Eau de Parfum (untitled) MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA

Eau de Toilette JOHN GALLIANO

Photography ALBERTO PELLEGRINET Realization ALESSIO NESI.

Makeup Bracelet for Lips DIOR GOURMETTE // Look S-S 2006.

Pocket Beauty Case GIVENCHY // Look F-W 2008.

Your Lovely Palette Eye Shadows Duo Palette YVES SAINT LAURENT // End-Of-Year Event 2009.

Daisy MARC JACOBS // Limited Edition October-December 2009.

Lorenzo Villoresi con mouillettes

-When did you realise that you would become a perfumer?

I discovered the love for fragrances in 1981, during my first trip to the Middle East, particularly in markets and through sellers of essences and perfumes in Cairo. Since then, essences, spices and fragrances have become a passion, I have grown parallel to university studies in philosophy and ancient religions. I started to do a thousand experiments, studying every type of publication I could find on the subject of plants, essences, perfume and cosmetics, distillation, production of aromatic substances of all kinds and so on… The first designs were relatively simple, always characterized by the presence of natural materials at the center and the heart of the fragrance, sometimes single-minded (Vetiver, Patchouli, Sandalwood, etc..), sometimes fanciful but always characterized by the strong presence of special and precious essences.

- What value has for you the sense of smell?

We live in a society where visual and auditory aspects predominate and where both images and sounds tend to be aggressive and prevaricating. In the streets, in our cities, smells seem to be only those of the exhaust gases so we try not to notice them, we try to escape even if they tend to dominate. But if we concentrate with attention and curiosity, mentally isolating the noise around us, we discover that the city, like all things, has its secret perfume: trees that blooms in hidden gardens, the fragrance of bread fresh from the bakery, fruits on market stalls, rivers, plants, old books in libraries, the wood of antique furniture, the impalpable perfume of snow brought by the Tramontana wind, grocer’s spices, flavor of ice cream …. We are surrounded by delicious smells but often we are too distracted to notice. For me smells are another way of knowing the world and people around us. I also think that using perfumes, to wear them or to use them  in our homes, is an important enhancement of our quality of life. Fragrances add a scent dimension to our experiences and add poetry to our everyday life. Fragrances, like music, are intangible and invisible but they make our deepest emotional chords vibrate and they make special even the banal routine of preparing to leave the house every morning.

Alamut Crystal

- How was your sense of smell educated?

Our sense of smell has enormous potential to explore. But as in all things, it takes time, patience and passion.We must exercise our sense of smell to feel different smells and to store them, maybe by mental associations to something that smells very familiar, this can be done by taking notes, trying to imagine what other ingredients-odors may form a harmonious whole. It is necessary above all to get used to notice the smells, even the most subtle and light, the smell of paper, that of stones, the smell of morning dew. All things have an odor, but as we are bombarded by a welter of strong smells, harsh, artificial and unpleasant, we risk to lose the ability to perceive those most refined. Sharpen our sense of smell means first of all to sharpen our sensitivity and our perception.

- In your collections typical elements of traditional Tuscans elements stand out: What is your relationship with the world of perfumes and how do you deal with the relationship between color and material?

The elements of our traditional Tuscan collections are actually quite limited: you can find them in potpourri and in sachets flavored withm spices, in fragrances for the environment such as “Mediterranean” or “Iris” or in the use of certain materials like alabaster for the production of glasses for scented candles. These Tuscans elements have a limited relationship with the universe of fragrances in general. The relationship between color and material is a problem that we dont consider.

White Crystal

- You have travelled extensively. Different country, different fragrance … Can you draw a map of favorite olfactory notes in every continent you have been?

Not really, because if we talk about globally distributed fragrances, such as those of fashion brands, we talk about fragrances distributed in almost every countries and not the other way round.

- The olfactory registry is subject to sensitivity changes. How do you think olfactory aesthetic is oriented right now? How are the developments of the second decade just begun going to be?

