In 2017 I was bowled over by Mendittorosa’s Le Mat, of which owner Stefania Squeglia had sent me a full bottle, in a wooden box, complete with tarot card and weird marble stopper. The combination of fantasy aesthetic and excellent fragrance seemed to me to herald a renaissance in Italian perfumes. In our 2018 guide, I argued pro domo that Italians were well-suited to do a good job in niche perfumery because of their inability to produce ugly, vulgar things. Bold assertions often require ignoring some data, in this case the existence of Xerjoff. This said, bad taste is at least a defence against the poverty-stricken minimalism that is predicated on the idea that stock bottles and Helvetica Extra Light are inherently virtuous.

Mendittorosa has since doubled down on their style, which I would describe as alchemical. It is perhaps no accident that the firm resides in Naples, a place soaked in magic. Every one of their Talisman perfumes has a distinctive look and a dreamy concept. Even their small travel-size bottles go beyond mere duty, with the one containing Osang spattered with red droplets. (Sang is French1for “blood.”) Also, their website describes both fragrances and copy as AI-free, which is novel and delightful.

Mauna

This Cristiano Canali composition has his hallmark ambivalence and complexity. On a smelling strip, it came across to me as a sweet lavender in the manner of Caron’s Pour un Homme, with a more complex spicy background. Interestingly, lavender is not among the mentioned ingredients. Seeking agreement, I showed it to Tania, who perceived instead a caramellic milky-sweet character up front and compared it to Lubin’s Korrigan. On skin it seems to be neither; it instead gives a dark but transparent tea-like effect, with a hum of spicy notes in the manner of Guerlain’s Homme Idéal but without any stridency. An understated but memorably enticing fragrance, fit for a person of mystery.

Osang

The last few years have seen the rise of complex amber fragrances that approximate the olfactory hubbub of a virtual spice market in an unspecified but clearly ancient place. The message of such compositions is plenty, and the intent is to get the smeller to submit to a wave of solar colors, ranging from buttercup to saffron via honey and dried fruit. Osang is a fine instance of this style. It avoids the ever-present trap of excessive sweetness by centering the accord on the arid, hot, dusty note of fenugreek.

Orlo

Orlo (hem, edge) is one of three fragrances in the Versi collection inspired by poems, here one by Sylvia Plath. It shares with Le Mat a plangent floral note that I like very much and attribute to chamomile (possibly in error, since none is listed in the materials). Orlo feels very classical, with animalic swagger reminiscent of the old Dioressence, but immersed in a swirl of floral and spicy notes. The drydown is unusually good.

Athanor

The word athanor is derived from Arabicالتنور, at-tannūr, meaning furnace, cognate with tandoori. It is a slow-cooking oven used for alchemical preparations requiring an even heat. On that basis, I expected this to be a standard-issue, smoky, gothic fragrance. Instead Athanor reminds me of Alberto Magnelli’s “ardoise” paintings done during WWII, when a shortage of canvas forced him to paint on the wood-framed slate boards intended for schoolchildren. An accord of saffron, ambrox and cashmeran makes a perfect soft, neutral background for bright notes of color, in this instance cassis and iris. The effect is both restrained and oddly vivid. Once again the drydown is rock solid. Excellent.

Daymon

Daymon is Mendittorosa’s typically ornate take on an innocent neroli cologne. Perfumer Luca Maffei takes the simple classic orange-flower tune and gives it a sultry counterpoint of jasmine, tonka and benzoin, making a clean fragrance just dirty enough to sustain interest.

Albatros

Albatros was composed by Anne-Sophie Behaghel, who apparently studied science and medicine (I’m impressed) before founding the fragrance studio Flair. She has done several Mendittorosa fragrances. It is a deceptively simple composition that fools you into perceiving it as a sunny, salty smell fit for soap before revealing a dissonant accord of kelp and fruit in the background.

Talento

A superlative fresh, green rose accord, ethereal and radiant, that manages to be caressingly soft but not mawkishly sweet. Excellent.

Amygdala

This one, named either after the Greek word for almonds or after the famous seat of all fears in the brain, is Mendittorosa’s fruity-floral. It comes complete with affable cherry note and a reassuring floral medley that says perfume to all. Luca Maffei nevertheless manages to make it more interesting and natural than most.

By: LUCA TURIN