Bvlgari Omnia was created by nose Alberto Morillas and released in 2003. The fragrance was said to have been inspired by the spices discovered by Marco Polo on his famous voyages, and was also described by Bvlgari as "a tribute to the tradition of the great oriental perfumes, re-interpreted for the world of today". The notes include black pepper, mandarin, masala tea, saffron, ginger, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, almond, chocolate, lotus blossom, and sandalwood.
Omnia has a light, peppery-citrus top note over sheer woods and spices. The chocolate and almond are subdued, but do give this a gourmand feel for a short time. It dries down to a very pretty, very soft sandalwood with dusty spices. The saffron and cardamom are the most apparent, but every so often I smell a bit of ginger or clove. I cannot smell any floral notes at all.
Despite the abundance of what are usually heavy spice notes, it stays sheer and transparent throughout, and it is only lightly sweet. It is one of my favorite comfort scents, and happily, wears well in almost any but the very hottest weather. I have heard complaints about the lasting power, but it lasts straight through the day on me, and since some people say they literally smell nothing after 5 minutes, I'm assuming it has one of those musk bases that not everyone is able to smell.
The bottle is glass inside a plastic over-casing representing two interlocking rings. CPC Packaging selected this as one of the best fragrance bottles of 2003, but I have to say that I do not care for it, ingenious though it may be. I do not like to feel plastic when I pick up my perfume unless I bought it at the drugstore for much less than what Omnia costs, and the spray-through mechanism may be cleverly designed, but personally I’d rather have a cap.
Bvlgari Omnia is available at department stores and at many of the online discounters.
Note: images via Images de Parfums.
Morning R!! Tested this spicy melange but I must have had a small mini that was probaby old and off – it was dreadful. This one I had to wash off within minutes – this was plain and simply BAD O!
I re-tested this in Sephora – was again not much better. I agree that the bottle could have been more sleek.
As usual I love your description and review – the notes sound so alluring – almost worth another try. You enabler you!
xoxo
N, it seems to be very much a love-it-or-hate-it fragrance, so I doubt your mini was old & off. You probably just hate it! Either way, I do give Bvlgari credit for not just releasing a long string of sweet, fruity florals like everyone else.
Hey, Robin, I tried this Saturday (on a strip) and liked it! I need to do further on-skin testing. I like Bvlgari, hurray! I agree about the bottle, though. These things are fun to look at, but oh-so-impractical.
Oh my, M, it may turn out that we have more in common scent-wise than I thought.
The other thing I didn't mention is that the first time I picked up the bottle, I spent 5 minutes trying to take it apart before I understood that you just spray from the top. Duh.
I agree with you about this rather terrible trend for sweet and fruity scents. I like them as puddings but not on me :))
This is, to me, an example of taking bottle-design just one step too far. I agree with you, the plastic is icky.
Not fond of the scent, it's okay, but not FBW for me.
I was actually interested to discover that there is a glass bottle in there. It does not have a satisfying “heft”, if you know what I mean.
This is one of those weird scents that doesn't register on my olfactory system at all! The first time I picked up the tester, I was convinced that it was a 'blank', containing only water. Even when I sprayed it, I could hardly detect any smell at all. Got this long ago with one of the Laura Ashleys. I must be missing some smell receptors!
Well, whatever receptors you are missing, you are not alone, because I've heard the same thing from others about Omnia. It makes me wonder if there is more musk in the base than I am noticing, because so many people can't smell musk notes. Even then, not sure how you could miss the spices, although they are light. Oh well, one more you don't have to buy!
I've just started reading this blog this week – absolutely great stuff! Thanks! As for Omnia, I love it and bought some yesterday. I seem to get primarily a tea note, with a transparency of citrus and a hint of something rich underneath (the chocolate I guess). I've had no problems with lasting power, and for a “light” perfume it seems to carry well, with several people noticing and complimenting me on it, without finding it too overpowering. As for the container, I'm also not fond of it – the product comes out in a stream rather than a squirt – but I think it may be designed to reflect Bvlgari's recent watch designs, the tortoiseshell look.
