Fieno Santa Maria Novella

Fieno/Hay opens on a very fresh, green note that combines the smell of unripe hay with sweet clover and meadow grasses. It is refreshing, but not tart or stridently-green - rather, more honeyed and floral in character.

As it develops, Fieno takes on a boozy almond-like note, leading me to believe that coumarin is the main material used here. But Fieno leans on the more honeyed, powdery aspects of hay than its dry, sun-baked aromatic side. Its boozy almond undertone and sweet hay notes make me think of Chergui, a powdery, sweet-hay oriental, more than aromatic fougeres such as Azzaro Pour Homme or Jicky. There is also something about the powdered marron glace dry down here that puts Fieno clearly in the oriental category, although given its green start, it would be fair to call it a fresh oriental.

A silky white musk, with perhaps a trace of heliotrope, finishes Fieno off on a wisp of powder and lends the fragrance a nostalgic feel. Simple, but elegant, I find myself haunted by my sample of this long after it's gone. It's one I'm constantly considering adding to my collection.

Fieno belongs to that category of fragrances for which provide not just merely sensory pleasure, but a source of comfort and repose. Faced with the anxiety of having to face some important decisions, wearing this feels like I am swaddled in a reassuring blanket that is neither too warm nor too sheer; an aromatic embrace of tender sweetness does not stifle and overwhelm.

The hawthorn blossom (anisaldehyde is its main scent component), a note that I adore, is one note that really stands out here for me, shortly after the pastel citrus of the opening; green, herbal, aromatic, but powdery and somehow ethereal. This is accompanied by all myrtle (yes! I wish it appeared more often in fragrance) that counters this ever so subtly with its cineolic (fresh, medicated, penetrating, diffusive) and leafy bloom. The fresh mown hay note is the centerpiece ("fieno" meaning hay in Italian) and I detect a dose of true hay absolute—the only other fragrances where I've detected it are Serge Lutens Chergui and Lorenzo Villoresi Yerba Mate. It is no way evocative of barnyards or "horseyness"; no, this is the hay itself, in bales, under the sun, evocative almost of sweetgrass or sweet woodruff. It is agrestic, a crossroads between the cheerful and melancholic. It reminds me of autumn drives through the Vermont countryside, listening to Bread on the radio...

"If a picture paints a thousand words,
Then why can't I paint you?
The words will never show the you I've come to know."

Fieno is anchored by more substantive notes that carry on the sensation: an amalgam of benzoin, vanilla, vetiver. It is a hearth of coziness, a true beauty, another spectacular one from my beloved house of SMN.

How often do we get annoyed when we fall for a beautiful top note in a perfume shop, lacking the patience to test the entire progression of the fragrance, only to find out at home that not much happens after that. Nice, and that’s about it. I think this has happened to all of us, and sometimes we suspect that our impatience is calculated by the creators of the scents to quickly generate sales.

Well, it can also go the other way, and I perceive Fieno as an example of a perfume that doesn’t hit you over the head but reveals its beauty only to those who take the time to get to know the scent at leisure.

The citrusy and rather one-dimensional opening leads us into a heart that, with spicy notes, presents the theme of Fieno in an aromatic and almost clean soapy manner. The rose adds elegance to this theme. In my opinion, this is not the usual rose scent with green accents; rather, it is the exact opposite, and I find that extremely appealing. No one needs to have concerns about the hawthorn here. The note gives the fragrance depth and lasting strength, and I perceive it as a skillful transition to the vetiver-heavy finish, which is warmed and softened by sandalwood. I still notice the aromatic heart note, and yet this almost powdery base is already settling over Fieno, allowing the scent to fade away in a remarkably friendly manner. The perfume develops completely harmoniously, which actually doesn’t reveal a true three-part pyramid, as the notes skillfully blend into one another, as I have also noticed in other perfumes by SMN.

Once again, I am impressed by the care and dedication with which the perfumers of Santa Maria Novella create perfumes full of expressiveness and nobility without chasing trends or pandering to current mass tastes.

