Beauty Care: Hilde Soliana Buonissimo Perfume Review

Hilde Soliana Buonissimo Eau de Parfum is a photorealistic scent that conjures up hazelnut lattes, espresso shops, and buttery croissants. It’s entirely gourmand: roasted espresso with nutty, caramelized hazelnuts and a lactonic, buttery quality. There doesn’t seem to be a formal note list, though these seemed to be what people tend to refer to as notes, based on the description of the scent: cappuccino, sweet pastry, butter, vanilla, espresso, and cream.

It opened with dark, rich espresso with a dollop of thick cream and a drizzle of caramel syrup and powdered cocoa on top. It was chewy and dense and almost boozy before the espresso became more roasted, less caramelized, and it initially reminded me of layers of tiramisu but sweeter. The espresso was dark, roasted, and just barely bitter and so aromatic; it was like a full-time espresso shop that begs you to drink it with as little extras as possible.

Over the first fifteen minutes, Buonissimo became nuttier, more like a hazelnut latte with a buttery croissant on the side. I absolutely felt like I detected the perfume as described; the buttery quality supported the milkier, creamier feel of the espresso, sugar, and hazelnut, while adding a level of decadence to an already very gourmand scent overall.

There were no real shifts, just a weakening of the roasted espresso as it became more and more overrun by a creamy, darker caramel, buttery and rich; more like the last sip of a caramel macchiato. It continued to soften over the next few hours but did not stray from sweet, buttery caramel with an underlying nuttiness.

Application

For testing, I used 1/3 of a 0.7ml sample vial dabbed to the underside and topside of my wrist area on my left arm. I used an unscented moisturizer prior to applying the scent as this is also my swatching arm (aka, incredibly parched at any given moment) as I found scent did not hold well here otherwise.

Longevity

It lasted for four hours until it was a skin-scent and about eight hours before it was quite difficult to detect on my skin. The sillage and projection were light, and it always wore pretty close to the skin.

Personal Thoughts

I didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but the depth of the espresso and how it lingered for longer really reminded me of sweet lattes. The vanilla used in this felt so rich and boozy that even as it was quite sweet, it didn’t feel sickly to me. It was a fun fragrance, and it reminded me of a lot of the “fall” candles and melts I used to use many years ago. (I love more gourmand scents for the home.)