During this period in furnishing as in fashion as in many other fields there is a general tendency to return to the classic, to sobriety, to the solidity of things that last. Even in scents, so I guess that fragrances with a more traditional and “reassuring” style, such as fresh flowers for the woman and citrus wood for men, will be rediscovered. However the traditional distinction between masculine and feminine fragrances is increasingly blurred and then the family of so-called unisex fragrances continue to be very successful. This are usually quite fresh fragrances which are easy to wear.

- At this time the smell is the sense most pampered by all the creative sectors. Do you think in the near future, perfumers will begin to collaborate with the major industries (automotive, marine, etc …)? They’re already doing it! The so-called olfactory marketing is becoming more widespread and large companies often ask to perfumers to create for them a kind of corporate fragrance with scents created just for them to spread them worldwide, in their showroom or in their flagship stores.

Blue Extra

- A creative business tactic is to create intermediate collections, one-shot and capsules: the strategy of a continuous flow may also revolutionize the patterns of artistic perfumery?

I think that rather than to subvert them it would upset them: there cannot be creative and search for beauty in such a flood of perfume and the public is actually noticing it. Increasing numbers of women and men who stop using commercial perfumes, are turning to lesser-known brands, where you can still find the original flavors, different ingredients made with good quality and creativity that is the “artistic perfumery.” If we put ourselves in this industry to churn out pseudo-news every three months we have really lost sight of the idea.

- The craftsmanship is the link between tradition and innovation. Could it be the means to save the system from the crisis?

All companies, both industrial and craft, producing good products, usually survive crisis. For “good” I mean well done and with an aesthetic and material value very perceptible , made with quality ingredients, created with an artistic sense and love of beauty, products that can really improve the quality and not only the content of our lives.

- The Academy of parfums is the first world interactive workshop, dedicated to essences and perfumes. How did the project start, which the developments?

The project is an extension of our current activities with a series of enrichments. We have always had a cultural and informative vocation about the world of perfumery; our headquarter recently moved from 125 to about 1,500 square meters, it has a garden of herbs, an information center, a library, various collections of flavors, a shop, spaces for events, courses and seminars. All this to provide information and entertainment as well the opportunity to meet many different types of aromas. Should open in September 2011.

-You have created a real univers.Which elements would you add to this world?

I would like to but for now it is just a dream. Cultivating a few plants in the countryside around Florence, used for distillation and extraction, in order to create a complete cycle . A good part of the most important plants used for extraction in perfumery could easily be grown in Tuscany as well as some time ago there was not much difference between a rose from Liguria and one from the not distant Grasse.

Alessio Nesi

Photography ALBERTO PELLEGRINET. Realization ALESSIO NESI.

Eau de Toilette Essence NARCISO RODRIGUEZ design ROSS LOVEGROVE. Stick Yeux SEPHORA. Color-Palette FRED FERRUGIA. Anti-Aging Cream Concura DIEGO DALLA PALMA. Eye Gel Concura DIEGO DALLA PALMA. Even Better Clinical CLINIQUE. All About Eyes Serum CLINIQUE. Eau de Toilette SMILEY design ORA-ÏTO.

The decision to raise Fortress Frassinello in the area between Gavorrano and Ribolla, in front of Giuncarico, derives from lands with the same characteristics of Chianti and Montalcino, but before in the presence of higher average temperatures and the possibility of having earlier maturations even of three or four weeks. A strategic point the one on the hill on both side of the old Aurelia, which forms a canyon in which the wind from the sea coming from the level between Grosseto and Castiglione della Pescaia passes thorigh: a steady breeze that takes away any moisture and moderates the climate in summer and winter .

