V Canto
V Canto
74 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Amber surges forward with honeyed warmth whilst rose and ylang ylang create an immediate floral sweetness—there's an almost candied quality from the very first spray, with the amber's resinous depth preventing it from feeling purely sugary. The spice accord hasn't quite emerged; you're met with pure aromatic comfort.
Geranium's peppery-green facets finally cut through the sweetness, and cotton candy introduces an unexpectedly playful, almost gourmand element that shouldn't work but does. Sandalwood and benzoin create a creamy, talc-like softness that spreads across the skin, transforming the fragrance into something more rounded and textured than the opening suggested.
Patchouli's earthy darkness grounds the composition as vanilla and frankincense emerge from the base, creating a powdery-resinous finale that feels almost ecclesiastical. The sweetness remains but becomes more abstract, blending with the tonkin musk into a warm, skin-scent quality that lingers with amber's final, fading embrace.
Magnificat announces itself as a deliberately saccharine affair, one that doesn't apologise for its sweetness but rather leans into it with almost ecclesiastical devotion. The amber arrives first—warm, resinous, slightly animalic—and immediately becomes the structural backbone upon which everything else hangs. Rose and ylang ylang don't compete here; instead, they create a creamy, almost narcotic floral blanket that feels more indolic than traditionally pretty. This is a fragrance that understands the seductive power of excess.
The heart reveals where Magnificat's personality truly crystallises. Geranium arrives with its characteristic green-leafy spice, cutting through the sweetness just enough to prevent cloying, whilst cotton candy transforms the composition into something deliberately nostalgic—a carnival of scent rather than a garden. The sandalwood sits beneath this strange marriage of confectionery and florality, providing a soft, almost creamy texture that prevents the fragrance from becoming shrill. It's powdery without being dusty, sweet without being nauseating.
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Estēe Lauder
4.0/5 (186)