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Rene72
Very helpful Review
8
The herbal book from 1491 - masterfully implemented
The Hortus Sanitatis is a book of herbal medicine which was printed in Mainz in 1491 (!). And exactly this is implemented in this fragrance in an amazingly good way. On the one hand the herbal notes, which already remind of medicine. At the same time, there is also a mugginess already described below, I would rather say the smell of old walls, old linen. It is probably oriented on old papyrus, which absorbed exactly these smells, as Hortus Sanitatis in its time. That's the smell of a book that has been stored and breathed there for a long time, perhaps even in a monastery, where in the 15th century exactly such herbs were cultivated and processed into tinctures.
The scent reminds me of a visit to the Dungeon in Hamburg, where the visitor walks through scenes of the dark history of the Hanseatic city. Strictly speaking, the station that reminds me is dedicated to the topic of the plague. A monk in a linen robe in a laboratory with numerous tinctures tells the visitor how much the Hanseatic city of Hamburg also suffered from the plague. Now that sounds worse than it is. The smell does not stink like the plague!
One can only notice a very extreme exaggeration of this fragrance there.
I could swear I smelled an animal. Both in the dungeon, where of course the smell of body fluids was mixed with the herbal tinctures. But also the Perfum Hortus Sanitatis contains something animalistic for me in the further course. There is also a certain smokiness. The scent changes a lot, again and again a different herbal note seems to come through. Although not mentioned in the pyramid of scents, there are different herbs included. I am betting on sage, which also has a certain animalism in nature, sometimes smelling of stale urine, camomile, thyme, rosemary, tarragon and especially laurel. A monastery garden with herb beds, a laboratory in which tinctures simmer and simmer over an open flame and right in the middle of it all, a book of recipes and effects, the Hortus Sanitatis, which absorbs these smells.
I think Morillas has mastered the theme and turned this challenge (who wants to smell like an old musty book or a medieval plague station) into a wearable perfume.
I won't deny that this perfume is demanding. But there's so much to smell, and it doesn't scream compliments. But it does envelop the wearer with a mysterious flair.