The architectural project entrusted to the creative talents of Renzo Piano, emphasizes how a winery is a sort of factory and hence the decision to create the interiors of industrial materials such as exposed concrete, formwork finished with birch as it hences the choice of giving greater attention to areas reserved for production and also laying the barrique center, underground, so the wine has the ideal temperature and humidity. A huge open space with no support columns, while the production area, with the steel vats, follows two sides of the square, where during the harvest each vat is connected to a tube situated on the next level: a large square of 5,000 square meters formed by the roof of the barrique and its outer frame.

The 2500 small wine barrels are arranged around a staircase made of four sides around a focal point illuminated by a ray of sunlight as they were seeing an old theatrical performance. Above the heart of the cellar, a huge empty terrace with at its center a “pavilion” of clear glass, made of steel and transparent which defines the area of reception, with wine shop and wine tasting.

The labels now produced are four and take the approach of the great French Chateau: Poggio alla Guardia (15% Sangioveto, 45% Merlot and 40% Cabernet Sauvignon), wine entry that on its labels has no reference to the name of the company; Le Sughere di Frassinello (50% Sangioveto, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot 25%) first wine of Rocca di Frassinello (60% Sangioveto, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot 20%), top production. The latest born is Baffonero (100% Merlot) which name summarizes events related to Maremma, characterized of hunting, strong men, aggressive boars.

The cellar is a platform permanently accessible, from which to capture the distant landscape and forest, with its hard blue skies and clear air, of bitter and poignant beauty. A special place in the rest of the province which is called “laggiù“.

Alessio Nesi

- What is your approach to the signs of age?

It is always a global, holistic approach, the person taken as a whole. Welfare, as well as the result obtained on a face clearly marked with lines, derives from a set of products targeted to individual actions.

- What are the basic steps of the male and female cosmetic ritual?

First the water as a beneficial primordial element:  bath, sauna, turkish bath. The cleaners never too degreasers, along with peel, scrubs( both mechanical and chemical). Masks full of enzymes, fruit’s masks , masks without rinsing. Serum with low molecular weight, penetrating, rich in synergies that will help drainage and that really prolong hydration. A face cream suitable to the type of skin which needs to be treated, never too heavy, to be alternated frequently. A fresh and light toner.

- What are the criteria that have guided you in the development of your cosmetic line, in terms of products and packaging?

I happen to develop more cosmetic lines and each follows its own policy and specific path. For example, in one of the last, the male one, the criteria that drove me the most to the choice of the ingredients was convenience and pleasure, the product should be of immediate impact.

Simon Cosac, an original and spontaneous businesswoman, asked me a very feminine line, which combines all the complexities, contradictions and sensuality of that world. I prefer a packaging increasingly essential, trying to eliminate everything that is unnecessary and harmful to the environment.

- What are the advantages of your line?

Perhaps masks, peel, anti-aging treatments, body oils.

- The secret of your cosmetic line are a set of synergistic phyto extracts. What are their potential?

I seek for intact, natural and organic ingredients. The potentials of a substance are endless, they depend on combinations; its like in the kitchen where each dish has its ingredients, but every ingredient comes in many dishes. I find it important to formulate a new product using all the senses and also our Mediterranean cuisine helps me understand better, through taste, aroma and freshness of a substance.

- Do you belongs to a specific school of thought?

Not really

- Fitoceutical not a day goes by that we read of new goals achieved in the medical field thanks to plant’s staminals and also as far as the field of aesthetic medicine there is a lot of ferment goign on. Do you believe there will be a time in which methods based on these cells are available?

Probably in the future, right now best results are still obtained using a cosmetic which favours popular extractive systems.

-Which will be the future of cosmetic treatments defined as BIO?

There will certainly be a great increase in the use of organic products, especially those ones which are organic for real. On the contrary unfortunately, we often find commercial products defined as natural products, fake? Inside them theres a very little natural

- Summer time, sea and sunny beaches: which advice would you give in order to protect skin from environmental damage, from UV radiation and other environmental factors considered hazardous?

