Santa Maria Novella & Its Fragrances

One of the world’s oldest, working pharmacies lies just off the bustling streets of Santa Maria Novella plaza in Florence and the quieter Santa Maria Novella church square. It is one of the world’s oldest perfume brands, and arguably the real creator of what we know today as a “cologne.” It’s called Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella (“Santa Maria Novella” or “SMN” for short), and it was at the top of my list of places to visit on my recent trip to Florence.

Santa Maria Novella. Pharmacy salesroom. Source: MuseumsinFlorence.com

Santa Maria Novella. The main room. Source: MuseumsinFlorence.com

I’ve written before about Santa Maria Novella’s headquarters and its utterly fascinating history, but I’d like to summarize it briefly for anyone who is unfamiliar with the tale. Santa Maria Novella was founded in 1221 by Dominican friars who created all-natural herbal remedies and potions. As their reputation grew, the pharmacy was opened to the public in the 1400s and the Grand Duke of Tuscany became their patron, granting them the gift of the Medici coat of arms.

In 1533, the pharmacy’s fame exploded when they were commissioned to create a signature fragrance for the young, fourteen-year old Catherine de Medici upon her marriage to Henry II of France. The result, Acqua della Regina or ‘Water of the Queen’, was arguably both the world’s first celebrity scent and the world’s first cologne. As one magazine article explains:

It served to popularise the concept of perfume to the French royal court… The royal essence soon became a sweet smell of success wafting across the most fashionable courts – including England’s under Elizabeth I. The Officina’s original scent sensation helped lay the foundations for both the French and English perfume industry.

Santa Maria Novella’s history does not end there. One of the last women ever to be burnt at the stake as a witch in France — the Marquise d’Aumont, wife of a Maréchall or Marshall — used a Santa Maria Novella scent to perfume her gloves. Marescialla is named after her, and still sold at Santa Maria Novella today in the exact same formula. In fact, several of the pharmacy’s products date back hundreds of centuries, like their Aceto dei Sette Ladri, or Seven Thieves’ Vinegar. As an admiring New York Times article from 1986 explains, it’s named after a band of seven looters who would strip the bodies of the dead during The Great Plague. They tried to protect themselves “from infection by rubbing this so-called vinegar over themselves. Today the aceto is sold as smelling salts, for which there seems to be a thriving market.”

As both a history and perfume junkie, Santa Maria Novella topped my list of things to do in Florence, so I made my way there one hot afternoon. I took the cobbled path that curved around and past the main SMN plaza where the busy train station is located to a side street located just off the similarly named SMN square where the SMN church is located. If all of sounds a little confusing to you, it was to me as well.

The actual SMN church in its own square, separate from the SMN square or plaza where Florence's train station is. Photo: my own.

The actual SMN church in its own square, separate from the SMN square or plaza where Florence’s train station is. Photo: my own.

Photo: my own.

Photo: my own.

In the side street, I pushed past two tall, metal and glass doors to enter a surprisingly modern, late 19th century building. From the photos I’d seen of the SMN shop, I had imagined a truly ancient showroom amidst towering walls painted with centuries-old frescoes. I’d forgotten that the original workspaces and sales rooms are now part of a museum that is wholly separate from the current store.

Still, the existing shop has an old world charm of its own. There were several spacious rooms, one with soaring ceilings painted with frescoes, one with velvet curtains, both with chandeliers. The main room is shown in the first photo above. In the smaller one, walls were covered with ancient portraits, plaques showing ancient coats of arms, or the porcelain vases that were used in the 16th and 17th centuries to store products.

The ceiling in one of the main salon rooms. Photo: my own.

The ceiling in the main salon room. Photo: my own.

One of SMN's rooms. Photo: my own.

SMN’s smaller show room. Photo: my own.

One of SMN's many rooms, this one showing the brand's history and background. Photo: my own.

One wall in SMN’s smaller room, this one showing the brand’s history and background. Photo: my own.

Photo: my own.

Photo: my own.

The main room was packed with people on the day of my visit, pouring over the truly massive, almost two foot-long product list, or examining the many cabinets that were filled with scented products. Most of them had rows of large glass urns on their top shelves containing brightly coloured liquid:

Urns of perfume, liqueurs or other products. Photo: my own.

Urns of perfume, liqueurs or other products. Photo: my own.

