Angeli di Firenze

Angels of Florence

Santa Maria Novella 2006

This is not something I’d usually go for but I really love it. I also love the history behind Santa Maria Novella.

In 1966, Florence suffered heavy rainfall causing the Arno River to flood the city. This resulted in everything being covered in thick mud. Volunteers from across Europe flocked to Florence, risking their lives to help rescue important art, artefacts, and to clean up the city. They were aptly named the “Mud Angels”. Angeli Di Firenze was created in their memory.

This is the perfect spring or summer fragrance. The peach and orange notes combined actually give the impression of a juicy cantaloupe or honeydew melon. This is refreshing, light, clean, and crisp. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. I find this really very unique. I’ve never smelt anything like it. This doesn’t smell like a marine scent to me either, and I honestly can’t pick out a single one of the listed notes. I don’t get any woodiness, musk or powder in this fragrance. I’ve had my bottle a year and it hasn’t changed either. All I smell is this gorgeous, light, fresh, sweet melon. While I do find most of their scents very soapy, I don’t get any kind of soap from this. It’s just a great feminine freshie!

I’d say ignore the notes because if you like melon scents (but the jolly rancher watermelon in Wavechild was too much for you, like it was for me) this is a brilliant option! It was a successful blind buy for me, and one I’ll definitely continue to repurchase in the future. I absolutely adore this scent!

Angeli di Firenze (Angels of Florence) is a sweet, soapy floral mélange of jasmine and rose that creates a golden aura around the wearer. Angeli di Firenze spikes the buttery, floral heart with a juicy apple shampoo note, giving it a fun, youthful vibe that I quite like. My positive reaction to Angeli, in fairness, is probably due to a nice memory it conjures up for me than the actual smell itself. Specifically, Angeli reminds me strongly of J'Adore by Dior, immediately taking me back to my days of living in Belgrade, when I exclusively wore that scent.

My job at the time was to travel around the Balkans, often on local buses, trying to sweet talk donors into giving us more money, a job I was really terrible at. I was only really at the office in Belgrade once or twice a week before heading off on my lonely travels, but I remember that I never felt welcome there, or part of the team. However, the receptionist at the front desk, a beautiful Serb girl with the highest heels I have ever seen on anyone, would always take the time to stop me and say, 'You smell sooooo beautiful'.

The day I handed in my notice, I walked up to the receptionist, handed her the rest of my big bottle of J'Adore, kissed her and told her that she had made my life in Belgrade bearable. I remember that her eyes filled up with tears, which embarrassed me because I suddenly understood I could have made her this happy earlier. Why hadn't I just handed over the bottle to her the first time she complimented me on it? I never wore J'Adore again.

This scent is incredibly similar to Il Sentiero degli Déi minus the pool float accord. It's a pretty delicate citrus and white flower scent that has some marine notes which, probably due to the acerbic quality of the black currant, turn a bit funky on me. This is why it's so important to try everything on your skin before writing a review or blog post, and most importantly before making a purchase: on paper and in the tester pod at the Santa Maria Novella store, this is absolutely incredible and potent; on my skin, performance leaves a lot to be desired, and the scent evolution does not resemble the perfume on paper at all.

If you're lucky to have a different pH than I do, this could be a pretty, delicate, unisex summer cologne.

The warmth of peach and orange, a joyful fruity accord, gives way to a rich depth from blackcurrant. Marine notes of jasmine add a touch of transparency to this joyful fruitiness. The base notes of sandalwood, musk, and vanilla create a smooth, skin-friendly accord that feels comforting and comforting to the wearer's heart and skin.
"Mud Angels." The young saviors who preserved the beauty of Florence. It's a tribute to the love for Florence. Born to celebrate Florence's indomitable spirit, it's truly a work overflowing with love. A joyful floral-fruity fragrance that reminds us that love is what protects.
The fact that we can still enjoy the beautiful scenery of Florence today is supported by such love. What a wonderful story. Along with the story, the fragrance itself—a gentle and calming floral-fruity—is a desirable item!

Like the brush of an angel’s wings: charming, airy, delicate, and almost imperceptible. An exceptionally gentle, almost ethereal composition with a subtly sweet fruity opening. A safe and classic fruity-floral feminine fragrance. So far, the most delicate Santa Maria Novella perfume I’ve experienced.