IIts fine a bit of sun exposure, but we do not have to exceed; sun is good if you do not exaggerate. Cool the skin after each hour of exposure with a shower, a dip in the sea or simply remaining in the shade. Appropriate sunscreen, medium or low, and general attention of course! Sun screen does not protect against damage induced by overheating. After each exposure a face-mask with fruit or vegetables, organic moisturizers, fresh creams and oils  throughout the body.

- Which elements would you add to your cosmetic world?

Much more irony, lightness and truth. I wish my formulas were able, always better, to express the freshness of ingredients they are made of.

Alessio Nesi

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Among the monuments of the ancient Florentine pharmacies now become important institutions, not much known to the general public, we cannot forget to mention Officina de Tornabuoni, born in 1843, which represents the marriage between cosmetic and holistic range of health supplements, created by a winning combination, which includes four generations of experience and expertise in botanical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and healing. Today the leader of this team we find Dr. Lucia Celli, Italian guru of natural medicine who descends from an  enlightened lineage of pharmacists, who discovered formulas still to the day very cutting edge.

Calma Polish

Born in Valdarno, began his apprenticeship when she was just a child with her grandfather, a professor at the Scuola Normale di Pisa through a long study on medicinal herbs, after graduating in chemistry and pharmacy at the University of Florence, revives the old herbalist formulas anticipating alternative medicines that will be successful in the booming New Age of the 90’s.

Regia Planta

From the sixteenth floor of Palazzo Larderel in Via Tornabuoni/ Florence, thanks to his workshop better known as Herb English, Luisa Celli, renews century-old tradition of Anglo-Florentine Henry Roberts, who in 1843 opened here “English and American Chemist and druggist”. The basic concept of the products of the workshop is psycho physical wellness, body tone, face compact complexion, mirror of well being and inner peace. Products are made with herbs from the Tuscan countryside, free from parabens, mineral oils, artificial colors and sulphites. Alternative therapies are varied and customized to build a harmonious lifestyle with the intention of creating a status of bliss of the spirit in order to achieve lasting effects.

Singapore SPA

In addition to cosmetics, Officina produces multi-award winning spa treatments for professional use, born for thr multi-concept spa in Singapore, LS Philosophy, has quickly become a lifestyle chosen by the international jet set. In the spring of 2010 Officina de Tornabuoni lands to luxurious Stai, located at Villa Marina on the beautiful island of Capri. Over the years the old herbalist has earned a loyal international clientele of royalty, celebrities and pioneers in natural and holisticbeauty and of course in wellness.

Alessio Nesi

His first manager was the chemist Dominic Vincent Brunetti. Since 1921 belongs to one family that own the company Ker Inc. Currently consisting of two pharmacists and cosmetologists and two business executives. The company manufactures and sells cosmetics line Farmacia SS.

Annunziata since 1561 Florence Italy. The decor has remained unchanged over time: the sales room has three large shelves of dark wood posts on the walls, surmounted by carvings, leaves and golden masks lighten the austere lines of eighteenth century taste.

Still boasts a particular tradition in the formulation of natural products for the hygiene and the aesthetic of the skin, created under the new safety rules and still keeping intact the traditional methods of craftsmanship typical of the old pharmacy.

Alessio Nesi

During these times of recession many people seek refuge in spirituality, in substitutes of well-being, using mascots as support. The independent labels which have always created haute de gamme fragrances took their inspiration from the years when perfume was considered as a talisman, a connection with the divine. Have a look in the Masterpieces section of the Cosmoprof in Bologna, Fragrances of Pitti Immagine in Florence, Esxence and White Beauty in Milan. Light and provocative, they provide discerning points of reflection which lead to the boundaries of reality. Unique.

Made with natural raw materials that are very expensive, dense and hard to find, the essences are like magic potions, warm and cold, generous and perfidious, perfect and incomplete, for eccentric dandies and restless femme fatales: disciples seduced by the image of contemporary society, reborn from their fall. The elegant sculptural bottles are contemporary talismans which contain the alchemy of special aromas.