The names of perfumes are always a tricky thing. Sometimes they are meant to name the theme, reveal the contents, or tell grand stories. Often they fit, but here I don't understand the connection at all. Because I neither smell hay nor do I have to think of it.
What I smell is as follows:

Chunks of soap fall onto dry wood and melt away, rose buds are bitterly squeezed, aldehydic rose water drips out. The citrus note here doesn’t feel refreshing at all, but rather warm and dull. It can be compared to the warm scent when washing hands with hot water and fresh soap. The vetiver is also of a more classic form, not one of the modern smoky, dark varieties, but rather greenish and soapy.
Overall, the main theme of this fragrance remains soapy, yet not particularly foamy; the consistency of the scent impression is rather creamy in nature.
What’s quite clever is that the fresh, warm lemony soap shifts into an almondy one. Bitter, white, skinless almonds. And these become more and more prominent, leaving the soap almost behind.
Overall, the scent is pleasant and nice, but somewhat out of date. I wouldn’t want to smell this on young people; there are clearly more modern interpretations of cleanliness.

Thank you for reading my comment.

Fieno by Santa Maria Novella => the oldest pharmacy in the world, Florence 1612. The Dominican monks developed the first formulations there. Anyone visiting Florence MUST visit this pharmacy! An unbelievably beautiful place. And the handmade soaps, candles, oils, and fragrances are something truly special. A museum is also attached, and there is a small café, a dreamy spot. When Catherine de' Medici became Queen of France in the 16th century, she received her personal fragrance from here and named it "Eau de la Reine". The scent is still produced today under the name "Acqua di S.M Novella" and is a bestseller.
A unique shopping experience, the products are displayed in various rooms, and you receive a card to go from counter to counter to note the products you wish to buy. At the back of the store, you show the card, and there you receive the products beautifully wrapped. There is, of course, an online shop and 75 shops worldwide, but none can compare to Florence.
Fieno (Hay) has been available since 1886!
Fieno means hay in Italian; I spent my school holidays at my grandparents' farm and was addicted to the aromatic, herbal, and slightly honey-like scent of dried hay. We played hide and seek behind the hay bales for hours, and only after sunset did Grandma call us home, where we got warm milk, a slice of bread from our stone oven in the yard, and homemade butter. Back then it was taken for granted, today it's priceless.
Noblest, soft hay surrounded by myrtle hedges in the monastic midday sun. For me, this scent has something warm, nostalgic, and reminds me of my childhood, my grandma, and carefree, seemingly endless summer days. Caramel-like herbal Italian summer, we smell not with our noses but with our brains. If you don't have emotionally charged hay memories, this scent will smell different to you. Vintage vibe, but not old-fashioned. Good hay smells fresh and floral/herbal, definitely not musty, moldy, or sour! It smells fresh, summery, spicy, and even in winter, it reminds one of a freshly mown meadow. Admittedly, many people don't even recognize hay and straw. It's easy to remember: straw = grain, hay = grass.
In addition to hay, you can smell lavender, myrtle, jasmine - a soap that smells like this can be found in expensive boutique hotels on the Amalfi Coast. The aromatic embrace of delicate sweetness that neither suffocates nor overwhelms.
Hawthorn is also included.
From a distance, the scent may appear sweet and subtle. Up close, however, the hawthorn has a strong sweetness, even herbaceous to some, bordering on overpowering.
Warm, herbal, aromatic, but soft and ethereal.
Accompanying this is plenty of myrtle (I wish it appeared more often in fragrances!), which subtly counters with its fresh, medicinal bloom.
The note of freshly mown hay is the heart ("fieno") and I smell a dose of real hay absolute - the only other fragrances in which I have discovered it are Serge Lutens Chergui and Lorenzo Villoresi Yerba Mate. It in no way reminds one of barnyards or "horse smell"; no, this is the hay itself, in bales, under the sun.
Sweet hay-like, fresh creamy soap, like my grandma always had. Lavender, herbs, late summer fields. Cozy. Rustic, a cross between cheerfulness and melancholy. It reminds me of autumn drives through the Tuscan landscape.
I love the scent of hay because it plays a similar role to tobacco in fragrances, but is much lighter, more feminine, and grassier. Fieno is extraordinary and triggers so many images in the mind, decent sillage, longevity is about 4-5 hours,
Fieno is an olfactory ode to the charm of the Tuscan landscape. This scent is characterized by a bouquet of woody and floral notes and evokes the irresistible scent of freshly cut hay.
The scent of freshly mown meadows, hay, leaden heat over Tuscany; cicadas sawing, olive trees adorning the landscape like cotton clouds.