I've met more than a few women who wear Tocca fragrances, and they're often thirty-something acquaintances who work in the arts, which makes sense to me. Tocca's fragrances are available at Sephora, but also at quite a few quirky little boutiques. They're generally light, feminine scents with sweet floral and fruit notes, they're packaged in antique-looking bottles, and they have names that refer to romantic locales or famous women in history. Tocca isn't a niche line, but it offers a semi-mainstream alternative to celebrity fragrances, teen-oriented scents and logo-encrusted "aspirational" products. They're not necessarily distinctive fragrances, but they're never embarrassing, either.
Giulietta, which was launched in 2009, claims to evoke "the love story of Italian director Federico Fellini and Giulietta Masina" in a composition that includes top notes of Bulgarian rose, ylang ylang, green apple, and pink tulips; middle notes of lily of the valley, iris pallida, vanilla orchid, lilac, and heliotrope; and bottom notes of cedarwood, musk, amber and sandalwood. In the Eau de Parfum, the green apple note is quite noticeable at the outset, but it gradually makes way for the fragrance's heart of various white petals and very soft, clean woods. Giulietta left me with the impression of a dessert that involves whipped cream and a very mild fruit sorbet and a garnish of some edible flower. In fact, considering the lingering presence of the vanilla orchid note, I'd even classify Giulietta as an easy-to-wear "summer vanilla."
I happen to enjoy Tocca's body products more than the perfumes, an experience that I've also had with Jo Malone. Tocca recently reformulated its bodycare line and the results are excellent. The shower gel creates plenty of lather and the body lotion is thick but not greasy; both are packaged in plastic bottles that mimic ribbed glass. The Giulietta shower gel seems to give off a stronger fruity note (and it reminds me of cucumber almost as much as apple in this formulation), with the creamy lily and lilac in the background. The lotion, on the other hand, leans more towards Giulietta's milky floral and vanilla-heliotrope notes. Its scent persists for several hours after being applied to the skin, so if you layer all three products, you'll be able to prolong Giulietta's effect for most of your day.
Coming back to the Fellini-Masina reference, I'm not sure how Giulietta is "reminiscent of their Corsican honeymoon," since a mountainous Mediterranean island isn't really a place where you'd expect to come across green apples and pink tulips, but then again, I never really understood how Tocca's Colette or Cleopatra were related to their namesakes, either. I'm probably being pedantic. Giulietta is certainly a simple pleasure: it's pretty, it's sweet without being overwhelming, and it could be worn to the office as well as on weekends. There's a reason for Tocca's popularity with a certain audience, although I wouldn't mind introducing the brand's wearers to some more complex fragrances someday. If I were to choose just one fragrance that includes notes of apple, tulip, and musky vanilla, for example, I'd opt for L'Artisan Parfumeur's more complex Traversée du Bosphore — but Giulietta is definitely an easier place to begin, and it does have those nice matching body products.
Do you have a favorite "summer vanilla" fragrance? If so, feel free to share in the comments.
Tocca Giulietta is available as Eau de Parfum (50 ml for $72), Shower Gel ($18), and Body Lotion ($20), as well as a Solid Perfume ($30), Rich Body Cream ($45) and a Bar Soap ($12). For purchasing information, see the listing for Tocca under Perfume Houses.
Thanks for the review Jessica. This does not sound like my kind of thing, but I appreciate the chance to read about Tocca. I’m in Australia and there is just one outlet that I know of that carries Tocca (Mecca Cosmetica) and I have never been able to get my head around what the brand is trying to do. At Mecca Cosmetica you see Tocca lined up with Serge Lutens and Comme des Garcons and brands like that, which is odd. Tocca fragrances are pallid compared to that lot.
Colette might be more to my taste than Guilietta. I should check it out. I must say the body products sound nice too.
Annemarie, I can’t picture the Toccas sharing space with Serge Lutens’s fragrances! How funny. Totally different audiences…!
