Most people have a favorite perfumery style or a beloved note. Those of us who sniff obsessively and collect perfume tend to have a broader spectrum. I adore chypres, bitter green fragrances, leather in almost any form, dry dusty iris, and dirty animalics. But from the very beginning, since my earliest days of perfume infatuation in my teens my heart belongs to orientals and lush larger-than-life florientals that dry-down sweet and seductive. Anonimo Veneziano by Nobile 1942 hit the spot for me as soon as I uncorked the first vial.
Perfumer Marie Duchene who created Anonimo Veneziano for Nobile 1942 went for a full on romance. The citrus notes that open the fragrance are juicy, sweet and carry a hint of spice. Citrus can be sharp and fresh, but not in this case: Anonimo Veneziano has a lavishness to it that makes me think of a luxurious vacation, maybe a swanky honeymoon in Italy. The grandness of the perfume becomes evident as the floral heart is revealed. Ylang-ylang and jasmine can become very loud; in Anonimo Veneziano they're definitely not shy, but the roundness and creaminess keep the perfume on the tasteful side of of plush.
As with all oriental perfume, it's the ambery vanillic dry-down that creates devotion in their fans. Anonimo Veneziano is no different. The composition of dark, almost ebony-like (in feeling) patchouli, resinous cistus labdanum and wood is not particularly sweet. It's thick and generous, though, and continues the romantic theme of this Nobile 1942 fragrance by making one think of velvet capes or borrowing the coat of a lover while walking by a river at dawn.
Like many serious oriental perfumes, Anonimo Veneziano has a prominent sillage and an a very satisfying longevity. Dabbing keeps the fragrance more or less contained to one's personal space, but this opulence was meant to be shared, so spraying a little makes for a wonderful date night scent.
Notes: bergamot, red tangerine, orange, jasmine, Bulgarian rose, Indian jasmine, ylang ylang, lotus flower, cistus labdanum, patchouli, sandalwood, vanilla.
Nobile 1942- Anonimo Veneziano ($150, 75ml) is available from http://essenza-nobile.de and MiN New York (minnewyork.com) that provided the samples for this review.
Photo: carnevale.venezia.it
Gaia, I remember that you also liked the amber from this line - how would you compare this one to that, and which do you like better? Thanks, nozknoz
ReplyDeleteThe amber is very dry and quite unisex. As a matter of fact, it'd be one of my top recommendations for a man in search of an amber perfume that smells exquisitely expensive. AV is sweeter and very feminine. While I don't think fragrance has gender, this is not something a men will consider unless he feel comfortable with perfumes like Jil Sander No.4 or Panthere de Cartier.
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