What I didn’t realise at the time is that several of these glass urns must have contained liqueurs, though that was not their original purpose. In March 2015, CNN did a profile on SMN, and their correspondent provided some fascinating details:

One of the many, many cabinets with scented products and topped by large urns of perfume or liqueurs. Photo: my own.

One of the many, many cabinets with scented products and topped by large urns of perfume or liqueurs. Photo: my own.

I’m drawn to the row of bottles containing colorful liqueurs, especially the scarlet red one called Alkermes. A whiff of the bottle gives off the spicy aroma of cloves and cinnamon, with the underlying fruity notes of orange blossom.

The scarlet color comes from coccinella (ladybug), which are dried, crushed and used as a natural colorant, in keeping with the ancient recipe,” explains Foa [the pharmacy’s commercial director].

The monks made these liqueurs and elixirs from herbs and spices, and they were consumed as medicines in the infirmary. [¶] Alkermes was given to new mothers to recover from labor pains; nowadays it’s used as a food colorant in a typical Italian dessert called zuppa inglese, a sort of trifle.

The golden-colored Elisir di China, with quinine as an active ingredient, was used in the treatment of malarial fever. Today this slightly bitter liqueur is often served warm with lemon rind, as a post-dinner digestif. [Emphasis to names added by me.]

All the cabinets were filled with scented products, from perfumes to soaps, shaving cream, talcs, or body lotions, with each shelf organised by theme or olfactory profile. You can click on the photos below to open the images in a larger size in a new window:

One of the many perfume displays with cards telling the history behind the scent, some of which go back centuries and haven't been fundamentally changed at all. Photo: my own.

One of the many perfume displays with cards telling the history behind the scents, some of which go back centuries and haven’t been fundamentally changed at all. Photo: my own.

More perfume display windows. This one shows Vetiver among other scents, as well as associated body products. Photo: my own.

More perfume display windows. This one shows Vetiver among other scents, as well as associated body products. Photo: my own.

Another perfume display window. Photo: my own.

Photo: my own.

Another perfume display with explanation cards and accompanying body products. Photo: my own.

Another shelf with explanation cards and accompanying body products. Photo: my own.

The main focus of my attention was the table with all of SMN’s fragrances. There must have been 50 bottles, all in semi-frosted glass, emblazoned with the Santa Maria Novella logo, and placed in a curving, double row in the shape of a horseshoe. At its center was a small tray with seven narrow, glass flacons that were about 5-inches tall and filled with concentrated fragrance oils.

Kafkaesque SMN perfume table

Patchouli, Peau d'Espagne, and some of the darker, richer scents. Photo: my own.

Patchouli, Peau d’Espagne, and some of the darker, richer scents. Photo: my own.

Gaggia (Mimosa) and other floral fragrances. Photo: my own.

Gaggia (Mimosa) and other floral fragrances. Photo: my own.

I’ll be honest, I don’t recall in huge detail a lot of the things I smelt. There was simply too much stuff, and too little skin space to spray them all. Plus, shortly after I took these photos, a horde of tourists descended upon the already crowded showrooms, and at least 6 of them planted themselves beside me at the table, spraying things in the air, on scented paper strips, and on themselves. Between their olfactory clouds and my own, my nose was quite overwhelmed.

Still, a few things stood out. There was the Patchouli which I’d previously reviewed and really liked. At that time, I wasn’t sure it was my Holy Grail patchouli, mostly because it felt too light and insufficiently dense or chewy for my personal tastes. I hadn’t tried it in spray form and aerosolisation makes a difference to how a scent manifests itself, so I was eager for the chance to spritz it willy-nilly in person. It turns out that Patchouli is not, in fact, my personal Holy Grail in the genre, but the fragrance was as lovely as I had remembered. In fact, it showed off different facets in spray form, with pronounced streaks of dark chocolate and less of a camphorous, green side in the opening. So, I bought it.

Source: auction listing on njuskalo.hr

Source: auction listing on njuskalo.hr

I also bought Gaggia (Mimosa). It has an exquisite opening where mimosa ripples out like a fresh stream of sweetness with almost a crystalline, liquidy floralcy, before being lightly dusted with a hint of golden pollen. I couldn’t stop sniffing my arm. I’ve found it difficult to find a scent that replicates the heady sweetness I recall from the mimosa trees around one of my childhood homes, and nothing I’ve tried has come close until Gaggia.

