Profumo Emozioni Olfattive: Perfume Shopping In Naples, Italy

See Smell Naples and Die.

There are several impressive perfume stores in Naples, but only one that caters to hardcore fragonerds:  Profumo Emozioni Olfattive on Via Carlo Poerio 33. The space isn't huge in NYC terms, but it's utilized to the max and beautifully designed and arranged. The number of brands available and displayed at Profumo Emozioni Olfattive is nothing short of amazing. They stock most of the big and small names in niche and independent perfumery. Everything from classics such as L'Artisan and Amouage to Tauer, Mona di Orio, Vero Profumo and many more, including newcomers like Nu-Be, Masque Milano and O'Driu.

The Blond and I were there to sniff stuff we can't (yet) find in New York City. But even when concentrating on rarities and smaller Italian lines it was a lot to take on. I was most curious about Nu-Be (the line has since landed at Luckyscent) but I don't think that the quick testing in store was sufficient to form an opinion, other than that these perfume smell very modern and perhaps even stark. I didn't make an emotional connection there, so samples are in order for some quality time.

Then there was O'Driu by quirky perfumer Angelo Pregoni. The store only offers Eva Kant and Peety from this line (there are several others) which I think are the first commercial (well, relatively speaking) releases by O'Driu that specialized in tiny and limited editions collections. Both are breathtaking and deserve a dedicated discussion.

I tried several other perfumes, as did the husband. We both fell for Boccanera by Orto Parisi, the new line from Nasomatto's creator Alessandro Gualtieri, so that was the bottle that came home with us. I'm wearing it tonight and still getting to know this gorgeous smoky animalic gourmand. You'll hear all about it soon.

The staff of Profumo Emozioni Olfattive is friendly and enthusiastic, which made up for the language barrier. It took them a little while to understand that we really weren't interested (on that occasion) in Amouage, Maison Francis Kurkdjian or anything oud-related, and that we really and truly are familiar with many of the brands in the store. But once they did (and let go of "fresh" as the way to get either one of us to try something) things went along swimmingly. We left the store happy and smelly. In the best possible way.

From the usual suspects to true classics, old and new.

Eva Kant and Peety by O'driu

It's always lovely to meet beloved old friends

On the back wall: Masque Milano on the shelf above Ramon Monegal, Grossmith on the bottom.

The store also stocks Memo (on the shelf above the MPG display).