Theseus

Theseus arrives as a deliberate contradiction: a fragrance that marries the crisp immediacy of a Sicilian morning with the shadowed complexity of a leather-bound library. Lorenzo Villoresi has crafted something that refuses easy categorisation, blending 76% spice with crystalline citrus and green notes that feel almost herbal rather than fruity. The opening salvo of black pepper and nutmeg against bergamot creates a peppery brightness—not the soft diffusion of a typical fresh scent, but rather the precise snap of cracked peppercorns meeting cold citrus oils. As it settles, vetiver and precious woods emerge with considerable restraint, allowing an iris-patchouli dryness to assert itself before leather and oud arrive in the base, adding a subtle animalic quality that transforms the composition from mere freshness into something genuinely contemplative.

This is a fragrance for the intellectually restless: the sort of person who gravitates towards natural materials and baroque complexity rather than linear comfort. It works beautifully in autumn and early spring, when the pepper and sage feel seasonally appropriate rather than overwrought. Wear Theseus when you need to think clearly, when you're rereading philosophy, or during those peculiar hours when day-wear transitions into evening without formal occasion. It's unisex in the truest sense—not agender, but genuinely indifferent to gender presentation, as interested in a woman's wrist as a man's neck. The modest longevity and sillage mean this is a personal fragrance, something you smell more than others do, which only deepens its introspective character.