Source: nyhabitat.com

Source: nyhabitat.com

For the first 10 minutes, it is an astonishingly lovely scent, but my general rule is never to buy a fragrance unless I’ve tested it first. I never know what will develop, how long a fragrance might last on my wonky skin, and what quirks may ensue down the line. So I asked for a sample in order to test Gaggia back at the hotel, but the store doesn’t do that. I was torn. In the end, SMN’s pricing and VAT issues tipped the balance. Each SMN fragrance cost €80 which, at the Euro’s low rate, then roughly equal to the US Dollar, translated to about $85. In addition, SMN removed the VAT tax on all purchases over €150, making the fragrances even cheaper. In America, SMN costs $125. Here, I could get 2 of them for €160 with an additional €25 discount on top of that. My cheapskate side won out, so I bought Gaggia as well.

Photo: my own.

Photo: my own.

It is a purchase I deeply, deeply regret. That exquisite opening doesn’t last, but I couldn’t tell that in the store with all the eager tourists (and me) spraying different perfumes in ever ballooning scent clouds. Once I got back to my hotel room, it was a very different matter. The first hint of trouble occurs a mere 15 minutes into Gaggia’s development when an odd woodiness creeps in. It’s wholly and completely synthetic, redolent of the fake “cedar” scent in some very cheap perfumes I’ve tried, like Maison de La Vanille‘s over-priced, painfully synthetic Vanille Sauvage de Madagascar. The woodiness is hard to explain, but it’s like cedar shavings in a hamster’s cage that has been dusted with chemicals, white musk, and a few drops of bug spray.

It’s a hideous touch that, unfortunately, encircles Gaggia’s mimosa and then smothers it completely after 75 minutes. (Or less, depending on how much I apply.) There is no escaping it, either. Whether I spray Gaggia on fabric, in the air, or in bath water, the woody synthetic dominates. In fact, when sprayed in the air, the bug spray facet surges to the forefront even more quickly. So, I’m stuck with an almost full bottle that I can’t abide, can’t use in alternate ways, and wouldn’t gift to anyone I ever liked. (I wouldn’t gift it to someone I didn’t like, either!)

How I wish I had remembered my experience with another SMN floral, Caprifoglio (Honeysuckle), which also took on a bug-spray quality when I tested it for review. Or, I should have paid more heed to the synthetics I detected in several other SMN florals I tried. I can’t recall now which particular fragrance it was, but I cringed at the deluge of fake laundry freshness from a hefty amount of white musk. The sweet sales assistant remarked with surprise that I had “a good nose” since white musk wasn’t listed in the official notes, but I don’t see how anyone could have missed it! In fact, a large number of Santa Maria Novella’s florals were heavily imbued with clean laundry musk which was quite a disappointment.

Source: rdvartsculinaires.com

Source: rdvartsculinaires.com

There was one fragrance that seemed to be less tainted, relatively speaking, the pretty Zagara (Orange Blossom). According to Fragrantica, its notes are:

Top: bergamot, grapefruit, petit grain, lime, sweet orange, verbena and lavender. Heart: orange blossom, carnation, jasmine and geranium. Base: oak moss.

It was a very green, fresh, and naturalistic orange blossom (and fruits) fragrance that wasn’t overtly filled with laundry musk right from the start, but the same circumstances that restricted my ability to smell Gaggia in full apply here as well. There was simply too much in the air, on my skin, and in the multitude of scent strips in my hand for me to know accurately how it developed. On Fragrantica, the main complaint seems to be very poor longevity, though one person does remark on its “cheap smelling” nature. That may be an indirect reference to synthetics and white musk, or it may not, I don’t know. Either way, unless you like extremely clean, fresh scents, I would proceed with caution with the SMN florals.

Source: Santa Maria Novella website.

Source: Santa Maria Novella website.

Their richer, darker, or more oriental scents are a different matter, however. In fact, most of the people crowding around the perfume table were taken by the non-florals. One French woman was raving on and on about the wonderful Nostalgia, a leather fragrance with a surprisingly addictive top bouquet of car-racing fuel and rubber. I know that doesn’t sound like it should be as good as it is, but Nostalgia is one of SMN’s biggest hits for a reason.

If the gorgeous opening lasted a long time on my skin, I would have bought it when I finally came across a bottle in person, but I was more riveted by Tabacco Toscano which I almost purchased instead of Gaggia. (How I wish I had!) It’s actually a scent that I’ve meant to review for over a year now, but something has always come up to push it aside. Fragrantica says its olfactory pyramid is:

top notes are bergamot and jasmine; middle notes are tobacco and birch leaf; base notes are vanilla, amber and malt.

