Hilde Soliani: Bell’Antonio and Vecchi Rossetti

BELL’ANTONIO: I must be on some kind of subconscious tobacco rampage. I mean, first Liz Zorn Tobacco & Tulle, then Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Michelangelo and now Hilde Soliani Bell’Antonio, a tobacco scent so intensely tobacco that the scent note list is all of two words: tobacco and coffee.

Bell’Antonio comes across as mostly smoky and full of pipe-tobacco spice with some dark roasted coffee tossed into the mix. When I first applied some of the Bell’Antonio, I was instantly reminded of cigarette ash (in a good, smoky way, not in a stale ashtray way) and cool stone tiles, and the fragrance hovers in this slightly cooler temp region for most of its lifespan, making it a great smoky option for warmer weather.

The evolution is simple: tobacco, smoke and ash to tobacco, smoke and burnt coffee beans, but the ride is thoroughly enjoyable (and enjoyably masculine, with nary a flower or even a bit of fruit-pulp in sight). Sillage is subtle and longevity is a good five to six hours, earning an enthusiastic thumbs up from my direction.

Marina at Perfume Smellin’ Things writes: “I can’t think of two smells (tobacco and coffee) more attractive on their own, but bring them together and . . . well, I can only describe the result as an olfactory, um, climax.

I’ve read comments where Bell’Antonio was described as reminding wearers of the smell of their grandfathers, and it does have a good dose of that old-school, WW2 masculine swagger, so while I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it for women as well as men, any consumer on the hunt for a traditionally floral, feminine fragrance should steer clear.

Or maybe steer in the direction of Hilde Soliani’s Il Tuo Tulipano, instead.

VECCHI ROSSETTI: Take the smoky base of Bell’Antonio, remove the coffee and ash, add some lemony, waxy, powdery floral notes and ta da! You’ve got Vecchi Rossetti.

Allegedly meant to capture the scent of an old theater after a live stage performance, with its lingering traces of waxed floors, makeup and face powders, hot lights and flowers (violets, roses and lavender, anyone?), Vecchi Rossetti has a very backstage presence, with all the glamor of the costume drama but without any of the stress, tension and sweat.

Exceptionally pretty and just about perfectly blended, Vecchi Rossetti skews feminine with its nearly candied, powdery-sweet nature that segues into a light, white musk drydown, hooking up with a flirty, blackberry undertow and then riding out the homestretch on what smells like a juice-sweetened incense-smoke wave.

I wouldn’t wear this fragrance myself, but since the excellent, smoky Bell’Antonio is already tailor-made for my tastes, I don’t feel like I’m really missing out on anything.

Note: there are brief flashes when Vecchi Rossetti reminds me of the smell of those little heart-shaped Valentine candies with printed messages on them — the NECCO Sweethearts Conversation Hearts. I love that smell in a completely Lost In Nostalgia way.

Video clip below bursting with lots of satirical love for the NECCO Sweethearts:

“Don’t believe the smoke and mirrors – we’re all going to die alone!”

UPDATE:

Louise sent a photo of the bottle and packaging for Hilde Soliani Il Tuo Tulipano:

She’s a very busy woman and told me that if I wanted two hundred (or more) snapshots from every which angle in order to get just the perfect one to publish on the blog, then I’d have to fly to Seattle and take them myself — so this is all I got!

OFF TOPIC:

Avery Gilbert’s book “What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life” is a finalist for an LA Times book award in the Science & Technology category.

If you haven’t read his book yet, you should. It’s a total page-turner, stuffed with relevant facts and entertaining anecdotes about our overlooked, underestimated and oft dismissed sense of smell.

Mr. Gilbert also publishes a regularly updated blog: First Nerve.