When I read the press release for a new fragrance, I can’t help but imagine how it will smell. I know that the list of notes and the promotional copy need to be taken with a healthy dose of skepticism. All the same, I have fun guessing what the actual experience of the fragrance will be. This week I tried two new-ish scents and neither of them was quite what I’d expected.

First: Gia, the newest fragrance from Tocca, “expresses passion and is given flight by notes of feminine power and purity” in its composition of Turkish rose, pink peppercorn, tangerine, amber and sandalwood. When Gia was first announced, its press release mentioned the artist Georgia O’Keeffe as its inspiration…

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