Tabacco Toscano. Source: Fragrantica.

Tabacco Toscano. Source: Fragrantica.

It’s been a long time since I tested Tabacco Toscano in full, and my memories of trying it in the showroom are hazy due to the plethora of scent in the air, but it is basically a very soft, semi-sweet, semi-dry mix of tobacco, leather, and amber. It’s quietly spicy, warm, and fragrant, where the tobacco skews towards the gingerbread-y type more than the fruity style of pipe tobacco. A very soft layer of refined, clean leather lies under it, while drops of a bergamot are sprinkled on top to give the scent a very classical profile. I don’t recall any jasmine, but there are whispers of vanilla that definitely appear later on when the scent takes on a more ambered bouquet in its middle and drydown phases.

I didn’t buy Tabacco Toscano at the time because it felt too soft for my personal tastes, but that’s because most of SMN’s fragrances are colognes. That’s the weakest scent concentration on the market, though several of SMN’s creations have more strength or robustness than some eau de toilettes that I’ve tried. One day, I hope to do a proper, full review for Tabacco Toscano but, in the meantime, it is one of the SMN fragrances that I think stands out. If you’re looking for an airy, refined, classical tobacco/leather scent, you may want to order a sample from Surrender to Chance or go to one of the many shops that carries Santa Maria Novella around the world. (See the Details section at the end.)

Photo: putti.ca

Photo: putti.ca

Another fragrance that caught my attention was Peau d’Espagne (Spanish Leather). It is a cologne that originally debuted in 1901, and Fragrantica gives its notes as:

bergamot, carnation,  jasmine, neroli, cedar, violet leaf, hawthorn, birch and civet.

The opening minutes were a bit humdrum and unexciting, but Peau d’Espagne became more intriguing after 10 minutes. The initially bitter, somewhat herbal, dark, and citrusy notes gave way to a photorealistic leather that differs in profile from a lot of other leathers that I’ve tried in the genre. It’s not the tarry, butch or raw leather of a tannery, nor the clean, almost iris-y, cool leather of new shoes or the slightly floral scent, clean leather of Hermes‘ new Cuir d’Ange. It also differs from the tarry, smoky birch leather at the heart of SMN’s Ambra, a scent with some similarities to one of Andy Tauer’s creations, Lonestar Memories.

Florence leather in the Mercado Centrale. Photo: my own.

Florence leather in the Mercado Centrale. Photo: my own.

In the old days, “Peau d’Espagne” was the name for a highly scented oil made of flowers and spices that was commonly used to scent gloves, and SMN’s cologne did remind me a little of the smell of old gloves. A closer comparison, though, would be to the strips of leather that hung from some of the craftsmen stalls in Florence’s central market, strips that were treated, a bit dry, and ready for use. There was also a good whiff of old books tossed in as well that I thought was rather charming, though not necessarily what I would want to smell like for myself. The cologne didn’t have an animalic aroma that I can recall, despite the inclusion of civet in its notes, but my previous caveats about what I smelt on that day apply here too: there was an overwhelming plethora of scent trails in the air, and I didn’t have the chance to test things in full, so my memory is limited to the opening aspects of each fragrance. That said, Peau d’Espagne receives rave reviews on Fragrantica, so it is a scent you may want to keep in mind if you’re looking for a dry, semi-masculine, “rustic” and “book” leather.

I also tried a few other things that day. I’ve never seen SMN’s concentrated fragrance oils anywhere else, and I recall a reader telling me about them a long time ago, so I gave a few of them a quick test on the skin.

The concentrated perfume oils. Photo: my own.

The concentrated perfume oils. Photo: my own.

As best as I can remember, they were all single-note soliflores, like jasmine, rose, and cypress. One of them stood out, and I think it was the jasmine one. I recall something narcotically heady, but it’s been more than a month since that day, so my memory is blank about the olfactory specifics. I think the reason I didn’t buy it because I was utterly overwhelmed by that point, it was a little one-note, and also because the tiny flacon cost as much as the full 100 ml bottles. Still, it’s a pity that the Essenza Assoluta or Estratti Tripli are not commonly sold at the many retailers that carry the brand, because they were very nice and far better than some of the white musk-heavy florals. The Essenza oils may be exclusive to the actual Santa Maria Novella boutiques.