I have a fondness for Colette. I don’t own a bottle, but I’ve used up several samples. I find it to be a safe, work-friendly scent that feels a little cozy. Not great, not bad.
Sounds nice. Sometimes those are the fragrances that we reach for the most, while the masterpieces sit on the shelf! I’ll definitely give it a go.
I have a bunch of Tocca samples which I had never been tempted to try…maybe I will based on your review!
I don’t have a specific “summer vanilla” fragrance but just in general, I like the Lavanila line, including the Vanilla Grapefruit Deodorant and the Healthy Baby Butter Body Cream which I use as a hand cream.
I also like Bath & Body Works Vanilla Noel — the Anti-Bacterial Hand Gel and somewhere I have a full bottle of the shower gel.
Oh, I love that particular deodorant, I have to say!
I’m thinking back to some of my own favorite “summer vanillas.” Les Nereides Douceur de Vanille was something I really loved at one time; I used up a decant.
Well, if pressed to come up with one “summer vanilla”, I would say Hermès Eau Claire des Merveilles. I just started using it this weekend and it is quite lovely. I bought it last year and just never got around to using it. Robin’s Top 10 Summer Fragrance list made me realize the error of my ways
Your first paragraph perfectly describes how I see Tocca. Particularly if you imagine that the woman shops at Anthropologie. I enjoyed smelling this scent at Sephora once but not enough to buy it. Might buy the lotion though.
Yes, it fits Anthropologie’s aesthetic perfectly!! Actually, I like most of the fragrances offered at Anthropologie…
I’ve come across Tocca in various little gift shops in Philadelphia, Atlantic City, etc., the kinds of boutiques that sell some delicate jewelry, a few pretty dresses, a small selection of retro-looking housewares, some letterpress stationery, etc. Well, I like that kind of place… and I often see the Tokyo Milk scents at the same kinds of shops.
… I meant, Asbury Park. Not Atlantic City at all.
I keep sniffing new Tocca EdPs when they hit Sephora, but none of them ever really grab me. (I do, however, still own a bottle of the Acqua Profumata Amalfi body spray — a relic from my short-lived fascination with aquatic scents.) I’d rather put the money toward a nice Tocca dress or blouse from Bluefly.
My favorite summer vanilla is Guerlain’s discontinued Terracotta Voile d’Eté, but that’s due more to the carnation than the vanilla.
Those Tocca dresses really are pretty! I own a knit scarf that I got on sale once, but I’d love to own a dress or a little jacket from the line.
My summer vanilla is my winter vanilla (and my spring and autumn vanilla, too!)–Shalimar! Not subtle but lots of fun!
Couldn’t put it better! Why stray from perfection? We wear perfume to have a nice company around, and there is no better company than Shalimar. I work in a very masculine and kind of compettive environment. In places like these women tend to tone down, even become more masculine, in order to assert themselves. But I’m too old for that, and the punk girl inside me does not give a damn what these guys will think about my Lipstick Rose or my beloved l’Heure Bleue. I’m fine being the crazy woman who wears strong perfume while everybody around is so afraid of anything but cologne – it is indeed very hot and humid here in the rainforest! (See how lengthy and bitter I turned out? I REALLY couldn’t have put it better, Marjorie Rose. -‘))
Ah, Shalimar…! and I don’t think that was “bitter & lengthy” at all.
Ooh, can we hang out some time?!
I love Lipstick Rose, too! I haven’t tried L’Heure Bleu, yet, but now I’m thinking it’s past due!
Maybe not a coincidence, but I am a scientist by education (a teacher by profession), and the world of science is still male-dominated. I completely understand what you say about women acting more masculine to fit in. I did that 15 years ago–not sure how I’d respond if I went back to science now. I think I’d miss my big fragrances, make-up, and nice clothes–hard to believe I’d give it all up!
Which rainforest are you in?
