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Opoponax Santa Maria Novella

7.4 / 10 41 Ratings

A perfume by Santa Maria Novella for women and men. The release year is unknown. The scent is resinous-spicy. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Resinous

Spicy

Woody

Citrus

Fresh

Fragrance Notes

Opoponax

Woody notes

Ratings

Scent

7.441 Ratings

Longevity

6.734 Ratings

Sillage

5.933 Ratings

Bottle

7.529 Ratings

Value for money

6.414 Ratings

Submitted by Florblanca · last update on 06/17/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Reviews

4 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/06/2020

8Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

Pepdal
238 Reviews

Pepdal

Classic Italy

This house has an amazing range with something for almost anyone's taste, but almost criminally under-discussed in fragrance circles. This one has also made me want to explore the note of oppoponax more in perfume. Hope you enjoy and thank you.

06/11/2013

9Scent 7.5Longevity 5Sillage

ChapeauClack
16 Reviews

ChapeauClack

Strange Beautiful Music

Why music? Because it's the title of a favorite, intentionally eclectic album by guitariste extraordinaire Joe Satriani, and it fits.

Opoponax is Strange indeed. Sun-drenched, earthy, tobaccoey, leathery, hay-like, dusty, markedly medicinal and un-perfumey, rich, big and joyous yet somehow quiet and contemplative... Bitter-sweet. Therapeutic and mind-cleansing like incense in church.

Opoponax is Beautiful. Beautiful in a way a bigboned villager might be, healthy, fullblooded, with perfect, if a bit dry from all the sun, freckled skin and laugh lines in the corners of the eyes. Not a trace of makeup, anemia or pretence. It's straight talking, delivering down to earth, biblical wisdom, not pseudo esoteric Coelhian cliches.

As far as Music goes, Opoponax very evidently consists of one and only note, sang in a husky, smoked voice, and yet it couldn't be farther from monotonous or one-dimensional. It evolves constantly, sweeping through sun-beaten fields and shadowy olive groves, touching down in the stables and on the beach and finally landing in the soft, furry, Shalimar territory hours later. Simple and great.

02/03/2021

6Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

Lenasch
6 Reviews

Translated · Show original

Lenasch

Misconception

After reading the ingredients and good reviews about Opoponax, I had high expectations for the fragrance. Since I love Italy, especially Florence, and visited there on a field trip during my studies a few years ago, I had to get a scent from this house. Unfortunately, due to COVID, I can't go there at the moment, so I ordered the fragrance blind. I expected something spicy and woody, but on me, it smells citrusy, fresh, and a bit mossy. So exactly what I actually don't like. The scent lasts maybe 2-3 hours on me, and the sillage is virtually non-existent. I'm also starting to wonder if a wrong fragrance was bottled in the flacon. Nevertheless, I will keep it for the peak summer and test if it performs better then. Still, I am somewhat disappointed now, as the price-performance ratio is very poor. I hope that the house has better fragrances than this one, but hopefully next time I can test it on-site.

01/05/2021

8.5Scent 5Longevity 5Sillage

NuiWhakakore
110 Reviews

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NuiWhakakore

Top Review 32

In simplicity lies beauty (Plato)

The master sits in his workshop and stares at his workbench. He is surrounded by the finest woods and his tools. The air is filled with the scent of shavings and the work of all the years. He has created great things here, sculptures as tall as a man and figures as small as his thumb. Throughout the realm, he is known for his works. When he sees a piece of wood, he recognizes the inner form of the figure hidden within and only needs to uncover it. This has always been the case, a gift since his childhood. However, he has not started a new work in months. Better said, he has started one, but he will not finish it…

It was months ago when he placed a cedar block on his workbench and contemplated it. He saw the form before him, as he always had. So he took his steel and made the first cut. But then the miracle or the curse happened, depending on your perspective. Sweet resin dripped from the cut and filled the workshop with its scent. He had never smelled anything like it before. So captivated was he by the spicy aroma that he only later realized that he could no longer recognize the shapes in the woods. He had lost his gift. The wound in the cedar block, however, never closed; the resin remained forever fresh.

So the master sits before his workbench, gazing at the cedar block and breathing in the spicy air. He has enjoyed the fruits of his gift for many years and created great things. Now he can only take pleasure in the scent. He sighs lightly, takes his needles in hand, and knits the next sock…

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With Opoponax, Santa Maria Novella has created a brilliantly simple fragrance. Many warm woods, with cedar bringing a fresh, lemony note. Then add Opoponax, balsamic, spicy, sweet (but not too sweet), and it's done. Perfectly simple - simply perfect? Not quite, as the longevity is rather modest for me, lasting 3-4 hours on skin, 4 to 5 hours on fabric, so unfortunately far from an unending source. Still, a great scent.

Platonic thanks to Toppine for the sample!

Updated on 01/06/2021

Statements

19 short views on the fragrance