So that’s it for today’s trip back in time to the heart of Florence’s most famous pharmacy and perfumery. I know a number of you have visited Santa Maria Novella, so I would love to hear in the comments what you fell for and bought for yourselves.

DETAILS:
In the U.S.: Almost all the products mentioned here are available from Santa Maria Novella’s US website, except for the concentrated perfume oils. Santa Maria Novella also has stores in 5 U.S. cities (L.A., NYC, Chevy Chase, Dallas and Bal Harbour, Fl), but I no longer see their addresses on the website. In general, LAFCO on Hudson St. in NYC carries most of the SMN’s line. Their website doesn’t have any SMN products on it, but they have them in-store because SMN has requested its vendors not to sell online. That is why you can order a number of their fragrances, shaving creams, or body products from Luckyscent by phone, but you can’t buy from the website. Same story with The Perfume Shoppe. Aedes in New York, however, is the one exception.
Outside the U.S.: The Canadian branch of The Perfume Shoppe doesn’t sell Santa Maria Novella, but a chain called Gravity Pope carries many of its products, from fragrances to shampoos, lotions and soaps. Again, they can only sell in-store, or perhaps by phone. Toronto’s Putti also carries SMN. In Europe, you can turn to the Italian Santa Maria Novella website, but I get error messages when I try to access their product pages. Their Store Locator page doesn’t work either, but SMN supposedly has European off-shoots in London and in Paris. I can’t find an address for the Paris store, but the official distributor for the company’s products is Amin Kader Paris which has two shops in Paris. One of my readers says Le Bon Marché has most of the SMN line, including the Essenza oils. The Fodors Guide states SMN has shops in the following cities: Roma, Venice, Lucca, Forte dei Marmi, Bologna, Castiglione della Pescaia, and Livorno. In the Netherlands, Lianne Tio sells SMN in her Rotterdam store. Switzerland’s Osswald also carries the full SMN line, but doesn’t have an e-store. In Russia, the SMN line, can be ordered by phone from Ebaumer. Samples: Surrender to Chance sells samples of 8 SMN fragrances.

26 thoughts on “Santa Maria Novella & Its Fragrances

  1. Hello from a long-time fan! Thanks for a great article on one of my favourite brands! Did you try Acqua di Cuba? It’s a deep, oily, very animalic leather. I found it very satisfying for a retro-smelling leather.

    I was recently in Paris and found what seems to be the full range of SMN in Le Bon Marche. They even had both the triple extracts and the absolutes in their lovely little flacons. I bought the beautiful Rosa in the triple extract, it’s a gorgeous true rose scent, very dense and rosy 🙂

    • First, welcome to the blog, Lin! I’m glad you came out of lurkerdom. 🙂 Thank you so much for letting me know about SMN being at Le Bon Marché. I updated the retail information in the post to reflect that. As for Acqua di Cuba, I think I did give it a quick sniff on paper during my visit, but I didn’t focus much on it because I already had a sample at home. It is indeed very “retro-smelling,” as you put it, with its classical cologne profile. Personally, though, I found a few others to be either more distinctive or appealing, perhaps because Acqua di Cuba skews heavily towards powder and tobacco on me, and I prefer the way the tobacco is handled in Tabacco Toscano.

  2. I have been to Santa Maria Novella several times and have always thought it was a special place to be. It is beautiful, serene, enlightening and somewhat “holy”. Just to walk through the rooms is an ethereal experience. I did buy Nostalgia and also own a few others. To me it is a “must see” experience in Florence…even if you are not a perfume buff, i think it one should experience it.

    • It is definitely an experience. I know Nostalgia is one of your favorites from the house, Filomena. What are some others?

  3. SMN is for perfumistas and history fanatics with some architecture and art thrown in as well. Amazing to see all those bottles in the cabinets too. I have read their history awhile ago, in fact I remember thinking Nostalgia and Tobacco Toscano probably would be something I may enjoy. Peau d’Espagne as well. I guess we simply cannot escape from musk! You’ve really been tempting me to say “hell with it, I’m flying to Italy” with all of these travelogues and reviews Kafka. lol 🙂

    Another neat review! Thank you. Hope you had a nice holiday weekend btw.

    • You would love it there, Don. And I think you’d very much like Tabacco Toscano and the opening of Nostalgia.