They draw inspiration from the secret doctrines of esotericism; they are capable of revealing the mysteries of the Universe and the Absolute. They allow you to communicate with the divine world, in the search for a new route to find the ancient road that leads there where man coincides with God, protecting all his aesthetic and moral integrity in an ongoing struggle between soul and body.

High craftsmanship. Creative innovation. A hidden segment, born with the latest editions of Esxence the Masterpieces section of Cosmoprof Bologna, Fragrances of Pitti Immagine in Florence and White Beauty, it has not escaped to the more “commercial” perfumery where creator’s noses and managers of essence’s houses essences have been inspired by the traditional niche haut de gamme of fragrance, almost unknown to the public. The editors of perfumes, rediscover this way particular flavorings, rare unpublished notes for olfactory agreements made with completely natural materials,very expensive and difficult to find. Fragrances of the new generation become as light as eau. They seduce and give more satisfaction than jewelry. Or then sculptures.They are like a silent music contained within crystal universes.

Prada. The Ephemeral Infusions collection by Prada, launched in 2009, realized with artisanal processes, widens its range with a new feminine fragrance in limited edition: Infusion de Tuebereuse. Light as a typical Italian Eau De Cologne, is a concentrate of fresh and citrus notes from the Mediterranean sea. Like all packages from the collection, this is decorated with a mosaic print of Tuberoses from a print taken from the Prada textile archive.

Balenciaga. Nicolas Ghesquiere, Balenciaga’s creative director, has never made a misstep: Nicolas Ghesquiere, Balenciaga’s Creative Director, has never made a misstep: his collections have always been done with masterful skill, therefore there were high expectations for the new perfume the first since the 1955 Quadrille. A fragile and rigorous Violet, mysterious and introspective, classical and graceful, subtly dominates the fragrance. Supported by an amber background is like a blast of light spring breeze. Raises ancient charm, awakens the memory of departed loves. Its jus floral, similar to undergrowth’s nectar, evolves in spicy and sensual touches and is kept in a bottle-sculpture with the shape of a bell made of blown glass. The gentle presence of Charlotte Gainsbourg, friend and muse of the designer, interprets faithfully the fragrance in the advertising campaign shot by Steven Meisel.

Untitled. It is the name of the first perfume Maison Martin Margiela and expresses individual freedom: “Without any reference to a specific image or a specific environment, it can be interpreted freely and be adapted to each of us“. Created from the nose of Daniela Andrier, the essence is “monolithic“: the Galbanum, raw material, noble and rare is present in every note of this green floral woody essence, incisive, embraces the Bitter Green Bosso, Mastic, Incense, Bitter Orange. It carries within itself an olfactory classic vocabulary nowadays forgotten.

Opium. Trasgressive is the name, with an opulent and intoxicating charm. Capable to revoke the empire of the senses. Ode to the lysergic murky mist narrated by William Somerset Maugham. Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium makes a come back with its original olfactory pyramid, the scandalous perfume launched in 1977, times of rebellion and terror, which name was banned in the Middle East and for years also banned in an Australian region. Inspired by the Chinese courts’ splendours, it’s a bestseller of the world’s perfumery. The new bottle, designed by Stefano Pilati, the creative mind behind YSL fashion brand, remind the Intro, the warriors tools case with a transparent porthole that lights the essence up and invites you to get lost in the oblivion.

John Galliano. The scents are olfactory harmonies that capture the joy of living, just as the first Eau de Toilette by Jhon Galliano, dedicates to the playful and innocent spirit of his female creature. The nose, Christine Nagel, has created elegant essence with delicate powdery and woody notes. Romantic ode to decadence, to the salons of D’Annunzio: the silhouette of the bottle recalls the aristocratic figure of the Marquise Casati painted by Giovanni Boldini, who inspired the young couturier. Created with pure pathos, nurtured, venerated and understood  there where others do not seek it. Go sniff it!

Alessio Nesi