Santa Maria Novella
Santa Maria Novella
142 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Bergamot and orange snap with citrus brightness, immediately tempered by hawthorn's crisp, almost green-white florality and a jasmine that refuses to bloom into sweetness. This opening reads as fresh and herbaceous, almost cologne-like in its restraint, with the floral elements present but never dominant.
The Florentine iris emerges with considerable presence, its earthy, powdery character grounding the peach and lotus into something more sophisticated than mere fruit and flower. Lavender softens the edges whilst the woody base begins its ascent, introducing a dry, slightly smoky warmth that transforms the composition into something more contemplative and incense-tinged.
What remains is primarily precious woods with ghostly traces of iris and the barest suggestion of peach. The smokiness intensifies as the fragrance settles into your skin, creating an almost meditative dryness—woody, slightly spiced, and deeply intimate. This is where the fragrance becomes a personal scent rather than a broadcast, fading gradually into skin-scent territory.
Città di Kyoto exists in that contemplative space between a Florentine apothecary and a Japanese garden temple—a fragrance that refuses easy categorisation. The opening salvo is deliberately citrus-forward: bergamot and orange create that initial brightness, but they're immediately tempered by hawthorn's delicate, almost petal-like astringency and a jasmine note that leans green rather than creamy, suggesting freshly bruised flowers rather than hedonistic florals. There's something almost herbal about this combination, as if you're standing in a botanical library where the books themselves exude fragrance.
The true character emerges as this settles into the heart. The Florentine iris—that iris root that tastes of powder, butter, and something vaguely animalic—forms an unexpected partnership with lotus and peach, creating a curious tension between dusty refinement and peachy softness. Lavender threads through as a gentle mediator, preventing the florals from becoming too precious. This is where the woody accord begins its patient assertion, introducing that smoky quality that gives the whole composition an almost incensed quality—as though the scent has been left to cure in sandalwood shavings.
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4.2/5 (222)