The Florentine Ladies: Stories and Scents

Many, intriguing and sometimes cruel, the Medici family has marked much of the history of Florence. But behind essential characters such as Lorenzo il Magnifico, Cosimo, Francesco, Gian Gastone, and other grand dukes, equally important female figures with mysterious features are hidden. Suppose ALV Firenze and its dark and abundant notes. In that case, I am immediately transported to the city of the same name in the 1600s, to the Medici dynasty period, and Anna Maria Luisa de Medici, the wise princess. She guarded and protected the immense cultural heritage of her family. Surviving her father and two male brothers, she dedicated the last years of her life to celebrate the Medici’s memory and preserve their extraordinary artistic legacy through the well-known family pact.

ALV Firenze is woody, spicy, amber, and musky. Elegant and lively like the city that inspires it, Giotto's bell tower, the Uffizi, Michelangelo's David, Santa Maria Novella, Palazzo Pitti, and much more. I imagine the princess with a low-cut light blue dress and yellow cloak lined with ermine. Light blue and blue are very fashionable. They mainly produced brocades in France and Italy. And ALV Firenze is the sensual scent that wraps around her and that she leaves behind her steps.

ALV Firenze is the first perfume from the Alviero Martini Passport to join my collection. I did a quick test of all five pieces, and immediately this was the one that caught my attention the most. When the elixir touches my skin, its warmth gives a brightness to the opening, all scented with the smell of sparkling and boozy bergamot, cumin, and cardamom. Others might complain about the opening’s sharpness, but I find this stimulating in fragrances; go figure. It was a blast of very alcoholic liquor with a slightly bitter bite of fresh geranium leaves. I wasn’t even sure it was a good thing or a bad thing, but it grew in me. It is not overly sweet; a dirty patch is clear from the very beginning.

The fragrance’s development continues with a decisive heart from which emerge nutmeg, black pepper, and full-bodied accents of leathered birch. It is a very oriental heart. The bitterness subsides, the spice fades. The sweetness is tempered so that it does not go towards a greedy territory. It is full of oriental balsamic. The heart is bitter, resinous, musky, and talc. The crucial phase lasts a long time; they are the nuances I perceive for many hours after wearing it. It is so dark and smoky. And I mean smoky. To me, it has elements of bonfire smoke. It is sensual, inducing, provocative.

The notes of patchouli, ambergris, cypress, and musk complete the base’s fragrance, giving manly elegance to this unique perfume. I feel earthy nuances and amber, resinous, and salty as the ambergris. The dry-down is full of cypress’s resin on my skin with patchouli and persistent sweetness extended through the balsamic notes of apparent tonka or vanilla. Last but not least, there are musky tones that add gentleness and softly cuddle my soul. It is dry, hot, and cold simultaneously, a little spicy, and I also feel something like incense. I get a faint, smoky, snug, and slightly bitter smoke, with a hint of musk to make it enjoyable.

It smells scary at first, but then it stays closer to the skin than you might think at first. It’s not exactly a skin perfume, but it won’t make others fall out. A lot is going on in this perfume. It is unique because it gives you something different every time you wear it, making it exciting and not dull to wear. ALV Firenze is deep as the Arno river that crosses Florence, a sharp scent that oozes confidence and sophistication. It is a powerful scent that goes well in cold months, perhaps during the freezing evening and long nights of winter.

This review bases on a 100 ml (3.4 fl. oz.) bottle I own since November 2020.

-Elysium

#boozy #bitter #earthy #woody #spicy #smoky #fall #winter