  4. Good morning, very interesting discussion of Santa Maria Novella. I had the same experience with their mimosa scent- ugh, not for me. But I do like SMN Vaniglia. I got a used bottle off Ebay and I always enjoy wearing it. It’s not the “best” vanilla out there, but it’s different.

    On initial application the SMN vanilla is very alcoholish, like a spicy gin cocktail with lemon in the topnotes. However, the middle notes and base notes start to come out darker and smokier. When the scent dries down it is a spicy, incensey vanilla with cacao in the background. The cacao gives the scent this dark incense quality that is unique in my experience. It is not a sweet chocolate at all. It has good longevity and leaves you with a dark, smoky vanilla drydown. It’s fun for fall.

    • I feel better knowing that I’m not alone in my experience with Mimosa/Gaggia. As for SMN’s Vaniglia, your description of it sounds lovely, Ricky! I think I may have a sample somewhere that I got from Surrender to Chance. I will have to go digging and find it, because I’m a sucker for anything for cocoa/cacao. I wish I could remember if Vaniglia is one of the ones I sniffed at the store on a scent strip. I tried to churn through as many of their fragrances as I could, but it was an overwhelming task and I think I gave up after about 17 of them. lol

  5. I am not sure if it was the mounting expectations. the pressure to enjoy it, the lack of ‘breathing space’ (though that hasn’t deterred me before) or the lack of time or the lack of funds (to consider a serious purchase), but unfortunately I didn’t enjoy my visit to SMN very much..:(. Maybe the second time around with all pressure and expectations stripped down, I might enjoy it more? (For of course I have to visit Florence again..:-)). Off to read your previous posts!

    • I think each of those things can ruin an experience, Lavanya, let alone all at once. Very high expectations and big crowds are typically the two big killers for me. I hope you can go back to SMN one day, and experience it in a more leisurely fashion and without feeling the pressure to enjoy it.

  6. I love your pictures! Those perfume urns are so stunning. I have a few SMN’s samples but they did not work for me, sadly. The body powders are another story. I use the rose talcum. I adore it. I have always been intrigued by their oral hygiene line. I may have to go for the more concentrated oils to see if something stands out to my nose.
    Happy week my darling one.

    • I wish the Patchouli had worked for you, but I do know that it wasn’t very rich on you and that you also love a big scent cloud. How interesting that SMN makes the rose talc you adore, because I remember you writing how rose body products are an exception to your “rose turns sour” trend with perfume. At least you’ve found something in the line that works really well for you. Yay for that!

  7. When I finally make it to Florence, I’m afraid I’m going to be so overwhelmed at SMN and come home empty-handed.

    Sorry to hear that the Gaggia turned out to be such a loser for you.

    • It is definitely a surfeit of riches, but I think you’d have a blast there, Little Red!! 🙂

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  10. Hi Kafkaesque, I know this is a very, very late addition, but I just wanted to say that I saw that Santa Maria Novella now has an official website for the USA where one can purchase their entire range (or what looks like their entire range – including pet deodorants and antique reproduction pharmacy jars! – along with the extracts). http://buy.smnovella.com/index.php/

    I already have the Rosa and am tempted by their Patchouli, since you had such high praise for it, although if it is already potent in EDC strength, I’m really wondering what the extract will be like.

    • Thank you, Lin. The US website is already linked in the Details section at the end of the post.

  11. I love SMN products but worry that some – eg. The floral waters such as the aqua di rose – use synthetic scents. Can someone help?

    • Hi Bill, which SMN fragrance were you thinking of specifically? In my opinion, a number of them, particularly the more purely floral creations, have white musk which — to my nose, on my skin, and for my tastes — is not only excessive but smells too laundry-like as well. But, again, that is to my nose and by my standards. I loathe white musk in large quantities. Perhaps your baseline standards or quantity assessments will be different, though. It’s hard to know off hand because each person is so different, perceptions are so subjective, and skin chemistry does make a difference. That said, I think some of the SMNs incorporate other synthetics as well, but it depends on the particular fragrance and its notes. I find that the issue is less problematic with the darker, heavier, more oriental, or more masculine compositions. The cleaner, crisper, fresher, or more citrusy ones feel more synthetic, but again, it’s such a personal, subjective assessment that depends on each person’s individual baseline or tolerance levels. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.

  12. I am Italian and must explain that GAGGIA ( stress on “i”, not gadja) is the popular word for “acacia”, a tree with delicate clusters of white flowers (fried in an egg batter and eaten in Northern Italy), not mimosa.-

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