I picked up a 15 ml bottle of “Florence” after blind sniffing it and was slapped in the face with a wad of gardenia reminiscent of my grandmothers favorite scented candles she always burned. I’ll be checking this one out next time I hit Sephora. As for a “summer vanilla,” it would have to be LaVanila “Cocunut-Vanilla.” A heavy, almost cloying juice that smells like Watkins double Strength Vanilla & SPF 2 Sun Oil that i used to slather on in the early 90s before i figured out I shouldn’t be in such a hurry to be diagnosed with malignant melanoma.
Hm… I just looked back and remembered that I really, really did not like Florence when I tried it, even though it includes notes of rose and iris and other favorites! The new Violetta fragrance is pretty, though… and I do love many of the candle scents.
I’ve always wanted to smell Tocca fragrances but have never been to a shop where they are carried up here. I am very attracted to the bottle – I’d probably be just as happy to have an empty to put on display.
I struggle with vanilla fragrances because I prefer the non-foody ones. I was really craving a summer vanilla at the beginning of summer. This year I am seeking something warm, sheer, dry and “dusty”. In the past I like to wear Givenchy Organza Harvest Jasmine from 2007, but it can be heavy too. I got into the Diptyque Eau Duelle, which I really love, but then the drydown reminds me a lot of Kenzo Flower’s drydown, so there was no significant departure for me. I will be watching this list develop for new summer vanilla ideas!!
Tried Atelier’s Vanille Insensee? Very dry and non-foody, to my nose, with interesting herbal facets at the beginning, and very long-lasting.
Oh, that is a nice one!! I agree.
I’ve enjoyed smelling most of the Tocca line, but none really wowed me. I have a small decant of Florence, it’s on the shelf for fragrances that fall into the “I really wouldn’t wear this very often but once in a while I WANT this particular scent, but for no more than 6 hours or so” category. The body products are very nice. I’m a freak for layering.
Summer vanilla – L de Lolita Lempicka!
Outlandish, I own and love L de Lolita Lempicka, too. For some reason, I enjoy it more in cold weather… funny!
I enjoy a couple of the Tocca scents – they’re affordable, usually office friendly, and I like the idea of complementary body products. Tocca Bianca is a wonderful summer scent – lemon, musk, and rose – for which I’ve received numerous compliments. And I think that Tocca Colette might be my favorite summer vanilla (vanilla, incense, sandalwood and musk). Definitely not in the same league as SL or Ormonde Jayne or other favorites – but not celebrity fruity/floral trash either!
Bianca is my favorite of the Toccas and I have a sample. I was considering a bottle, but I have a lot of similar light citrusy things, so can’t justify it at the moment!
You know, I recently sent a sample of Bianca to a friend who was looking for a light green-tea-and-floral scent… I wonder how she liked this one! I thought it might fit the bill.
I’m not a fan of any of the current tocca perfumes but I LOVE their old discontinued scent, Touch, which now only comes as a delicates laundry wash. I have a bottle of the perfume and it’s one of my favorite heavy white florals in a vast collection of heavy white florals! They say it’s tiare, pomegranate, and some sort of balsam I believe. It has great sillage (men in my building invariably tell me the elevator smells great on the days I wear it) and is just really luscious. Wish I had stockpiled it so I could wear it every day! The laundry wash is nice too but does seem to be more fresh (maybe some clean musk in it?) which is not really my thing.
Touch!! I do remember that one. Too bad it doesn’t exist as an Eau de Parfum anymore. I had a mini-bottle of the delicate laundry wash once (in Stella), and I liked it very much, but the scents do seem to vary from item to item. (I prefer the Stella candle to the Eau de Parfum, for example!)
Yes they made it in an eau de parfum and a serum type thing (like a silicone-based gloss) and both were heaven. As for the other tocca scents, even though I don’t love any of the perfumes I actually agree their scents work beautifully as candles! A lot of times I go into friends’ homes and smell something amazing and it turns out to be tocca!