Notes: dark chocolate, bitter orange, vanilla, and exotic woods.

Sorriso means “smile” in Italian, which makes it a fitting name for this fragrance because dark chocolate is a reliable way to get me to smile. I definitely have a sweet tooth, both when it comes to food and when it comes to perfume. I love some of Profumum’s other gourmands like Confetto and Vanitas, so I was really looking forward to finally trying Sorriso. I noticed that Luckyscent doesn’t include vanilla in their official notes for Sorriso, but Fragrantica does. I’ve included vanilla in the notes here because I sense it all the way through, from the opening to the dry down. This one is chocolate/vanilla all the way for me.

The initial opening comes across extremely sweet on my skin with a serious dose of vanilla. If you’re wary of too-sweet perfumes, don’t worry, this is as sweet as Sorriso gets. I get a small dose of the orange note, but it’s not bitter or sharp. This is a very smooth orange, like syrup. The orange note may be fleeting, but it’s enough to take the ultra sweet edge off the vanilla note.

Now the chocolate comes in, and Sorriso gets interesting. This is one of the more subdued chocolate notes I’ve come across, but in a good way. This is a true dark chocolate, deep and bitter. Paired with the vanilla, it’s really interesting. I expected this fragrance to be completely dessert-like and edible. However, once you get past the initial blast of sweetness, there’s a deep and almost earthy tone to Sorriso.

The general woody tone of the dry down helps keep Sorriso grounded and really rounds out the dark chocolate note. I still sense the vanilla, which by this point, reminds me a little bit of the woody, boozy bourbon vanilla of Diptyque’s Eau Duelle. It’s a shame the orange note isn’t more of a major player here. I think Profumum intended to bill this as a chocolate/orange fragrance but it’s much more of a chocolate/vanilla. However, the chocolate/vanilla interplay here is so interesting, it’s hard to complain. And it’s less outright foodie than might be expected.

I wore Sorriso this past New Year’s Eve and really liked it for the occasion. I find that there’s something festive about this one. (Maybe I just find chocolate festive in general?) Of course, now that it’s February, fragrance brands are making a Valentine’s Day push. I wouldn’t call Sorriso sexy per se, but you can never go wrong with a chocolate fragrance in general. Profumum is a niche Italian line and, as such, it does run very pricey. I’ve never splurged for a full bottle despite loving some of their fragrances. Fortunately, Luckyscent offers samples, and Sorriso is definitely worth a try if you’re into gourmands in general or chocolate in particular.

________________________

In the US, full bottles of Profumum are available from Luckyscent, which is where I got my sample of Sorriso.

The image and info on notes are from Fragrantica.