bottle some day; probably Jub XXV to replace my 30ml, or Epic Woman.
I looked again and can’t believe a bottle of Debut turned on you!!! That’s awful, and it couldn’t have been very old, right?
This would be a good poll: if someone said they’d buy you 3 bottles right now, what would you pick? (I’d host again, lol)
Joe, it was probably 2-3 years old? It was the original EdT formula.
And you’ve got your next poll topic — just remember it when I hit you up again!
Robin, you and I are very nearly scent-twins. I only noticed a couple of fragrances on your list that did not work for me and about a dozen or more that are on my to-buy (or already own) list. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, fun!
Great list! Seems mine changes daily, gets re-prioritized constantly, ugh.
I add things to mine but rarely take anything off unless I buy it.
wow! your list and mine match in all the scent I’ve already smelled. what’s missing on mine list and it is on yopurs, brings me to the conclusion they WILL end up on my list, once I get to try them. wow!
Any chance of letting us know what do you have in your collection?
Please, pretty please….
If I had it online, I’d post it! But don’t, and too lazy to type it all — it would be a long list
‘Spicy woods for summer’….Music to my ears ( if not my current account)! I will be seeking this out and am very intrigued by the ‘pencil’ comment as I adore the smell (and sound) of a freshly sharpened pencil. Thanks for a lovely review Robin!
If you try it, let me know if it lives up to the billing.
Am I the only one who thinks Io Capri smells a lot like Ninfeo Mio, minus the smokiness? I like NM better, but Io Capri is a pretty nice substitute.
I don’t remember it well enough to say — but feel in love with NM right away, and didn’t fall in love with Io.
I’ll venture to guess that it’s because they’re both green scents with fig notes in common….
Do you think that lakeside villa in Oceans 13 is Clooney’s? The one where he and Julia Roberts sit on the terrace while talking to the bad guy?
That would be one of my lotto fantasy winner purchases.
Oops. It was Oceans 12 and I just found the answer. It is not Clooney’s villa, but it is Vila Erba on Lake Como and is an exhibition and conference center. Gorgeous.
I might wear Via Camerelle when I visit there (wishlist).