Thanks Tig, I'm glad you like the blog! I completely agree that the bottle doesn't spray nicely at all, but the juice itself is lovely.
I was so looking forward to trying this – it sounds perfect for a spice-addict like myself, and I did like it initially, but then it just disappeared!
I must be one of the smell-receptor-deficient people! I'm so jealous of all of you who can enjoy this one!
Very common reaction, and I just don't know why…
How weird is that! I tried it recently (found it gorgeous and WANT IT – one of those females scents that to me are perfectly unisex), washed it off later with soap, as I had tried this on one and Brit fM on the other hand, to put on Ferragamo pH at night before going out. The next morning i still could clearly smell a spicy Omnia accord on my right wrist hitting through the Ferragamo woods/vetiver! Much more evident than Brit on the other wrist. And I'm pretty sure I don't have an exceptionally sensitive nose. I find Omnia light but very distinctive and very long lasting! I have a paper strip on my desk from days ago and it's still full on.
You know, maybe the musk base is mostly iso e super or something like it. That would explain why it lasts forever but so many people can't smell it.
I as well, can't find any floral notes either but the spice notes are very alluring. I have the mini as well as the normal sized Bvlgari Omina, it's suitable for autumn/winter.
I'm a few years behind with my comment, but I just have to rant about how good this perfume is! Once I had smelled it in a store, it was probably off and I dismissed it.
Now I got it in a perfume swap on another site. I've since learned to trust Alberto Morillas blindly.
It's all aromatic woods! A dream! Agree about the unisex feel of it, another plus in my book.
At this time of year, I'm inseparable from Angel, L de LL … It's perfect to offset those. Though of course it's pretty perfect in it's own right.
Thankfully my big nose smells it in all it's lovely intensity. Sounds like not everyone is so lucky.
Glad you were reintroduced since it turned out to be such a favorite!
This is nice, lovely, and very distinctive. Sweet yet crisp without being cloying and with lots of florals. Although it’s lovely, I cannot get used to it, it’s not a bit of me, so when my bottle runs out I won’t be buying another. The bottle I have was a gift, and being honest I doubt I would have been drawn to it enough to make a purchase myself. Don’t get me wrong it’s lovely, but not me.
Oh well, plenty more fish in the sea.
Late to the party, as usual.
I finally got to try Omnia recently when I got a sample vial from ebay. I was lucky enough to find a 40ml bottle for a really good price in a discount perfume shop last weekend, and I’ve been wearing it almost every day since. I love this stuff. I had only smelled the flankers before this, and of those I only liked Crystalline, but this really smells like Crystalline’s richer, more interesting big sister. Unlike some of the other Bvlgaris I’ve smelled, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything with this one. The citrus top notes go away pretty quickly, and then it’s all woods and musk and light, dry spices. The chocolate note isn’t super-prominent and not too gourmand-y. It mostly lends a sweet roundness to the woods. Omnia lasts a long time too! I put some on one evening, and I could still smell it before I showered the next morning. As for the bottle, I don’t love the materials all that much, but I do like the shape and how it fits in my hand.
Omnia has become my comfort scent. I said before that I didn’t find the chocolate note gourmand, but that’s not entirely true. When I’m wearing Omnia, it makes me think of being in a room paneled with particularly aromatic wood while someone bakes cookies a couple of rooms away.
So the gourmand aspect is kind of in the background, but it’s there.
Found this at Wal-Mart the other day, and gave it an eager spray after reading so many good things. Short-lived citrus, spice, and a nicely dry tea accord…followed by heavy, ceaseless, Narciso-esque musk. Unlike the unfortunate anosmics, I smell every inch of Omnia from top to bottom, and I’m less than blown away. It’s nice, sure, but…ehh. (I don’t even get any chocolate out of it for some guilty-pleasure gourmand fun.) A shame.